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gardenspuds

Turning off the cold water/ LG Waveforce TL?

gardenspuds
12 years ago

Thanks to the wonderful souls on this forum, I have a brand new top loading LG Waveforce, model WT5101. I love this machine, and for the first time in 3 1/2 years feel like my clothing is getting clean (I'm coming from a 6 year old Bosch Nexxt, small drum FL which left BO and stains in my clothing even after sanitary cycle and additives and extra rinses).

I love this washer and could spend the day writing about it, but others have done a good job with that already here. The one thing I wish there was is a cycle in between "hot" (120 degrees supposedly) and Sanitary (158 degrees).

When I ran a load of towels on "Hot", after the drum filled, I stuck my thermometer in the tub and swished it around, and it read just over 100 degrees. Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed with that reading.

I have my water heater set at 135 degrees. Would it do damage to the washer if I turned off the cold water to the washer inlet hose just when a hot water cycle is filling? I would turn it back on as soon as the wash cycle is filled, I dont' care what the rinse cycles are at.

I'm still a little confused about the "Bright White" cycle too- if anyone cares to elaborate on it- I know it uses the internal heater, but I'm not sure what it heats up to- the display panel on this cycle's default is "Hot", not "Extra Hot".

Thanks.

Barbara

Comments (9)

  • dadoes
    12 years ago

    The machine won't be physically damaged, but it may be unhappy. Pretty much all washers nowadays have a temperature sensor in the inlet valve assembly and moderate the hot and cold valves to achieve specific target temps (this is a separate function from onboard water heating). If the unit wants cold water to temper the incoming hot water and can't get it, a fault code may trigger. Some machines will continue filling, others may stop.

    At least one machine I know will electrically swap the hot and cold valves in an attempt to correct the error, on the assumption that the water hoses are connected wrong. This would result in rinses being hot instead of cold until the machine figures that out and swaps the valves again.

    The only way to know how your specific machine will react is to try it.

  • livebetter
    12 years ago

    These are the temps that LG gave me by email:

    LG (WM3885)
    Extra hot 70 C (158)
    Hot 50 C (122)
    Warm 40 C (104)
    Cold 25 C (77 F)

    I'm only guessing about "Bright White" but I assume it does more agitating and extends wash. It may only use "hot" as a default but it would do something "more" to achieve a whiter clean.

    Funny you should mention the in between temp. Miele offers an in between temp of Hot 60 C (140). Miele considers the 122 "very warm".

    When I was deciding on a new machine I didn't know if that (temp of 140) would mean much to me as I'd never had an on board heater before. I use the "hot" setting a lot for towels, sheets, tea towels. I have not used the "sanitary" yet for anything.

    Miele W4842
    Sanitize 70 C (158)
    Hot 60 C (140)
    Very warm 50 C (122)
    Warm 40 C (104)
    Cold 30 C (86)

  • washerman8
    12 years ago

    gardenspuds,

    I have had two LG Waveforce (WT5101)washers and both allowed me to turn off the cold water when filling. I, always, turn off the cold water when I wash my whites on the Bright Whites cycle. My whites are much whiter than when I used a regular toploader.

    I had to replace my first washer due to a defective spin speed selector. My second washer is working flawlessly.

  • gates1
    12 years ago

    I too have the waveforce washer. You can turn off the cold water to fill it, and it will not error out on you. The heater works in the Bright whites cycle which will take and maintain a 120 degree wash. The only time you will see the extra hot light up is on the sanitary cycle, which takes the water up to 158 degree's. The stain treat button is used for a warm wash and what it does is limit the cold water from coming in and making the water "warmer" than if you do not slect it and adding more wash time to the cycle. It cannot be used with a cold or hot wash, it wont allow it. I would haveto double check, but I think when you select the "towels" cycle, you get reduced cold water added to a hot wash also.

  • sedex
    12 years ago

    Hate to burst the bubble on this washing machine. I have had the machine since 2010 they had to replace the unit within a year 4/13/11 and here I am again 3/18/12 have problems. Unit will not drain I have taken all the step in the manual to clear and spoken with an LG rep. No resolve for me will take a a special service call on Monday. I strongly urge you if you have problem within the first year see if you can trade out of the machine it will only bring you heartache. Reading many reviews this machine seems great but search you will notice they are new owners just as excited and impressed as I was in the beginning. Look at reviews of people who have had them longer they are pretty depressing. I have a family of 7 we needed a real work horse and the LG Wave force WT5101 is not that horse.

  • gates1
    12 years ago

    I have had the washer for 14 months now and you can turn off the cold water if you choose to fill with hot only. The washer is too stupid to figure out what your doing. The only cycle I have had an issue with is the sanitary cylce. I turned my gas water heater all the way up. The water coming into the machine was over 140 degree's. The washer senses this and seriously shortened the sanitary cycle down to a 20 minute wash and then it rinses as usual. My washer has never gotten to the advertised temp of 158-160 as LG claims. If you call or email them, they will tell you that it is made to hit the 140's and thats it.

  • asolo
    12 years ago

    "....they will tell you that it is made to hit the 140's and thats it."

    That really sucks! Until reading this, I was not aware that any mfgr. claimed "sanitary" cycle at less than mid/high 150's. Now wondering if some DW's may be like that, too.

    How can they advertise it and then claim verbally that it doesn't do it?

  • dave1812
    12 years ago

    asolo, incoming water for my Sammy is just under 150 degrees. the onboard heater raises the temp at 1 degree per minute (not theoretical--I have checked the temp with a digital thermometer at regular intervals). I have my water heater set quite high, and the washer is near the heater, PLUS I can fool the ATC because I've got extra plumbing that adds hot water to the cold inlet when needed (sanitary and Pure Cycles, for example, to get truly HOT water).

  • asolo
    12 years ago

    Well, good for you. However, I think it's quite unreasonable for consumers to be expected to raise their heater temperatures and modify their plumbing in order to enable their washers to do what what the mfgr's advertise they will do on their own.