back to article In a spin: Samsung accuses LG exec of washing machine SABOTAGE

LG's top home appliances exec Jo Seong-jin has been accused of vandalising Samsung washing machines at two stores in Germany during the IFA shindig in Berlin earlier this week. Samsung has reported the matter to Seoul prosecutors to probe the allegations, according to Reuters. The competing South Korean electronic giants came …

  1. akeane

    It will all come out

    in the wash...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It will all come out

      > in the wash...

      I'm sure they'll iron out their problems.

      1. Throatwobbler Mangrove

        They should sack everyone involved immediately...

        ...as a detergent to future saboteurs.

        1. Danny 14

          Re: They should sack everyone involved immediately...

          Did they get locked up for advocating separating colours from the whites?

  2. Arctic fox
    Unhappy

    I do think that both Samsung and LG should grow up...........

    ..........or at the very least they should try to persuade their employees to grow up. Oh and no, I am not remotely "anti-Android" just in case the usual suspects are tempted to start howling. On the contrary, of the four mobiles we have (two primaries, two back-ups) three of them are Android phones. However, the behaviour of these persons is unbelievably embarrassing - both companies should deal with them.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I do think that both Samsung and LG should grow up...........

      "I do think that both Samsung and LG should grow up"

      I don't. It put a smile on my face reading this story of corporate idiocy. It does reflect badly on LG, though. Not only did they get caught, but the "yield" seems to be less than five Samsung machines. Were they smarter, they'd have re-engineered Stuxnet and injected it to the control logic of Samsung washing machines, to cause them to over-speed when on the spin cycle, because (let's be honest here) that's exactly what Stuxnet was designed for. And after many thousands of warranty claims, Samsung would still be scratching their heads. If it ever came to light, the Israelis would get the blame.

      And a side benefit would be that all the thousands of home-grown terrorists that the security services keep alluding to would be foiled in their attempts at enrichment, under Al Quaeda's "Spinning@Home" project.

    2. swschrad

      shame you broke continuity here

      I'll tell you, those executives are steamed beyond wrinkles, and there's no spinning the facts. better lock the door on this kind of behavior and come clean. I predict a delicate cycle of negotiations.

  3. Will Godfrey Silver badge

    Not really taking sides here, but all the washing machine doors I've seen could take a considerable amount of force.

    1. Crazy Operations Guy

      A buddy of mine runs an appliance store chain and does demonstrations where he'll drill a hole in the door of a washer, put a rope through it and tie it the other end to his truck in order to drag the washer a couple hundred meters. After which he'll patch the hole with some duct tape, plug it in and run the damn thing (He sells quite a lot of profit those days, more than enough to make up for the cost of the now-damaged washer).

      The washer was made by neither Samsung nor LG, in case anyone is wondering.

      1. Alfred

        So who *was* it made by? I happily pay a premium for domestic appliances that last a very long time.

        1. Vociferous

          > I happily pay a premium for domestic appliances that last a very long time

          For washing machines that'd IMO be Miele and that other German brand who's name escapes me.

          1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

            and that other German brand who's name escapes me

            Probably Bosch. I have had quite a bit of fun disassembling the hinges on a Bosch dishwasher half a year ago (it is necessary if you need to replace the door gasket). The washing machine hinges by Bosh (who also OEMs for Siemens) are even more bomb-proof. I am not surprised that you can tow the dishwasher using those.

            So frankly, if Samsung's hinges could be damaged by an exec (unless that exec was capable of saying "I'll be back" with an Austrian accent), they are utter crap. No thanks, that is never entering my house.

            Going back to a proper washing machine (Bosh). Bosh washing machines are practically indestructible as long as you change the brushes in time. It takes ~ 5 years of hard use to wear down the original ones to the point where they damage the motor. Most third party replacements last 3 years or thereabouts. By the way - the machine will indicate that the brushes are so worn down that they are shorting (error code 24 if memory serves me right).

            1. Nick 6

              Re: and that other German brand who's name escapes me

              Replace the brushes myself ? Meh, the Samsung washer I bought recently has a 10 year parts and labour warranty on the motor.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                But when you try to claim on that warranty...

                ...they'll say it's void because "you must have had an LG exec around to dinner"

              2. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: and that other German brand who's name escapes me

                Probably a brushless motor in that case.

            2. Alan Brown Silver badge

              Re: and that other German brand who's name escapes me

              Brushes?

              Stepper motors don't _have_ brushes - and large enough ones can direct-drive so there's no belt to worry about either.

              Electronic commutation is the way to go.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            For washing machines that'd IMO be Miele and that other German brand who's name escapes me.

            That would be Siemens or Bosch. I had a Siemens which failed after a month - rubber particles of the door seal were found in the wash. Repair, but after 1 month the problem returned. This time they asked if we had anyone with eczema in the house (which we had). It turns out that the oils in the cremes eat the seal, but they had a special one one for that which they then fitted.

            After that it pretty much was the best wash machine I have ever had, coping indeed very well with the ointments in the child wash and doing a good job in general. You get what you pay for, though, this thing wasn't cheap.

            1. Danny 14

              our LG washing machine is solid. The motor is brushless and a direct drive, only thing to go wrong on it was a position sensor on the drum. £10 from ebay (bought a couple as if it has died once, might die again...). I think it had a 5 year warranty when I bought it (about 10 years ago). Unless you buy a really cheap washing machine they are all fairly solid these days.

              1. 404

                LG HE direct-drive front loaders have bearings in the front of the drum and after 7 years of hard use, finally gave up - over $400 in parts to repair - that's with me doing the work - ended up with a Samsung HE toploader washer just last week. I try to repair first, have a Whirlpool dryer that I've resurrected three times, this LG? Not so much.

          3. Robin Bradshaw

            If you can find them

            Another washer that will take an absolute beating is ASEA, who i think have now been bought by ASKO, I can remember playing in the box it came in as a child and im 38 now and my parents are still using it, my dad had to fix it once and when he opened it it had the schematic included inside printed on waterproof paper.

            I think they were also built under license by Maytag, but its been a long time so i have no idea what they are like now, but the fact they used induction motors so you didnt have to replace brushes is a big plus.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          "I happily pay a premium for domestic appliances that last a very long time."

          Maytag is what you are looking for.

        3. Crazy Operations Guy

          "So who *was* it made by? I happily pay a premium for domestic appliances that last a very long time."

          A couple different brands: mostly Bosch and Siemens, but other times it'll be a Maytag or other brands that aren't selling well (but their cheaper counterparts are).

  4. Alan Denman

    Obviously holding the door wrong

    But they were a bit unhinged.

  5. razorfishsl

    The fact that they forced the issue ,has already had the effect of letting the public know there is a possible problem with their door hinges, even if there is not ,it's going to cost them sales.

  6. gerryg

    how will LG's spinners present this?

    Or will they just hang the execs out to dry?

  7. wt29

    Got it all wrong

    He only needed to install STUXNET. Fix that spin cycle!

  8. Alex Walsh

    When the locking mechanism broke on our Bosch it was a faff to replace it but the hinge itself was solid as anything. Our previous Bosch has issues with the brushes, which I was quite proud I replaced myself, but a month or so later the logic board went so we ended up replacing it.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I find myself doing "field research" whenever i see my $work's products or competitor products in shops. Sometimes end up buying competitor product for destructive testing, sometimes "own" product if it looks like crap, to show back at the factory while shouting wtf.

    If I was making washing machines, I'd probably walk around banging the doors of own and competitor machines too. I'd probably know pretty well hiw own hinge will break quickly, and be annoyed at marketing/sales not letting me fix it, and be paranoid about competition finding "free" solution to it.

  10. Slx

    Miele actual design their doors to take over 60kg and encourage you to slam it shut. It's more like a car door in terms of how it shuts.

    They're built like a military tank! Weigh about 2 to 3 times more than most machines too due to all the stainless steel and cast iron weights!

    I've a Samsung washing machine in my holiday home and it had plastic hinges!

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