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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

#161

Post by DiThi »

21 wrote: post #57
DiThi wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

A block of concrete is cheap and zero maintanance. And the machine typically is carried only twice in it's lifetime. A water reservoir needs some way of filling, thus extra work for the buyer (typical ad: our washing machine doesn't need filling as those clunky reservoir ones!!!), maybe requires some maintenance. If you leave water in it for years it will rot, so probably you also need to put some disinfectants in. S…

> thus extra work for the buyer

The soap water inlet can be a flexible tube that one can put inside the reservoir, then push a button and the exact amount of water is added (or some more and have it overflow to the drum).

> maybe requires some maintenance

Not if done correctly. And if it wasn't done correctly it seems easy to fix.

> so probably you also need to put some disinfectants in

They can just come with a bleach tablet inside.

Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin

#162

Post by PatentTroll »

dingaling wrote: post #79
amelius wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been telling this for years every time I helped people move. The thought of patenting it crossed my mind, but I always assumed this would be "too simple" an invention, that companies probably already had figured out, but couldn't use because of some patent troll or something like that. Also, as a student, I didn't have the money for a patent application.

> Also, as a student, I didn't have the money for a patent application. That's the big probem for individuals. Patenting as an individual is expensive and as a friend learned the big companies can just sit-tight until the renewal fees become too much to bear. He had designed a self-assembly glassfibre astronomical observatory on the Buckmeister principle, with a wide-opening orifice using petal segments, and toured t…

Why didn't he make it himself?

Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin

#163

Post by PatentTroll »

joezydeco wrote: post #88
chr4004 wrote: post #63

Having a "dead weight" has it's advantages - passive, no bacteria, mold, flex, resistant to shock etc. Pretty sure billion dollar companies like Siemens have thought this through and came to the conclusion that concrete is best. The negative externality of a disappointed customer seems to be larger (medium term) than the damage being done by producing the concrete.

Manufacturers really don't care too much about shipping costs (and the secondary CO2 burden) once the machine leaves their loading dock. Their concern is to make the machine as cheaply as possible for the features involved and maximize the margin.

This. The problem is that the costs of transportation are externalized to a shipper, and the environmental costs the shipper incurs are externalized to ... future generations? And the cost of the eventual replacement is externalized to the consumer ten years from now. It may be wise for us as a society to find ways to fully account for all costs of products to use market forces to make better decisions for society as a whole, rather than enriching a segment at the expense of another.

Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin

#164

Post by londons_explore »

I'm going to guess this will go nowhere.

There is the human time to take the cover off and fill two massive water tanks, the cost of having plugs and caps for said tanks, the risk that they leak, the risk that they don't get filled and the machine vibrates to pieces, the fatigue risk (try designing a thin plastic tank to take >200 lbs of vibrational force), the risk of a new and unproven design, etc.

All of that only saves a few cents of extra gas for shipping the machines. Probably not worth it.

Probably the plastic tank cost is more expensive to manufacture than blocks of concrete anyway. Concrete is damn cheap.

Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin

#165

Post by EADGBE »

jjeaff wrote: post #154
KGIII wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A bit less than ten years ago, I had my home built and purchased nothing but high-end industrial appliances. I admit, this was costly and I made similar viewpoint purchases for the rest of the house. So far, I've not had to have anything repaired - at all. I haven't even had to change an appliance lightbulb. I just keep the consumables replaced on schedule. Initially, it was quite expensive. I do think it may be chea…

Do cheap appliances really have longevity problems though? My place is going on 22 years old with the same gas oven/stove top, built in microwave, and standing washer dryer combo. No repairs needed that I know of and even if they did, they are all standard, whirlpool type appliance with an abundance of cheap parts online. Even the fridge was going strong until we had an internal water leak a few years ago which was e…

It's always a gamble, but I feel like your appliances probably fall in the threshold of manufacturers giving a damn about longevity.

Our 32-year-old home, with original washer/dryer, dishwasher, fridge, and oven were only recently renovated mostly because of aesthetics - not operation. Of those appliances, the dishwasher was the only real dud the last year.

Re: Concrete-free washing machines are lighter to transport, just as good in a spin

#166

Post by avar »

Why not force companies to standardize the size and shape of the concrete counterweight, and mandate that it must be easily removable and you can't sell them bundled with the machines themselves?

Then you could simply remove it for transport, and it many cases reuse the one from your old machine, or buy a really cheap second-hand counterweight from your local hardware store.

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