Best washers and dryers

[whirlpool862]

My Whirlpool WTW4900BW0 top load washer is 10 years old and while it still works okay, it has a worn bearing so it’s very loud on the spin cycle. My matching dryer is the WED4850BW0 and it has never needed a repair and has no issues.

It’s a high efficiency washer with no agitator. While I don’t hate it, I still prefer the older direct drives over these VMW models.

I actually used to own one of the direct drives before I got the VMW, it was a Whirlpool from the 90s, but the old direct drive had the transmission fail in it so I got a new washer.

The dryer was working well after that but I replaced it because I wanted a matching set.

I actually prefer the LEDs over the incandescents, they last longer but they don’t last as long as their rated life. I never liked the CFLs, tho.

Not a fan of front loaders, never was.

 

[agiflow]

Reply #38

Whirlpool Bob is the only one left that I know of.

 

[johnb300m]

#38

Bob, Whirlpool, GE(Haier), Electrolux all make select ranges and cooktops, even electric ones, in the USA still.
Mostly around TN, NC, GA, if memory serves me correctly.

 

[combo52]

US built electric and gas ranges

Whirlpool has a major plant in Tulsa Oklahoma that builds both freestanding gas and electric 30 inch ranges.

I know they are still building wall ovens and cooktops in the US as well as they have the old magic chef factory they got from Maytag is still cranking out a lot of ranges. I wish they would’ve let that factory go personally.

GE seems to still build most of their electric ranges in Louisville. However, their gas ranges all seem to be assembled in Mexico.

John L

 

[magic_clean]

Here's

some info about Magic Chef, Maytag & Whirlpool in Cleveland TN from 2010.

-LP

https://www.reliableplant.com/Read/26376/Whirlpool-manufacturing-facility-Tennessee

 

[agiflow]

Reply#41

Was talking about manufacturers that started here and are still U.S.owned just to clarify.AFAIK Whirlpool is still the combined Upton and 1900 Corp. Unless they changed hands ?

 

[johnb300m]

Then yea!
Whirlpool’s bloodline is pure.
They’ve acquired others but not been acquired themselves.
(Yet)

 

[DADoES]

 
Mom's kitchen was updated in Oct/Nov 2024 with a WP suite (electric radiant cooktop, double wall oven, OTR microwave, FDBM fridge, dishwasher).  Replacing a 22+yo GE DW, 20yo WP double wall oven & coil cooktop, 29yo KA top freezer moved to spare/pantry duty, and 49-ish yo KM range hood disposed.  All perpetrated by the sister and SIL who did some remodeling on the house in preparation for relocating in with mom in a couple more months.  Mom otherwise wouldn't have done any of it.

The fridge had a factory glitch regards a rear anchor screw for the left rail of the mid-level refrigerated drawer not fully seated, obstructing opening of the drawer until it was forcefully yanked.  Fixed by moi.  I suppose a warranty call should been done but that would have delayed us getting it installed-and-operating in time for Thanksgiving.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

acquisition

Remember, they already acquired Maytag in 2006. I remember when Whirlpool slapped Maytag on their dishwashers in 2009. I'm wondering if all of their dishwashers are touch screen or just plain push buttons. As for their washers and dryers, they have Whirlpool characteristics.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

to chetlaham

I'm referring to the GE gtw525acpwb and matching dryer.

 

[Chetlaham]

gtw525acpwb

Sadly Jerome gtw525acpwb is taking me to WH49X25375. WH49X25375 is a 0.4 horse power motor with a 60 micro farad capacitor.

 

 

GE is so shamelessly scummy that while their advertising says 0.5 HP, the Chinese magnum opus of a motor is labelled 0.4 HP. 

 

And the current is really low for a 0.4HP motor, so said motor may not even be 0.4 HP in actuality. 

 

 

Really I feel like vomiting. At least be honest about the paper tigers you're sticking in these machines. 

 

 

In my world a REAL 1HP motor would come standard in washing machines.

 

[agiflow]

I agree chat. They should be at least 1 horsepower in these VMW knockoff machines seeing that they don't have real transmissions in them.

Honestly the Whirlpool commercial CAE2795FQ that I owned and Amana NTW4516FW were two of the best of those types of machines I've owned... Especially the whirlpool.

There was no farting around with the whirlpool. It just got the laundry done and about the space of a half hour.

With a suds lock it would do a deep rinse and four spray rinses. That machine had some good programming.

 

[Chetlaham]

Agiflow, I've seen your videos of your CAE2795FQ washer and I agree it has excellent cycle programming. I saw the video where your machine suds locked in the first spin and it just stopped spinning early altogether advancing to a fill. This is to protect the motor since these VMWs lack a slip clutch.  Your washer has what I call limp along and push through cycle sequences that will more or less advance a machine forward instead of repeating the same sequence over and over, freeze, or throw an error code. All washers should be like your CAE. Even some old school couldn't limp along. 

 

 

 

For example I remember when Toggleswitch bought his new GE washer around 2006 he had a suds lock while on the phone and the motor tripped out for nearly two hours. The plastic GE washers prior had a centrifugal start motor with clutch at the bottom of the shaft which was latter replaced with a PSC motor without a clutch. This is one example of thoughtless appliance design in that the PSC motors lacked a current sense circuit. Any suds locking would cause the motor to render the washer useless for a few hours. Dumb. dumb, dumb. And no, the spin circuit being run through the pressure switch on those washers will not save you from a suds lock.    

 

[Chetlaham]

Toggle's Washer

Here is an example of Toggle's washer in the link. This version has a PSC motor. The metal dome acting as the pulley does not provide any clutch action like it did in earlier models. A suds lock on these latter model Ts caused the motor to overheat and trip out. 

 

 

 It was these washing monstrosities that boiled the frogs for the Hydrowaves and the inevitable VMW proliferation.

 

 

 

 

 

[combo52]

Washing machine horsepower

I have seen a lot of washing machines in my life, and I have never once seen a machine that didn’t have enough power to do the intended job.

It’s a ridiculous thing to worry about, I have never seen a machine that was not able to wash a load of clothing or spin it at full speed Pretty much regardless of the load size.

Chet you need to go back and sit in your sandbox until you learn something it’s ridiculous to make comments when you have no engineering experience about the size of the motor that should be in a washing machine, lol

I will remember when Norge got on their silly kick for three-quarter horsepower motors. I think they even claimed they had a one horsepower motor. Once all it resulted in was the timer is burning up in the machines going to the crusher early didn’t improve performance one bit. This is what happens when you let ad men engineer things

John L

John L

 

[Chetlaham]

Oh, they've got the power-

 

- but that doesn't mean efficient or practicable.

  

 

 

John, your the one worried about energy efficiency. If you had any engineering experience you'd know domestic appliance motors are some of the most over driven, crude, inefficient and value engineered motors in existence. Common induction motors (single and 3 phase) are actually the most energy efficient when loaded to around 50%-75% of their rated output, with under-loaded motors actually running cooler while extending motor life. Its funny because in many older appliance induction motors barely became hot when running vs today where a motor after a single cycle is literally hot enough to seriously burn someone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norge choose a 3/4 HP motor because engineering calcs required it for handling full size loads during agitation. Timers burning up? Design a more durable timer specifically rated for breaking higher currents. There are millions of electrical switching devices making and breaking much higher currents countless times every second of every day many having been in service for decades without a hiccup. It can be done.  

 

 

I want to see drastically more efficient 50/60Hz induction motors in appliances with build and application quality that will let them last 60+ years.

 

 

I probably shouldn't tell you this John but I will let you pick on me like an educated man. The only down side (besides cost and weight) to my mentality of oversized cool running motors with high saturation thresholds and reduced winding and stator losses is significantly increased inrush current. But given time current curves of most North American circuit breakers I doubt it will make itself known just like plenty of MOTs and window AC units are not blowing breakers. 

 

 

There is nothing to fear John.

 

 

[this post was last edited: 3/27/2025-08:16]

 

[Ultramatic]

Speed Queen gets my vote.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

chetlaham...

GE claims that they use a steel drive transmission in their gtw525acpwb. What do you think compared to their residential models?

 

[johnb300m]

lol Chet you’re not gonna see it unless you’re willing to pay for it.
And good luck with that with tariffs coming in, making machines get more expensive.
You’re going to see both price increases and MORE value engineering /cost cutting.

 

[thatwasherguy]

IMO, Whirlpool has earned every bit of their bad reputation.

I currently own a 2012 whirlpool side by side refrigerator, and it is one of the biggest pieces of junk I’ve ever seen. The water in the door freezes up regularly, the damper door spring has failed at least a half a dozen times, and it freezes things in the refrigerator section. It also blew two control boards due to the wire for the water solenoid shorting out on one of the screws to the rear panel, caused by a manufacturing defect. Our old fridge never had any of these issues. We also owned a Bravos XL washer (one of the oasis type with the floating wash basket), and that thing was an even bigger POS. It never properly rinsed the clothes, to the point that it was honestly a relief when the tub seal and bearings let go at only four years old. That wasn’t even the only Bravos XL washer we had in that four year period, with the first one blowing it’s control board less than a month into owning it. Another experience I had with them was when I recommended them as a ‘best of the worst’ solution to a family friend who was buying a new deep freezer. The compressor blew up in less than a week. Needless to say, I won’t make the mistake of recommending another one of their products. IMO, their only saving grace is the top filter dryer, and repair parts for older machines.
Thatwasherguy.