# How many g does my washer generate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142 "2023-04-25T00:58:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/1 "2023-04-25T00:58:26Z")
I have an LG, if that helps. I was watching it during the spin cycle, and that drum really moves! How many g does the laundry experience? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/2 "2023-04-25T00:59:57Z")
You need to know the circumference or radius (if you know one, you’ll know the other) and the speed at which it spins. I assume you mean at the outer rim of the drum. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/3 "2023-04-25T01:13:50Z")
Note that force require a mass and G (uppercase is correct, lowercase is not) is an acceleration equal to 9.81 m\*s-3 or 32.2 ft\*s-3. Once you gather the data per @Montys advice here’s a handy calculator with lots of options for units > **[Centripetal Force Calculator](https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics/centripetal-force)** > > Check this centripetal force calculator if you want to estimate the centripetal force acting upon a body in circular motion. Although sadly it does not offer G units as a choice for acceleration so you’ll have to do that division yourself. Based on my own W/Ds, I think finding documentation for the spin RPM is going to be difficult. you might have to figure out a way to label something inside the drum and count it yourself vs. a stopwatch. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/4 "2023-04-25T01:31:05Z")
Seems that 1200 rpm is pretty standard. I measured my washer drum at a 0.25 m radius. That’s actually pretty nuts: it comes to about 400 gees! ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/5 "2023-04-25T02:00:24Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Seems that 1200 rpm is pretty standard A Google search says US front load washers spin at 900-1200 RPM, and adds that European washers spin faster. Further down in my search results I saw a page from the Netherlands talking about washers spinning at a whopping 1600 RPM. Wow. Assuming the same drum radius as yours, that’s 700G. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/6 "2023-04-25T02:07:16Z")
Having had both Euro- and US/Asian washers made for the US market. On average the Euro- products have smaller drum radii than the US or Asian-for-US products. So just multiplying an Asian statistic by the higher Euro- RPM is probably an exaggeration. But the underlying point remains. Modern front-load washers can produce majorly fatal G forces for anything unlucky enough to get caught in there. It’s not a toy kiddies. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/7 "2023-04-25T02:18:34Z")
I was thinking about this recently after replacing my drum and pump belt. It seems there could be a lot of trade-offs between spin out speed/time vs drying time. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/8 "2023-04-25T02:28:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But the underlying point remains. Modern front-load washers can produce majorly fatal G forces for anything unlucky enough to get caught in there. It’s not a toy kiddies. They tend to feature large suspended masses inside the cabinet to damp out vibrations from eccentric loads during the spin cycle. An acquaintance had such a washer, and he told me that one of these weights came loose during the spin cycle and somehow impacted or got caught up on the rotating drum, resulting in a violent shattering of the weight and ejection of concrete fragments. Or at least that’s how he told the story. It seems to me that a failure mode like that would be something that designers seek to avoid, for example by having the weights positioned below the drum instead of above. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/9 "2023-04-25T02:43:17Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s not a toy kiddies. I feel like there’s some _science_ I can do in my washer. What, exactly, I don’t know. A gas centrifuge for isotope separation is probably not in the cards. But there must be something fun I can do. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/10 "2023-04-25T02:50:28Z")
At the nihilistic range, you can see how far it will wander across the backyard when equipped with a long extension cord and a cinderblock. A spectacular enough journey might even earn you a buck or two on YouTube. Other than that I suppose you could fractionate the results of various homemade phlebotomy kits. Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty. Perhaps try to make a stratified multi-liqueur cocktail. See here: > **[Know the Liquor's Density To Make the Best Layered Drinks](https://www.thespruceeats.com/layering-drinks-and-shots-gravity-chart-760326)** > > Colorful layered shots and cocktails are easy to make as long as you know the density of the liquor. Discover a specific gravity chart for alcohol. Although I suspect that effort will be defeated by vibration. Given the non-success of centrifugal Punkin’ Chunkin’ machines at the annual chunk-fest this might not be the ideal use, but perhaps you could repurpose the mechanism as a centrifugal catapult for orange- or grapefruit-sized missiles once enough of the outer casing is removed and suitable sling(s) attached to the drum. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/11 "2023-04-25T15:01:50Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > They tend to feature large suspended masses inside the cabinet to damp out vibrations from eccentric loads during the spin cycle. An acquaintance had such a washer, and he told me that one of these weights came loose during the spin cycle and somehow impacted or got caught up on the rotating drum, resulting in a violent shattering of the weight and ejection of concrete fragments. Or at least that’s how he told the story. It seems to me that a failure mode like that would be something that designers seek to avoid, for example by having the weights positioned below the drum instead of above. I had a washer that failed during the spin cycle. It gave plenty of warning as the bearings had been getting louder for weeks. There were two parts to the balancing weights. It had 4 large formed concrete weights bolted evenly around the front that did not rotate. I saved them as they are cool looking. The second part was a hollow tube like a Hula Hoop partially filled with 3/4" steel balls. They move around to help balance the load. On my washer this plastic tube must have hit something due to the loose bearings and it shattered and ejected the balls. ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE. The machine has hopping across the floor while making terrifying banging noises.Somehow I managed to flip the breaker off even though it was on the wall near the washer, ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/12 "2023-04-25T19:30:17Z")
You’d think that nowadays they’d have some sort of G sensor, which could be as crude as a spring-loaded weighted microswitch that would interrupt power to the drive & engage the brake as soon as the machine went seriously apeshit. For consumer safety and collateral damage limitations at least. I’d bet not too many washers themselves survive a severe out-of-balance excursion. But I could also see somebody getting hurt & suing. Or suing after the runaway washer proceeds to destroy a fresh thousand dollars of custom cabinetry. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/13 "2023-04-25T19:43:16Z")
Cheaper to just include an accelerometer chip on the circuit board. They cost about 50 cents in bulk these days. No fiddly and unreliable mechanical bits to install. Could also be used to sense uneven loads. Come to think of it, I’ll bet a lot of modern washers already do this. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/14 "2023-04-25T19:48:22Z")
Agree completely that’d be the modern way to address the problem. But evidently @mixdenny’s machine did not have any sort of wildly out of control cut-off feature at all. As well, there are lots of entertaining YouTubes of washers or dryers self-destructing with a brick or cinderblock inside. If there was an accelerometer chip on the main board, I’d bet there is no simple way to disable that input to the machine’s control program. And yet those sensors are being disabled to create the vids. Hence my suggestion that on at least some machines the sensor is something low-tech that can easily be defeated with a jumper or by disconnection. It may also be that the accelerometer chip approach is fairly recent, say 2020+, and all the W/Ds being centrifugally destroyed are older models. Be a shame if that particular rednecky form of entertainment was eliminated in favor of the nanny state. Thanks Biden! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/15 "2023-04-25T19:59:18Z")
Also washing machines [making some](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_ooMXik93o) [great beats](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1hnBv12-uk). Washing machines have been purely electromechanical until surprisingly recently. So yeah, it’s no surprise that most older ones wouldn’t have even a circuit board to mount the accelerometer to. But the latest ones have WiFi and shit. Wouldn’t surprise me if they’re at the point of sending a notification to your phone if somehow all your jeans clumped up on one side of the machine. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/16 "2023-04-25T20:03:26Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > European washers spin faster. I have a European washer that spins at 1600 rpm with a drum size of 15" (381mm). Not sure what that works out to in Gs. It is fun to listen to as it goes. You can really hear it whirring (not loud but the whine is noticeable when close). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/17 "2023-04-25T20:05:11Z")
545 gees. Not bad! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/18 "2023-04-25T20:09:07Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Wouldn’t surprise me if they’re at the point of sending a notification to your phone if somehow all your jeans clumped up on one side of the machine My LG does this. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/19 "2023-04-25T20:37:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Given the non-success of centrifugal Punkin’ Chunkin’ machines at the annual chunk-fest this might not be the ideal use, but perhaps you could repurpose the mechanism as a centrifugal catapult for orange- or grapefruit-sized missiles once enough of the outer casing is removed and suitable sling(s) attached to the drum. So that’s what the Russians want with all those washing machines! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142/20 "2023-04-25T20:42:25Z")
our machine is 1600 rpm but is pretty much silent while it does it, it also has sensors to check for any imbalance and will stop and tell you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-g-does-my-washer-generate/983142.md?page=2)