The ASKO History
An enterprising young Swedish farmer named Karl-Erik Andersson in 1950, set out to build his mother a different kind of washer. One with superior cleaning power and reliability that could heat water, spin, and even boast durable, state-of-the-art, stainless steel drums. A unique, energy- and water-efficient machine that would reflect a farmer’s love and respect for nature.  A washing machine like no other. So the young farmer built his amazing washer, surpassing even his meticulous mother’s high standards.He was so impressed with his creation he decided to share it with others. Today Asko as the company is now called is an international corporation. Asko appliances claim to still do a better job of cleaning with a fraction of the water, electricity and detergent of other machines. Asko manufactures a full range of washer, clothes dryer and Dishwashers, even an outdoor dishwasher, but I am not sure weather it is available in Australia.

Mackay
The Asko washers and dishwasher are very popular here in Mackay, Queensland as well and I have been serviceing them for the last 20 years. Overall the appear  to live up to their reputation of being a quality product.

Front Loading Washers
The front loading washer has a unique feature where part of the front panel assemble is attached directly to the moving outer bowl. The most common arrangement is the outer cabinet is fixed and the opening for the door is attached to the out bowl by a rubber bellows. Asko’s design removes this bellows which can cause faults as the bellows can wear with so much movement. The rest of the machine’s components are similar in design.The main drive motor is a DC Brush motor connected to the drum by a belt.Some of the common faults are jammed and fused drain pumps, brush wear on the drive motor and cockroaches in the electronic board. The last one can be an expensive repair. A fault I found on one model is the plastic just seemed to be crumpling away. The compound of the plastic appeared to be breaking down in a 5 year old machine. This is similar to the fault I have written previously about in the Fisher and Paykel dishwashers.

Dishwashers
The Asko dishwasher is a very solid machine with very few mechanical faults. The most common by far is drain pump failure. The pumps can be replaced with the universal UNI 12 Pump. The other major problem as with all dishwashers and their electronic boards are our North Queensland Cockroaches.

Here is the tip of the day for any brand Dishwasher

♦Spray around the outside of your dishwasher every 4 – 6 weeks with a good surface spray to keep the cockeroches away.

If you are having service issues with your Asko washers, dryers or dishwasher in the Mackay area, call me Rod Swan, Andergrove Appliance Service on the number below.

Fisher & Paykel Dish Washer

Fisher and Paykel as I mentioned in a previous post have been in Australia for a long time and have built a solid reputation. I have been servicing on repairing the F&P Dishwasher for over 20 years. Unfortunately there is a couple models around 4 – 5 year old age bracket which seem to having a problem with the quality of plastic in the handle and control panel.

Top door panel and handle assembly

Broken Handles and Control Panels

I can only speak from my experience here in Mackay North Queensland. The handles and control panel plastic seems to become very brittle after about 4 years old. The control panel I am referring to is the top plastic part of the door. This part contains the electronic control board, handle and door switch. The door handle is usually the first to go. When the door handle breaks, it becomes very loose and will not turn on the dishwasher or the user will not be able to open the door in some cases. The problem becomes worse when the appliance mechanic tries to dismantle the door and then the retainers which the screws hold into fall apart and crumple.

The Repair

The only proper way to repair this fault is to replace the control panel and the handle kit. The repair is fairly simple and only requires a couple of basic tools.

• A Phillips Screw driver
• A small flat blade screw driver

Make sure the dishwasher is disconnected from the power before any work is started. There are live wires on the control board and door switch.

For service to your dishwasher call a qualified dishwasher mechanic. If you live in the Mackay, Queensland area call me Rod Swan, Andergrove Appliance Service. on the number below.

Fisher and Paykel the Brand

Fisher & Paykel Washer

The Fisher and Paykel brand which comes from New Zealand is commonly referred to as F&P. Fisher and Paykel is a large company in New Zealand and has a large range of products including it whites goods range. The company was founded in 1934 by Maurice Paykel & Sir Woolf Fisher and they imported products from  Crosley Appliances, Maytag and Pilot products. In 1938 they began manufacturing their own Kelvinator washers under licence with the introduction of import tariffs. In 1956, their manufacturing was moved to a purpose-built factory in Mount Wellington, Auckland.

Fisher & Paykel began exporting to Australasia and East Asia around 1968. In the 1980 the company became more focus more on research and development and this resulted in the development of the ECS direct drive motor assembly washing machine and highly-automated production lines.In 1989, the company opened its first overseas manufacturing facility in Cleveland, Brisbane, Australia. In 1992 Fisher & Paykel entered the European Market and by 1994 was exporting to over 80 countries. Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd was listed publicly in 2001, following the separation of Fisher & Paykel Industries Ltd into Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd and Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd that same year.

Fisher & Paykel has acquired other manufacturers over the years to improve and expand into other markets and these include:

• In 1955 a Duneden electric oven manufacturer call H. E. Shacklock Ltd.
• In October 2004, Dynamic Cooking Systems Inc, a United States manufacturer and distributor of cooking appliances.
• In June 2006, the Italian cookware business called Elba from DeLonghi

Fisher & Paykel Appliances announced the closure of three manufacturing facilities in Dunedin, New Zealand, Cleveland, Australia and Huntington Beach, USA on 17 April 2008.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances currently manufactures cooking applinces, smart drive washing machines, clothes dryers, refrigeration products and dishwashers including their famous dish draw. A large number of Fisher & Paykel products utilise microprocessor and brushless DC motor technology  to improve efficiency. Fisher & Paykel now holds over 420 patents and based on it’s innovative design, particularly in the areas of usability and environmental awareness. Even with these patents it appears many other manufacturers are following in Fisher & Paykels design strategies with the brushless DC motor technology.

Fisher & Paykel Dish Draw

Since Fisher & Paykel first came to Australia, I have been a fan of their products and innovation. I have been servicing their products since the first washing machines came to Mackay. Although some products have given me a headache at stages I believe for the most part their products and well made and worth the investment. Most of the information I researched for this post came from Wikipedia. For service to your Fisher & Paykel washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers and cooking equipment in Mackay area call me Rod Swan at Andergrove Appliance Service.