Samsung Ecobubble - cold water filling up drum on drying cycle

[readvsk]

I recently had an issue where my Saumsung Ecobubble (WD80J6410AX) was slowly filling up with water when turned off so I replaced the inlet valve with a new one from Aliexpress - see pic of the old one below. The model number is DC62-00214N.

This fixed the issue however I now have a new one - 10 mins into the drying cycle it continuously lets water into the ducting and toward the condenser so the clothes get soaked in the drum. The washing machine intermittently pumps water away and cannot keep up with new cold water coming in which is presumably to cool the condenser.

I'm not sure if the valve is to blame or if there is now a new problem. Does anyone know if the water flow to cool the condenser should be constant? I have no way to see what the old valve did as I stupidly threw it away - it seems that once the cold water flow starts it doesn't turn off. I'm assuming the intermittent pumping of water into the drain is normal as it would pump the cold water away when it becomes too hot and isn't effective at cooling the condenser although maybe this is also part of the problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ed

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello Ed. I have an article on this problem here which explains the possible causes of washing machine filling up slowly with water when turned off - Why does my washing machine fill with water when switched off?

But having said that, if it is no longer filling when the washing machine is not running, and only causing a problem during the wash cycle my first suspect would be has it been replaced 100% correctly? In other words all the hoses and wires fitted back in the correct position? I'm just wondering if wires got mixed up it could be energising the wrong water solenoid?

Again, having said that, it might be unlikely that this would happen as all of the hoses and wires are likely to be such that it is difficult to put them in the wrong position. It's definitely possible of course.

It sounds from your description like maybe water is running into the condensing chamber, which should only ever happen when the dryer is running. Try putting the washing machine on a drying cycle and observe if any water runs into the soap dispenser drawer. If by any chance the valves are mixed up then water may run into the drawer instead of into the condenser chamber.

[readvsk]

Thanks @Whitegoodshelp (Andy) for the response

Yep, the issue is only with the drying cycle, I've checked the wiring of the inlet valve using a picture from the old installation and all matches up.

To clarify once the drying stage starts about 5 to 10 mins in water starts pumping into the condenser and doesn't stop. The pump only seems to kick in intermittently (maybe every 20 secs) so the water I guess is overfilling the condenser and ending up in the drum causing the clothes (that were dry) to get soaked. I'm wondering if either this constant cold water flow to the condenser isn't right or perhaps the pump should also be pumping constantly?

I've attached an image showing where the water is pumped into the condenser.

Thanks again

Ed

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi. Water does normally run into the condenser chamber none stop. However, there should be a flow restrictor in the section of the valve that supplies the condenser that restricts water flow to a mere trickle. 
 

The purpose of this water flow is so that the steam generated from drying hits this trickle of cold water and condenses into water. 

[readvsk]

@Whitegoodshelp (Andy) that's interesting - I'd say the water flowing out into the ducting is quite fast.

Where would I check? Does it sit between the host and inlet valve or is it the component pictured?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Have you still got the old valve?

[readvsk]

Unfortunately not, I stupidly threw it away after doing a quick test of the machine. If i'd left the dry cycle going a bit longer I would have noticed the problem.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I would expect the flow restrictor to be inside the valve, at the base of the plastic spout where the internal hose connects to it. 
 

If it wasn’t inside the valve then it makes no sense for it to have disappeared. 
 

That’s why I was angling about the misconnection theory. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

There is usually a flow restrictor in the main part of the water valve behind the filter. Did the new valve come with a filter or did you have to swap it over?

[readvsk]

I can't remember, I think it may have had one included - I just opened it up though and checked - there is a filter at the inlet (see pic)

I also opened the white component from the last picture which has some rubber bearing in the middle and looked like a flow regulator - I couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Finally here is a video of the water flowing into the ducting - does it look abnormal?

Thanks
Ed

 

 

 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

If it came with a filter, the flow restrictor behind it will be there too. The water flow is arguably a trickle. It’s certainly not full flow.
 

I would look into if there’s a partial blockage inside the condenser chamber, especially at the bottom where it runs into the drum. This water should be being pumped out when the pump activates. 
 

Also check the pump filter though if the pump was generally blocked I’d expect it to affect the main wash cycle too. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Also it might be worth checking out this article in case it helps laundry coming out of dryer cycle still wetones are coming out of drying cycle still wet

[readvsk]

So I took the machine apart and did manage to remove a good bit of gunk from some of the outflow nozzles near the pump however it doesn't seem to have changed anything.

I reckon it has to be the flow of water coming into the condenser is too fast. The pump seems to be on a timer and the water is overflowing into the drum as the pump timer doesn't come on in time to drain it. If I restrict the water supply at the wall during the drying cycle it works perfectly (better than before as I've cleaned everything).

I had a look at the inlet for the valve and pulled this filter and flow restrictor out (shown in pic). The restrictor does look different to what I can see in this youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70yfG8xezbc (looks a bit like there are 2 filters) so I don't know if the water entering the machine generally needs to be more restricted.

I'm also considering restricting the hose supplying the condenser with some zip ties or something else. Would this be a bad idea? Are there any devices I can buy to do the job? Perhaps something with an adjustable tap.

Thanks

Edited May 11 by readvsk

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

You could experiment with restricting the flow through the specific hose, though I would be careful about restricting it so much that it causes a build-up of pressure, which could potentially start a leak.

The flow restrictor in your photo is in every single washing machine cold water valve. In the past, I've often removed the black rubber when people had very low water pressure, which was so low it was preventing the washing machine operating properly. Though clearly that's not the issue in your case.

I think it is fairly safe to say that this problem of the water running into the condenser chamber too fast is directly caused by the new water valve. It only started after it was fitted.

If the new water valve is not a genuine Samsung spare part, which I'm presuming it isn't, then I would suggest the only proper fix is to replace the valve with a genuine Samsung one. The flow restrictor that cuts down the flow of water to the condenser chamber (and not for any of the other valves) should be inside the water valve. This is why my original enquiries were about double-checking that you had not got the hoses mixed up.

 

 

 

[readvsk]

Hello Andy

I found a used original inlet valve and it is now working perfectly, so it's definitely the Chinese part, it turns out the video of water flowing into the condenser above is a torrent compared to what it should be - now it's hardly visible.

Out of interest I had a look at the filters on the original part and it seems to have 2 as well as another part I couldn't remove (see pics) so possibly that contributes to the issue or the valve leading to the condenser is just completely broken. The Chinese part is the correct number etc and looks identical in every other way however I guess the quality control is lacking which is why I received a dud.

Thanks for all your help above, the machine has had quite a lot of crap cleaned out at the bottom too in the process so should be running better than ever now.