'· I 

To: Bryan Berringer, phil.manthei, topping.r, rivest.m, dieckmann.j, murphy.william, "Morris, Wayne E.", "Wethje, L 

cc: "AHAMST AFF" 

Subject: Clothes Washer Proposed Test Procedure Language 

Attached are 3 files as follows: 

1. Proposed language from DOE re the test cloth 

requirements as · · 

distributed by Bryan Berringer on 3/3/00 

2. Proposed language from Dave Modtland of Frigidaire re 

the test 

cloth preconditioning, as follow up from last AHAM 

Specialists 

conference call 

3. Proposed language for revisions to DOE test procedures J 

& Jl 

from previous ·AHAM Specialists conference calls 

We need to reconcile the proposed differences between 1 and 2 so 

that we can 

provide draft language to be included in the clothes washer 

rulemaking 

negotiations next week. We should also discuss the 4% shrinkage 

issue. 

I'm suggesting we have a conference call on Monday afternoon, 

3/13/0d at 

3:00 p.m eastern time. At this point I think it would be good if 

industry, 

gov't and contractors all participate. Sorry for the late 

notice. 

We can use the AHAM bridge by calling 202-872-5955 ext. 519 

Please reply and let me know if you can participate. 

Thanks, 

Larry Wethje 

Vice President Eng. Services 

AHAM 

1111 19th St., NW, Suite 402 

Washington, DC 20036 

phone: 202-872-5955 

fax: 202-872-9354 
I RTI'.J - cwDOEpro.doc 

I~ -cwDMpro.doc 

1

1001 M -cwTPmod.doc 
1.1 Draft Standard Language 

Replace the current Section 2.6 in Appendix JI with: 

1 
2. 6 Test Cloths. 

2.(>.1 Energy Test Cloth. The energy 

test cloth shall be made from energy test 

cloth material, as specified in 2.6.4, that 

is 24 inches by 36 inches (61.0 cm by 

91 .4 cm) and has been hemmed to 22 

inches by 34 inches (55.9 cm by 86.4 

cm) before washing. The maximum 

shrinkage after five washes shall not be 

more than four percent on the length and 

width. The number of test runs on the 

same energy test cloths shall not exceed 

25 runs. 

2. 6. 2 Energy St1!ffer Cloth. The 

energy stuffer cloth shall be made from 

energy test cloth material, as specified in 

2.6.4, and shall consist of pieces of 

material that are 12 inches by 12 inches 

(30.5 cm by 30.5 cm) and have been 

hemmed to 10 inches by 10 inches (25.4 

cm by 25.4 cm) before washing. The 

maximum shrinkage after five washes 

shall not be more than four percent on 

the length and width. The number of 

test runs on the same energy stuffer 

cloths shall not exceed 25 runs. 

2.6.3 Preconditioning(!!" Test Cloths. 

The new test cloths, including energy 

test cloths and energy stuffer cloths, 

shall be pre-conditioned in a clothes 

washer in the following manner: 

2.6.J. I Wash the test cloth using a 

commercially available "clothes washing 

detergent that is suitable for 135°F 

(57.2°C) wash water as recommended 

by the manufacturer, with the washer set 

on maximum water level. Place 

detergent in washer and then place the 

new load to be conditioned in the 

washer. Wash the load for ten minutes 

in soft water ( l 7ppm or less). Wash 

water is to be hot, and controlled at 

135°F±5°F (57.2°C±2.8°C). Rinse 

water temperature is to be cold, and 

controlled at 60°F± 5° F 

(15.6°C±2.8°C). Rinse the load through 

a second rinse using the same water 

temperature (if an optional second rinse 

is available on the clothes washer, use 

it). 

2.6.3.2. Dry the Load 

2.6.3.3 A final cycle is to be hot water 

wash with no detergent followed by two 

cold water rinses 

2.6.3.4 Dry the Load 

2. 6. 4 EneJ'f::,1Y Test Cloth Material. 

The energy test cloths and energy stuffer 

cloths shall be made from fabric meeting 

the following specifications. 

2. 6. 4.1 Nominal Fabric Type.· Pure 

finished bleached cloth, made with a 

momie or granite weave, which is 

nominally SO percent cotton and 50 

percent polyester. 

2.6.4.2 The fabric weight shall be 5.60 

ounces per square yard (190.0 g/m2

), ± 

5%. 

2.6.4.3 The thread count shall be 61 x 54 

per inch (warp x fill), ± 2%. 

2.6.4.4 The warp yarn and filling yarn 

shall each have fiber content of 50 

percent ± 4 percent cotton, with the 

balance being polyester, and be open end 

spun, I 5/ I ± 5% cotton count blended 

yarn. 

1 
2.6.4.5 Water repellent finishes, such as 

fluoropolymer stain resistant finishes · 

shall not be applied to the test cloth. The 

absence of such finishes can be/shall be 

verified by: 

2.6.4.5.1 AATCC-118 Oil 

Repellency Test (DuPont or 3M version) 

of each new lot of test cloth (when 

purchased from the mill) to confirm the 

absence of Scotchguard or other water 

repellent finish (required scores of "D'' 

across the board) 

2.6.4.5.2 AATCC-79 Drop 

Absorbency Test of each new lot of test 

cloth (when purchased from the mill) to 

confirm the absence of Scotchguard or 

other water repellent finish (time to 

absorb one drop should be on the order 

of 1 second) 

2.6.4.6 The moisture absorption 

and retention shall be evaluated by the 

Standard Extractor RMC Test specified 

in 2.6.5. 

2.6.4.6.1 Repeat the Standard 

Extractor RMC Test 2.6.5 three times. 

2. 6. 5 Standard Ex:tractor RMC Jest 

Procedure. 

2.6.5.1 The standard extractor RMC tests 

shall be run in a Bock Model 

extractor with a variable speed drive. 

2. 6. 5. 2 Test l,oad. Test cloths shall be 

preconditioned in accordance with 2.6.3. 

The load size shall be 8.4 lbs 

2. 6. 5. 3 Procedure 

2.6.5.3.1 Record the bone-dry 

weight, WI, of the test load. 

2.6.5.3.2 Soak the test load for 20 

minutes in I 0 gal of soft ( < 1 7 ppm) 

water. The water temperature shall be 

l00°F ± 5°F. 

2.6.5.3.·3 Remove the test load and 

allow water to gravity drain off of the 

test cloths. Then manually place the test 

cloths in the basket of the extractor, 

distributing them evenly by eye. Spin 

the load at a fixed speed corresponding 

to the intended g level ± l g for the 

intended time period ± 5 seconds. 

2.6.5.3.4 Record the moist weight, 

WC, immediately at the completion of 

the spin. 

2.6.5.3.5 Calculate the RMC as 

(WC-Wl)/Wl. 

2.6.5.3.6 The RMC of the test load 

shall be measured at three (3) g levels: 

50 g, 200, 350g, using two different spin 

times at each g level: 4 minutes, and 15 

minutes 

2.6.5.4 Repeat 2.6.5.3 using soft 

(<17 ppm) water at 60 F ± 5 F. 

2. 7 Calculation <!! RMC correction 

curve. 

2. 7. 1 Perform a linear least-squares fit 

to relate the standard RMC (RMCstandard) 

values (shown in table 2. 7. 1) to the 

values measured in 2.6.4.6 (RMCc10111): 

RMC.,wndard ~ A * RMCc101h + B 

2 
Where A and B are coefficients of the 

linear least squares fit. 

2.7.2 Check accuracy oflinear least 

squares fit using the following method: 

If the root mean square value of: 

where N is the. number of distinct tests 

(9). where a sum is taken over all of the 

different tests, where RMCsr,1.VDAJW_i is 

the RMC standard value for the i-th test, 

and R.MCcwm- i is the average 

measured RMC value for the i-th cloth 

test. 

2.8 · Application <?f RMC correction 

curve. 

2.8.1 Using the coefficients, A&B 

calculated in 2. 7. I. 

RMC.,01,. = A * RMC + B 

2.8.2 Substitute RMCcorr values in 

calculations in Section 3.8. 

3 
55.8'% 52.8% ·------------+--------

______ .:\(_J._'J'_% __ --+ ____ _l_8.(1% ---1--- 43.5% 

---- _:2_l)_.(~y....._ ____________ ___:,:~_.()_'!f._,, __ ~ ___ ='().lJ'% _J_ __ 3() 1% 

Note: Numbers shO\rn arc preliminary. 

1 
II FRIGIDAIRE 

HOME PRODUCTS 

March 7, 2000 

Larry Wethje 

VP, Engineering Services 

AHAM 

1111 191

h Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20036 

Laundry Products 

400 Des Moines Street 

Webster City, IA 50595-1407 

Phone 515 832 5334 

FAX 515 832 6988 

Re: Clothes Washer Test Procedure - Pre-conditioning of the Test Cloth 

Dear Larry, 

The following is the subject re-write based on the discussion during the 

conference call of February 23, 2000: 

Revise 2.6. 1. 1 

"The energy test cloth shall not be used for more than 25 test runs (after 

pre-conditioning) and shall be clean and consist of the following: ... " 

Replace 2.6. 1.2. 1 with the following: 

"Place the test cloth in a clothes washer set at the maximum water level. 

Wash the load for ten minutes in soft water ( 17 ppm hardness or less) 

using 6.0 grams per gallon of water of AHAM Standard detergent 2A The 

wash temperature is to be controlled to 135° .± 5° F (57.2° .:t_:2.8° C) and 

the rinse temperature is to be controlled to 60° .± 5° F (15.6° .± 2.8° C). 

Repeat the cycle with detergent and then repeat the cycle three additional 

times without detergent drying the load between cycles (total of five wash 

cycles)." 

Revise 2.6.2 to clarify: 

"Energy stuffer cloth. The energy stuffer cloth ... The number of test runs 

on the same energy stuffer cloth shall not exceed 25 runs (after preconditioning)." 

Please forward to the Test Procedure Task Force members. Contact me for 

clarification and/or if additional assistance is required. 

Sincerely, 

David B. Modtland 

Manager - Washer Engineering 

Major Appliances Lawn & Garden 

Frigidaire• Tappan• White-Westinghouse• Gibson• Kelvinator Poulan •Weed Eater• Poulan Pro 
-------------

AHA!VI Proposed Changes to DOE Test Procedures J & Jl 

I. For the J Test Procedure: 

A. Re-title Section 2.3 as "Suppzv Water Requirements.for Water and Energy Consumption Testing". 

B. Add a Section immediately following Section 2.3 which reads: 

"Supply Wmer Requirements for RA1C Testing. For nonwater-heating clothes washers not 

equipped with thermostatically controlled water valves. the temperature c>f"the hot water supply 

shall be maintained at I 40F ±_51" and the co.Id water supply shall be maintained at 60F ± 5F 

All other clothe.\' washers shall be connected to water supply temperatures as stated in Section ') ., " L.J. 

C. Add the following definitions for "cold rinse" and "warm rinse" in Section 3.3.1: 

"Cold Rinse is the coldest rinse temperature available on the machine. Warm Rinse is the hottest 

rinse· tempemture available on the machine. ·· 

Note: ln Appendix J, these definitions should not be added in the general definition section 

because there arc other sections in the test procedure referring to cold and wam1 rinses in which 

the definitions do not apply. 

D. Re,·ise Section 2: 10 as follows: 

··Wash tin1e (period r!fagitation or tumble) setting. !ft he maximum available wash time in the 

normal c~vc/e is greater than 9. 75 minutes, the wash time shall he not less than 9. 75 minutes. (f 

the maxinn111i available wash time in the normal cycle is less them 9. 75 minutes, the wash time 

shcill he the maximum available wash time .... 

E. ReYisc Section 2.1 L, Agitation and Spin Speed Settings, by adding the word "speed" just after the 

word "agitation"-

F. Revise Section 2.11.1 by changing the word "levels" to "speed". 

11. For the J!. Test Procedure: 

A. Add the following definitions to Section 1.0: 

"'Cold rinse means the coldest rinse temperature available on the machine (and should he the 

same rinse temperature selection tested in Section3. 7) . .. 

"Warm rinse means the ho/lest rinse temperature available on the machine (and should be the 

same rinse temperature selection tested in Section 3. 7) . ... 

B. In Section 4.1.5, for the variables ERx, ERa, and ER0 , add the words "per definitions in Section 3. 7.2" 

after the \vord "cycle". 

Larry Wethje, 3/ I 0/00