Washing Machine Installation
Installing a clothes washer is as easy as one, two, three…
A clothes washer needs three plumbing connections. It comes equipped with a hot-water hose, cold-water hose and drainage hose. The water hoses have female thread connectors that can be attached directly to the faucets on the laundry sink. However, to minimize damage to the plumbing system caused by the abrupt shut-off of washing machines, it’s preferable to connect hoses to their own faucets.
These faucets must be attached to 12mm (1/2in) water supply pipes that have 60cm (24in) long air chambers to cushion the water shut-off. The air chambers are also one pipe size larger than the water supply pipes. The faucets act as shut-off valves should emergency sen/ice be necessary to the clothes washer.
With the drain hose you have a choice. It can be hung over the side of the laundry tub to expel the waste water from the machine through the plumbing system, or a standpipe can be instated, which will direct the waste water directly into the drain and out into the sewer system.
The standpipe must be high enough that when the drain hose is placed in the opening at the top, it is higher than the level of the water in the machine. If the hose is placed lower than the machine’s water level, back-siphoning of the drain water can occur. The diameter of the standpipe must also be 12mm (1/2in) larger than the diameter of the drain hose.
The washer must be electrically grounded into a 120-volt outlet with a 15-amp time-delay fuse or circuit breaker. Do not use an extension cord. This time-delay action will compensate for the immediate surge of power it takes to start up the machine without blowing the fuse.
Once the connections have been made, it’s simply a matter of adjusting the bolts at the corners of the machine to level it, and the clothes washer is ready for use.
INSTALLING A WASHING MACHINE
The standpipe should be higher than the water level in the washing machine. Air chambers should be larger than the diameter of the water pipes and 60cm (24m) long.