Drum Paddles / Lifters on Hotpoint/Indesit Drums
Hello Andy - have you any Idea why on the Hotpoint/Indesit Drums (8kg/9kg) the paddles dont span the whole length from the front of the drum to the rear of the drum? - its almost like they have took a 5kg/6kg drum and extended the depth of it but still using the same length paddles.
Does it have any bearing on washing the clothes? - would they wash the clothes any better if the paddles were the whole length of the drum?
Do you have an idea why Hotpoint/Indesit have just stuck with the same sort of drum design for years (basic with just holes) when other manufacturers have changed the drum to include features such as a 'bubble' pattern or chevron pattern on the inside surface of the drum (which they claim is more gentle to the fabric) and why Hotpoint/indesit have just stuck with the same design paddles throughout the years straight with just holes in the top of the paddles/lifters where other makers have made their plastic paddles a curved design with holes in the front facing as well as top of the paddle? - Do these other designs what manufactures have implemented into drums and paddles wash the clothes any better in your view or any gentler of washing the fabric?
Also , the (very old) Hotpints used to form the paddles into the material of the drums years ago and only started using the blue plastic paddles as we know them in the 90's. I am predicting it was for cost? or was it for some other reason. I am presuming it must be better to have the type of drum where the paddles are formed / welded metal in with the manufacturing of the drum because you dont have the issue of plastic paddles breaking off on the inside of the drum like the blue plastic ones do from time to time with some people. - what do/did you prefer (if any) drums where they already had the metal/stainless steel paddles built into the drum or this plastic type of removable lifters/paddles? - and can you still get any washing machines these days that have the paddles formed into the metal of the drums these days or do they all have plastic paddles these days, even the more expensive machines such as Miele etc?
Interested on hearing your views.
Solution Summary
AI-generated from this discussion
This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.
General question about Hotpoint/Indesit drum paddle design on larger-capacity washing machines
- The problem
- The discussion was not about a specific fault. It asked why Hotpoint/Indesit 8kg/9kg drums use paddles/lifters that do not run the full drum length, whether this affects wash performance, and why the brand has retained a basic drum and paddle design compared with other manufacturers.
- Likely cause
- The accepted reply suggests the shorter paddles on larger-capacity drums were likely a design choice because they were considered sufficient to lift and move the laundry without loss of function. Plastic paddles were also considered likely to be used mainly for lower manufacturing cost, with the added benefit that more complex water-scooping shapes are easier to produce in plastic.
- What fixed it
- No repair was needed. The accepted answer indicates that full-length paddles are not necessarily required for effective washing, provided the paddles still lift and move the load properly. The exact engineering reason and any measurable wash-performance difference were not confirmed in the discussion.
1 Answer
On the larger capacity drum they may have decided they could shorten them without loss of function. As long as the paddles lift the laundry and move it about they could be shorter. I remember when the drum paddles were incorporated into the drum and made of stainless steel. They never needed replacing. It must be cheaper to make them from plastic otherwise they wouldn't do it. Having said that since they started to require them to scoop up water and sprinkle it on to the laundry they've varied a lot in shape, which would presumably be a lot easier to make in plastic.
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