Disposable appliances

[dj-gabriele]

Hi guys! After the break down of our old abut reliable Philco washer the landlord bough us a Whirlpool washing machine, model AWOD3080, I believe it is the least expensive washer that was in the shop... anyway, the bearings are gone, not even 6 months after it was run for the first time and it didn't suffer any abuse at all! Of 4 people in the house one doesn't wash any clothes, the other is out most of the time and the remaining two do around 5 (underloaded) washes per week.
The rattling noise came all of a sudden with the spin, so loud that I could hear the machine from the chicken behind 2 closed doors and a room in between.
I never saw a belt so thin, no grooved pulley, just a plain sting on a smooth disc going to the motor and the plastic welded tub that can't have bearings changed. The whole tub assembly is due to arrive next week at best... the repair man told that if I wanted I could do 5-6 washes before the complete collapse but I think I'll use my sister's washer as I don't want to risk burning the motor.

Did a similal breakdown ever happened to one of you so early after a new purchase or is only bad luck?

PS: the service man was great but the telephone customer care was among the worst I have ever experienced! Rude and become even worse after I told that the bearings were gone (after 6 months it can't be they told me! Ha!)

 

[iheartmaytag]

I know some will disagree with me, but in my opinion and only my opinion. Some of Whirl-crap is the epitiomy of Disposable. I had the same experience with the Whirl-crap "Cool line". When I am standing in water up to my ankles for the second time in two weeks, it is not a nice thing to say to me "It's not our problem that you got a lemon."
The new Maytags were delivered three days later. Unfortunately, Maytag is now part of Whirlpool.

After blasting them just now. I will say that in my searching the Whirlpool Duet appears to be the best choice I have found so far. I am still praying over my Dependable Care Maytag, hoping that it will last at least another year before I have to replace it.

 

[thomasortega]

If you think this whirlpool is crap, you should see the Brazillian Whirlpools (Brastemp and Consul) they started to sell almost 10 years ago.
The design is amazingly beautiful, but a can of soda is more resistant.

 

[bertrum]

hi dj-gabriele,

My advice would be to buy the bearing kit and do the job yourself!

I know its a pain in the neck doing a split tub bearing job but do you really want to wait for ages for an engineer to come and not do a good a job as you could do?.

I certainlty would not let the manufactures near my daily under guarantee or not!

Im sure you are more capable than most so Definatley do it yourself.

 

[xraytech]

That sounds how our 2nd POS Frigidaire made Kenmore dishwasher was. Almost 2 months old, wouldn't drain and then flooded the kitchen, not to mention the lack luster performance. It was rebuilt on warranty and then again right before the two year extended warranty expired then about 6 months later the motor went and we replaced it with another Kenmore. This is Dishwasher #3 in almost 6 years. And we have had the same problems with the first one, the new one is 4 months old and no problem yet.

 

[autowasherfreak]

Saw this on Craigslist, only two years old, what is up the appliances today? Here's the description.

"I have a whirlpool duet washer, Model # GHW9100LW2, that I am parting out. the only thing that is not for sale is the rear tub (bearing is out of it) and the stainless steel inner drum (bearing went out and now the shaft is warped). Everything else is in used shaped, its about 2 years old. All pumps and motors are working and guaranteed. Email at [email protected] or call 815-631-2870 for parts and prices. thanks for looking."

http://quadcities.craigslist.org/hsh/1066457987.html

 

[dj-gabriele]

My advice would be to buy the bearing kit and do the job you

It can't be done! The tecnician told that he must change the whole tub assembly as it can't be opened!
Anyway I wouln't have the skills except for basic DIY
I think that if I had to buy the whole assembly by myself it would cost more than getting another machine! And this time be it Italian made!

 

[tolivac]

At this point I am not going to buy any NEW laundry applainces until I can be assured they can last longer than 5 or 7 yrs.I have seen MANY videos on youtube about short lived but very expensive front load washers-most common failures--Drum spiders on Frigidaires.circuit board and rear bearing failures on Duets.and balance problems for GE FL machines.Or is it these folks are not using these machines properly?Oh buy the way--that expensive pair of LG washer dryer is still at Best buy-more than a year-no takers.they put the machines in the stores vestibule hoping someone entering the place will buy them.I don't know-they almost look like expensive krusher-trash truck bait in 5-7 yrs.I will continue to buy WP-KN BD TL machines at the swap shop.I know they will work and usually last longer than 5-7 yrs.

 

[autowasherfreak]

So far (knocking on wood) I have had excellent luck with my Frigidaire Gallery set.

 

[paulg]

Speed Queens and old Crosleys

My newer-vintage 2005 Speed Queen TL pair are still going fine in their fourth year. God bless them. Used almost every day. Basic, basic design. Can't beat simplicity.
I SO agree with the notion that I will NOT buy anything new unless it'll last 5-7 years or more. I truly believe the bargains are at the resale shop.
My 1954 Crosley refrigerator still runs. Now THAT'S VALUE!

 

[gizmo]

I have an LG front loader. Its main bearings died and it was thrown out, I got it from the recycle centre. It was only 4 years old. The main seal had badly scored the drum axle, so the drum spider had to be replaced too.

The good news is, the machine is particularly easy to work on, parts were cheap and easily available in as nearby country town. (I live out in the sticks.) I bought SKF bearings so they should last longer, the seal and spider were genuine LG parts and cost approximately $20 for the seal and $40 for the spider. The machine is back together now and I really like it, it washes just how I like, has a big load, fairly quiet (though it does jump if it gets off balance) and I now know it should be easy to fix if it plays up again. I have never liked LG stuff, but this machine isn't bad at all.

On the other hand, I have two dead Whirlpool front loaders in the shed and have recently turned down an offer of a third machine of the same model (AWM 293-600). They all have broken drum spiders. The spider is not available as a spare part, the whole drum assembly is about $400 and you can buy a new front loader with 2 or 3 year warranty for about $450. Disgraceful.

I still have my Asko 12004, it is 17 years old and still works well, bearings are good as new. That machine is built to last. It has had a couple of trivial faults over the years but the only reason it has been retired is that the LG washes a bigger load with less power, less noise and rinses much better. (rinsing was a weakness of the Asko.)

Chris.

 

[launderess]

One reason front loaders lost market share to top loading washing machines is the ease of design and repair of the later.

H-Axis washing machines, by nature of their design must cope with forces top loaders do not. Supporting ten or more pounds of wet laundry for several cycles, even with moderate use is going to require some strong support systems.

Commercial front loaders can run several thousand dollars for even the smallest units. However bearings and other parts are easily replaced. One can find Wascomats ten or twenty years old still chugging away with few if any major repairs.

Problem for many laundry appliance makers is that consumers on both sides of the pond tend to view such purchases less and less as "major" and more of a "consumer" good. No one wants to pay the price (adjusted for inflation), a built like a tank vintage washer would cost today. Worse for American manufacturers the US government is pushing front loaders as a way for saving water, just when consumers aren't interested in spending major money. Worse many do not like front loaders to begin with and would balk in greater numbers if they had to pay say what a MOL or TOL Miele or V-Zug costs.

Personally think we all should be outraged that some major appliances barely make it past four years. Even as late as the 1970's or 1980's any make of appliance that didn't give value for money would have been throttled. Also a bulk of appliance sales were done by local small independent shops. Such places valued their customers and by and large would go out of their way to keep them happy. If Mr. Average American came in and started beefing that the washer sold to his wife not four years ago was dying and worse needed a major repair, you can bet he got satisfaction.

L.

 

[bertrum]

welded tub!

Hi dj-gabriele,
What a shame the machine has a welded tub, this gives no scope for future repair, sad to say but this machine is destined for the dump.

In my opinion rather than build an appliance to be AAA rated and lasts 2 years wouldnt it be better to build an appliance that is DDD rated and lasts 20 years?

Which one would be better for the environment?.

I am of the opinion that the rating system is a complete scam. The environmental waste of manufacturing materials alone for these modern throw away machines must be more than the supposed benefits of the rating system.

 

[launderess]

Yes But

Government regulations seem to be strictly focused on water and or energy costs in use, not production and disposal.

L.

 

[tolivac]

I feel the Govt energy and water usage regs for appliances is another "scam" that should be scrapped.We could get rid of an agency we don't need.(that would help the national budget)This can be handled by the PRIVATE sector.If folks want energy and water saving machines so be it.Let the PEOPLE decide here NOT govt.While the Republicans were in office this would have been a good thing for them to do.Instead they just fuddy-duddied around.Now we are stuck with these and it will get WORSE under Obama.I think if they want to regulate-life and disposal should be a concern too.What good is it to try to sell an expensive engergy-water saving fixture to a customer only to have it last 5-7 yrs?That is NOT BEING resposible to the enviornment.You are just filling landfills at customer expense.

 

[ronhic]

Both...

...manufacturers and consumers are to blame in equal portion for the deterioration of quality.

Consumers, because most want all the 'bells and whistles' but don't want to pay 'too much' for them...

...and manufacturers because they want consumers to buy their goods which have to have enough 'goodies' and be priced at a point where people will buy them - lots of them - which often means slightly cheaper than the opposition.

To do this something has had to give and quality is often the first to go. They still get built to 'look' like the better quality, older machines, but when you dig deeper it would appear that it (quality) is not there.

When we replaced my mothers ASEA late last year I stumbled across a site operated by the Reserve Bank of Australia - an inflation calculator.

When I run the cost of things through, it tells me what the equivalent money is at any year point up to 2008 that I nominate.

eg.

1968 Simpson Fluid Drive approx $200.00 became $1134 in 1989
1989 Asea Cylinda 12000 $1250 became $2142 in 2008.

BUT in 2008, mum was not prepared to spend over $2000 on buying a washing machine even though historically, this is the same money that was spent in 1968 and 1989...

...so what has she lost out on? Probably the 20 odd years of service she had from each of the other 2 machines. If she gets 5-8 years out of the bigger capacity, more programme replacement (which cost $800), then she should consider herself owed nothing.

So before we start lamenting the lack of quality, maybe we should also look at how much we are (or are NOT) paying or prepared to pay for said appliance.

The Bank of England operates a similar site (http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/inflation/calculator/index1.htm) in 1985 GBP300 = 681 in 2008!...

....as does the US Federal Reserve (http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/) $200 in 1968 = $1247 in 2008...

http://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/calc.go

 

[launderess]

Inflation

We've touched on that topic on and off here in the group.

If one were to adjust a top of the line Maytag, Frigidare (GM,not WCI), or such washing machine from say 1970's or even 1980's for today's money, a $400 washer would easily reach over one grand, USD.

Problem is, and many appliance makers saw this coming ages ago, persons tend not to hold onto appliances (at least in the United States)the way they used to. People move house often and their appliances usually stay with the old house. Divorces, and other causes of change of address also mean people move about more and aren't willing to pay to shift major appliances.

On the one had, plastics and such have made building washing machines cheaper, as metal parts have been replaced. OTHO those newer plastic parts often do not last, so the unit must be junked as it is "too costly" to repair.

 

[pulsator]

I sooooo very often get people asking me what washer they should buy, they only have 2 requirements most of the time...

1) It has to be built to last like an old Maytag
2) It has to be under $400!!!

I find myself quite often just burst out laughing at them! They just don't seem to be able to understand that appliances are not made the way they used to be!

 

[gansky1]

How the disposability virus propagates itself:

I brought home a Whirlpool-made direct-drive TOL Maytag washer last week that is a little more than a year old. The balance ring had come loose from the stainless steel basket, rubbed on the the tub top cover, wearing a hole in the ring. The water got away and now the machine won't balance properly in spin. The owner said her repair-dunce told her she was facing a $200+ repair bill and it would be wise to just go buy a new washer. He recommended a Whirlpool. And she did just that.

I ordered the new balance ring for $24.