Aquastop dishwasher hose - check and replace

Aquastop system or Aquastop hose - these phrases can often be heard in a household appliance store in relation to a dishwasher or washing machine. But what these phrases mean is not completely understood even by sellers of dishwashers who, for the sake of a red word, insert harmonious expressions into their eulogy. In the framework of this article, we decided to talk about hoses with the Aquastop system, discuss why such hoses are needed, how they are arranged and how to install, replace or check them.

What is Aquastop and what are its functions?

Hose Aquastop for a dishwasher is a regular hose, enclosed in a protective casing and equipped with a special device that blocks the water entering the dishwasher during an accident. The system works if a hose leaks or ruptures, protecting your home and the neighbors' home from below from inevitable flooding.

Note! The pressure in the water supply system is quite large and water hammer often happens, without a system that protects the hose just can not do.

Modern dishwashers, for the most part, are completely protected from leaks. Manufacturers put Aquastop inlet hose on them, and with it provide the machine body with a special pan with an electromechanical device. The device works as follows:

• leakage occurs inside the dishwasher;
• the pan begins to fill with water;
• the float inside the dishwasher tray pops up, raising the lever;
• the lever closes the electric circuit, the electric valve is activated and blocks the water.

It turns out that the hose is protected by the external Aquastop system, and the inside of the Aquastop system protects the dishwasher from the inside. Experts note that the Aquastop system of electromechanical and absorbent type protects the dishwasher and washing machine by 99%, only in 8 cases out of 1000 the system does not work properly, and leakage still occurs. Aquastop mechanical valves have worse statistics, out of 1000 cases of operation of 147 leaks, approximately 85% of success is obtained. Let's talk about the varieties of Aquastop systems for inlet hoses and their device in more detail.

How does this system work?

You have already guessed that the Aquastop system protecting the dishwasher hose can have different designs. It is on the dishwashers that manufacturers install:

1. simple mechanical Aquastop;
2. absorbent mechanical Aquastop;
3. electromagnetic Aquastop.

The simple mechanical Aquastop hose is now less common, but it can still be found on some budget Bosch dishwashers. The system is based on a special spring and valve. The spring is designed for a specific water pressure and if the pressure does not change, then the hose works as usual. If hose damage, rush or water hammer occurs, the water pressure changes dramatically and in the same second the spring is activated, tightly plugging the valve.

Important! A mechanical Aquastop for a dishwasher does not recognize small leaks (fistulas, digging), but meanwhile they can also do a lot of trouble.

The simple mechanical valve Aquastop is not able to completely protect the machine hose from leakingbut what about the rest. Absorbent mechanical Aquastop is more reliable. The mechanism is based on a plunger with a valve, a spring and a special absorbent in the tank. The system works like this:

• if there is at least minimal leakage, then moisture from the hose enters the protective casing;
• the absorbent quickly gets wet and expands;
• this triggers a spring with a plunger and closes the valve.

The main disadvantage of absorbent Aquastop is that its protective valve is disposable. As soon as the absorbent inside the housing gets wet and expands, it hardens and closes the valve and you cannot reuse it, as well as the entire hose.

Note! In the world there are mechanisms of absorbent Aquastops with only a plunger or only with a spring, but this is a subtlety.

The electromagnetic system Aquastop Bosch is based on the principle of operation of the electromagnetic valve. In the housing of the device at the base of the hose, either one valve or two is installed. As soon as water enters the protective cover of the hose, it begins to drain into the drip pan of the Bosch machine, and there is an electromechanical device (the principle of operation is described in paragraph 1). The appliance works and completely shuts off the water entering the Bosch (or other) dishwasher.

How to install / replace with your own hands?

Now let's figure out how to check if the Aquastop hose has worked or not. Well, firstly, the most important sign that the hose still worked is that the dishwasher “doesn’t want to” pump water into any one, it simply cannot do it. Secondly, the Bosch dishwasher will generate a system error. Error code E15 for a Bosch dishwasher it just means that the Aquastop system worked, it is worth decrypting it, and everything will immediately become clear.

But it so happens that the Bosch dishwasher did not give an error code, and water still does not enter the dishwasher. What to do?

1. Need to shut off the water.
2. Unscrew the Aquastop hose.
3. Look inside the hose, immediately after the nut the valve should be visible.
4. If the valve is tightly pressed to the nut and there is no gap between it and the rib, then water will not pass through such a hose - Aquastop has worked.

Further, you can additionally verify the operation of the Aquastop of the Bosch dishwasher. It is necessary to unscrew the lower front plate of the dishwasher and look into the tray with a flashlight. If there is water there, then the protection has definitely worked and the hose needs to be replaced with a new one.

Remember! The simple mechanical Aquastop does not need to be changed, just squeeze the spring again until it clicks and it can be operated again.

Installing / replacing the Aquastop hose is nothing complicated. It is enough to shut off the water, unscrew the old hose, and screw a new one in its place. If we are talking about an electromagnetic system, then here you will have to connect the wiring with a plug to the leak detection sensor. This is not difficult, because the wiring goes straight from the base of the Aquastop device and the inlet is at the filler valve outside the Bosch dishwasher.

In conclusion, we note the hose equipped with the Aquastop system is designed to protect your dishwasher and you from the troubles associated with flooding. The system works quite efficiently, so experts advise everyone to install it. Checking and installing the system is not difficult, even a person who does not have any technical knowledge can do this, all the work will take 10-15 minutes. Good luck