Hotpoint Aquarius very noisy on spin, have a listen!

Thanks Andy, I couldn't see anything when I had an initial look, but will check again more thoroughly.

Tony

It could be something only slightly loose. It sounds metal to metal. Check the chassis too. I’ve known welding come undone or cracks in chassis make similar noises. Check all the bits holding the dryer heating element compartment and the dryer fan on top of the tub. Don’t over tighten anything. If you can’t move it or see it is loose it shouldn’t be a suspect. Also check there isn’t any cables tapping on the casing.

I have just had another look and this time found a chunk of the front weight and a pile of dust on the floor!

I have seen the part on the Hotpoint site for about £31 inc delivery, but is it easy to fit?

Also why has it come loose, could there be another fault that has caused this?

Tony

Difficulty varies. You will need to strip off the front. Some washing machines have welded fronts so the whole tub would have to come out. Very big job.

The bolts holding these heavy weights keep coming loose. It doesn’t help that they screw into plastic drums. Sometimes the loose weight shifting about can damage the fixing for the bolts or even shear them off. Then a new outer drum is needed.

The only thing you can do is try to take off the front panel to inspect it.

Thanks Andy. I managed to get the weight off without removing the tub, there is some wear to the plastic lugs, but they are intact. I have ordered a new weight and hope it will still fit ok!

Thanks for the update Tony. With this fault it is vital to catch it early. So many people just ignore the noise until the tub weight has ripped off the plastic moulded lugs and destroyed the tub (outer drum). It's important to tighten the bolts nice and tight when fitting the new tub weight but they can be over tightened. As you can imagine if you are tightening a metal nut and bolt which is essentially only being held by plastic there is the possibility of shearing off the plastic by over tightening. This is one of those things that you can't adequately describe to someone else unless you are using a proper torque ratchet. You have to use your own judgement.

If it does not work and for future reference, what is a good brand to buy as we wont be having another Hotpoint!

There is no simple answer unless money is no object. Of course we all have our own budgets. I've collated all my thoughts on that subject here Which is the best washing machine to buy?

Thanks for that. I was thinking of a maybe a Bosch, but don't see them mentioned in your guide. Have they also gone the way of Hotpoint?

Well I managed to get the new counterweight on and so far so good!

The machine does still have some vibration as It always has since we moved here with floorboards, cant seem to rectify that!

Bosch used to be one of the high quality German appliances. They were built like tanks. However, in the last decade or so they have changed completely. They are now in the budget to midrange price. Some of them are extremely cheap. As you can imagine quality is nowhere near as good as they used to be. However, for what they cost they are pretty good value for money and fairly decent appliances. I would rate them over Hotpoint personally.