Saturday 28 May 2011

HOTPOINT AQUALTIS NOISY SPIN DAMAGE REVEALED

THE BANGING NOISES ON SPIN CYCLE WERE INEVITABLE

(THIS A FOLLOW ON FROM MY PREVIOUS POST " AQUALTIS 9D SPIN PROBLEMS" where there are many more comments from viewers)
The story continued..........  Well, the Hotpoint Engineer turned up, on time, and with the correct replacement drum and counterweight for our Hotpoint Aqualtis 9D washing machine - can't fault that at least!

After dismantling and re-assembling the machine he packed his tools and left, leaving behind the old drum and front counterweight because, in his words, "we don't dispose of parts anymore, that's down to you". Oh well, hey ho, at least it gave me the chance to have a better look at the damage to the drum and the concrete counterweight that caused the damage, (because I'm a bit of a geek who likes to know how things work........ or not as the case may be).

Here is a closer shot of the counterweight mounting lugs, on the drum assembly, that were damaged by the counterweight as it 'disintegrated' resulting in the securing bolts vibrating loose and falling out.

                                                   (Click on picture to enlarge)
From examining the counterweight locating lugs more closely, it was quite evident that the damage had been done over a reasonable period of time and, bearing in mind that the washing machine is only just over 12 months old, my guess is that the counterweight problem has existed pretty much since the machine first started to be used.

So, what about the front counterweight that caused the problem?  Well, almost any concrete moulding has embedded metal reinforcement rods to give the concrete 'strength', and this counterweight is no exception. But as any structural engineer will tell you, metal reinforcement requires an adequate 'covering' of concrete, otherwise the reinforcement is doing nothing to strengthen concrete. So with this in mind, have a look at this picture of the front counterweight that was fitted into our machine.

                                                   (Click on picture to enlarge)
 Now tell me if YOU think that the metal reinforcement has sufficient cover and whether it is providing any strength to the counterweight moulding!!!!  I think not - it's barely 2mm below the surface of the moulding. This is clearly a manufacturing problem and, to be fair, this counterweight didn't stand a hope in hells chance of staying in one piece.

So there we have it, a counterweight doomed to early failure, and the resultant damage to the drum assembly. And all in a washing machine that is only just over 12 months old.

Be aware, if your Hotpoint Aqualtis washing machine becomes noisy, particularly when in the spin cycle, you may have a similar problem, so call an engineer before any considerable damage is caused.

Sunday 22 May 2011

AQUALTIS 9D SPIN PROBLEMS

THE BANGING NOISES ON SPIN CYCLE WERE ALARMING!
We bought a Hotpoint Aqualtis 9D 69U washing machine, after extensive customer reviews research, but only a few weeks after the 12 month warranty expired, it started to make the most scary banging noises when in the spin cycle.
It has never been the most quiet of washing machines, but the sudden shaking and banging that now ensued was sufficiently alarming for us for us to stop using it. Luckily, we thought to ourselves, we had taken out an extended warranty when we purchased the Aqualtis 9D, so we contacted Hotpoint and arranged for an engineer to attend.
It took about a week for the engineer to first attend and, after some investigation, he advised us that the front counterweight, (one of the heavy concrete weights that helps to supress vibrations), had 'crumbled' and he commented that he had never seen anything like it before. He said that he would have to order a new counterweight AND a new drum, because the drum had also been 'damaged'.


After the engineer had left, I had a look for myself. The picture above shows one of the prutruding  'lugs', (which is part of the outer drum), upon which the concrete counterweight is normally located.  There appeared to be THREE of these lugs, and the counterweight would have been located on these and held in place with three bolts.
However, it was clear that the bolts had vibrated loose, and had fallen out, allowing the concrete weight to fall off the mountings !!!


The picture above, shows the smashed counterweight lying at the bottom of the washing machine!! Concrete dust everywhere.
In the course of the weight 'dropping off' the mountings, it had completely snapped  the locating lug on the left hand side. (Not suprising bearing in mind the considerable weight of this counterbalance mechanism!!!)


This picture shows the lug that snapped off.
Because this lug is part of the outer drum moulding, the machine now requires a completely new drum assembly!!!
The picture below, shows the broken lug and smashed counterweight. You can see the hole where the securing bolt goes through the counterweight, and the snapped lug above, where the counterweight SHOULD be!!!!!**!

This information has been posted solely because, after thoroughly searching the Web, there were virtually no sites that indicated why the Aqualtis was making so much noise on spin. Yes, there were questions about noisy Aqualtis washing machines on a couple of Forums, (so other people are experiencing the same problem), but no real answers.

We have been without the washing machine for over two weeks now, (the engineer is coming at the end of this week), and Hotpoint have taken a very 'laid back' attitude towards the inconvenience of being without the facility and the considerable costs of having to use the nearest Launderette 10 miles away, even though the washing machine is only a few weeks out of warranty.  Be warned, with Hotpoint, 12 months warranty means 12 months, and if you're not happy about that, Hotpoint will tell you that you will have to make a formal complaint if you want to stand any chance of reclaiming any interim 'laundry' expenses .............  even more time and inconvenience. 
Even though we purchased a 'Premium' price washing machine, in the hope that we were paying for a greater level of quality and reliability, this looks very much like a manufacture problem.....  were the bolts done up properly at manufacture? ......  is there a design or manufacture weakness in the concrete counterweight?.........  or were we just 'unlucky'?

If your Aqualtis 9D starts to make loud banging noises in the spin cycle it's probably too late and the damage is already done, but at least you might now have some idea as to what's causing it.

(FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PICTURES, SEE MY FOLLOW ON STORY " Hotpoint Aqualtis Noisy Spin Damage Revealed", WHERE THERE ARE MORE COMMENTS FROM VIEWERS)