Bought One: Frigidaire Immersion Care TL'er

[frigilux]

Ran two more loads: a small load of four pairs of black pants and about eight pairs of thick black socks, on Delicate. I used Perwoll, which actually created a thin blanket of suds during the wash. I stopped the washer when the 4th rinse (that would be the 4th 25-second spray) was completed, before the final spin started. I squeezed out a couple of pairs of socks and....absolutely no suds. Not a damn bubble, even. I just don't get it!

But that was a small load. Let's see how it rinses a BobLoad® of heavy bath linens. Which leads us to this load: Six large, heavy bath towels, three hand towels, half a dozen bar mops. I had to press down on the load to get it under the rim as pictured, so it's overloaded.

Heavy Duty cycle; warm water setting; auto water level; normal soil. Powdered Tide With Bleach HE. Odd: The Normal Cycle is almost 10 minutes longer than Heavy Duty. Hoping for 800 rpm final spin.

[this post was last edited: 1/8/2013-23:56]

 

[frigilux]

This load was a struggle for the agitation. There was noticeably less movement of the clothes. Motor smelled pretty warm by the end of the wash. The towels did shift positions, but it was slow going. Agitation had a few interesting moves, doubling the length of the counterclockwise stroke, then almost equal strokes.

Again, four 25-second spray rinses with a brief, approx. 250 rpm spin between each. Again, stopped machine before final spin and squeezed a couple of towels. No suds. Could have squeezed it into a glass and taken a drink. Absolutely baffled. Is this going to be the best-rinsing washer I've had?

Here's the load about 8 minutes into wash agitation. Tub is a little more than half full of water. Would have liked more water with this load. Will mess around with the manual water levels tomorrow, but I'm guessing it's already at the maximum level.[this post was last edited: 1/8/2013-23:52]

 

[frigilux]

I'm pretty sure the final spin stepped up to 800 rpm. All three loads were very nicely balanced during final spin. The last few minutes of slow agitation during the wash seems to balance everything out. And there's no more agitation for the rest of the cycle.

I'm guessing the Fabric Softener option is a deep rinse, as it adds about 9 minutes to the cycle. A Freshwater Rinse (extra spray rinse) adds 2 minutes.

Now, to figure out how to work around the lid lock. If I could get the light to stay on when the lid is down, I could video right through the glass. Damn it! Will have to pull off the front panel and see what's up with the lock. Or maybe I can get the dealer/service guy to defeat it.

OK, time for bed. This weekend there will be a large load of heavily-stained whites to wash. The ultimate cleaning-ability test.

Here's the load at the end of the cycle. Noticeably wetter than after 1300 rpm spin in front-loader, surprise, surprise. It was a lightly-soiled load, so no comments on cleaning ability.[this post was last edited: 1/8/2013-23:26]

 

[alr2903]

Hello Frigilux. Nice Frigidaire.  We had similar 2006 T/L's.  Is the wash action part of the "old indexing" system or is this an all new electronic type drive system? Thanks.  It is a nice looking machine.  alr

 

[toploader1984]

frigidaire TL

it's a new system electronic controlled motor with a poly v belt drive system, tub and suspension basically the same as older machines.

 

[frigilux]

Here's a photo of the water level at Max fill setting---toploader1984, I knew you'd be interested in seeing that. The water is nearly up to the holes third-row-down-from-the-top in the tub, just a tad lower than my '06 used to fill to. After taking this photo, I threw a couple of bar mops and a washcloth in, and my original thoughts proved true: A fair amount of clothes-to-clothes friction is an important element of the wash action. The items drifted and swirled aimlessly in the huge amount of water.

I need to wash moderate-to-heavily soiled loads to better gauge the cleaning power. Properly loaded, the meager maximum load size will ding this washer's score in CR tests. Am also curious as to how the machine will handle queen-sized bed linens.

The washer qualifies only at "Tier 1" in Energy Star's hierarchy. By contrast, the Maytag Bravos (impeller) line and my 2010 Frigidaire front-loader are "Tier 3", which is the best Energy Star rating. I'm guessing part of this is because of the relatively generous amount of water used in the wash portion of the cycle. If the deep rinse option fills to the same level as the wash, then this machine uses just as much water as the '06 top-loader.

I've been pondering the impressive rinsing. I use twice the detergent in this washer compared to the front-loader because there's so much more water in the tub. Still, the detergent solution is much more concentrated in the front-loader, which may explain why the Immersion Care has an easier time getting rid of detergent/suds--the detergent solution is far more diluted to begin with. Or maybe it's because there's no agitation during the rinses. The slow, approximately 250-rpm spins between each "rinse" make sense because you wouldn't want to compress the clothes too much during the rinsing process.

The washer's mechanics are very quiet during the wash agitation, but the sound of the water--the "ocean waves" you hear in toploader1984's video link in his related thread--are louder than I expected. Once the pump, etc., kick in during drain/spin, it's the same loudness as my '06 Frigidaire top-loader.

The "Waterfall Technology" doesn't do much. The rather anemic jets turn on only once for four or five minutes near the beginning of the wash cycle. The excellent fill flume (about 3 inches wide at the source; water fans out impressively from there) had already saturated even the huge load of towels by that time. Maybe they get more of a workout in the Comforter or Bedding cycles. I'll throw in a comforter this weekend and find out.

A couple of 250 rpm (or so) spins occur during the initial fill, which dissolves and distributes detergent throughout the load.

While I've become accustomed to loading 7 towels and 8-12 large hand towels in the front-loader with room to spare, when I washed the same bath linens as above in the '06 top-loader, it was split into two maximum capacity loads: Four towels and a couple of hand towels in one load, three towels and the remaining hand towels in the second. I'll bet The Immersion Care would do much better with similar loading.[this post was last edited: 1/9/2013-08:40]

 

[retro-man]

I have a set from 3 years ago with the agitator and indexing tube. great turnover and the rinses are incredible. The cycle for colors give a 3 minute spin rinse before the main full rinse cycle. It looks from your 1st pic that the lid lock looks just like mine. yes the butter knife will work but what i did was cut a piece of thin scotch bright cleaner scubbing sheet about the same width as the slot and about 4 inches long. that fits into the slot and you can have the lid up. knife came out once during sping and fortunetly it fell on the floor and not into the machine. looks like an interesting machine.
Jon

 

[frigilux]

Jon--Unfortunately, the lid lock is more complex, now. It sounds like a couple of interlocking steps take place whenever the lid locks. I tried the old method of just pressing down on the lever that's visible in the slot, but it didn't work. The tub light shut off, and I thought "Awesome, here we go!" Then you can hear the other step in the lock process trying to engage "click...click...click..." Then you get an error code.

It is an interesting washer; very, very different than what I'm used to. I don't want to get too excited about it until it proves it can clean loads with more challenging soils/stains.

 

[mrb627]

Lid Lock

Instead of defeating the lid lock, get a couple of LED flashlights and stand them in the two back corners of the glass lid, dim the surrounding laundry room lighting and fillm away.

 

Malcolm

 

[frigilux]

I'll give that a try, Malcolm. Thanks for the suggestion. Another possibility: There are probably a dozen little screws in the frame that holds the window in the lid. I suppose I could just take the glass out. Unfortunately, I'm so feeble with tools and mechanical projects that if I can't get the glass back in correctly, I'd just unplug the washer, put a blanket over it and never use it again, LOL.

I can find solutions to and fix problems with food prep issues in the kitchen (or at my job with things like music arrangements/orchestrations) without batting an eyelash; but put a screwdriver in my hand and my IQ drops 50 points.

[this post was last edited: 1/9/2013-07:58]

 

[gansky1]

Very interesting washer, thanks for all the updates and the photos.

I'm not terribly surprised you're finding a decent rinsing ability, the dilution factors are probably rather high after four slow sprays with (moderate) extraction between each spray period. The Resource Saver Whirlpool DD washer was reputed to be a good rinser as well, using a similar routine but with recirculated water. The '09 Cabrio I had was a rather poor rinsing machine on heavy loads but I attributed this to the short spray period and most of the water spray itself falling onto the impeller rather than directed at the clothes at the sides of the basket. When I took clothes out of the Cabrio and put them into a warm, agitated rinse in another machine, the sudsy truth was apparent.

 

[yogitunes]

How is the lid latch attached to the lid?.....normally a few screws and that would come off....place that in the slot with a piece of duct tape....problem solved!....too easy of a simple solution for many machines....

a lot of these newer machines have to physically see/know that the lid opened between each load to reset......

 

[frigilux]

I'll check that out. See, this is what I mean: I would have never thought of trying that, Martin. Even if it doesn't work in the end, that's an example of coming up with a couple of different solutions to try that evades me when connected with anything even remotely mechanical in nature. My brain just freezes. Ironically, both my father and stepfather were fearless with mechanical things. Neither of them would hesitate tearing a washer apart and putting it back together. Just taking the front panel off would be a big issue for me.

Gansky-- We'll see how well it rinses out bleach when I run a big load of whites this weekend. The manual says to add a Freshwater Rinse, which I'll do. I was immediately impressed with the fill flume. The water hits the clothes perfectly, with great coverage.[this post was last edited: 1/9/2013-13:26]

 

[foraloysius]

Congratulations on the new purchase! I'm enjoying this thread, I'm glad you like the machine so far.

 

[vintagesearch]

Congrats on the new purchase, there just may be proof in the pudding here. Real happy for you.
I'm nervous to see how our new LG will hold up.

 

[frigilux]

Martin, your idea worked. I removed two screws holding the latch thingy to the lid, put it into the slot of the locking mechanism and we were in business! You have to hold it down in the slot until the lock engages; from that point it holds itself in place for the remainder of the cycle. Since I can see the machine in action through the glass, I'll just remove it again when it's time to make a video.

Malcolm, I think your idea will work well, too. I put two flashligts face down on the glass and it lights the interior well enough to make a video.

Randy-- CR's reliability data shows LG washers (both top- and front-loading) are currently the most reliable brand. That's not a guarantee, of course, but it bodes well. And LG washers are highly-rated, too.

Thanks for your input and well-wishes, everyone! I hope to make a video sometime this weekend.

 

[mixfinder]

Way To Go

I am having dishwasher challenges and I am tempted to pick one of the better performing Electrolux/Frigidaire machines.  Even though I know better Frigidaire is ingrained in my soul as a very good thing.

 

[frigilux]

I washed a medium-sized load of very stained kitchen whites (filled out to full-load status with two dozen clean bar mops) with commendable results despite an unwelcome surprise. Using a nearly full scoop (as directed) of powdered Tide w/Bleach HE and 1/2-cup chlorine bleach, I chose the Whites cycle, hot water, an extra spray rinse, auto water level, and the Stain Treat option, which the manual says adds a mid-agitation soak. Then, SURPRISE!, the washer filled with (temp-controlled) cold water and continued on its merry way. I was not happy, but decided to just let the machine do its thing. 

 

At cycle's end, I pulled everything out for inspection.  To my utter astonishment, all stains were removed save for a big mustard stain on a chef's apron and some telltale gray on a bar mop that I'd used underfoot to clean an area of the kitchen floor.  In cold water. With a (relatively short by today's standards) 63-minute cycle.  Bleach was rinsed out very well with the five spray rinses.

 

The Frigidaire front-loader, using the profile-wash Sanitize cycle would have tackled the couple of stains that remained (with an hour-and-45-minute cycle), but the results far exceeded my expectations.  I'd also thrown in a couple of very worn white wash rags that I use in the laundry room to see if they would be shredded by the impeller.  There were definitely more (and longer) strings pulled along the frayed edges which wouldn't have happened with the front-loader, but they emerged intact with no additional holes.  And clean.

 

Granted, the machine is operating under ideal circumstances; with softened water and an excellent detergent.  And frankly, had there been no LCB used, I'm sure more stains would have remained unconquered.

 

IT'S DIFFERENT NOW: I decided it's ridiculous to continue using the terms 'turnover' and 'rollover' with the Immersion Care (and probably other impeller-based machines) because those terms no longer apply.

 

Turnover/rollover is a rhythmic, orderly process in which a traditionally-agitated load moves in graceful unison.  Each brand of our beloved vintage machines has its own version of the dance: Think of the balletic lift-and-dip movement of a ramped GE or Westy; the grab-and-submerge of a Kenmore's Roto-Swirl; a 1959 Maytag's "slow-and-steady" with its zen-like calm surface water; the pulsing, staccato movements created by Frigidaire's Jet-Action agitation.  We recognize those distinctive rollover patterns, and have--quite correctly with those washers--linked rollover with cleaning ability.

 

To watch the Immersion Care during agitation is frustrating and unsettling.  Turnover, as we know it, does not exist.  Instead, items shift position in a slow, unpredictable, very undemocratic, and quite honestly, visually repulsive manner.  It's like watching a film frame-by-frame.  "Why does item A get to disappear and reappear five times when item B hasn't moved in five minutes?" "Oh my God, isn't the mound of items that formed ages ago ever going to pull itself apart?"

 

This frustration only increases when the load emerges clean because it shouldn't.  None of the visual or aural cues we're used to occurred, and there just wasn't enough damn water in this film.  And instead of being happy with these unexpected results, I'm kind of pissed-off because it feels like the bad guy won.

 

Next test: An even crazier load of kitchen whites this weekend, with photos and, hopefully, video.  Then a good old dirt-'n'-grime load.  It can't possibly handle that well.  Right?

 

 

[this post was last edited: 1/10/2013-09:39]

 

[georgect]

Kitchen whites...the next washing saga

Can't wait to see the results of "crazy load of kitchen whites".
A video would be cool.

I hear/feel your plight regarding clothes turn over and water level and the out come is clean clothes...it sounds like craziness to me too!

 

[golittlesport]

I wonder if the Stain Treat option you selected substituted a cold wash to prevent stains from setting in hot water?