m173

Good performer and easy to fix – I replaced the belt of my Ecomower 1400 recently. The motor was spinning but the blade was not indicating that the belt had slipped. The belt had stretched and there was a cut…

in the belt that showed it needed to be replaced. Since it was out of warranty I decided to replace the belt by myself. There are very good Youtube videos on how to replace a belt in similar types of electric mower that are easy to follow. I ordered the belt through Bunnings and was having difficulty fitting it. I took it to Bunnings and the person at the special orders desk showed me how to adjust the distance between the motor and the blades by loosening 4 screws. Now the mower is good as new and I am happy that it is cheap to maintain with parts readily available and the product support offered from Bunnings.

Good washer but do not expect it to last long – Purchased this washer to replace a Hoover top loader that lasted for over 15 years. Paid $1099 five years ago and the water wise rebate available at that time made it more…

attractive. It washed the clothes well during the time it lasted.

Lessons learnt:

Use less detergent than recommended on the box, maybe half or quarter of the quantity to ensure that there is no residue left in the machine. Using cold water to wash clothes is false economy. Powder detergents will dissolve readily in hot water and will help to dissolve the residue inside the machine. If this is not done, the detergent will accumulate on the spider arms that support the stainless steel drum and the concentrated alkaline environment will cause the aluminium spider to corrode that will lead to its eventual failure. This cannot be detected unless the machine is dismantled.

Do not wash underwire bras in a front loading machine. The under wires get dislodged and get stuck between the holes of the drum and tub and can cause damage to the heating element that is expensive to repair.

Buy a front loader that has the spider bolted on to the stainless steel drum rather than riveted to it as in the case of the Bosch WAE20260. If the spider gets corroded it can be separated and replaced rather than replacing the whole drum assembly which is expensive. Easy to use with simple controls. The preset programs give excellent results and the clothes come out clean everytime. The water temperature and spin speed can be changed manually if required. Quiet operation. Became noiser with time and finlly stopped working after 4.5 years. Called a technician who detected the excessive movement of the drum and said to that it is not worth repairing. Decided to take it apart myself and found the drain hose clogged with bra underwire. There was damage to the heating element and the spider supporting the drum had broken. The arms of the spider were coated with detergent residue. The cost of parts alone is over $500 and hence not worth repairing.