Calyso Washer

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Washaholic

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Aug 13, 2005
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I am thinking about buying the calyso washer made by whirlpool. Does anyone have any feedback on this machine.

Darin
 
As a member of Epinions.com I subscribed to opinions on a lot of washers. Among them the Whirlpool and Kenmore Calypso models. I have never read so much negative feedback on a washer as on the Calypso. I think the design is basically wrong, the laundry can't tumble or circulate freely like in all other kind of washers. I would stay away from this machine.

 
I believe that with the Calypso design, the clothes need to be submerged in water for the wash plate to work effectively. I saw the action on the DVD and while there is some rollover, the shower spray doesn't look like it's doing much. Instead of this "High Efficiency" bulls**t, why not add a water level control and pressure switch?

If the Philco, Frigidaire, & Kelvinator machines with unusual wash action filled all the way up, then this one certainly can!
 
I had a Calypso in 2000 and it did fine on the first wash w/ no clothes and then broke down on the 2nd wash (the first one with clothes in it). The repair lady from Sears was at my house for 2 hours and finally told me she could not fix it and they would just replace it. I returned it, because I wondered what would happen the next time it broke. I wasn't going to be able to just replace it everytime there was a problem.

It would randomly stop anywhere in the cycle and flash the letters "CE" on the screen which means there is a communication error (between the motor and circuit board).

Jeff
 
I had a Kenmore Calypso washer that had been returned to Sears and then resold at a huge discount. I used it for about five or six months and once I got used to it, had no trouble and loved the results. I holds a huge amount of clothes and seemed to wash extremely well with HE detergent. It uses quite a bit more water than the hettie/Duet front loaders, but still meets all energy standards. I tripped the lid switch to watch with the lid open and although I was skeptical about it before having it, was sold on the idea after using it. I've heard that Whirlpool has done testing on the gentleness of the machine compared with other washers, top-load and front-loaders both, and the Calypso is one of the gentlest on the market. I think a lot of the negative opinions the machine had were more due to that it was a very new technology and admittedly, they did have some pump issues in the beginning, but those were quickly resolved and reliability improved. The one thing I found that it didn't do well was very large items, comforters, etc. don't move as much as they should and don't get a good "flush" as with a front loader.
 
i have seen a website that suggests thousands of customers have been having trouble with the calypso wash motion
 
Re: Calypso Problems:

Hi! Club Members, even though the Whirlpool and Kenmore are the same Mechanically, but Cosmetically they are different, I'm wondering anyway what the percentage between the 2-Models are Whirlpool and what percentage are Kenmore's that have had the most problems of Repairs?

I've heard that the Kenmore for whatever reason seemed more prone to Break-Downs, over the Whirlpool Models.

If I were to look into getting a Calypso Washer, I would probably look into the Whirlpool Model. I would like to have one, just to check them out and see for myself the Washing ability and Load Size Cleaning. I've got some Twin-Size Comforter's, but even them I would be hesitant in Washing in a Calypso Washer, after reading Greg's info about its lower cleaning ability of Comforter's.

I like the looks of their Controls and I like the top of the Wash-Plate, it reminds me of the "Swirl" on the top of a Soft-Freeze Ice Cream Cone serving. The top of the Kenmore's Wash-Plate reminds me of an Orange Juice Squeezer.

"BTW" Greg "gansky1" do you still have your Kenmore Calypso, or have you sold it?

Peace and Happy Calypso Washing, Steve
SactoTeddyBear...
 
I suspect that people would have fewer problems with these machines (and others) if they had port-holes in their lids as FLs do. If users could watch what's going on inside, they would quickly figure out that every machine is different in terms of how it handles a load, and what load compositions work well or don't.

And also, even with "fully automatic," there's a learning curve. People should be taught to expect it will take a few weeks before they figure out how to use a new machine to its best advantage. This includes FLs, given the issues about spin and vibration and so on.

I have to believe that before a new washer is released by a major manufacturer, it goes through empirical tests to see that it will perform as designed. There is no computer simulation good enough to model the chaotic mechanical forces involved, especially given the wide potential variation in load composition (e.g. everything from blankets to all bluejeans to all socks), so there is no substitute for empirical testing.
 
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