Aeg L16830 Or Zanussi Zwd16581w ?

[mathew]

Hi all,

I'm thinking about buying a washer dryer for my apartment and am looking at the AEG L16830 or Zanussi ZWD16581W. Both are very similarly priced and have 7kg drum which should allow a reasonable quantity of drying per load.

The Zanussi is quieter which is reasonably important as my apartment has an open plan kitchen/lounge. The cupboard with the hot water tank (which sits on a frame with space underneath and plumbing for a washer) is next to the kitchen bench top.

I'm a bit disappointed about only getting 12-months warranty with the AEG or Zanussi as they are both reasonably expensive machines. I could save my money and get a cheap one but then the amount I can dry would be very limited.

Not sure I fancy hanging clothes up all around the apartment, hence the choice of a washer dryer.

Thank you for any help/advice you can offer.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

The AEG should be the better washer dryer because although both are made by the same company (the Electrolux group) AEG are supposed to be the more upmarket version. In reality I don't think there is a significant difference but AEG are definitely the more expensive brand and probably at least have more features if nothing else.

Unfortunately, at the moment, both these brands are not scoring very highly with Which? In regards to rinsing efficiency although the AEG is otherwise rated quite highly by them. In fairness, the majority of modern washing machines seem to fall short of the Which? rinsing tests, which I put down to a side effect of making washing machines use less and less water.

You say they are both, "reasonably expensive", and I know what you mean but in the great scheme of things the truth is that they are actually both reasonably cheap. These are low to mid-priced washing machines and bearing in mind they are washer dryers with 7 kg capacity drums they are actually pretty cheap. There are other washer dryers available with smaller drum capacity at twice the price.

A large 7 kg drum on a washer dryer should be quite useful as it increases the drying capacity which is commonly around half of the wash capacity. You could consider a higher quality washer dryer with a smaller drum capacity and a longer a guarantee but it would be more expensive even though the drum is smaller. Overall these are probably as good as it gets for the price range and drum size at the moment.

[mathew]

Thanks for your help!!

The John Lewis 2 year warranty on any washer is quite valuable...

The 7kg drum John Lewis washer dryer also looks good with its 3 year warranty but the spec is a bit dated in terms of energy efficiency and a couple of other things (I forget, I looked earlier on..)

Hmmmm!!!

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

The John Lewis JLWD1408 Washer Dryer has a 3 year guarantee. It is made for John Lewis by Zanussi so there's not much difference. However, the JL versions usually have a few extra programs and are often a little better at energy efficiency than the Zanussi model they are based on - plus they have the extra long 3 year guarantee which is great. As you say, if Zanussi have brought another model out recently it may be they've improved slightly on things like energy efficiency although I doubt it's significant.

At the end of the day there isn't a perfect washing machine when you are shopping on a budget or are only prepared to spend so much. Some compromises almost always have to be made.

[mathew]

Thanks for your help.

I have ordered the AEG from John Lewis. It was £20 cheaper than the JL model, has 1600 rpm spin (instead of 1400), is slightly more energy efficient, and spin performance A instead of B. As we've both said above, the JL has longer warranty and is likely flagging a tiny bit in spec 'cos it's possibly a little older and they are always tagging new features on.