Washing Machine Hoses

[mrb627]

Well, I discovered that there are a few different washing machine fill hoses with varying inside diameters. Reportedly, a hose with a larger inside diameter will allow more water to pass through resulting in a quicker and quieter fill. So, has anyone ever experimented with differing sizes of fill hose? And if so, is there a preferred fill hose?

Just thinking about stuff... thoughts?

Malcolm

 

[arbilab]

Small inner diameter affects long garden hoses very noticeably but on a 6' washer hose you'd have to squint to see a difference in flow rate. Particularly since the valve orifice and anti-siphon tube downstream of that are more restrictive than the smallest hose.

Many manufacturers kowtow to regulatories' gravely-misguided notion that flow restrictors reduce the amount of water used. Another outbreak of public stupidity. If you need 2 quarts of water to boil spaghetti, waiting twice as long for it to seep from a restricted faucet doesn't save a single drop. Just pisses you off.

Same is obviously true of laundry machinery with restricted inlets. The tablespoon they grudgingly allot to rinsing is still a tablespoon whether it takes 1 second or 10 minutes to dispense. ('Slight' editorial exaggeration for emphasis.)

 

[combo52]

Different Fill Hose inside diameters

If you have something like an old belt drive WP built washer it might make a real difference, WP BD washers could actually fill at a rate of around 10 GALLONS per minute on the warm setting. This is why their spray rinses were always pulsed because this volume of water would overwhelm the pump while the machine was spinning. GE FF and MT DC washers always filled at slower rates so they could do a continuous spray rinse.

 

Most newer machines are lucky to even fill at 2 gallons of water per minute so I don't think larger fill hose diameter is any advantage, and in fact as far as the hot hose goes you will just get that much more cold water in the washer every time the machines calls for hot water with a bigger diameter hose. Larger diameter hoses are probably much more likely to burst as well for a given hose quality.

 

 

 

[yogitunes]

volume to pressure would be more of a concern....

if you have a 1/2" pipe delivering water, at a pressure of around 30psi, don't think a larger hose is going to make a difference of increasing fill times......

take the same application, but increase the water pressure to something like 70psi, even with a smaller diameter hose, would fill faster.....delivering water at a higher rate.....

don't see the point in braided hoses versus just a plain rubber version......as long as you buy a good quality hose, and keep in mind of changing them every 5 years, your good to go....without the higher cost.....

I tried different size hoses with time fill machines, no difference, if minor, of fill times.....but we keep experimenting out of curiosity...

 

[kb0nes]

You have a bunch of resistances to flow through the entire plumbing system from the street to the water exit into the tub. The point of the greatest restriction is likely the fill valve. Even with a 4" fire hose to the machine you are only likely to see a tiny fraction of difference in flow.

It would be an interesting experiment, but likely a waste of time that will never be won back with faster fills!

 

[brisnat81]

Over here now, all internal domestic taps are limited to a flow rate of 10L per minute approx. 2.5gal. This makes filling a Large capacity machine on hot take an eternity. The only way to get around it is to use Outdoor tap fittings which will give you full rate of flow.

We could now have hoses the size of drinking straws and that'd accommodate the flow from the tap.