1950s-1960s era Speed Queen or Maytag ?

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~The Maytags IMO. Built like a tank, they seem to last forever.

Agreed

Saw mid-60's Maytags with the turquioise back-panel still alive and well in the (for sale) home of some older women The women became old and infirm; the Maytags did not.
 
Nate is right - a standard capacity Maytag next to a Speed Queen would be a rather unfair "fight". The Speed Queen machines ranked near or at the very bottom of the ratings for years - until they went to a perforated tub design in 1980 and even then, their ratings didn't improve much. Some of the constants were poor extraction, average or less-than-average washing ability and especially in the case of the 70's reversing motor machines, rather poor reliability ratings. It was curious that SQ continued to use the reliable solenoid design in it's commercial line, but changed to the reversing motor and helical shifting mechanism in the domestic line which were regarded as mostly garbage when they were first introduced in 1970.

Not that I don't love the SQ's - I've had quite a few of them but my favorites were the solenoid machines by far.

Maytag never fared much better in CR ratings for washability, scoring mostly average ratings but their reliability reputation made them an obvious winner in that area. CR consistently rated them at or near the top - not because they were so much better than any other make, but because they had fewer disadvantages and fewer lower scores than other makes.
 
Laundromats

PeterH770,
Many of us were "born late"as far as our tastes go-I bet you would have been in heaven if you had been a mat owner 40 years ago with 30 SQs all running in unison!
Tom
 
Horrible sand disposal

The Speed Queens had a solid tub that was horrible when it came to doing anything from the beach.They not only left sand in their solid tub but it also got into the fabrics of the wah done in that load.The Maytag's perferated tubs were much more practicle as well as larger in capacity.The Maytag's Power Finn Agitators were also much better.Being flexible instead of solid and molded into the actual frame of the agitator,made the Maytags have a much more assured turn over of the clothes.For example,some agitator washers would cause air to build up in pieces like bedsheets and dress shirts.The Maytag's turn over ,more or less,did away with that problem by the vacuum build up in the wash and rinse water created by the flexible finns.That was one of the first positive features I saw in the older Maytags as aposed to the Whirlpools and GE's. I noticed too the difference the spinning with the water in the tub caused.I already miss the original machines they made to last.I need to get one for keeps.
 
Entertainment value

To me,the Maytag wins the dependability contest hands down,along with the crown for easy repairs when needed.Styling is up to personal taste,so ruling that out,one thing us washer nuts look for is entertainment value-overflow rinses,cool lint filter systems,odd agitation styles,etc.The Maytags were competent in all respects,but devoid of excitement.As was posted earlier in this thread,I have little use for timed fills.I imagine it was even more of a problem when these machines were new,as water pressures probably varied more then.Years ago,we had to get rid of Grandma's almost new Speed Queen because the water pressure was not adequate for it.KM and WP I always liked for the great washing action,but never could live with the neutral drain drawing the dirty water thru the clothes,complicated by the fact that all the clothes being packed in the bottom of the tub made the spray rinses ineffective.All this being said,my choice between Maytag and SQ is neither(although I love them both).I think if it was 1965,to pick a year at random,I would go with a GE.Decent dependability,good action,good filtering,good spray rinse....
Tom
 
I wasn't that fond of the GE's.The water coming out through the Filter Flo spray nozel was always dirty and sudsy.I liked the clear rinses I had with the Laundromat,Maytag and 1-18 FRIGIDAIRE models.I am not saying I didn't like Speed Queens.They are great and I liked the old Fluid Drive transies as well as their overflow rinse.But the capacity as well as the solid tub design just didn't cut it for me.I know that FRIGIDAIRE"s tubs were also solid but the up and down agitation as well as the Rapidry Spin made up for that.
 
Tough Question - I love them both!

Got to tell ya, I love both the SQ's and the Maytags! I guess it's a matter of functions, features, styling, etc. Mom had a 1964 SQ with a lighted control panel. My earliest memories of it was when occasionally it would get out of balance during the spin cycle. Also the lint filter would pop off the agitator once or twice during a wash cycle and it was a bit annoying. But the cool factor was watching this lint filter bring up the wash water and splash it on the center post as it went back and forth. Kinda cool! Also the way that loud solenoid kicked in from wash to spin! The timer used to make the click/snap sound when it advanced. The overflow rinse was something to behold! All that fresh water coming in. It would really make a suds cake from the wash cycle just before spinning. Then the overflow rinse when the washer filled and started agitating then turn off for a few minutes and giving another two minute overflow rinse before the final spin! The laundry water was always clean and clear! Mom said she went through three pumps on that machine. Mom and Dad sold the house we lived in and that SQ and the Hamilton dryer stayed there for the new owners. We went washerless for the next few years until we moved again. Then we had a used Wizard machine - it had the overflow rinse but it was prone to "skate across the basement floor" when spinning. When we finally moved for the third time a set of avocado green Maytags were sold with the house. I can't remember the model number but we moved into that house in August 1975. They were maybe one or two years old at that time. The Maytag washer was very quiet when running. The only time you could hear it run was when the timer advanced. Other than that you had to go down half the flight of stairs to hear what it was doing - either washing or spinning. It didn't have a lighted control panel. The washer had the trip control to stop spinning when it got unbalanced. I hated the lid switch on the back - you couldn't see the washer run with the lid up. But, as the years went by it somehow became stuck in the closed position. Much to my surprise the washer would run when the lid was raised regardless of what cycle it was in. Mom used to do throw rugs and this caused it to stop on occasion. No overflow rinse on the Maytag, but it did have a one or two minute spin rinse between wash and rinse cycles. It only had regular and permanent press cycles on the dial; small, medium, large water settings, regular or gentle action, and hot, warm, or cold water temperature settings. Had to love the spin drain, just like the SQ. I retired that washer after it went through two floods, and it started making louder noises after the 2nd flood. But Dad always took the front cover off the washer and dried the motor out with a fan for a few days before attempting to do a load of wash. Finally about 7 years ago I replaced those Maytags with a pair of the Atlantis models after Mom passed away. So far they'be been OK BUT Dad said the timer stops midway during the cycle on the washer. I'll have to investigate this further.

My own set of daily drivers are the Speed Queens from 1983 and 2007 respectively and I love both of them!

Hope this wasn't too long of post but I just had to tell the story.

Mike
 
Interesting

Gansky,I did not know that-I assumed by that time Maytag was winning every award!Any way you could post that article for all to enjoy?
Mike,your story was NOT too long-I enjoyed it!
Laundromat,I too never liked the big burp of sudsy water the GEs spit out into the pan at the beginning of the rinse,but overall I will stick with my pick,especially after Gansky enlightened me!
Tom
 
Laundromat

PeterH770,
I thought you were more of a SQ nut than a Frigidaire nut!I am looking at buying my first mat-Speed Queens of all sizes!
Tom
 
New Picture

Oh Gansky-that was a stacked deck!Now hows about a TOL GE pic-anyone?
Tom
 
40 years ago...a 'Mat with Frigidaires!!!

1968 - when we were vacationing at West Beach Haven, NJ we went to a 'mat, it was filled with only Frigidaires - the sounds coming out of that place, the smells - the hot sudsy water, bleach - ahh... I remember how there were several units that had the angry red light glowing 'unbalanced'. I wanted to rebalance them but Mom said to leave 'em that way. I was only 7 years old. What a place!!!
 

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