New Washing Machine/Concept: ISE CI555WH

TechnoBoy

I am not an expert ... but Asko also seem to sell these machines under their own name as well as ISE & Maytag.

From what I can see the specification seems to be slightly different between them all ... I guess that's to do with the programming of the features etc and I guess the innards are such as motors and pumps likely to be very similar ... but only ISE can tell us how similar they are.

Having looked at a Which? report for washing machines they didn't rate the Rinse cycle on the 'similar' Maytag machines so hopefully the rinse cycle on the ISE is beefed up.

It's a shame that Which? didn't have the ISE machines to review.

kwatt

TechnoBoy wrote: »

but only ISE can tell us how similar they are.

Actually, we can't simply because ISE have no clue what Maytag specified, only Maytag know that.

TechnoBoy wrote: »

Having looked at a Which? report for washing machines they didn't rate the Rinse cycle on the 'similar' Maytag machines so hopefully the rinse cycle on the ISE is beefed up.

The ISE10 default rinse can be changed from three (the default as it reduces water consumption) to five rinses by a few simple button presses, easily done by pretty much anyone.

The trouble being that you can either have the economy of low water use or, the performance of extra rinsing. You can't have both.

This is where, to a degree, anyone reviewing not aware of this may well say that the rinse is poor but, if altered to the performance setting may well meet the requirement. But, that also is dependent on the test you do as well. Since Which? do not publish their test protocols it is impossible to offer an opinion on how accurate they are etc.

Then you enter into the grey, murky area of it being subjective. What I mean by that is that most people find the default perfectly adequate but some people like the extra rinsing.

HTH

K.

TechnoBoy

Yes I agree with you - Which? have their own opinion. There are a number of products they have reviewed and like which in real-life operation are awful and breakdown at every opportunity. I think most folks take the reviews with a pinch of salt.

After discussion with my wife seems she'd be running the 'Quick Wash' on our Zanussi for all the clothing which probably explains own one-year-old very minor skin complaint. In the manual in fairness it doesn't say how it does a quick wash though the reduced rinsing time must play a factor.

We don't pay by volume for our water so that is not an issue.

Also I don't understand the point of 'Energy Efficiency' as a selling point when most machines break down after a year or so and require an engineer + parts + diesel + downtime ...... that surely is much worse to the environment than using a bit more water and electricity?

About time these things were made to last through legislation and a 50% Tax put on machines and manufacturers that have have a low reliability index.

Had a prompt email back from Dave to say the delivery company will be in contact today - so I'll update when we have our delivery + will give feedback on how it all went plus how the machine handles.

PS Nobody tell my wife I think I've fixed the Zanussi ... I think we'll be Freecycling that ... whoops! :laugh:

kwatt

Yep, totally correct.

The problem is that the focus, for the moment, is on energy efficiency and everyone and their dog seems to think that you can have performance and economy at the same time. Doesn't work for cars, doesn't work for computers, doesn't work for appliances... in fact it doesn't really work for much of anything!

Sure, you can make savings on energy here and there but, more often than not, somewhere there's a compromise that has to be had.

For the engineers, quick wash is the Spawn of Satan! :rotfl:

I wrote an article about it here which goes into the subject in more detail but, as a generalisation, they are only of any use to refresh clothes, they DO NOT clean clothing well at all. People most often think that these programs are magical and can clean stuff in 30 minutes or less when, in fact, that's totally untrue. But that's marketing departments for you.

Big whoops on the Zanussi BTW.

K.

TechnoBoy

Thanks kwatt - informative article.

EDIT: Panic over ... my old washing machine is still broken!

TechnoBoy

Delivery is for next Wednesday - and they are going to take away the old one and install the new one for us.

Meanwhile my mother-in-law has been a star by doing our washing for us

saffrongirl

kwatt wrote: »

Yep, totally correct.

The problem is that the focus, for the moment, is on energy efficiency and everyone and their dog seems to think that you can have performance and economy at the same time. Doesn't work for cars, doesn't work for computers, doesn't work for appliances... in fact it doesn't really work for much of anything!

Sure, you can make savings on energy here and there but, more often than not, somewhere there's a compromise that has to be had.

For the engineers, quick wash is the Spawn of Satan! :rotfl:

I wrote an article about it here which goes into the subject in more detail but, as a generalisation, they are only of any use to refresh clothes, they DO NOT clean clothing well at all. People most often think that these programs are magical and can clean stuff in 30 minutes or less when, in fact, that's totally untrue. But that's marketing departments for you.

Big whoops on the Zanussi BTW.

K.

That article is very informative K. I've used the quick wash on my Zanussi on occassion. Am horrified that I would have been wearing dirty clothes . Is Economy wash the same?

Saffrongirl

kwatt

Hi Saffrongirl,

Yes and no, it depends on the machine it seems.

Most seem to simply reduce the water and extend the wash time, you're into that compromise of time/energy/water for most so, to reduce energy which is all Eco really is in most cases, the water is reduced and the agitation time extended.

There are some that I can't fathom what the Eco function does bar often just light up an LED or lamp!

But that stuff is all about the water as that's where the vast bulk of the energy is used, heating that up. But it's much more complex than just that when people want to use a hot fill and suchlike as we get asked a lot about that as well and, basically, it's a waste of time and it is more energy efficient to heat the water in the machine.

I'm afraid it's another one of those things where the stats and percentages that are quoted are simply not in perspective so that people can actually understand it.

For example, LG claim (with every new model it seems) that their new funky whoopee do machine uses 30% less than an old machine.

Great, but 30% of what exactly? And, compared against what exactly?

Same thing with large loads, they save 30% or you can wash 50% more!

Than what?

But most people don't ask those simple questions, they just swallow the marketing propaganda, hook line and sinker.

For the record, I have asked LG in particular but others as well for the evidence to verify these claims as well as where and how the tests to get these results were carried out. None have answered.

When you actually dig into a lot of these claims they are comparing against a C or lower rated machine from well over a decade ago. They are not a true reflection of the efficiency based on other modern machines.

What does this saving equate to in real life, pennies in a year. Does it pay back the carbon used in production, maybe after a minimum of 3-10 years depending on the factory and shipping. Many won't last that long.

Load sizes are often (if not always) quoted against 5kg or less load machines but, that in itself is a misleading figure, a more accurate figure is the drum load capacity in litres.

But I'm way off topic and what you asked now.

Hope it helps people understand a lot of the rubbish that gets published though.

K.

TechnoBoy

Small update.

Got a text this moring at 07.40am to say the new applicance will be delivered between 8am and noon on Wednesday. I wish other companies did this ...

Just two more sleeps to go.

TechnoBoy

Got a phone call this morning to say that they were 10 mins away, which was nice.

I'd uninstalled the old washing machine which went into the van, and the new washing machine was put in place.

The Installation Engineer said that the supplied hose wouldn't reach the outlet and that the hose we'd got on the old machine didn't fit the new machine ...

Not being an expert in Washing Machine installations I took his word for it any they left with the machine untested.

Though I'm supposed to be working today I felt it wouldn't hurt to put the old washing machine hose on which fitted perfectly and afforded no leaks.

I plumbed in the drain hose and I've got the unit running a quick wash.

A few questions,

1) How do I set the 5 rinses as the instructions don't describe this step? Update: I contacted the supplier and they are going to email the information
2) Seems they left without leaving me the bolt/washer for the transport protection. As we plan to move in the next 10 years would I need these for a road journey? They installed the rubber spacers.
3) There are no details of the 10 Year Warranty, where do I find these? Do they get posted to me? Update: I sent a email to the supplier and they said that the paperwork should follow in 5 to 10 days time

Many thanks.