Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
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Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#2This seems to be such an incredible innovation, the questions arise : is it really feasible and why has it not happened before?
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#3This seems to be such an incredible innovation, the questions arise : is it really feasible and why has it not happened before?
it's one of those ideas that seems so obvious and sensible in retrospect it makes you wonder how many other stupid designs are hidden in plain view, and why did this problem not get solved until 2017, when there are robots on Mars and probes orbiting Jupiter and Saturn ?
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#4This seems to be such an incredible innovation, the questions arise : is it really feasible and why has it not happened before?
it's one of those ideas that seems so obvious and sensible in retrospect it makes you wonder how many other stupid designs are hidden in plain view, and why did this problem not get solved until 2017, when there are robots on Mars and probes orbiting Jupiter and Saturn ?
I got this idea long ago but I couldn't think of a way of using this idea. Then I thought it was obvious and that it was not implemented for some non obvious reason I didn't know.
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#5For those on the lazy web like me; the answer is fill a hollow plastic counter weight with water when the machine is installed rather than lug great slabs of concrete round the world.
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#6This seems to be such an incredible innovation, the questions arise : is it really feasible and why has it not happened before?
Because it wasn't a priority. Plastic is more expensive than concrete. It's only now that "look how green we are" is able to tip the balance to where it's worth implementing.
If someone really wanted they could come up with a more complicated counterbalance solution and probably eliminate the dead weight entirely.
I really want to see how they came up with their numbers. I suspect that they're overly optimistic. +/-100lb isn't going to matter for fuel consumption in the last mile and the CO2 cost of picking up and replacing one that failed under warranty would likely negate many hundreds of machines worth of reduced fuel consumption before the last mile.
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#7Newer washing machines have less concrete in them that before - My guess would be that in the past the water tank would have been to large to actually fit the machine.
I also wonder how the plastic will stand up to the vibrations. You might get leaks because the plastic will flex and eventually rupture from stress.
The reason why newer machines have less counterweight is that the motors are electronically regulated these days. That means you can partly dampen vibrations with the motor instead of with weights.
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#8For those on the lazy web like me; the answer is fill a hollow plastic counter weight with water when the machine is installed rather than lug great slabs of concrete round the world.
That's like a huge "duh, why didn't they do that" sort of thing. Wow. Theoretically, they could probably make all of the free space in the washer part of a giant tupperware style container and allow filling of different compartments to precisely balance the machine.
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#9I find innovations like this wonderfully elegant when they're so obvious in hindsight. It boggles the mind nobody thought of this before. There must be other problems with radically better obvious-in-hindsight solutions out there too.
Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin
#10This seems to be such an incredible innovation, the questions arise : is it really feasible and why has it not happened before?
it's one of those ideas that seems so obvious and sensible in retrospect it makes you wonder how many other stupid designs are hidden in plain view, and why did this problem not get solved until 2017, when there are robots on Mars and probes orbiting Jupiter and Saturn ?
I'm already trying hard not to fall into full alankayism [1] and this only reinforces my view.
Jobs said that many people in companies are clueless...
[1] for people that never watched his talk where he demonstrates how pretty old and forgotten software can be, enjoy this fully https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2LZLYcu_JY