Advice: Asko 12kg washer and Asko 11kg Dryer

[Jatsingh]

Hi all, I’m looking to purchase the Asko 7 series style + 12kg washing machine and 11kg dryer in the UK.

Only thing is they would need to be imported from Italy. Can anyone advise me on these machines?

12 kg and 11kg are only available in Italy and not in the UK. Style + is not available in the UK either.

Are modern Asko machines any good? Or am I about to make a big mistake?

 

[henene4]

I think you could get them from the Netherlands as well? Or France?

Driving to the tunnel and taking the train might be an adventure - but probably cheaper than getting them shipped internationally.


I personally wouldn't make such a fuzz about them.
The dryer is kind of special thing with it's 145l drum (I think that's it's size).
But in the end, it's just 1kg effectively you could do more going just by drum volume.

But for the washer, there are a bunch of pretty decent 80l drum machines out there aswell.



Not saying the Askos would be necessarily a bad choice.
Just saying you might find that doing all that is just not worth it...

 

[donprohel]

Just wonder: if you want to import in the UK from the EU, wouldn't you have to pay VAT and import duties?

 

[Jatsingh]

I think you could get them from the Netherlands as well? Or France?

Driving to the tunnel and taking the train might be an adventure - but probably cheaper than getting them shipped internationally.


I personally wouldn't make such a fuzz about them.
The dryer is kind of special thing with it's 145l drum (I think that's it's size).
But in the end, it's just 1kg effectively you could do more going just by drum volume.

But for the washer, there are a bunch of pretty decent 80l drum machines out there aswell.



Not saying the Askos would be necessarily a bad choice.
Just saying you might find that doing all that is just not worth it...

Just wonder: if you want to import in the UK from the EU, wouldn't you have to pay VAT and import duties?

Yes I would. But that size and hot and cold fill are not available in the UK

 

[Jatsingh]

I think you could get them from the Netherlands as well? Or France?

Driving to the tunnel and taking the train might be an adventure - but probably cheaper than getting them shipped internationally.


I personally wouldn't make such a fuzz about them.
The dryer is kind of special thing with it's 145l drum (I think that's it's size).
But in the end, it's just 1kg effectively you could do more going just by drum volume.

But for the washer, there are a bunch of pretty decent 80l drum machines out there aswell.



Not saying the Askos would be necessarily a bad choice.
Just saying you might find that doing all that is just not worth it...

Yes you have a point. But there is very little 12kg machines available in the UK especially with hot and cold fill.

 

[henene4]

Yeah. I faintly remembered you specifically and the hot fill "requirement" you have.

In general, these Askos are still Gorenje made.
They have basically NOTHING to do with the typical Gorenjes one knows.
But it has been known that in the past some Askos failed in weird, annoying ways. Stuff like with the ProWash recirculation system that uses a diverter - that diverter failing. Or just weird software glitches.
These don't happen often.
But you ALWAYS run the risk to have that happen.
And you will get 0 support in your case. So, even if it's just an unlucky production flaw, you will have no way to fix it without getting into it yourself and potentially spending days just to acquire a pricey part - to not fix your problem in the end.



And on top of that I know NOTHING of Askos hot fill system.
If the hot fill is so important to you and I can't even say if it does that well, I can't say go ahead.

There was a news story in Switzerland not long ago where Arcelik sourced hot fill machines only used hot fills at temps of 60°C or above. Makeing it basically useless for like half the washing one typically does.

If anybody could give reliable info on whether these do hot fill at any reasonable temp and cycle or only in specific cases, I wouldn't hesitate to say they can be decent machines - but I wouldn't spend that kind of worry to get one.


But I honestly just can't give you any constructive way out of that situation - the hot fill thing is becoming a very niche thing for home machines.
Rightfully so, in my opinion. But yours differs, and I'm not here to invalidate that.
I could give you a pretty lengthy explanation as to why I have that opinion - but again, that's not the point of this thread.

If that hot fill requirement wasn't a thing, there would be a bunch of options I would rather give you. There are a bunch of 80l-drum-class washers from decent enough companies, plus there are WAY bigger dryers for the household you can just buy in the UK.
If it's just getting laundry throughput up, and you are already spending 6k£ for the Askos after machines+shipping/transport+import duties, there are also way better options on the small commercial site if you'd either go the used route or be willing to spend maybe slightly more. But those just don't have drums that big.



But the requirements you set are the Askos - and you can't get the Askos without getting the Askos.
And I wouldn't even say don't get the Askos.
I just say don't spend days of labour and obscene amounts of money on machines you don't have any recourse of returning if you are worried you're making a mistake.

 

[Jatsingh]

Yeah. I faintly remembered you specifically and the hot fill "requirement" you have.

In general, these Askos are still Gorenje made.
They have basically NOTHING to do with the typical Gorenjes one knows.
But it has been known that in the past some Askos failed in weird, annoying ways. Stuff like with the ProWash recirculation system that uses a diverter - that diverter failing. Or just weird software glitches.
These don't happen often.
But you ALWAYS run the risk to have that happen.
And you will get 0 support in your case. So, even if it's just an unlucky production flaw, you will have no way to fix it without getting into it yourself and potentially spending days just to acquire a pricey part - to not fix your problem in the end.



And on top of that I know NOTHING of Askos hot fill system.
If the hot fill is so important to you and I can't even say if it does that well, I can't say go ahead.

There was a news story in Switzerland not long ago where Arcelik sourced hot fill machines only used hot fills at temps of 60°C or above. Makeing it basically useless for like half the washing one typically does.

If anybody could give reliable info on whether these do hot fill at any reasonable temp and cycle or only in specific cases, I wouldn't hesitate to say they can be decent machines - but I wouldn't spend that kind of worry to get one.


But I honestly just can't give you any constructive way out of that situation - the hot fill thing is becoming a very niche thing for home machines.
Rightfully so, in my opinion. But yours differs, and I'm not here to invalidate that.
I could give you a pretty lengthy explanation as to why I have that opinion - but again, that's not the point of this thread.

If that hot fill requirement wasn't a thing, there would be a bunch of options I would rather give you. There are a bunch of 80l-drum-class washers from decent enough companies, plus there are WAY bigger dryers for the household you can just buy in the UK.
If it's just getting laundry throughput up, and you are already spending 6k£ for the Askos after machines+shipping/transport+import duties, there are also way better options on the small commercial site if you'd either go the used route or be willing to spend maybe slightly more. But those just don't have drums that big.



But the requirements you set are the Askos - and you can't get the Askos without getting the Askos.
And I wouldn't even say don't get the Askos.
I just say don't spend days of labour and obscene amounts of money on machines you don't have any recourse of returning if you are worried you're making a mistake.

Thank you for a very detailed response. I fully take on board your opinions and thoughts.

These would potentially replace the Miele W2 and T2 machines which Miele have agreed to take back for me and issue me with a refund due to the issues I’ve had with the W2 washer.

 

[Marky_Mark]

I think you'd be better off buying a Speed Queen set in the UK. Much easier to just order the Speed Queens from a UK company and have the set delivered to your home. You can choose a gas or electric dryer and have your choice of a matching front load or top load washer.

 

[matthewza]

From what I remember, I think the LG 12kg FL washing machines have an 80L drum? They get decent reviews, so might be worth looking at. Alternatively, I would say look at the Miele PWM908 Little Giant - 73L drum, with hot & cold fill, and 1600rpm spin. Pair this with any decent dryer, or even the matching PDR908HP heat pump dryer from Miele. We don't get ASKO's here in South Africa, so if I needed a machine with decent capacity but don't have space for the American-style machines, I would strongly consider this Miele Little Giant set

 

[henene4]

That's pretty much the point I was trying to make.

Question is are these installed under the counter or free standing?
And if they are free-standing, what's the space available?


LGs 13kg machines have 80ish liter drums. So do Haiers 12kg machines.
Both are decent (not stellar, but certainly more than just usable), cost a fraction of the Askos by themselves and have the drum size you are looking for.
You'd be giving up the hot fill though.

If you have more space width and height wise, there are homestyle US size washers and heat pump dryers in the UK. A set would probably still run you 2k£ less than the Askos before VAT/import duties.
I would recommend the LGs - but I can't find them in the UK.
I usually wouldn't recommend Samsungs, but those appear readily available.
Can't verify that those have a hot fill - but some in the past had, so that would just be a question of either contacting Samsung or checking a parts supplier.
Then you'd have a big drum size.

Or, you could go with a Miele Little Giant machine.
Either something used like a PW6065 or something newer in the PWM5XX or PWM9XX series.
Used, you can get them at pretty much any price range. And both have matching heat pump dryers.
These machines can relatively easily be converted to run on just 1 heater to run off a normal plug. Those have proper hot water management (they fill to temp starting at 30C), you can mange programming in a lot of ways. And even at reduced power, with hot water and 3 rinses, a 60C cycle is less than 90min. A heat pump dryer accompanying it would also take usually no more than 90min.
That would give you great flexibility, hot fill and a huge laundry throughput - like you can run 6+ loads in a day with no compromises in life time of the machine or performance. And you'd get service for a decade and more to come.
However, you either have to search the used market to get a price below what the Askos would be, or you'd be looking at more like 9k£ for new PWM + dryer set. And the drum sizes range from 55l (PW6055) up to 73/ with a PWMXX8 machine.
The 65l drum machines are IMO the sweet spot as they perfectly match the 135l drum dryers.



Again. This is a "no perfect solution moment".
But I think a lot of people today have forgotten how to make compromises and be happy with it.

 

[Jatsingh]

I think you'd be better off buying a Speed Queen set in the UK. Much easier to just order the Speed Queens from a UK company and have the set delivered to your home. You can choose a gas or electric dryer and have your choice of a matching front load or top load washer.

The choice of speed queen in the UK is very limited to the one dark grey set. Although the speed queen

From what I remember, I think the LG 12kg FL washing machines have an 80L drum? They get decent reviews, so might be worth looking at. Alternatively, I would say look at the Miele PWM908 Little Giant - 73L drum, with hot & cold fill, and 1600rpm spin. Pair this with any decent dryer, or even the matching PDR908HP heat pump dryer from Miele. We don't get ASKO's here in South Africa, so if I needed a machine with decent capacity but don't have space for the American-style machines, I would strongly consider this Miele Little Giant set

That's pretty much the point I was trying to make.

Question is are these installed under the counter or free standing?
And if they are free-standing, what's the space available?


LGs 13kg machines have 80ish liter drums. So do Haiers 12kg machines.
Both are decent (not stellar, but certainly more than just usable), cost a fraction of the Askos by themselves and have the drum size you are looking for.
You'd be giving up the hot fill though.

If you have more space width and height wise, there are homestyle US size washers and heat pump dryers in the UK. A set would probably still run you 2k£ less than the Askos before VAT/import duties.
I would recommend the LGs - but I can't find them in the UK.
I usually wouldn't recommend Samsungs, but those appear readily available.
Can't verify that those have a hot fill - but some in the past had, so that would just be a question of either contacting Samsung or checking a parts supplier.
Then you'd have a big drum size.

Or, you could go with a Miele Little Giant machine.
Either something used like a PW6065 or something newer in the PWM5XX or PWM9XX series.
Used, you can get them at pretty much any price range. And both have matching heat pump dryers.
These machines can relatively easily be converted to run on just 1 heater to run off a normal plug. Those have proper hot water management (they fill to temp starting at 30C), you can mange programming in a lot of ways. And even at reduced power, with hot water and 3 rinses, a 60C cycle is less than 90min. A heat pump dryer accompanying it would also take usually no more than 90min.
That would give you great flexibility, hot fill and a huge laundry throughput - like you can run 6+ loads in a day with no compromises in life time of the machine or performance. And you'd get service for a decade and more to come.
However, you either have to search the used market to get a price below what the Askos would be, or you'd be looking at more like 9k£ for new PWM + dryer set. And the drum sizes range from 55l (PW6055) up to 73/ with a PWMXX8 machine.
The 65l drum machines are IMO the sweet spot as they perfectly match the 135l drum dryers.



Again. This is a "no perfect solution moment".
But I think a lot of people today have forgotten how to make compromises and be happy with it.

So I’m in the UK and I started off with a whirlpool AWM 9000 and a Whirlpool AWZ481E dryer they both happily lived in my garage. The washer was a 9kg but was actually at least a 100 litre drum if not a little more. It was a hot fill, with Warm, Hot and Ex hot temperatures.
The wash quality and time was impeccable. They were American machines built in Germany (as per the label). After 20 years of use the washing machine started to get slight problems.

I was also having an extension build and wanted to incorporate a laundry room to my house. So I kept the whirlpool washer but the dryer which was vented and on a 30amp power supply I replaced with a Samsung 16kg (costco). I could sense the washer had been struggling to wash for a few weeks as the motor was struggling. I called out a reputable repair company who said that they were various parts that needed replacing and some of them were now unavailable due to the age of the machine.

I then replaced the washer with a Samsung 18 kg machine from Costco as well matching both the washer and the dryer. The dryer was a condensing model so did not need to be vented which was ideal. However, the washer was cold fill only. The wash quality and the general quality of the Samsung machine was not very good.

I’m a great advocate for hot and cold fill machines but this is my personal opinion.I then replaced these two machines with Fisher Paykel WH1260 12kg washer and a dryer. Fortunately, the washer was a hot and cold fill.

In order to accommodate these machines, I had my worktop lowered to match the normal UK size machines.

The Washer had an amazing vortex spin wash but lacked severely in rinse efficiency. I would have to re-wash those clothes or put them on a separate rinse a number of times to ensure that the detergent had been removed. Considering I was using minimal detergent.

Fisher Paykel tested the machine and issued me with a refund. I then replaced these two machines with the Miele W2 and T2.
However the rinse quality and wash quality in these machines are very questionable. Without the paddles some laundry just slides down the drum without the ability to be thrown about leaving poor wash results and very poor rinse results. Again everyone has their opinions about these, but I am talking firsthand.

I now learned that Samsung has bought out 20 kg machine (available in Costco) which has both H&C fill. Both these machines are larger in depth and because they are the original American height they would not fit under my worktop anymore as my worktop has been lowered.

So as I am going through the brands and looking at the videos, I was thinking of giving Asko a go.

Machines wise; I have used and have access to use a Miele Little Giant PW6065 and dryers. I also have access to use a Miele PW6161 and Primus T35.

I also have access to and used a Primus FS40 and Primus DX55 and the LG commercial Range and LG Giant C 10kg washer.

 

[Marky_Mark]

I remember when you first posted a few months ago and mentioned that you’d lowered the granite worktop in your laundry room to accommodate the new Miele set. My thought back then, and still now, is that I would raise that countertop back up and switch to a different, much more suitable set. I think you’d be much happier with a Speed Queen front-loading set (or something similar), which would be essentially the same thing as what you had before.

 

[Jatsingh]

I remember when you first posted a few months ago and mentioned that you’d lowered the granite worktop in your laundry room to accommodate the new Miele set. My thought back then, and still now, is that I would raise that countertop back up and switch to a different, much more suitable set. I think you’d be much happier with a Speed Queen front-loading set (or something similar), which would be essentially the same thing as what you had before.

One thing I’m extremely surprised about is that the dark grey speed queen dryer which is available in the UK is a condenser dryer!

 

[Marky_Mark]

There are lots of companies in the UK selling standard Speed Queen gas and electric dryers (sometimes branded Huebsch) but I'd never seen a condenser version. I've just googled it and I see it now. I certainly wouldn't get that one.

 

[henene4]

As much as I don't like Samsung, I just checked Costco's website and those XXL Samsungs were the ones I would have pointed you towards.

The tumble dryer is a heat pump dryer that has an additional heating element so if anything needs to be dried fast, just set the Quick Dry cycle and your good to go. (Up to 8kg)
And sice you verified yourself the washer is hot fill, that would answer that question.
Just make sure you have either insurance coverage for your appliances or get an extended warranty.

The SQ FL might be option - but even the condenser dryer (which SQ/Alliance especially created for EU use cases) is just a normal condenser. That means at least double the energy usage and scorching hot temps.
I would never go back to typical condenser dryer.


And honestly:
I wouldn't have lowered the countertop either.
There are a lot of first party pedestals or even aftermarket solutions for pedestals for "normal" size washers.
And lifting a standard height 85cm washer 10cm more off the ground is worth way more than having the folding surface 10cm lower IMO.
But one is always smarter after the fact, right? :/

 

[Jatsingh]

There are lots of companies in the UK selling standard Speed Queen gas and electric dryers (sometimes branded Huebsch) but I'd never seen a condenser version. I've just googled it and I see it now. I certainly wouldn't get that one.

I’ve also got access to and used a Huebsch top loader (speed queen). However, the UK version of this has an extra metal flap safety catch on there so you cannot watch it wash. It doesn’t work without the lid being down. I tried to override this using a peg, I mean what’s the point of a top loader if you can’t see it wash

 

[me]

You used to be able to buy a hot fill adaptor for cold fill only washing machines, targeted at people with gas and solar heated hot water.

It was a thermostatic mixer with a timer controlled solenoid valve, you set the temperature on the mixer, pressed a button to start the timer at the start of the wash and it would cut off the hot feed in time for the rinse cycle, so a bit of a bodge, and some appliances might overly shorten the wash if they are filled with hot water instead of cold.

I was tempted to get one when we bought a cold fill only machine, but they were seriously overpriced for what they were and I settled for running the machine overnight on economy 7. Could probably create the same thing using a low cost motorised smart water valve actuator that attaches to a standard lever valve and a thermostatic mixer. Although, as my machine is now way out of guarantee, I'd install a hot fill solenoid in my machine and take over control of the solenoid valves with an esp32 or similar microcontroller, and monitor the temperature of the water in the tub, etc.