Direct-drive and conventional washing machines - what's the difference?

Direct drive washing machines have significant differences from belt driven machines. They have no belt and pulley. They are replaced by a special coupling. The number of revolutions of the electric motor is controlled by the inverter. This system allows you to determine the severity of the laundry. And by taking this factor into account, you can increase or decrease the power of the engine when it is needed. This approach provides better washing and energy saving.

The first direct drive washing machines appeared on sale in the 91st year of the last century. They use a special coupling, which is mounted on an electric motor. In cases where such a clutch becomes unusable, water leakage occurs. The number of spare parts in this type of machine is slightly less than in conventional ones. From the washing part and the squeezing of the laundry occurs due to the control of the engine.

What are the benefits of a direct drive washing machine?

Their design is somewhat simpler than the design of machines with a pulley and belt. The rotating drum is directly docked to the electric motor. What do such changes give?

1. No need to worry about the safety of the drive belt. In ordinary cars, it periodically wears out, which entails a breakdown and the need for replacement. It is simply not used in this machine, because the engine spins the tank directly.
2. The rotation of the engine is regulated using a special inverter. Using it, the weight of the laundry is also determined. Due to the data on what kind of load this or that weight gives, the machine controls the number of revolutions and the power of the electric motor. This saves on electricity.
3. Most standard washing machines are inferior to direct driven machines in balancing. Therefore, they are noisier and vibrate more.
4. In addition, items that are washed in such washing units are not so susceptible to damage.

How good is direct drive?

The very idea of ​​creating and using direct drive cars is not new. A large number of different electrical appliances also have a similar drive. In terms of washing machines, the first manufacturer to launch mass production of this type of household appliance is LG. Perhaps you also recall the commercial of this company, which states that all engines of such washing machines are given a 10-year guarantee. And such a long period of normal engine operation was explained precisely by direct drive.

Perhaps you, like many other consumers, have already developed “immunity” to various promises that we can all see in television and other advertising. And this is understandable. After all, the main purpose of the commercial is to interest the potential buyer so that he acquires the product. Therefore, we propose to discuss in more detail the question of how good the direct drive of the machine is and what it gives us.

As already mentioned One of the significant differences between the direct drive washing machine is its low vibration and low noise. This is due to the fact that the design does not have a drive belt or a pulley. However, with such a device of the machine there is no place for an additional reference point, which exists with a standard design. This means that the static load on the bearing assembly increases. And therefore, they should wear out faster. Also in the usual design of the machine there is a depreciation effect. It is achieved by using a drive belt if the items to be washed are not evenly positioned.

There is also some negative opportunity.If the axis of the electric motor and the drum of the washing machine are located on the same shaft, then moisture can penetrate into the electric motor when the gland is worn. And this, in turn, should cause a very serious malfunction. We hope that companies producing such cars have minimized this risk.

There is also an opinion that the control of a direct-drive washing machine is somewhat more complicated than the control of a conventional machine in terms of design features. And this should increase their value.

What kind of breakdowns occur most often in washing machines regardless of drive?

Based on the fact that direct drive still provides a longer and better operation of the washing machine’s motor, then we should figure out how useful this is to us from a practical point of view. That is, how often the engine breaks down in other models and what kind of breakdowns are the most common.

In order to derive some statistics, we will use the data on studies conducted in three repair services. This study lasted for hundreds of days. And what did it show? And it showed the following:

1. The washing machines of the most sought-after manufacturers (ARISTON, INDESIT, ARDO, ZANUSSI) most often break due to power outages. And sometimes even because of rather weak differences. From them there are malfunctions of electronics modules, various microcircuits and boards. It also happens that with this breakdown, electric motors also fail. It is worth noting that the cars from LG and SAMSUNG are more resistant to such troubles than other brands.
2. About 20 percent of the number of various malfunctions are malfunctions of the drain pump (pump). It should also be noted that half of them are due to improper operation of the washing machine by the user. Often, this is due to various things that people forget to remove from their pockets of clothes to be washed (coins, pins and other small items), as well as one of the most common such things are bones from women's bras. Bras are recommended to be washed in special containers. All these items can get into the drain pump, get stuck between the tank and the drum, cause the filter to clog, and so on.
3. The next common failure is the failure of the heating element (TENA). This malfunction occurs in 16 percent of cases. The fault can be caused by too hard tap water and other reasons.
4. The fourth position in the ranking of faults is occupied by defects in electronics (modules, circuits, etc.). They account for five to ten percent of repairs. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Starting from leakage and shorting, and ending with many other reasons.
5. Bearing units or oil seals can cause a call to service in 6 percent of cases.
6. Electric motors can upset us less often (from 1 to 2 percent).
7. Drums and tanks fail not so often. Typically, the number of these faults takes less than a percent of the total number of repairs.
8. And the remaining failures are defects of various pipes, seals, couplings, hatch locks, minor leaks and other minor dirty tricks.

Total

Analyzing these statistics, we can summarize the following result: electric motors of cars break down quite rarely. Even budget models do not so often experience this breakdown. The new engine is quite expensive. And to replace it, you often have to place an order and wait for several weeks or months.

If the engine is repaired under warranty, then you can claim a temporary replacement. In this case, the service center is obliged to provide you with its own washing machine while you are waiting for the part and its installation. However, not every consumer is aware of such an obligation of official repair centers.What they often use without providing any replacement.