A Friend of Mine has a 90s WP TL Washer That Just Died

[mark_wpduet]

And I'm BEGGING her to get it fixed and not get a new one. So she has an appt with a repair person coming Monday to look at it......

May I ask, what is the most she should pay to get it fixed? She said it stopped spinning and there was a burning smell and a strange noise.

She's already looking online at TL washers from Kenmore and WP, and I told her that they are not the same as the one she has. Are they? I haven't really kept up enough about them to know whether or not they are still low water washers or not. I noticed some of them have a water level choice and some don't. Do the ones with the water level choice fill to the top?

Additionally, I told her that if she MUST get a new TL washer to get a SQ. She said she doesn't need something that will last 20 yrs because she won't be alive in 20 yrs. Which is probably true.

Thanks.

 

[laundromat]

If it fills,agitates then stops, it vould be just the lid switch failing. That was a common issue with the older dd wps. From so many slams,the lid switch would break causing it to shut down. No drain,no spin. If that's the problem, the two wires can be spliced or,the switch replaced. Cheap and easy fix if that's the cause.

 

[dnastrau]

Strange noise, no spin

Maybe it just has a bad motor coupler. If that is bad, it will not agitate either.

The comment about a strange smell is a bit worrisome though. When a coupler fails, I don't think there would be a bad smell unless the rubber part somehow got hot from friction when it was failing. I guess if the three prongs from one of the plastic parts of the coupler all sheared off, the motor would spin what was left against the rubber part of the coupler and could create a burning rubber smell (see example picture in link).

Andrew S.

hvacsupply365.com

 

[washman]

I think combo52 should weigh in here

but going off your comment......begging her to get it fixed.........I agree. Unless the part is super expensive or not available.

To answer your question, no, NONE of the TL washers are the "same" as what she has. In fact, they are worse. Much worse. Both in terms of washing ability AND durability.
Throw in the need to "clean" the effing thing with special cleaners and long, long cycles, I believe she would be incredibly disappointed.

If she wants to replace it, throw this at her in no particular order.
1. Search CL for a good, used TL of her choice, be it Kennmore, WP, Maytag, etc.
OR, if funds allow,
2. Get a Speed Queen and be done with it.

Should she have questions etc about Speed Queen, kindly show her the link of the SQ in action.

Hope this helps. Combo52 will have to chime in with the cost and repair-ability issues.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLiYJT2yKfM

 

[murando531]

The new WP/Maytag/Kenmore agitator washers do fill all the way to the top on the highest level. When I get a chance I'll post some pictures of mine. Just make sure, if she does go that route, that the machine DOES have a water level selector switch. I've heard/seen horror stories and videos on the ones that are "auto-sensing". I actually like this design much much better than the 90's and later Direct-Drives. The agitation is slower and wider, which I think is more gentle, and it still gets great rollover on large loads; reminds me of the original belt-drive WP/Lady Kenmores. It's much quieter than the clunky DD's as well. The only generally noisy part is when the tub has been emptied and the pump is just bouncing the water up the drain hose, but midway through the final spin it shuts it off and you're left with the nearly silent drive motor. They also spin a little faster, and I've been pleased so far at how dry heavy towels are after a cycle, which also helps the dryer out.

The only two annoyances are the locking lid, and the restrictor valves in the inlet assembly. I bought an extra lid-strike so I could pop it in when I need the washer to run with the lid open, and I also removed the restrictor valves, so now the machine fills in about 5-7 minutes versus 16-20 minutes, also shaving 40+ off the cycle as a whole. Removing them is insanely easy, as you only need needle nose pliars and to remove the water hoses for a minute.

 

[combo52]

Fix Or Replace A 90s DD Washer

It does sound most likely she may have a bad drive coupling, and I would recommend she at least get it looked at unless she has always hated this washer for some reason. Replacing a DC should cost between $85 and $120 total.

Yes a new SQ could be a good choice, but if she wants a NEW washer and does not use it heavily or expect to live another 20+ years the new WP-or WP built KMs could be a great choice. As Andrew and Jamie [ who works for WP now ] have stated these washers work very well, AND there is NO EVIDENCE that these new washers will not last 30 years, these new machines were only 3 points behind SQ TLers in CRs recent rankings [ and they say 2 points or less are meaningless ] but because there are three different design WP built TL washers averaged together in this rating we really do not know how these new BD TL washer are going to hold up in the long run, so I guess we will just have to wait and see, LOL.

John L.

 

[murando531]

I super cleaned mine today, as it had a little residue ring around the tub and agitator, and it had just been a while anyway. 

 

1. This is the fill line when set to Super, or whatever the highest is on its sister models, surprising for a machine produced during this HE era we're in. It fills to that point with no tampering, regardless of if the restrictor valves have been removed or not, as the level sensor in these is somehow more electronically and accurately controlled. Even more impressive is that the Direct Drives filled to underneath the top row of holes, while this is right up to where the tub starts to curve inward.

 

2. Here's the lid-strike I bought. About $15, but worth its weight in gold because I can make sure I have the right water level and good wash action before closing the lid down, and also better than unscrewing it out of the lid repeatedly when it's needed. It's also necessary to avoid admitting yourself to the asylum in a rage from waiting on it to unlock should you need to pop in a stray sock or something.

 

3. If she does go this route, I'd recommend removing the restrictors from the inlet valves. It sets the flume of water to almost the speed and volume of the previous gen WPs, and also cuts almost 40 minutes from the total cycle time. You'd see immediately how slow the fill is with the valves in place; it's basically a trickle of water into the tub. If time isn't an issue, I wouldn't worry about it. Just explain to her that nothing is broken, and it's not using a ton of water because it's taking so long to fill, it's just using a very small trickle over a longer time.

 

4. Another fill shot, this time on Warm. 

 

One more thing on these machines: ALWAYS Always always use the Fabric Softener On/Deep Rinse setting, otherwise the rinse will be just a minute of water trickling over the clothes and then the last spin. No agitation and no water cascading over the whole basket, just whatever gets hit by the fill flume pouring straight down. With that setting turned on, you'll get a normal "fill to the water level selected" rinse just like any sensible TL washer should have.

 

That being said, if she has the opportunity to fix her current one, or find an older machine in good condition, jump on it. Should a new machine be the best solution, however, a Speed Queen or this style machine will be the next best thing.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Thanks

I must say I'm pretty shocked at that NEW Whirlpool using that much water. So just to be sure, this is the case with all WP TL washers that have water level section, right? What about Kenmore TL (I only ask because she mentioned those as well) and I think WP still makes those for Kenmore, but I'm not sure. What is the point of flow restriction if it's ultimately going to use the same amount of water? That lid locking would be a pain. I will tell her about the 15$ item that allows you to open the washer, but I can't see her using it. Then again, if it takes 40 minutes off a cycle, she might.

I will forward all of this info to her. I don't think she will buy a SQ washer or a used one from someone on CL.

Today is repair day. I asked her to let me know what happened. Hopefully it can be fixed. If not, at least she can get a decent TL washer that works like her old one.

 

[washdaddy]

I've heard that on some washers they put in flow restrictors to help "dumb down" the warmer or hot temp selections in the washer. The restrictor would only be on the hot side so that when mixed with the cold the temps would be cooler because the hot wasn't entering the machine as fast.

If both hot and cold and restrictos I don't know what the purpose would be.

Hopefully for her, she either has a broken drive coupler or a broken lid switch which are easy enough to repair and not costly.

 

[washdaddy]

MEANT TO SAY----

If both hot and cold HAD restrictors I don't know what their purpose would be.

 

[thefixer]

The flow restrictors are there to allow time for the clothing to fully soak up the water in the load sensing models. The same water inlet valve is used in load sensing and non load sensing models.

 

[murando531]

As far as I know, all brands fill to that point. They have cosmetic differences only on the outside, but inside they're all identical, they simply modify the computer to comply with what features come with each variation. And thefixer above is correct; because this model uses the same control boards/mechanics/etc., both types have the valves. On the non-sensing version it doesn't make sense to have them though. It does help the "Hot" setting be a little warmer than the default tepid temp it originally fills with. I guess because the ATC doesn't sense the speed or volume of the water coming in, it leaves the hot valve open longer. I'd say now mine will have 105-110F water on hot where before it was lukewarm, if that.

 

[mark_wpduet]

It was

the clutch and tub rust. Repair person recommended a new one, so this is what she bought.

Loading…

www.lowes.com

 

[whirlcool]

Too bad, spin clutches for these machines are available and cheap. Believe it or not replacement tubs are also available. But having a repairman replace all that for her would have been about the cost of the new machine. It only would have been economical if she had done the work herself. (Calling our Laundress).

 

[mark_wpduet]

She loves it

She expected it to have a cheap feel but says it feels solid. It fills all the way to the top and washes just like her 90s one. With Rinse with fab softer button on, it rinses a full rinse. She says it's quiet, rollover is good, spins fast and no out of balance problems. Additionally she said it takes about the same time to fill as her old one, and she said that she asked if they could take out the flow restriction things but he didn't. She says it takes about the same time to fill as her old one so perhaps they don't have those on these models. I'm still pretty shocked they make a top load washer now other than speed queen that essentially operates just like an OLD TL washer. Hopefully it won't die for a few years.

 

[whirlcool]

After a number of years of seeing washers putting in just enough water to cover the bottom of the tube and hot really means warm, it is surprising that she got a washer that has these nice features on it. Maybe there is hope yet for the industry.