umm...what are these pipes for?

[Phill D]

Hope someone can help me.

I've moved my washing machine outside. I thought I could run it off a cold supply only, unfortunatley it seems I need a hot supply as well.

The only access to hot water from where its standing is from 3 22mm copper pipes that goto the glowworm boiler.

I'm guessing one of the pipes is gas, as its cold.
The top pipe is black hot water, so that must be the radiators (how do I know? I cut it!)
So that leaves the middle pipe. So I need to know, will that pipe be fresh hot water?

 

[Bahco]

2 pipes will be flow and return , the other gas.
Trace your sink and bath hot supplys and see if you can tee off to supply your washer.
You could buy another washer that is cold feed only or relocate your washer.

 

[Phill D]

I see. So both of those 22mm pipes will have black water in them I take it?

T'ing off the bathroom would be my 'desperate' option. as it would be a fair sized job (for me, I'm far from being a plumber)

If I could only tap into one of the 22mm It would save me a lot of trouble.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

No No no, leave your boiler pipes alone, how old is your machine, normally you fit a Y peice so that the hot and cold connections on the machine get cold water and the machine heats the water itself.

 

[blahblah]

Wash whiter with new 'Magnetite'!
PVM- you have got a heart after all.

 

[CH4]

Phill D,
Unless the hot water pipework to the washing machine is short, then there's little point in providing a hot supply (the washing machine will have filled before the cold water in the pipework has run off).

So, just connect both hoses to the cold supply as PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN suggests - using either two washing machine valves or one valve and a ¾ BSP Y piece (which is made specifically for this purpose):

Even when a washing machine is cold filled, the cost of the electricity used per wash is, typically, under 6p. This is insignificant when compared to the cost of the washing powder and fabric conditioner: between 20p (soft water area, light soil) and 35p (hard water area, heavy soil). For this reason, high efficiency washing machines only have a cold fill and seal the drainpipe during filling (to avoid wasting powder).

 

[Bahco]

Why would you need both hoses connected to the cold water supply .
Surely one cold supply would suffice if the machine is to heat the water itself.
I can see the need for the hot inlet to be capped if only the cold inlet is to be used.
Please enlighten me

 

[ChrisR]

On some cycles the machine only opens the hot inlet, so it would die of thirst.

 

[Bahco]

Cheers Chris
Top guy

 

[CH4]

Also, it is usual for dual-fill washing machines to feed the pre-wash powder tray from the cold supply and the main-wash tray from the hot supply.

 

[kevplumb]

if you use a y peice both hoses are connected to the cold supply so it dont really matter which valve opens it just gets the cold feed to both and heats it up itself

 

[Phill D]

You guys have helped immensely. I'll get the Y-piece and I'm confident that this will work great.
Many thanks