Do I really need the "Water Stop Device"? (Washing machine inlet pipe)

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Mr Skills

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Hi,

I hope this is the right place to ask this!

I have a leaking pipe on an AEG washing machine - it is the cold water inlet pipe. The pipe has a device at the mains-end, which is described in the manual as a "water stop device, which protects against damage caused by water leaks in the hose which could develop due to natural ageing of the hose".

Do I really need to spend a fortune getting the proper pipe from AEG, or can I just use an ordinary pipe without a "water stop device"?

Thanks! :)
 

Patrick88

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I assume your talking about one of those braided flex hoses that has a built in stop.

Well if so junk it and get something better. Better as in one with out the stop. I have had nothing but bad luck with those things.
 

hj

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hose

They can be a nuisance because sometimes they assume a quick opening valve is a broken line and shut off prematurely. Throw them away. Get standard braided metal hoses, and replace them every 5 years of you are worried about a leak.
 

Jadnashua

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Probably the more important issue is to have and use religiously the main shutoffs to the WM. relying on the hoses over long periods of unuse is not wise...use the valve - close it when you are done.
 

Mr Skills

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Hi guys,

Thanks for all the quick replies! I've included a photo of it so you can see if it is what you think it is.

waterstop.jpg



So if you guys reckon this is just some rubbish anti-leak thing then I'll go and get a normal inlet pipe. Do I need a non-return valve?
 

Patrick88

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The last Co. I worked for wanted us to install Watts Flood safe Laundry hoses. I refused. I have installed a few and had to replace all of them. I will never install those pieces of junk again.
 

Redwood

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The last Co. I worked for wanted us to install Watts Flood safe Laundry hoses. I refused. I have installed a few and had to replace all of them. I will never install those pieces of junk again.

Yea I know they are evil junk...
But compared to the picture posted....
They look great!:eek:
 

Mr Skills

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Thanks for all the help everyone! As it happens, I've cleaned out some of the limescale and put the same pipe back on, and it's stopped leaking now :rolleyes:


But just in case it starts again, can you just let me know, in layman's term, if I should be able to replace it with a normal pipe (without the gadgetry) and, if so, if I need a non-return valve?

Thanks! :)
 

CHRISTOPHER

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A few days ago I connected an AEG supply pipe exactly like the one in your photograph, Mr Skills. I did this simply by screwing it onto the existing threaded end of the mini stop valve at the cold supply and connecting the other end to the machine. Everything was fine for several days use, and then the blue plastic end just popped off, leaving the brass threaded connection in place. The kitchen was flooded. If we had been out the whole house would have been flooded. What have I done wrong? If it is not me but the hose, shouldn't there be thousands affected, and headline news? I am really puzzled. I shall contact the supplier, but should appreciate an independent comment.
 
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Jimbo

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As we are used to braided stainless steel hoses with solid brass or solid stainless steel connector nuts, that plastic gizmo looks absolutely pitiful to us. I wonder if it is intended for use in areas which have much lower pressure than the 60 to 80 PSI not uncommon in our neck of the woods?
 

CHRISTOPHER

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Thank you. That had crossed my mind, but there is nothing in the handbook warning of such a problem. Our usual plumber is abroad at present, but a near neighbour who is a dedicated diy person, looked at it and is as puzzled as I am. You cannot see it in the above photograph, but the threaded brass ring that has become detached from the blue plastic end is held in place by nothing more than a milled surface on the outer face of the ring, no bayonet type stubs or anything.
 

CHRISTOPHER

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Ho ho, jimbo. I won't make you feel bad by telling you that his trip abroad is for family reasons.
I can give a blow by blow account of this problem, but only if you think it may be useful. For example the plastic fill pipe with the special leak detector comes with the AEG machine, model L74650, and the user manual specifically states that any existing hose should not be re-used. Of course that is exactly what I have done now, so that the machine can be used while finding out what the problem is. The posts above are critical of the pipe but not because they come apart. The brass-coloured connecting ring stuffed in the blue part at the end of the pipe is only held by friction. Someone suggested to me that perhaps it was supposed to be glued and wasn't. The retailer yesterday advised me that, "honestly, we have never had this problem before" and was certain that water pressure would not be a factor. I am in London and the majority of households are on mains pressure. AEG offered to replace the pipe, but of course that is not acceptable on at least two counts. So they are going to send someone to look into the matter. They would not do this without insisting that I shall have to pay if they can prove that I connected it wrongly.
 

CHRISTOPHER

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Yesterday a representative for AEG came to examine the plastic fill pipe. His first words when faced with the brass coloured ring in place on the end of the supply pipe, and the rest of the plastic hanging loose, were "Oh. Yes." Two important sentences. He quickly confirmed that it was nothing to do with installation, but was clearly a faulty pipe. He went to his van and produced a normal plastic fill pipe without the detector on it. But I said that I do want to know why the original failed. He said that he had never met the problem before, but that he would ring up and see whether his colleagues had come across it. He did that and yes. there had been one or two cases, and there was a modified fill pipe that he would arrange to have fitted. I think he must have been told that he must only replace with original equipment and he seemed slightly less cheerful, so perhaps they told him to be careful in case we get ugly about our flooded kitchen. He did however note on the worksheet that the floor was damaged.
So it looks like a design fault rather than a manufacturing fault. I have been racking my brains to think why this problem may not be affecting thousands of customers, and have come up with a possibility. The width of the connecting ring is only 7 or 8 millimetres, whereas the amount of thread on the end of the supply pipe valve is slightly more, which means that when fully tightened the supply pipe has pushed against the rubber washer in the end of the fill pipe and eased the ring out by a millimetre or two. That may have been enough to sufficiently break down the friction grip which is all that holds the connecting ring in place. This could not happen with normal pipes because the connecting end is cup-shaped and can't screw onto the supply pipe more than a fixed amount.
 
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