ryner1988
Well-known member
It's funny that this thread came back up.
The washer I was talking about in the original post, a basic Whirlpool top loader WTW4816FW, died in 2022 due to what I now believe was a failed mode shifter as it was stuck between drain and spin. I have since learned that issue could have been fixed relatively cheaply, but the appliance tech over the phone told me it was the gearcase and not worth repairing. Lesson learned: Always have the appliance techs come to your house to diagnose and if they won't, find another repair tech that will.
After two used washers that didn't quite work out due to various issues, I now have the new version of the original machine in this post, which is the updated WTW4816FW3. I still don't use the normal cycle much, but I now understand better what it's mostly for, which is smaller loads of everyday clothes. It doesn't work very well for anything above a half load or so because the updated version of this washer seems to use a lower water level on normal than in any other cycle. I feel like full loads get bunched up in the bottom part of the tub and get thrashed by the lower agitator fins -- not much actual movement going on that I can perceive, just a lot of thrashing back and forth. So for full loads, which is what I normally do, I tend to use the heavy duty cycle on auto sense which seems to provide enough water for the clothes to move around effectively without resorting to the deep fill option. I do occasionally use the deep fill for really big loads of towels though. Also, a really big load in this machine isn't quite what, say, an old direct drive Whirlpool or Kenmore can handle. I can fill loosely to the top row of holes but one really shouldn't overload these machines at all because I don't think the gearbox can handle the strain.
Overall though I'm pleased with my washer. It does everything I need with little attitude, which I appreciate, and the controls are simple knobs, great for this blind guy not wanting to over-think about workarounds for touch screen controls. I still feel the normal cycle doesn't work well except in some cases, but it really is a great basic washer. I thought about getting the new Maytag commercial PinkPower mentioned above, but it was a bit out of my price range and the machine I have now performs quite similarly to it, although admittedly without the heavy-duty components in the Maytag.
Ryne
The washer I was talking about in the original post, a basic Whirlpool top loader WTW4816FW, died in 2022 due to what I now believe was a failed mode shifter as it was stuck between drain and spin. I have since learned that issue could have been fixed relatively cheaply, but the appliance tech over the phone told me it was the gearcase and not worth repairing. Lesson learned: Always have the appliance techs come to your house to diagnose and if they won't, find another repair tech that will.
After two used washers that didn't quite work out due to various issues, I now have the new version of the original machine in this post, which is the updated WTW4816FW3. I still don't use the normal cycle much, but I now understand better what it's mostly for, which is smaller loads of everyday clothes. It doesn't work very well for anything above a half load or so because the updated version of this washer seems to use a lower water level on normal than in any other cycle. I feel like full loads get bunched up in the bottom part of the tub and get thrashed by the lower agitator fins -- not much actual movement going on that I can perceive, just a lot of thrashing back and forth. So for full loads, which is what I normally do, I tend to use the heavy duty cycle on auto sense which seems to provide enough water for the clothes to move around effectively without resorting to the deep fill option. I do occasionally use the deep fill for really big loads of towels though. Also, a really big load in this machine isn't quite what, say, an old direct drive Whirlpool or Kenmore can handle. I can fill loosely to the top row of holes but one really shouldn't overload these machines at all because I don't think the gearbox can handle the strain.
Overall though I'm pleased with my washer. It does everything I need with little attitude, which I appreciate, and the controls are simple knobs, great for this blind guy not wanting to over-think about workarounds for touch screen controls. I still feel the normal cycle doesn't work well except in some cases, but it really is a great basic washer. I thought about getting the new Maytag commercial PinkPower mentioned above, but it was a bit out of my price range and the machine I have now performs quite similarly to it, although admittedly without the heavy-duty components in the Maytag.
Ryne
