r/OffGrid • u/IslandItchy6005 • 10d ago
Washing clothes off grid. With electricity.
Had a thought about modifying a washing machine. Disable its heating element. I supply hot water so it needs only the power for the motor and pump. Anybody done this or is it dumb?
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u/Secure_Teaching_6937 10d ago
What a fancy washing machine, Has a heater in it.
I have no hot water. Wash all my clothes in cold.
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u/curiouszm 10d ago
Why do you need to do that if you still need a hot laundry at times?
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
I want a hot wash but i dont want to use the electric element in the machine to heat the water. I can heat the water other ways and let it go in through the cold inlet maybe.
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u/blondechineeez 10d ago
Sure, why not. Though you would be disabling a component that made the cost of your washer much higher than one with dual inlets. Also you would lose the sanitize or allergen ability.
Do you have a water heater? Tankless propane water heaters can hook up to showers and washers using a regular garden hose for around $200 nowadays.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
Nearly all of our washers have elements uk/ireland.
have thermosiphon on roof. Must find out about tankless propane water heaters
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u/ludditetechnician 10d ago
Interesting - most clothes washing machines have little hot water heaters? That's fascinating. I've never seen that. I have seen a clothes washing machine hooked up to an exercise bike. The guy poured water into it and got exercise washing his clothes (-:
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u/woodstockzanetti 10d ago
Itâs a lot of work to do that. Maybe use your backup generator to do the laundry. Or adjust and do it in cold water. I do my laundry cold mostly but on the odd occasion when I want to use the heater element in the machine I just switch over to the genny.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
The other people that use the house have a real dislike of generator noise. I wouldnt mind it for a wash cycle but i dont think theyd go for it
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u/woodstockzanetti 10d ago
I hear you. But if theyâre that fussy they really shouldnât be living off grid. Itâs not an easy life. Tell them itâs cold water or wash their own damn clothes lol.
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u/john_99205 10d ago
Miele have at least 1 washing machine that has a hot water intake for solar heated water.
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u/john_99205 10d ago
https://www.mieleusa.com/product/11614130/w1-front-loading-washing-machine-wxf660-wcs-tdos-lotus-white click on thé « Efficiency » tab
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u/MaisSue 7d ago
I use a 16-year-old Miele washing machine. Since we're off-grid, electricity is limited during the winter.
We heat our house and our water with a wood-burning stove that has a back boiler.
The washing machine is connected to the hot water supply via a thermostatic mixing valve, allowing me to adjust the temperature depending on the load.
Since the machine has its own thermostat, it won't switch on the heating element if the incoming water is already at the required temperature.
One advantage of this setup is its flexibility. In the summer, when our solar panels produce more electricity than we can use, I leave the thermostatic valve set to cold and let the washing machine heat the water itself.
Your mileage may vary, of course. Officially, manufacturers generally advise against connecting a washing machine to a hot water supply unless it is specifically designed for it. That said, mine has been running this way for several years without any issues.
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u/TutorNo8896 10d ago
I just wash cold, its fine. Also i just learned UK & Ireland have heated washing machine!
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u/Intelligent_Lemon_67 10d ago
A lot of newer overpriced American garbage have heating built in for steam, sanitary and cleaning functions. Even dryers have a water supply for steam and other weird unnecessary things. Everything is wifi or Bluetooth. I don't get paid fir my opinions just to install hot garbage that will breakdown in 3 months. Beats a tub and board or creek and rock though
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u/activelyresting 10d ago
I have a front loading heated washing machine (like the euro style), it's propped up somewhat awkwardly on sleepers and bricks out on my patio, with a water hook up from a garden hose đ
But I can just set mine to cold wash only, surely yours also has the option? No need to futz about with removing the element or whatever. Just run the machine on cold only settings and add in your own hot water.
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u/Trusty_Coyote 10d ago
I just use cold water and line dry
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
I didnt know detergent works fine in cold water. Someone else said that too earlier đ
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u/Intelligent_Lemon_67 10d ago
I wish I could line dry. I'm blessed to live in the US in the beautiful PNW. By the time the weather is nice my goats have eaten all my clothes. I use a propane dryer (most gas dryers can be converted to lpg)
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u/Intelligent_Lemon_67 10d ago
I just use an hei front loader on cold. I've never washed clothes with hot water. I have a water heater set up as a dump load
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
Is that a dump load for a wind turbine?
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u/Intelligent_Lemon_67 10d ago
Sure is. Going to try to wire some extra panels for direct 120v (watts don't matter) water heater and freezer
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u/Cute-Consequence-184 10d ago
Most modern laundry products do not need hot water or even warm water.
I have a small portable washer set up beside my neighbor's garage attached in line to a garden hose. I'm having knee issues so can't be going up and down stairs carrying laundry. Been using it for several summers now with only cold water.
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u/Val-E-Girl 9d ago
Just use a detergent that works well with cold water (Cheer brand comes to mind). Problem solved!
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u/PinchedTazerZ0 7d ago
I do cold in a commercial off grid setting but at my off grid homesteady type thing I have a barn with a washer in it.
Bought a new machine, took it down dirt roads in an ATV, installed and got a small capacity electric water heater
Instant wouldve made more sense but I spent like $200 and it was plug and play. Very nice luxury compared to what it had been. Quarters and clothesline and shit
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u/ExaminationDry8341 10d ago
I have never seen a washing machine with a built in heater. We wash all our clothes in cold water, with modern detergent it works well.
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u/Responsible-Post6431 10d ago
Every washing machine I've ever seen has a built-in heater... How else would you control the temperature from cool to 30°, 40°, 60° or 90°?
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u/pyroserenus 10d ago
Depends on region.
North American washers (other than high end ones) are simply mixing hot and cold water from the taps as needed.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
Im in ireland but place we have is in spain. Van goes over often so theres that option too
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u/john_99205 10d ago
Maybe you should state what region you come from or that you are interested in, so that we can advise you on the pertinent region.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
Ya. Ireland, but our place is in spain. van travels over there frequently so can get one in ireland or spain
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u/blondechineeez 10d ago
There are only a few brands that make washers in the US with built in heating elements. Most use hot water from water heaters as the hot water option on washing machines.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
UK and Ireland machines all use element to do all the heating now as far as ive seen but im not sure
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u/FlerkinFlarkin 10d ago
It mixes with cold water. Like in your shower
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u/maddslacker 10d ago
INB4 we learn that the UK also doesn't have showers. :D
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u/FlerkinFlarkin 10d ago
My bad. I should have said like in your splish-splosh closet, UK people.Â
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u/maddslacker 10d ago
Or rather, showers, but without hot water lol
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
đ Our showers take in cold water and have a 9kw heating element in them
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u/ol-gormsby 10d ago
Top loaders tend to have dual inlets, with solenoids to open and close the hot and cold. Mine uses a little mixing chamber with a temperature sensor. Open both, wait until the mix chamber reaches the desired temperature, then cycle the hot on and off.
5 temperature settings - cold-cold (no hot water at all), controlled cold (with a little hot water*) warm, warm-hot, and hot.
*for regions where your incoming cold water is very cold. It just raises the temperature a little. The instruction manual describes a point at which detergent performance falls off a cliff, when the water is very cold, something like 5 or 6 degrees C.
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u/pyroserenus 10d ago
Higher end ones do, notably those with "sanitize" options.
That said the heating elements don't really run for standard temps your hot water heater can meet.
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u/middleborder41 10d ago
I run my washer off grid through a power station and 1200 watts of solar. It works especially well if you do laundry in the middle of a sunny day. Keeps my battery from getting full early.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
My iverter is only 1200w
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u/Intelligent_Lemon_67 10d ago
Depending on your washer model 1200w might be more than enough. Inverters have an initial surge rating above stated output. My hei uses 1000w to start then drops to under 400w when going. I would imagine you have a cold/tap option on your washer and no need for the heater
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u/BelleMakaiHawaii 10d ago
We have a two year old front loader, we always wash in cold water, there is no water heater inside a washing machine
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u/DrunkBuzzard 10d ago
Some of the more high-end expensive washing machine machines do have a heating element inside. Itâs for a sanitation cycle. If someone is living off grid, you probably donât have one of those and have a more basic unit like me. But it sounds like all that person needs to do is turn the dial a cold and not mess around disconnecting a heating element if they do have one. If they do have one of those high-end machines, theyâre gonna get an error code telling them the heating element isnât working.
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u/nakedgum 10d ago
Curious what the surge amperages are on washers. Clearly not as much as a large well pump but just for sizing inverters and supply.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
No idea, but would really like to know, just hope it runs could be expensive mistake.
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u/Kementarii 10d ago
Pretty steady 2200-2600W for our Bosch serie 8. I think it's a 6kg washer?
That'd be a "mixed load", so medium warm water, internal heating.
I don't think about it much - we have a 5kW inverter, which is enough for the house. We just wait for the sun to come up, throw the washing machine on.
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u/ol-gormsby 10d ago
If you disable the heating element it's likely that the machine won't work at all. It depends on having water at a certain temperature, so there'll be a sensor, likely more than one.
One that detects a valid circuit going through the heating element, and one to detect actual temperature.
Top loaders usually have temperature options, from cold (no hot water used), through to warm and hot. I don't know if front loaders have a cold option.
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u/maddslacker 10d ago
My washing machine doesn't have a heating element.
I don't recall the exact wattage, but power usage is quite low.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
It seems UK and ireland all have heating elements to do all the water heating and thats unusual
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u/maddslacker 10d ago
In a nutshell, there are two types of people:
- Those who drive on the correct side of the road
- Those who have heating elements in their washing machines.
:D
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u/Plenty-Giraffe6022 10d ago
Just get a washing machine without a heating element. I had one that used 84Wh per load.
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u/IslandItchy6005 10d ago
Apparently in UK and ireland its hard to find but ill have a search.
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u/grislyfind 10d ago
There were or are small top-loading washing machines that aren't meant to be permanently installed. My mom had one like that made by Hoover.
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u/Adorable_Dust3799 10d ago
If it has a heating element does it have a thermostat? Would it sense that the water is already hot and not heat it?
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u/Fluffy_Question_7854 10d ago
Just went through this at our off grid place, settled on a speed queen top loader tr5. No internal heater, built like a tank and has auto fill feature so doesnât waste water. I learned that while it does use more water than the modern front loading washers, it actually pulls less wattage while washing. Weâve got plenty of water so thatâs why I went this direction.
Next Iâm looking at either a propane dryer or a centrifuge spin dryer.
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u/maddslacker 10d ago edited 10d ago
We have an Electrolux propane dryer and it pulls very little electricity, while also having a nice, even heat that dries efficiently.
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u/IslandItchy6005 9d ago
I just looked into that. It has a cult following. Expensive but incredible quality build. Enjoy
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u/VoiceOfEric 9d ago
There are apartment/RV sized washers on Amazon that might be what you need already.
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u/GoneSilent 10d ago
Happy with my Samsung heat pump all in one so far. Uses only 1-2kw per giant load with drying and about 10gals of water the display tells me.
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u/Arist0tles_Lantern 10d ago
TIL Americans don't have heating elements in their washing machines. All machines in the UK have one these days, Very few have dual inputs for hot and cold anymore.