Fagor FUS 6116 IT

...not my first foray into Fagor goods and I purchased a ceramic hob and oven for my parents house which have been going strong for many years. Although not a recognisable brand name they are in fact very reliable products and this machine comes with an incredible five year warranty for both parts and labour, beating anything else in the marketplace at a comparable price, one of my main reasons for purchase.

The machine is AAA rated for ...
...delivers every time. If I need to purchase any other large kitchen appliances I shall be looking to Fagor for the next one!


Purchased in September 2008 from Bunny Electrical Warehouse for £379.99 including full five year warranty on parts and labour.
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One day when I was having lunch at Yo Sushi I got a rather frantic phone call from my partner. The washer dryer had decided to spark, smoke and set itself alight during the drying process. Once the electric was isolated the fire went out, however I was far from impressed. I didn't want to even chance getting this fixed so off I went on a search for a new washer dryer. It can be a bit of a minefield out there in kitchen appliance land with many stores offering deals on 100's of machines! Eventually I discovered a local electrical warehouse and called them direct, they soon presented a number of machines that would be suitable and at a good budget. I went straight down to have a look and came back with my new Fagor!

Unpacking and Setup

Rather than await delivery and take time off work for the white van man to take his time to show up, I decided to take the machine home there and then. The warehouse men loaded the machine into the back of a friend's hatchback and off we went home. Once we got back to the apartment the machine was easily lifted from the car boot heavy end first. The machine was well packed in polystyrene and plastic and had good spaces built in to get your hands in and lift the machine out. Once out the car it was easily taken upstairs with the help of the lift and into my apartment.

Once I had fought with my old machine to get it out of the space and the integrated door off the front it was ready to slide the new machine in. The retainer screws needed removing from the back of the machine to release the drum and the pipes needed to be secured tightly to the tap and drainage pipe. This machine like my previous one was cold fill only, making it easier to set the machine up and not relying on a hot water supply. Any hot washes, the machine would heat the water itself rather than run up a large gas bill too!

Once the machine was connected it slotted nicely into the previous space. The machine was a standard fit integrated machine and took up the space nicely. The final part of the installation was to fix my kitchen door to the machine to complete the integrated look. With an easily understandable instruction manual and fixing kit I was able to secure the door in a matter of minutes with no expensive joinery bills! The machine had slotted in and was ready to go!

Operation

The front of the machine houses everything required to wash and dry your clothes. The main door is large and allows easy access to the 6KG drum. Once you have loaded your clothes the drawer at the top left is large and spacious enough for washing tablets and fabric softener or whatever detergent you wish to use. There is also a handy program list so you know which program to select with the control dial without having to refer to the manual.

There is then a blue LCD display that contains all the main information about the machine and what is currently happening. This displays the program you have selected, the time left on the program and whether you have selected any special features such as extra rinse, heavy load or anti crease.

There is a main dial in the middle that hides neatly away, a quick push will allow it to present itself, you turn the dial and then press the start key. The dial can be pushed back in once selection is completed. There is then a button for spin speed, drying time and a select button for the extra options mentioned earlier.

Once you have placed your washing in the drum (upto 6kg) and the detergent you are ready to go! Select your program and press start. The machine will keep you informed as to the progress of the wash on it's display screen and will update once completed.The following programs are available,

• Cold - No heating just straight in to clean your delicates.
• Quick 30 - A 30 minute wash at 30 degrees. Ample enough for many washes and gives you a quick energy efficient turn around for day to day washing.
• 30 - Normal 30 degree wash
• 40 - Normal 40 degree wash
• 60 - Normal 60 degree wash
• 90 - Normal 90 degree wash
• 60 Prewash - A normal wash with added prewash, all washed at 60 degrees.

*30 - Delicate 30 degree wash

• 35 - Delicate 35 degree wash
• 40 - Delicate 40 degree wash
• 35 - Delicate 35 degree wool wash.

There are then the normal facilities of,

• Rinse only
• Spin Only
• Drain
• Normal Drying
• Economy Drying

The different programs cater to all of your washing needs. I mostly use the Quick30 and the Normal 30. The washing machine using normal washing tablets such as Surf or Fairy deliver a good wash. There is also a timer for those users who have economy seven, you can program the machine to come on upto 24 hours later and it will wash your clothes deep in the middle of the night. I have never had the need to use this facility and if I did I would let the machine work during the night as it is whisper quiet compared to my old machine. It washes quietly and the spin cycle is whisper quiet, it would struggle to wake me up!

Washing Results

My clothes do not get put through the same paces as a modern family, there is no mud from a sports kid or grass stains from the playground or even food stains from a baby's bib, however the machine has still been faced with some heavily soiled laundry such as wine stains and the old classic bolognaise after a pasta and with the normal detergent, the machine has been able to deal with everything thrown at it. I have always been very impressed!

Drying

I am not a fan of tumble dryers as they are such a waste of energy and also a huge fire hazard. I work in an industry that deals with fire on a regular basis and you would be surprised to see the damage that a humble tumble dryer can do to a house. It really is scary. My tip to all who read this is never leave a tumble dryer on unless you are in close proximity. Never use on whilst sleeping or whilst out, if they catch fire, the results can be devastating!

The dryer on this machine is very effective. The rating is C for drying which is not overly efficient but then what dryer is! It dries my clothes quickly and with the machine being a condenser drier rather than a traditional vented one, you can heat your room up at the same time! A typical load would take around 50 minutes to dry compared to over 90 on my old machine. Again this is a feature that is useful in a hurry but nothing beats hanging your clothes up to dry. Don't waste energy unless you really need to!

Final Thoughts

You are probably sat there now thinking this looks and sounds like a good machine but why would I choose Fagor? Who are they and where do they come from? Well they are infact a brand of the Mondragon cooperative from Spain and have been around for some time. This is not my first foray into Fagor goods and I purchased a ceramic hob and oven for my parents house which have been going strong for many years. Although not a recognisable brand name they are in fact very reliable products and this machine comes with an incredible five year warranty for both parts and labour, beating anything else in the marketplace at a comparable price, one of my main reasons for purchase.

The machine is AAA rated for both energy and washing with drying picking up a C rating. For an ordinary washer the A rating is what matters and this certainly has it! I have been using this machine now for 15 months and have never had a problem. It washes my clothes effectively, quietly, economically and delivers every time. If I need to purchase any other large kitchen appliances I shall be looking to Fagor for the next one!

Purchased in September 2008 from Bunny Electrical Warehouse for £379.99 including full five year warranty on parts and labour.
 

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