How to connect up new washing machine?

[vsparkes]

Hi there, I hope somone can help.

I bought a siemens washing machine heavily discounted in the john lewis clearance on boxing day.

Now its arrived, I can't work out how to plumb it in! It is a cold water fill only, and has an aquafill fitting. The manual says that it should be fitted to a cold water tap facing downwards, or at most at a 90 degree angle. However, my taps are standard and face upwards!

Is this a pretty easy thing to fix? Is there an adaptor, or can I just plumb it in as it is?

Thanks so much for any advice. I'm a single parent, so if its easy to fix without the cost of a plumber I'd really appreciate the help.

[uumode]

Have a look at the thread I started off - I have a photo of the 'standard' fixings

Andy the admin, has added a very comprehensive reply with some further links that might be of help regarding installation.

http://www.washerhelp.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=295

[vsparkes]

Hi there and thanks for your reply.

I'm a little confused - I did read your post and the plumbing in guides before posting but thought andy's reply related to turning the taps on ie moving the plastic handle by 90 degrees. I need to know how I can change the angle of the cold water fill tap so it either faces downwards or 90 degrees to be compatible with my new siemens washing machine.

Can I just bend the tap by 90 degrees then? Or is there an adaptor I can use easily?

Or maybe someone has one of these siemens and knows that you can plumb it in fine even with the tap facing upwards, despite what the manual says?

Any advice is more than welcome!

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Its strange this, because Ive just purchased and installed a new Siemens dishwasher for Mrs. Washerhelp, and there was no mention of the aqua-stop hose having to be connected in a specific way. But, the diagram does show the aqua-stop hose connected to a tap where the tap spout is facing down.

Bending the plumbing is definitely a no-no. To get the taps to point down or 90 degrees to one side youd need the plumbing altering. That would be the best method.

Alternatively, if you could buy short, flexible (metal) extension hose from somewhere like B&Q or a plumbers merchant you may be able to get round it. The short hoses are braided with metal and similar to the hose on a shower. They can be bent without kinking and would screw onto your existing tap, the aqua-stop hose would screw onto the other end. I dont honestly know if they make any that would fit washing machine taps but Ive used them to connect my sink taps to the plumbing. So if they also do some with larger (3 quarter inch) threads for washer taps they might be ideal.

Finally, another method would be to buy another cold washing machine hose, and use a hose extension connector to attach the anti flood hose, which could then be positioned facing down.

The new cold fill hose would connect to your tap as normal, and the connector screws into the other end. Then you could screw the new aqua-stop hose to the connector and you could then position the hose so that the aqua-valve was pointing either down, or 90 degrees to one side. If using this method though, you need to buy as small a hose as possible otherwise the total fill hose length would be way too long and could cause problems with kinking. Another thing to watch for would be leaks from all the separate connections. Don't overtighten any hose connections as this can cause leaks by cutting the rubber seal (tips on connecting up a washing machine).

I also have an article specifically about aqua stop hoses

[uumode]

You can get flexible adaptors - they look like steel briaded pipes, about 6-8 inches long from DIY stores.

I was looking for one for my dishwasher, but dispite looking similar they are the wrong size for dishwashers.
In the end I bought a right angle adapter, and I think I recall seeing these for washing machines too.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks for that contribution, I wasn't positive that they did them with 3/4 inch threads. I recently used some smaller ones for plumbing my sink taps to the pipework and they were great.

[vsparkes]

Thanks for the advice.

I'll be able to make it to a plumber's merchant on saturday so will post an update next week to let you know if my washing machine is (finally) up and running!

Thanks once again.

[uumode]

...I also mention the flexible braided extension hoses but I wasn't positive that they did them with 3/4 inch threads. I recently used some smaller ones for plumbing my sink taps to the pipework and they were great.

oh yeah, they sure do

I was getting pretty hacked off at the DIY stores I went to did it for the washing machine fitting, but NOT the dishwasher when I had the same problem plumbing my dishwasher in.

My 'cheap' LG washing machine would have plumbed in fine, but it had a Water Protection System 'block' on the end of the hose which got in the way. To my surprise this is only available on very expensive Miele washing machines.

[vsparkes]

Hi there and thanks once again for the advice.

Well, what a week! After a visit to three diy stores and two plumbers merchants, managed to get a metal extension hose, with 3/4 fitting on one side, and a larger fitting on the other, with an adaptor to get it to the right size. Great news!

However, having screwed it in well by hand and used some of that white sealing tape, the fitting is leaking ever so slightly.

Have tried tightening it further, but water is definitely forming, and on both sides of the fitting. Can still use the machine, just have to have a bucket under one side and a towel around the other, and turn the tap off when not in use - so not ideal, will need fixing soon.

Is it time to call in the professionals, or is there any advice on what may be able to do myself to fix this problem?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Did you make sure there were rubber seals inside the caps at both ends? With those type of hose extensions the rubber seals often just sit inside and can easily fall out prior to fitting. Without them even a plumber wont get it to seal. Otherwise they may need tweeking up just a little bit more with a pair of pipe pliers but overtightening can cut into the rubber seal and cause it to leak.

[vsparkes]

Finally, I can post to say the problem is sorted out!

I did need a plumber to come around, he thought that the setup was great, and just tightened the fittings with a plumber's spanner. He made the recommendation that handtight is best for plastic fittings, whilst for metal fittings tool tight is best. Not sure how true that is but - voila! The leaks have stopped. (Luckily he didn't charge me much to sort it out either, there are some lovely people in the world!)

Thanks for all your help and happy washerhelp forum-ing!

V

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Great news. Luckily there are some decent tradesmen out there who won't charge too much for a simple job like that. I always advise hand tight followed by a tweak up with pipe pliers of about a couple of millimetres, but the exact method and level of tightening is something learned over many years of trial and error with various fittings. The problem is that one person's "hand tight" can be a lot less tight than someone else's. The safest method with any plumbing connection (including compression joints) is to nip them up fairly but not overly tight, then, after monitoring for a while, if there are any leaks, tweak up a little bit at a time until they stop. Then, keep an eye on the connections (if practical) for at least a few hours and preferably over the next few days.

The principle should be the same for plastic or metal, but the difference he refers to is that plastic fittings can easily crack or break, so you shouldn't use a tool (unless you know exactly what you are doing). I personally always use pipe pliers on plastic fittings but I know exactly how much pressure they can take ('cause I've broken a few in the past ).

[simonhgreen]

Hi there and thanks once again for the advice.

Well, what a week! After a visit to three diy stores and two plumbers merchants, managed to get a metal extension hose, with 3/4 fitting on one side, and a larger fitting on the other, with an adaptor to get it to the right size. Great news!

However, having screwed it in well by hand and used some of that white sealing tape, the fitting is leaking ever so slightly.

Have tried tightening it further, but water is definitely forming, and on both sides of the fitting. Can still use the machine, just have to have a bucket under one side and a towel around the other, and turn the tap off when not in use - so not ideal, will need fixing soon.

Is it time to call in the professionals, or is there any advice on what may be able to do myself to fix this problem?

Hi

I have just had a Siemens delivered and have a similar problem.

I would be interested if any experts can confirm what I have done will be OK (it seems to be working OK at the moment);

I bought a new water inlet hose which I connected to the pipe.

I also bought a straight 3/4" plastic hose connector, with the hose going in one side and the aqua-stop block in the other.

I put the hose behind the machine hanging over the outlet bracket so the aqua-stop block was hanging down as suggested in the manual.

Is there anything I need to be wary of regarding the fittings?

Any comments gratefully received.

Thanks

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Sounds OK to me Simon.

[simonhgreen]

Sounds OK to me Simon.

Thanks for the feedback, I'll stop checking the fittings every two hours now!

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

For a full article about various aspects of aqua stop fill hoses and can you replace them with a normal hose see my blog article here - http://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/aqua-stop-hoses/