solar powered washing machine

[tinacarolan]

hi
anyone know where you could get a dc washing machine ,we run are whole farm off solar panels charging into electric batteries this is us if you like to go in and see (link deleted by admin)
be great if anyone knew

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[MKG]

Whoops.
Mike

[MKG]

Big problem. I know of no manufactured model. You can simply substitute a DC motor for the AC one, but you'd still be left with the problem of powering the control circuitry.

The easiest way by far is to power a normal mains machine via an inverter.

Mike

[battybird]

As said in previous post, a twin tub is less wattage so used with an inverter is possible on a DC system without the heavy usage of a normal automatic. Unless of course you can sort heating the water as this is what uses the juice!

[southeast-isher]

You could try asking over at the NaviTron forum - lots of smart cookies there on this kind of subject. Good luck.

http://www.navitron.org.uk/forum/

[happyhippy]

I've spent most of my life living in Australia,and most people wash clothes in cold water.Infact I had my washing machine plumbed into the rain water tank! Alot of people around the world wash clothes in rivers!!!

[greenorelse]

We run a hose from the kitchen tap to the tray of the washing machine and use our solar-heated water in it that way. Simple. The hose is about two foot long as the machine is next to the sink. When I think there's enough water in there, I start the machine. It thinks for a bit and then starts washing!

As for worries about bed bugs, you can still use solar-heated water and a very hot wash programme - the machine starts with much higher temperature water than from the cold tap, meaning far less electricity used.

[the.fee.fairy]

I've got a cold was only machine here and it seems to do the job. When i wash bedding/underwear/towels i throw in half a cap of dettol. Luckily, i like the smell of dettol :)

I've never had a problem with the cleanliness of my clothes (whites go grey after a while), or with bugs.

However...with a cold wash only machine my clothes do seem to grow...I swear my cardigan now thinks i've got 3ft arms! A hot wash would shrink the clothes back to normal size, but until I find a bit of pipe to use, it's cold wash only.