Dancing Duet

[rp2813]

My Duet pair was delivered on Tuesday and I've been trying to get the washer to keep from shaking during spin. This seems to happen with any load that's even slighlty off balance. It keeps fairly still with a well balanced load. I'm making adjustments to the leveling legs in front only as the rear ones aren't both easily accessible and am having a bit of success, but is there a trick to leveling these machines to reduce the shaking? It also makes an annoying knocking sound with a slightly unbalanced load which is disturbing given the otherwise silent operation. Any suggestions out there from people who have had this same problem?

Ralph

 

[panthera]

Ralph,

Silly question, I know - but any chance some of the packing material was not removed?
I have seen machines do that because a shipping bolt in the back had been overseen. Others because, ahem, the idiot installer (me) forgot that "balanced" is not determined on the top of the machine, but by holding the spirit level or laser to measure the perpendicularity of the frame to the floor (damn, my English is horrid tonight. I mean, don't just check the top, but check the front and sides, too).
Of course, if the floor is not quite stable - or you have hit a "resonance" spot, that will do it to.
Try putting a heavy piece of plywood or counter-top under the machine and level again. If that fixes it, consider moving to a corner where the support is usually better or, if you must, using a such a piece of material to better distribute the weight across the floor.
Good luck!
/just thought of something - too much detergent foaming will cause imbalance at times, try another HE detergent/

 

[decodriveboy]

Ralph, sounds like it could be a shipping bolt still in place.
How do you like the Duet otherwise?

 

[hreodbeorht]

congratulations on the new washer

What kind of floor and material is the washer sitting on?

 

[rp2813]

Keven, the installer was really good and knew what he was doing, but unfortunately only my partner was there for the delivery as I had to be at work. But I made sure before I left for work that my partner knew the shipping bolts were a major issue that needed to be covered with the installer, and he did that. These machines are in the garage, which has a very slight pitch to the floor. On the washer, this means the left legs need to be longer than the right. I've only been checking for level on the top of the machine so will check the front and sides also. It does seem like this machine is very sensitive and wants everything perfectly balanced, which is a bit much to ask with a mixed load. What I've been doing is waiting for the spin cycle and then adjusting the legs during that time to achieve minimum shaking. I just can't seem to eliminate the shaking completely.

So far no over-sudsing that I can see. I'm using Tide HE--actually haven't been able to find any other HE brand except Tide so far but still have more stores to hit and see what alternative brands they carry.

Deco, I think I'm in love with these machines. Of course they're brand new but the washer does a great job, rinses thoroughly compared to tons of suds left in the laundry sink with my old Amana TL no matter how many extra rinses I'd run it through or how little detergent I'd use. It's completely silent during tumbling except for the muffled sound of the wet clothes dropping. As stated in my initial post above, when the load is perfectly balanced the spin cycle is very quiet. I tend to think this is a well engineered machine. It's easy to operate. I was concerned that I'd have to be punching buttons forever like on a microwave touchpad before getting the thing going when in reality if the cycle knob is already set where you want it, you only push a maximum of two buttons to get it started. More buttons if you want to modify things like water temp and spin speed but even that's very easy to understand and quickly executed.

The gas dryer is so quiet compared to my Amana, which was a rattle trap from day one. Still working on which cycles on the dryer are best but I'll get it down.

My only complaint is that the washer door is not reversible. I ended up having to place the dryer next to the laundry sink instead of the washer in order to make the doors work for easy transfer of clothes from washer to dryer.

If all else fails and I can't get the washer balanced, I can always make a service call for the knocking sound the washer makes during most spins and perhaps get a technician to fine tune the thing.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try those tonight!

 

[alr2903]

Ralph sure hope things LEVEL out.

I do not have a duet, but your views on the Amana gave me a chuckle. Sorry you had bad luck with your Amana as well, my amana also rattled from day one, and ended up with the center seal leak. Im over it now, but it still P!$$es me off, if i think about it too long. Hope your duet purchase works out for you. arthur

 

[easyspindry]

Hey Ralph.

I had a Duet pair and loved them. The washer was quiet and did a thorough job of washing and rinsing. My first problem was that the washer would "walk" when it would spin. One day a repairman was here working on another appliance. I mentioned the "walking" to him. He was interested in the Duet set because at that time they were fairly new. He took great pains to level the washer and make sure the leveling feet were locked into place. The "walking" problem was fixed, but the noise was still there. After all, the thing spins at something like 1200 rpm.

I also found that sheets and jeans or pants would tangle and soemtimes I had to open the door and manually redestribute the load. The tub is slightly tilted to the rear much like the old Westinghouse slant fronts, and tangling was a major problem for those machines.

But, I have to tell you that when there was something in the washer like jeans that it had a hard balancing, it raise hell when it would spin. I could hear it from the other end of the house. But it did the job.

I have a Spin X extractor and when I got the Duet set, I quit using the extractor.

My Duet dryer was gas. I found it did a better job with a larger load than it did with a smaller one.

The only reason I got rid of the Duet set is that they took up too much space in my kitchen. They are BIG machines.

I hope you enjoy using them.

Jerry Gay

 

[gansky1]

I would call for service on a new machine behaving this way. I've had my Duet for almost three years and haven't had any problems whatsoever with it. When I first bought the machine, I put it on the pedestal and now it's stacked with the dryer. Other than a little bit of shaking when spinning a slightly unbalanced load, there is not walking or knocking noises of any kind. Other than the whirr of the spinning, I hear no noise from it while running. Right before I bought mine, Whirlpool changed the shipping design to make it impossible to remove the cord from the back of the machine unless the shipping bolts had been removed so it's unlikely that you have a stray bolt still attached. Installation corrections are probably not that uncommon for appliance service calls, especially with the newer front-loading washers since they are a quite different process than the traditional machines of days gone by... Best of luck!

 

[golittlesport]

Good luck with your new Duets! Try Target for HE detergents if there is one near you. They have a great selection of brands at good prices.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks for all the input and good wishes everybody! I was at my local grocery store last night and found All, Cheer, and Wisk in addition to Tide for He detergents so will be sampling those as I go along. I don't know if its the design on the spout for Tide liquid or what, but it tends to drip out from the cap thread area every time I pour some. I think I'll unscrew the caps off of the other brands and see if any of them have a different design.

Keven, I put a level on the left side of the washer and it definitely needs some adjustment. I'm thinking that might do the trick but had company last night so didn't get the chance to work on this. I'm confident this is a simple leveling issue and nothing more, but if I can't manage to get the thing to keep completely still, I'll put in a service call.

Arthur, the Amana pair should be on Craig's List tonight if I can get them cleaned up and take pix to post. Hoping someone will want both, as the dryer alone will be a tough sell. I'll hype up the "Commercial Quality" of these machines in my CL post even though it's a total joke. The washer is working as smoothly and quietly (relatively speaking) as it ever has with a new belt that's been properly installed so whomever ends up with it will be happy, at least until it tears up belt #4 after a couple of years. I think the stainless tub will be my salvation in getting someone to buy the washer and both machines present very well. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to recover a fraction of what the Duets set me back.

Also, good news on the Duet washer. These are discontinued models and Lowes said all that were coming into stock were already sold so they gave me a deal on the floor model for $750. They ended up delivering a new-in-box washer as there was one available in the warehouse so I really made out well on this deal.

 

[panthera]

Ralph,

Good luck - I suspect it really is that simple. I am not a big fan of Whirlpool, but they have put some serious effort into making these machines work well. Your problems almost have to be either the floor or leveling.
Let us know which HE you like best. I am going to try to take some Persil over to the 'States to experiment in a Frigimore FL with.

 

[rp2813]

I've just about got it licked. I'd have to move the dryer to get to the one rear leg that will probably eliminate all shaking and I'm putting that off as it will be a very minor adjustment when the time comes. Shaking is very minimal now and only when the spin is starting up with an unbalanced load. Once it gains speed the washer keeps still. At least I know I'm on the right track and can fool with that one rear leg when the time comes.

It's only been a week since owning this huge front loader and already I can't imagine battling with an agitator as I fill the tub with stuff to wash. My king sized mattress pads have room to spare in the Duet, and with my super capacity Amana TL I had to fold them just right and then hold the fill setting to "reset" in order to cover with enough water, then cross my fingers that the agitator could even get any rollover action going. Now I know my large items are getting truly cleaned. I'm really glad I made this purchase.