The Maytag Neptune TL: The Washer that Caused Maytag’s Death

[whirlpool862]

Today, I’m going to be discussing one of the worst washers ever, the top loading Neptune. Extremely rare to find one working these days because most broke down years ago.

It had so many mechanical problems and it was notorious for tying clothes into knots. Common failures included the motor, transmission, and control board.

The transmission used on those was also plastic I heard, and the design caused mold to build up in the washer. It was like a top load washer replicating a front loader.

Video of someone with issues with Neptune TL (note: NOT Whirlpool made).

This is one of the reasons why Maytag had to be bought by Whirlpool, I heard they were actually sued for making this extremely poor design.

The Whirlpool built Maytags are much better than the TL Neptune (even the new new ones).

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Today, I’m going to be discussing one of the worst washers ever, the top loading Neptune. Extremely rare to find one working these days because most broke down years ago.

It had so many mechanical problems and it was notorious for tying clothes into knots. Common failures included the motor, transmission, and control board.

The transmission used on those was also plastic I heard, and the design caused mold to build up in the washer. It was like a top load washer replicating a front loader.

Video of someone with issues with Neptune TL (note: NOT Whirlpool made).

This is one of the reasons why Maytag had to be bought by Whirlpool, I heard they were actually sued for making this extremely poor design.

The Whirlpool built Maytags are much better than the TL Neptune (even the new new ones).

Wow! I guess Whirlpool saved Maytag then...

 

[hvtech42]

It certainly had problems, but I highly doubt the Neptune TL was anywhere near close to the top of the list of things that caused Maytag's death.

The high prices and unusual design of the machine means they didn't sell a whole lot of them in the scheme of things, so there was only so much brand damage they could do. And the Neptune TL was only on the market for like, a year and a half before the Whirlpool merger was announced, so there wasn't that much time for them to start hurting Maytag's reputation before then. Let's not forget the Neptune TL got very positive early reviews for cleaning performance - it was the #1 scoring toploader in Consumer Reports at the time.

IMO, the early Neptune frontloader issues, the Searcy Amanatags, the tall tub dishwasher issues, and the general failure of Norge/Magic Chef/Admiral and other stuff they were rebadging to live up to the quality of the Maytag name, were all much bigger factors in hurting Maytag's brand than the Neptune TL.

Side note, it's hard to believe that in just about half a year, Neptune TL related posts are gonna have to start going in the Imperial forum. Time flies, eh?

 

[gelaundry4ever]

It certainly had problems, but I highly doubt the Neptune TL was anywhere near close to the top of the list of things that caused Maytag's death.

The high prices and unusual design of the machine means they didn't sell a whole lot of them in the scheme of things, so there was only so much brand damage they could do. And the Neptune TL was only on the market for like, a year and a half before the Whirlpool merger was announced, so there wasn't that much time for them to start hurting Maytag's reputation before then. Let's not forget the Neptune TL got very positive early reviews for cleaning performance - it was the #1 scoring toploader in Consumer Reports at the time.

IMO, the early Neptune frontloader issues, the Searcy Amanatags, the tall tub dishwasher issues, and the general failure of Norge/Magic Chef/Admiral and other stuff they were rebadging to live up to the quality of the Maytag name, were all much bigger factors in hurting Maytag's brand than the Neptune TL.

Side note, it's hard to believe that in just about half a year, Neptune TL related posts are gonna have to start going in the Imperial forum. Time flies, eh?

so what was by far their biggest issue before Whirlpool swallowed them? I could've sworn Whirlpool was the world's largest to begin with.

 

[johnb300m]

so what was by far their biggest issue before Whirlpool swallowed them? I could've sworn Whirlpool was the world's largest to begin with.

I don’t think there was a “by far biggest issue.”
I think it was death by a thousand cuts.
For many reasons already mentioned.

I did think of a new one. The Neptune Laundry Center. That huge drying cabinet that went for thousands of dollars.
I can’t imagine they sold many.
The tooling alone for that must’ve been crazy expensive, and they never ever recouped that.

All their odd mergers acquisitions, Maytag just seemed unfocused, flailing around. Corporate greed in there too.

Oh! They had this sports fridge/vending machine too?
Seemed cool to my college buddies and I at the time. But way way too expensive and out of our reach.

 

[vacerator]

I agree partly it was the Neptune series. What about also the traditional top load non dependable care aka "Norge", and the twin orbital impeller was it the "Atlantis"??

 

[gelaundry4ever]

I don’t think there was a “by far biggest issue.”
I think it was death by a thousand cuts.
For many reasons already mentioned.

I did think of a new one. The Neptune Laundry Center. That huge drying cabinet that went for thousands of dollars.
I can’t imagine they sold many.
The tooling alone for that must’ve been crazy expensive, and they never ever recouped that.

All their odd mergers acquisitions, Maytag just seemed unfocused, flailing around. Corporate greed in there too.

Oh! They had this sports fridge/vending machine too?
Seemed cool to my college buddies and I at the time. But way way too expensive and out of our reach.

Seems the acquisition of Maytag by Whirlpool wasn't as messy as what GM did to Frigidaire.

 

[hvtech42]

I agree partly it was the Neptune series. What about also the traditional top load non dependable care aka "Norge", and the twin orbital impeller was it the "Atlantis"??

The twin impeller machine was the Neptune TL being discussed in this thread. The Atlantis was a higher end, larger capacity version of the Norge design.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

The twin impeller machine was the Neptune TL being discussed in this thread. The Atlantis was a higher end, larger capacity version of the Norge design.

What about the Amanatags? I heard those were a disaster.

 

[hvtech42]

What about the Amanatags? I heard those were a disaster.

Yes, they were. Amana washers, which had been forced to completely redesign after spinning off from Raytheon, already had enough problems at the time Maytag bought them. They should have just been discontinued. But instead, Maytag made them the backbone of their whole washer lineup, and put the Norge transmission into them, I believe because they had limited time rights to use Alliance's transmission design which expired. That turned out a complete disaster. The machines could barely even make it through the warranty period without catastrophic seal failure. Around mid-2005 Maytag just gave up on these machines and replaced them with the Norge design.

As John said above, it's hard to pick one product that killed Maytag, but if I had to, the Amana washers would be near the top of the list.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Yes, they were. Amana washers, which had been forced to completely redesign after spinning off from Raytheon, already had enough problems at the time Maytag bought them. They should have just been discontinued. But instead, Maytag made them the backbone of their whole washer lineup, and put the Norge transmission into them, I believe because they had limited time rights to use Alliance's transmission design which expired. That turned out a complete disaster. The machines could barely even make it through the warranty period without catastrophic seal failure. Around mid-2005 Maytag just gave up on these machines and replaced them with the Norge design.

As John said above, it's hard to pick one product that killed Maytag, but if I had to, the Amana washers would be near the top of the list.

How big were their transmissions compared to the orbital designs?

 

[whirlpool862]

The Norgetags and Amanatags were pretty bad too and the bearings often failed early.

Also, the pumps on those often had issues as well as the transmissions.

Not as bad as the top loading Neptune but still pretty bad. Whirlpool has significantly improved Maytag when it was first bought but once whirlpool started making VMWs for Maytag, Maytag has gone downhill again.

Maytag should’ve made dependable cares for Amana, and all dependable cares for their own lineup, they should've used it on the Atlantis, performs, etc.

Whirlpool-made direct drives for Maytag, and those were just as good as the Kenmore and Whirlpool counterparts from the time. Just a different brand. They still last like 15-30 years in average like all direct drives.

The Whirlpool 1st generation Cabrios (including the Maytag Bravos ones) were okay, but the bearings and seals often failed in like a year, Whirlpool should’ve used better quality bearings and seals for those units. If they did, they’d be pretty much bulletproof tbh and one of the best H.E. washers, but Whirlpool made a huge mistake by using poor quality bearings and seals on those.

A lot of the older cabrios couldn’t even make it to the warranty before a bearing failure occurred.

 

[hvtech42]

I wouldn't even put Norgetags and Amanatags in the same sentence, IMO. Amanatags barely could even make it through their warranty period. Whereas I've seen plenty of Norgetags last 15-20 years. The quality may not have been up to the Dependable Care standard Maytag was known for, but not horrific by any means (and let's not forget that later Dependable Cares had some seal problems of their own). And I think Maytag made some improvements over the original Norge machines.

 

[whirlpool862]

The Norgetags were much better, but they were still a far cry from the dependable cares and the Whirlpool-built Maytag direct drives, and still had the notorious bearing and seal failure.

And many of those last about 6-15 years, vs only like 3-7 years out of a Amanatag. Even the Amanatags were better than the Model T GE’s and the WCI Frigidaires.

I think they used the Norge design for the Amana units in later years too.

 

[hvtech42]

Even the Amanatags were better than the Model T GE’s and the WCI Frigidaires.

Strong disagree on that one, at least when it comes to durability. Just looking at the manufacturing timelines of the machines is enough to prove that. Amanatags were barely even made for 2 years before Maytag killed them off. Model Ts by contrast were made for over a decade, and WCI Frigidaires for several decades.

Though I will concede Amanatags certainly did wash better than the silly indexing WCI Frigidaire.

 

[whirlpool862]

The GE Model-Ts commonly had the bearing in the transmission fail and oil leakage. GE’s also had a major seal issue where water leaks in the bottom destroying the transmission bearing. Many older GE’s with bad bearings also have leaky seals.

The HydroWaves didn’t have oil leakage but bearing issues also seemed common on those and the mode shifters also failed a lot, motor bearing failure on those also seems quite common, when the motor bearing fails on the HydroWave they make a horrible “whine” type sound. The HydroWave, since it was quite similar, often also had bearing issues due to seal leaking.

The WCI Frigidaires commonly rusted and the transmission often failed on those, and just didn’t last very long in most cases.

The modern GE washers seem okay for the most part. Yes, they have their issues too but they seem more reliable than the HydroWaves and the Model-Ts.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Strong disagree on that one, at least when it comes to durability. Just looking at the manufacturing timelines of the machines is enough to prove that. Amanatags were barely even made for 2 years before Maytag killed them off. Model Ts by contrast were made for over a decade, and WCI Frigidaires for several decades.

Though I will concede Amanatags certainly did wash better than the silly indexing WCI Frigidaire.

I heard the Whirlpool LEAP design was around for long, with the Speed Queen Classic around for even longer still standing. I wouldn't be surprised if Whirlpool had the most advanced research and development technology. Whirlpool's washers were the most revolutionary design to date. That's just my opinion.

 

[DADoES]

Maytag should’ve made dependable cares for Amana, and all dependable cares for their own lineup, they should've used it on the Atlantis, performs, etc.

Eliminating the Norge and Amana designs and producing Dependable Care machines branded as Norge and Amana would negate what probably was a large factor for incorporating those brands ... to garner a larger capacity without retooling the DC design.

The Neptune TL, of course, was an attempt to counter the Calypso with a large-capacity HE toploader to get some HE market share from consumers who woudn't accept the Neptune frontloader.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Eliminating the Norge and Amana designs and producing Dependable Care machines branded as Norge and Amana would negate what probably was a large factor for incorporating those brands ... to garner a larger capacity without retooling the DC design.

The Neptune TL, of course, was an attempt to counter the Calypso with a large-capacity HE toploader to get some HE market share from consumers who woudn't accept the Neptune frontloader.

Sadly, little to nobody cared or paid attention, so here we are with Whirlpool.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Whirlpool has what I'd argue the most advanced laundry technology. Why was it called LEAP in the first place?