Posted by TomChristner on April 8, 2007, 10:59 pm
Hello,
I have been looking for a good front loading washer. I like the
appearance of the Neptune, but the horror stories that I have heard
from close friends have made me shy away from that orphaned line.
Consumer Reports seems to like the Duet from Whirlpool, but I have
read some bad reviews from owners. The GE and LG look like junk and
the rest of the brands just seem to be rebadged models from another
company.
Ok, then there is the Speed Queen. Appearance wise, it looks boring
and ultra commercial. Since my local dealer knows less about the
specs than I do, I am coming here to find out the real truth about
these units.
1. Are they hard on clothes? I assume that the lack of agitator bar
eliminates that problem. Not sure though.
2. Do they get mildew on the gasket between the door and the tub?
3. Do they clean well?
If you can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Posted by foraloysius on April 9, 2007, 3:58 am
I have no experience with the Speed Queen machines, but just wanted to
point out there are also the Bosch/Siemens machines and the new Mega
Miele.
> Hello,
> I have been looking for a good front loading washer. I like the
> appearance of the Neptune, but the horror stories that I have heard
> from close friends have made me shy away from that orphaned line.
> Consumer Reports seems to like the Duet from Whirlpool, but I have
> read some bad reviews from owners. The GE and LG look like junk and
> the rest of the brands just seem to be rebadged models from another
> company.
> Ok, then there is the Speed Queen. Appearance wise, it looks boring
> and ultra commercial. Since my local dealer knows less about the
> specs than I do, I am coming here to find out the real truth about
> these units.
> 1. Are they hard on clothes? I assume that the lack of agitator bar
> eliminates that problem. Not sure though.
> 2. Do they get mildew on the gasket between the door and the tub?
> 3. Do they clean well?
> If you can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Posted by John A. Weeks III on April 9, 2007, 8:26 am
> I have been looking for a good front loading washer. I like the
> appearance of the Neptune, but the horror stories that I have heard
> from close friends have made me shy away from that orphaned line.
I have had my pair of Neptunes for 5 years now, and they have
operated flawlessly. They do a great job cleaning clothes, my
clothes seem to last forever, and it seems to be very easy on
both water and soap.
-john-
--
======================================================================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
======================================================================
Posted by Dave Harnish on April 9, 2007, 7:46 pm
If you're thinking about buying a frontload washer, the short answer
is 'don't do it'. I wrote about this in my newsletter back in April 2005:
"I get asked about front load washers nearly every day, so I thought
I'd share my $.02 on the subject with you. Especially since I've
already had to 'DOA' two more this month, and I'm writing this on
the 6th! I hate telling folks to scrap these beautiful looking machines!
First, the positives: for the most part, these machines do a good job
of washing clothes, using little water and detergent. They're very
easy on fabric while deep-cleaning the toughest stains.
However:
I'm seeing American-made front loaders' main bearings lasting only
5-7 years, and that's just not long enough (I don't see enough 'offshore'
brand machines - Asko, Miele, etc - to know much about their reliability,
but they seem to be doing better. Parts and support can be hard to find,
though, at least in our area).
It's tough to fix this inherent weakness, and it's the number one reason
(of several) that I can't recommend these machines.
Here's the problem: When you hang 40-50 pounds of water, laundry,
and basket out on the end of a rotating shaft supported by bearings pressed
into plastic, you have a mechanical system that just can't survive very
long.
Other problems include leakage at the seam between the two (plastic) tank
halves, basket pulley failure, usually resulting in tub wear-through and
leaks, and motor (3 phase) controller circuit board failures, just to name a
few of the most common.
Considering one of these washers can cost up to $1400, 5-7 years just isn't
a sound investment. And we won't even go into the electronics problems we
have with them out here in the 'boonies' from electrical power that's
anything
but 'clean' and reliable. Or voltage 'spikes' from nearby lightning
strikes...
There is one bright spot on the horizon, but it's too early for me to tell
you if
it'll dawn or not. A company in Groveport, Ohio, Staber Corp, entered the
residential front loader market a few years ago, and their machines look
promising so far.
They address the bearing problems by supporting their wash tub with bearings
in both front and rear - a major improvement.
Technically not front-loaders (they load from the top), these are what we
call
'horizontal axis' machines, because the tub rotates horizontally like a
typical FL,
and like your dryer. Unique.
Even though it appears they're using electronics driving a 3 phase motor
like
the others, this is one to watch. Cost is around $1200, though - still an
awful lot
of money to do your laundry, IMO. But check it out: www.staber.com "
Sorry it's so long, but I thought it might be helpful to someone.
God bless,
Dave Harnish
Dave's Repair Service
New Albany, PA
www.DavesRepair.com
drs@sosbbs.com
570-363-2404
Free home appliance tips from a 35-year pro repair technician!
Save a service call! Get your monthly email newsletter here:
(Back issues now posted too!) www.DavesRepair.com
John 14:6
> Hello,
> I have been looking for a good front loading washer. I like the
> appearance of the Neptune, but the horror stories that I have heard
> from close friends have made me shy away from that orphaned line.
> Consumer Reports seems to like the Duet from Whirlpool, but I have
> read some bad reviews from owners. The GE and LG look like junk and
> the rest of the brands just seem to be rebadged models from another
> company.
> Ok, then there is the Speed Queen. Appearance wise, it looks boring
> and ultra commercial. Since my local dealer knows less about the
> specs than I do, I am coming here to find out the real truth about
> these units.
> 1. Are they hard on clothes? I assume that the lack of agitator bar
> eliminates that problem. Not sure though.
> 2. Do they get mildew on the gasket between the door and the tub?
> 3. Do they clean well?
> If you can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it.
>
Posted by foraloysius on April 10, 2007, 11:43 am
Am I right in supposing most problems with bearings you came across
were with the Frigidaire/GE/Kenmore frontloaders? These by Electrolux
models were known for their bearing problems, but that doesn't mean
all frontloaders have those problems. For instance Miele makes it's
bearings as strong as the ones found in cars and these have way more
weight to carry than bearings in frontloaders.
Using a drum with two bearings can have it's own problems, some
European H-axis toploaders broke down because the bearings weren't in
one line anymore.
> If you're thinking about buying a frontload washer, the short answer
> is 'don't do it'. I wrote about this in my newsletter back in April 2005:
> "I get asked about front load washers nearly every day, so I thought
> I'd share my $.02 on the subject with you. Especially since I've
> already had to 'DOA' two more this month, and I'm writing this on
> the 6th! I hate telling folks to scrap these beautiful looking machines!
> First, the positives: for the most part, these machines do a good job
> of washing clothes, using little water and detergent. They're very
> easy on fabric while deep-cleaning the toughest stains.
> However:
> I'm seeing American-made front loaders' main bearings lasting only
> 5-7 years, and that's just not long enough (I don't see enough 'offshore'
> brand machines - Asko, Miele, etc - to know much about their reliability,
> but they seem to be doing better. Parts and support can be hard to find,
> though, at least in our area).
> It's tough to fix this inherent weakness, and it's the number one reason
> (of several) that I can't recommend these machines.
> Here's the problem: When you hang 40-50 pounds of water, laundry,
> and basket out on the end of a rotating shaft supported by bearings pressed
> into plastic, you have a mechanical system that just can't survive very
> long.
> Other problems include leakage at the seam between the two (plastic) tank
> halves, basket pulley failure, usually resulting in tub wear-through and
> leaks, and motor (3 phase) controller circuit board failures, just to name a
> few of the most common.
> Considering one of these washers can cost up to $1400, 5-7 years just isn't
> a sound investment. And we won't even go into the electronics problems we
> have with them out here in the 'boonies' from electrical power that's
> anything
> but 'clean' and reliable. Or voltage 'spikes' from nearby lightning
> strikes...
> There is one bright spot on the horizon, but it's too early for me to tell
> you if
> it'll dawn or not. A company in Groveport, Ohio, Staber Corp, entered the
> residential front loader market a few years ago, and their machines look
> promising so far.
> They address the bearing problems by supporting their wash tub with bearings
> in both front and rear - a major improvement.
> Technically not front-loaders (they load from the top), these are what we
> call
> 'horizontal axis' machines, because the tub rotates horizontally like a
> typical FL,
> and like your dryer. Unique.
> Even though it appears they're using electronics driving a 3 phase motor
> like
> the others, this is one to watch. Cost is around $1200, though - still an
> awful lot
> of money to do your laundry, IMO. But check it out:www.staber.com"
> Sorry it's so long, but I thought it might be helpful to someone.
> God bless,
> Dave Harnish
> Dave's Repair Service
> New Albany, PA
> www.DavesRepair.com
> d...@sosbbs.com
> 570-363-2404
> Free home appliance tips from a 35-year pro repair technician!
> Save a service call! Get your monthly email newsletter here:
> (Back issues now posted too!)www.DavesRepair.com
> John 14:6
> > Hello,
> > I have been looking for a good front loading washer. I like the
> > appearance of the Neptune, but the horror stories that I have heard
> > from close friends have made me shy away from that orphaned line.
> > Consumer Reports seems to like the Duet from Whirlpool, but I have
> > read some bad reviews from owners. The GE and LG look like junk and
> > the rest of the brands just seem to be rebadged models from another
> > company.
> > Ok, then there is the Speed Queen. Appearance wise, it looks boring
> > and ultra commercial. Since my local dealer knows less about the
> > specs than I do, I am coming here to find out the real truth about
> > these units.
> > 1. Are they hard on clothes? I assume that the lack of agitator bar
> > eliminates that problem. Not sure though.
> > 2. Do they get mildew on the gasket between the door and the tub?
> > 3. Do they clean well?
> > If you can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it.- Hide quoted
text -
> - Show quoted text -
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> I have been looking for a good front loading washer. I like the
> appearance of the Neptune, but the horror stories that I have heard
> from close friends have made me shy away from that orphaned line.
> Consumer Reports seems to like the Duet from Whirlpool, but I have
> read some bad reviews from owners. The GE and LG look like junk and
> the rest of the brands just seem to be rebadged models from another
> company.
> Ok, then there is the Speed Queen. Appearance wise, it looks boring
> and ultra commercial. Since my local dealer knows less about the
> specs than I do, I am coming here to find out the real truth about
> these units.
> 1. Are they hard on clothes? I assume that the lack of agitator bar
> eliminates that problem. Not sure though.
> 2. Do they get mildew on the gasket between the door and the tub?
> 3. Do they clean well?
> If you can help me with this, I would greatly appreciate it.