Washing machine takes hot water from Combi boiler

fasttalkerchat

I have a warmflow combi kerosene boiler. Previously we were just turning on the water switch when we were going for a shower but since yesterday I am leaving the switch on all the time to see if it makes a difference. The boiler only fires up when hot water is being used.

The problem is that the washing machine will take hot water when we have it and cold water when we don't have hot water. One time the clothes came out roasting hot so we learnt not to use the washing machine immediately after using a shower.

Is there any way to stop the boiler heating water when the washing machine is running or should we go back to just turning it on when we need it?

Any help/questions appreciated.

JohnnieK

Short answer no. Once a flow is detected the boiler fires. Is there any way you can take a cold supply for he washing machine from elsewhere?

fasttalkerchat

JohnnieK wrote: »

Short answer no. Once a flow is detected the boiler fires. Is there any way you can take a cold supply for he washing machine from elsewhere?

The washing machine is right beside the kitchen sink so I could run a pipe from the cold water at the tap to the washing machine inlet.
Its a rented house so I can't be bothered with that. I'll just have to go back to keeping the water switch off when I don't need it.

The slower the flow the hotter the water so if the boiler is left on you are liable to get very high water temperatures feeding the washing machine.

fasttalkerchat

gary71 wrote: »

The slower the flow the hotter the water so if the boiler is left on you are liable to get very high water temperatures feeding the washing machine.

Yea that's the problem were having. I'm going to have a dig behind the washing machine to see if it has dual hot and cold inlets by any chance.

Failing that I will go back to keeping the hot water switch off when I don't need it.

Billy Bunting

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

The problem is that the washing machine will take hot water when we have it and cold water when we don't have hot water. One time the clothes came out roasting hot so we learnt not to use the washing machine immediately after using a shower.

.

A washing machine does its final rinses with cold water, if the machine is finishing and the clothes are hot then you have the hot and cold feed pipes the wrong way around.

fasttalkerchat

Billy Bunting wrote: »

A washing machine does its final rinses with cold water, if the machine is finishing and the clothes are hot then you have the hot and cold feed pipes the wrong way around.

I pulled out the washing machine and discovered that it only has one infeed pipe and its hot water.
I will post a photo in a minute...

As promised:

I have labelled hot pipes red and cold ones blue. The dishwasher has a cold feed only and the washing machine has a hot feed only.
Tinypic is down so had to use postimage.org. Here is the link incase that image isnt showing: http://postimage.org/image/53ad30679/

Any suggestions welcome.

aujopimur

A single feed w/m should have a cold feed only,as it's near the sink it would be an easy fix.
A hot feed is bad for the w/m, not to mention the effect on the clothes.

Billy Bunting

Buy a "Y" adaptor from any good plumber suppliers and fit it to the cold, then you can connect both appliances to the cold.

imfrieda

I agree, hot water is not good for the clothes especially the colored or printed ones.

boomkatalog

Having the exact same problem! Bra melted the other day, as did all the pictures on boyfs novelty boxers

Machine is ancient, if we got a new one would the problem still exist?

Billy Bunting

If the inlet/s are connect wrong and you do the same to your new machine then yes you will have the same problem, but do you have the same problem ?? are your cloths finishing the wash in hot water ???

fasttalkerchat

boomkatalog wrote: »

Having the exact same problem! Bra melted the other day, as did all the pictures on boyfs novelty boxers

Machine is ancient, if we got a new one would the problem still exist?

Check if you have a hot and cold supply to your washing machine. If their is only a hot supply then you have the same problem as me.


I'm off to B&Q shortly to get the Y adaptor.
Thanks for the advice!

fasttalkerchat

aujopimur wrote: »

A single feed w/m should have a cold feed only,as it's near the sink it would be an easy fix.
A hot feed is bad for the w/m, not to mention the effect on the clothes.

I can add this to the list of mistakes made when this place was renovated.
Forgot to connect phone line.
Wrong type of tiger loop on boiler.
Boiler too far away from oil tank.
One light not wired correctly.
Heat sensor alarm beside shower room door.
Mains smoke alarms not connected to a mains supply.
Aerial not connected to sockets.
Possibly insulation missing in one room.
Fire escape window that didn't open.
Hot water supply for washing machine.

I'll still be finding (and sometimes solving) problems by the time I move out.

JohnnieK

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

I pulled out the washing machine and discovered that it only has one infeed pipe and its hot water.
I will post a photo in a minute...

As promised:

I have labelled hot pipes red and cold ones blue. The dishwasher has a cold feed only and the washing machine has a hot feed only.
Tinypic is down so had to use postimage.org. Here is the link incase that image isnt showing: http://postimage.org/image/53ad30679/

Any suggestions welcome.

You can get a Y piece connection for the existing cold valve for the dishwasher B&Q would do them.

fasttalkerchat

JohnnieK wrote: »

You can get a Y piece connection for the existing cold valve for the dishwasher B&Q would do them.

Got one from B&Q but it was leaking. Going to replace the washers on the hoses and try again.
The Y piece was plastic and everything else is metal. The system is pressurised to about 1.5-2 bar. Would a plastic piece be okay for that?

JohnnieK

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Got one from B&Q but it was leaking. Going to replace the washers on the hoses and try again.
The Y piece was plastic and everything else is metal. The system is pressurised to about 1.5-2 bar. Would a plastic piece be okay for that?

Yep it will be fine.

fasttalkerchat

I replaces the washers on the inlet hoses and it worked fine

Happy with the setup now.
Next up, I'm going to bleed and then re-pressurize the system.