Do You have a Miele W502 Front Loader Washer which goes out of balance regularly?

Miele Washing machines with the Model number of W502 or similar can develop an out of balance problem when they reach the 5 year age. Of corse this will depend on how many loads are going through the machine per week. This may also depend on the size and type of load typically put through the machine. This is not a manufacturing fault with the washing machine, it is just a maintenance issue which needs to be rectified after a certain amount of use.

Miele W502 Front Loader Washer

The Miele front loading washing machine like many other front loaders has a pair of shock absorbers which support the bowl. These shock absorbers work similarly to the shock absorbers in your car. As the clothing in the washing machine is moved around in the bowl, the shockies absorb that movement so that it is not transferred to the outside of the machine. Without these shockies in the machine, it would have to be bolted down to the floor so that it did not vibrate the machine to pieces. The manufacturers have worked how much absorption is required to keep the machine still without having to bolt it to the floor. When the shock absorbers become worn, they don’t absorb the movement of the load anymore and so the loads go out of balance more regularly.

The manufacturers of front loaders like Miele have a couple other components which also help with the vibrations.

1. They also use springs which the bowl hangs off of and suspends the bowl so that the shock absorbers can do their job.
2. The manufacturers build weight into the machine by adding either concrete blocks of like in Miele case cast iron. This weight is placed around the outside of the bowl and this softens some of the vibration and counterbalances and imbalances in the load of clothing.
3. The speed control between wash and spin is critical to distribute the clothing around the inner bowl evenly. If this was not achieved all the clothing would be on one side of the bowl and would throw the bowl out of balance.

Miele Shock Absorbers

These components will not be able to compensate for the load when the shock absobers are worn. It is time to have them replaced. A front load may go out out of balance on a rare occasion usually if you have one heavy article with the rest light article, but it should not be going out of balance regularly. If the worn shock absorbers are left too long the severe vibrations could cause problems to the rest of the machine. On the early model W828 the severe vibration would actually cause the electronic to fuse which turned into a real expensive repair.

If your Miele front loader is going out of balance call your local Miele trained service mechanic to replace the shock absorbers or as Miele calls them “Friction Dampers”. It is a relatively straight forward job for a Miele trained serviceman and will most likely carry the spare parts in his or her van stock. Here in and around Mackay call me Rod Swan on 0408776405

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My washing machine  fault finding list

I am going to give you some tips before you call a service mechanic and you can call me, if you live in or around Mackay, Queensland, Australia. Some of these questions maybe obvious, but you would surprized how simple things happen some times. The last thing you would want is to do is pay for a service call when it was something you could have fixed yourself.

• If it is dead all together, check that the power point is turned on. Plug a small portable appliance eg: a hair dryer into the power point to make sure there is power there.
• If it has no digital display or lights on it,  turn the knob around to different positions fill, drain or spin to see if there is any life in other parts of the cycle. If the machine won’t fill with water but it will drain, then you know the problem is in the filling of the machine. The reverse maybe the case.
• If you do have a digital display or lights and they are on, on most machine you can advance or put the machine on a drain or spin cycle and try it there.
• If the machine will not fill, check to see if the tap is turned on. Turn off the tap, take the hose off the tap and with a bucket under the tap – turn it on. If the water supply is not the problem then it will be in the machines filling valves or filling program.
• If the machine won’t drain, check your drain hose for kinks and blockages. Start the machine on a drain cycle and see if you can hear the drain pump working. If you can not hear the drain pump or only a slight hum the pump will be jammed or faulty.
• If your machine drains but won’t spin, check to see if the lid switch and out of balance switches are operating. If those two switches are Ok, check inside the bowl for obstructions. Don’t try to turn the bowl by hand because the brake will be engaged. If you put the machine on a spin cycle can you hear any noise. Depending on the machine the fault for this could range from a belt to gearbox, bearings, motor, or timers and electronics.
• If your machine has a digital display, it maybe displaying a fault code or sequence of lights record these for when you report your fault to a serviceamn.

From these tips, if you haven’t fixed the machine yourself you will be able to give the service mechanic a better idea of what is wrong with the machine before he or she arrives. Some other information that will be helpful to the repairer is listed below. Apart from the obvious Name and Address and telephone numbers.

1. Type of washer, eg Top loader or Front Loader.
2. Brand and if possible the model number.
3. The size of the machine.
4. Age of machine.

With this information and fault detail from the list above the mechanic will probably have a good idea of what the problem is on arrival, helping him or her with bringing parts and saving time therefore saving you money. Now you are ready to call your sevice person. If you live in or around Mackay, you can call me Rod Swan on 0408776405

A New Niche Asko Washing Machine

The W6888 Asko Washing Machine has improved spin structures and higher rinsing levels to remove more detergents after the wash cycle. The new Asko washing machine targets skin allergy and asthma sufferers.

Mr James Vogdanos, national product manager at Asko Australia, said the W6888 meets the criteria stipulated by the Swedish Allergy & Asthma Foundation and that the Australian Asko Head Office has partnered with the National Asthma Council of Australia.

“The use of hygienic materials like twin stainless steel drums with Smartseal means we have improved our hygience through the removal of areas and materials that could habour bacteria,” Mr Vogdanos said. “The main area of improvement is the level of rinsing combined with materials that cannot harbour either bacteria or detergent build up.”

A washing machine specifically for allergy and asthma sufferers is the latest niche appliance release from ASKO, which last year unveiled the Alfresco Dishwasher. Mr Vogdanos said it was imperative to tailor appliances to different users.

“We will continue to launch products that cater to niche groups. The outdoor segment, for example, could see a refrigerator or a rangehood introduced. An outdoor kitchen, apart from the barbecue, should replicate what you have indoors.”

This information was taken from an article written by Patrick Avenell of the Current.com.au newsletter. The concept here sounds good by using extra water in the rinse cycle will help to remove more detergents from the clothing. I am not sure how longer spin cycles will help because the current models already remove most of the moisture out of clothing. Eliminating positions where mould or bacteria could hide is another good initiative.

I can not help you with anymore information about these machines, best bet is to consult your local stockists. For advise and repairs to your out of warranty Asko washing machines in the Mackay area you can call me on 0408776405

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.