Washing Machines on board

[Yacht Breeze]

Having suffered some pretty awful washing machines in French marinas last season we thought we'd explore having our own portable one on board for this season. The internet is full of ads for 'Caravan, camping and boating' washing machines but are they any good? They all seem to run off 240v and ideally we'd like one that washes and spins. Has anyone tried any of these devices? Which ones are the angels and which the devils? Is there a favourite among cruising sailors? Which ones get the thumbs up and which are better over the side?

Thanks... in anticipation of sailing in crisp clean clothes this season.

 

[Seajet]

Tilman & Miles & Beryl Smeeton must be spinning at high enough RPM that if you put a wire around them they'd make useful generators !

I suggest you try the mobo forum.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

I suggest you try the mobo forum.

Why?

Lots of sailing boats have washing machines.

I looked onto this in detail a few years ago when we were selecting a machine for our boat.

My conclusion was that this was the best one.
http://www.improducts.co.uk/products/washing_machine/

We have been very happy with it.

 

[windpipe]

I am not sure any of the 'Marine' washing machines really live up to their name. Your best bet is to buy a std machine from a local store and be prepared to change it every couple of years. One point to bear in mind, if your outlet pipe is below the waterline you might find the internal pump is not strong enough to dispel the water from the machine which means fitting a second pump with a relay.

 

[Liz_I]

Having suffered some pretty awful washing machines in French marinas last season we thought we'd explore having our own portable one on board for this season. The internet is full of ads for 'Caravan, camping and boating' washing machines but are they any good? They all seem to run off 240v and ideally we'd like one that washes and spins. Has anyone tried any of these devices? Which ones are the angels and which the devils? Is there a favourite among cruising sailors? Which ones get the thumbs up and which are better over the side?

Thanks... in anticipation of sailing in crisp clean clothes this season.

During our tour of Croatia in 2004/5 we were horrified at the cost of 'service washes' very few launderettes around. So decided to find some room to fit a proper washing machine. We have a Candy 3.5 kg load, fits in the port cabin in place of a chest of drawers! Inlet is plumbed into the boats pressure system but we extended the outlet hose & that runs across the fwd passage & drains into the sink in the heads.
The machine has worked brilliantly and apart from having to replace a capacitor it hasn't put a spin wrong
It uses less water than washing by hand, has various settings and if it were to die we'd go straight out and buy another!
They aren't cheap though!

 

[idpnd]

My boaty came with a small household one. i do love it, laundrettes are expensive and it is labour intensive lugging all that textile around every week..

 

[sailorgirl]

We got fed up of our time in port being dictated by laundrettes or service washes so purchased a small "machine" designed for camping and caravans called a Wonder Wash (http://www.amazon.com/The-Laundry-Alternative-Wonderwash-SpinDryer/dp/B002C8HR9A/ref=pd_sim_la_3). Simply add a small quantity of hot water and powder to the clothes, screw on the lid and churn for a couple of minutes.

It's a bit messy but efficient for clothes and even a couple of bathtowels though I still wash the bedding in a large bucket (we have one of those colourful squashy, builders trugs on board). The washer doesn't have a large capacity but as long as you launder regularly that's no problem. It fits nicely by the galley sink when in use so is easy to drain.

The only drawback is that it only really washes, rinsing is easier in the trug or even just on the floor of our aft head using the shower!

No electricity, hardly any weight - all that's needed is 2 or 3 litres of hot water and some washing powder. It sits on a spare bunk when not in use.

 

[maybh1]

I am not sure any of the 'Marine' washing machines really live up to their name. Your best bet is to buy a std machine from a local store and be prepared to change it every couple of years. .

Our bog standard Candy washer/dryer has been installed on Seadweller for over 12 years now without any issues so I would agree with buying the cheapest you can find but would be surprised if it would need changing after a couple of years

May
Xx

 

[maybh1]

We have a Candy 3.5 kg load,
The machine has worked brilliantly and apart from having to replace a capacitor it hasn't put a spin wrong
It uses less water than washing by hand, has various settings and if it were to die we'd go straight out and buy another!
They aren't cheap though!

Snap

I had assumed mine to be cheap as it was fitted by Trader

I think back then the bill from them was in the £800's but we would never have managed to get it to the pontoon, lift it aboard and get it down 2 flights of steps to the galley as well as install pipes etc as well as they did

Due to the sheer weight of the things a self install must be one heck of a task

May
Xx

 

[mikewilkes]

We have this mainly plastic thing - cant remember the name of it - given to us back in 2004 by a friend in Barcelona. Sits on the stbd quarter under a cover SWMBO made.
Only uses cold water, but is big enough for the weekly sheets wash.
As regards the "spinner" why do you need one? Wrap your stuff around a clean guard rail and keep turning. Hang 'em out in the sun whilst you do something else.

.

 

[petehitch]

I fitted a std cheapo washing machine 6 yrs ago and has worked perfectly ever since.
I would really recommend fitting one if you have the room.

 

[Poignard]

A cheapskate writes:-

Put the clothes in a bucket of soapy water and leave for 24 hours. The motion of the boat does the work, free-of-charge.

 

[chrisjackson]

washing Machine

Having suffered some pretty awful washing machines in French marinas last season we thought we'd explore having our own portable one on board for this season. The internet is full of ads for 'Caravan, camping and boating' washing machines but are they any good? They all seem to run off 240v and ideally we'd like one that washes and spins. Has anyone tried any of these devices? Which ones are the angels and which the devils? Is there a favourite among cruising sailors? Which ones get the thumbs up and which are better over the side?

Thanks... in anticipation of sailing in crisp clean clothes this season.

We fitted a Soba Babynova 1000 last year, it is FANTASTIC! It is a fully automatic washing machine but about half the size of a big one, takes 5 or 6 kg of clothes and uses about 60 litres of water a go, works off 240 volt but low power so an inverter is ok, cost about £700 so not cheap but very tough and unfussy, ie you can run out of water or electric mid cycle and no problem, we reckon we have nearly saved the cost with marinas charging up to £30 to do your washing. Before that we had one I bought off Ebay for £5 which you filled with water and plugged in and it just agitated the clothes, worked fine on the pontoon but nothing like the Babynova! good Luck

 

[prv]

Due to the sheer weight of the things a self install must be one heck of a task

Most of the weight is concrete blocks, to stop it shaking itself all around the kitchen. If you needed to manhandle it somewhere awkward, you could probably open it up and take the concrete out while you did so.

Pete

 

[Sybarite]

Having suffered some pretty awful washing machines in French marinas last season we thought we'd explore having our own portable one on board for this season. The internet is full of ads for 'Caravan, camping and boating' washing machines but are they any good? They all seem to run off 240v and ideally we'd like one that washes and spins. Has anyone tried any of these devices? Which ones are the angels and which the devils? Is there a favourite among cruising sailors? Which ones get the thumbs up and which are better over the side?

Thanks... in anticipation of sailing in crisp clean clothes this season.

IIRC there was a thread on this last year.

 

[Blueboatman]

Taking this to its logical conclusion, why wash and then have to hang all the laundry out festooning the rigging in damp salty sea air? ESP if it's raining..
Nope, it's a top notch German wash and tumble drier all-in-one or nothing I reckon
After all you've the watermaker, genny, ironing board and trouser press haven't you?

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Taking this to its logical conclusion, why wash and then have to hang all the laundry out festooning the rigging in damp salty sea air? ESP if it's raining..
Nope, it's a top notch German wash and tumble drier all-in-one or nothing I reckon
After all you've the watermaker, genny, ironing board and trouser press haven't you?

Thats a yes,yes,yes,no.

 

[Hoolie]

Taking this to its logical conclusion, why wash and then have to hang all the laundry out festooning the rigging in damp salty sea air? ESP if it's raining..
Nope, it's a top notch German wash and tumble drier all-in-one or nothing I reckon
After all you've the watermaker, genny, ironing board and trouser press haven't you?

In our case it's a no, no, no and no

 

[Liz_I]

IIRC there was a thread on this last year.

Find it and quote it, that's the thing to do. Try and find something after 2 weeks on a popular forum. Pages & pages, so please just highlight & quote otherwise it's pretty meaningless to say oh yes someone has said this before.

 

[SHUG]

We had a small Bendix washer-spinner which I removed because we couldn't find circumstances to use it. You can't use it in the marina because of the trail of soap bubbles it leaves and you cant use it at sea because...well you are at sea.
In the end we found hand washing and shore facilities were fine.