Does anyone have any experience with the New Speed Queen Front Load washers?

[appliguy]

Has anyone here ever used one of the new Speed Queen Front Loading Automatic Washers? I am interested to kno whow good people think they are as I am going to try to talk my mom into replacing our crappy Whirlpool washer with the front load model with rear controls and the hot water booster. Any info would be greatly appreciated. PAT COFFEY

 

[laundromat]

Hey Pat,The Speed Queen model ATSA5AWN is a great machine.Their warranty alone is worth the difference in price. The MSRP is $1749. It comes with the built in booster,and the warranty is broken down as follows:

3 years parts and labor on the entire washing machine
5 years on the motor
5 years on the cabinet against rust and corrosion
5 years on bearings and seal assembly
Lifetime on outer drain tub (stainless steel)
Lifetime on stainless steel washtub

3.3 cu. ft.washtub (up to 20 pounds dry washload)
15.5" door opening
Heavy duty variable speed motor
Three- coat commercial grade cabinet finish
Four industrial quality shock absorbers
Durable metal trunion,bearing and drive shaft
Sealed bearing and aluminum pulley
4,912 holes for increased washing performance and higher water extraction
Detergent,bleach and fabric softener dispenser tray
Variable speed induction drive suspension system
High speed 1000 RPM generating 300 G-force for maximum water extraction

Very good in getting clothes clean using very little water.Quiet operation and indicator lights that show you what part of the cycle it is performing.
Good luck!

 

[electron800]

I don't know how similar the domestic washers are to the

But in my flats we have 2 speed queen stacked washer and dryers, branded as Alliance Laundry systems. They have digital controls and a built in heater (they go up to 90*c) They both claim to have 8.1kg capacities, but one has a much smaller drum and a different shape door. The larger one has a similar door to the model discussed above.

Obviously they see a lot of use and abuse, but the larger one floods quite regularly and jumps all over the place on spin.

The wash results are OK, they just about do the job as well as other machines, providing a good quality detergent is used in correct dosages. The rinsing is quite poor. They only have one water level for every wash and rinse on every cycle, which is below the rim of the drum, and during the spin bursts on the interms, the pump is turned off! They do 3 rinses.

Like I say these may be totally different to the domestic washers, someone else will probably know more.

Matt

 

[logixx]

"Ditto" on the above.

I, too, have used Speed Queen and Maytag commercial units in the UK.

Things I liked
- Overall, the washing results were good - even without a heater (it was disabled).
- The machine washes very quietly and the spin cycle is relatively quiet, too.
- Built quality
- Contrary to what I read here, there was no timed-fill - every wash load had the same water level and large loads made the machine extend the fill sequence (this may not be true for home-style machines).
- There was a fill flume at the top of the door boot that helped the clothes to become saturated quickly and evenly.

Things I did not like
- There was no ATC: for a warm wash, the machine would just open both water inlets, and since the cold water flow was much stronger than the hot one, every warm wash ended up basically cold. Someone should have adjusted the water flow...
- No pre-wash compartment; I had to put the detergent into the drum.
- The bleach dispenser was flushed simultaneously to the detergent dispenser. Ideally, bleach should be added later in the cycle.
- Rinsing! The rinses consisted of filling/spraying with tumbling, three tumbles and that was it! Okay for medium-sized loads, but I think large loads would benefit from a longer rinse cycle. (Again, home-style washer could have a longer rinse cycle and they DO have the option for an extra rinse).
- The interim spins were pointless. All the machines did were five (?) brief bursts and advance to the next rinse. One high-speed spin would have taken less time and done a better job IMO.
- The flush sequence after the main wash might be useful if the machine is full of suds but does not aid rinsing because the water jet only hit the back of the drum and never the clothes (as they were already plastered to the spinning drum).

Alex

 

[electron800]

The larger one we have has the front fill flume

It's not very effective though. It seems like it's either blocked or the water pressure is too low. It takes about 15 mins for both the washers to fill.

As for rinsing, after the endless fill time to reach the correct water level it rinses for a minute before draining.

Theres no flush sequence on these machines either.

Matt

 

[logixx]

The flushing takes place right after the main wash as soon as the clothes are plastered to the drum. I always added a full 3 liter bottle of water to each rinse for better results.

Alex

 

[laundromat]

commercial vs domestic

Commercial washing machine owners have the ability (and they usually use it) to change all formats including wash time,rinse time and water temperatures.It is not fair to use the commercial machines as one similar to the domestic models. The machine I listed is made for home use and or nursing homes,vacation homes,condos and places of business i.e. hair salons.It is not coin operated.The wash time is more or less (depending on the selected cycle)and ALL FRONT LOADING WASHERS MADE IN AMERICA ARE ALREADY PRE SET AT THE FACTORY FOR WATER LEVELS.For example,You are washing bath towels,wash cloths and some sheets.You happen to come across some more to add to that particular load. You add them and, as soon as they absorb the water already in the tub,A sensor tells the machine it needs more water and it automatically adds the extra water needed to bring the level back to where it belongs.No American/domestic front loaders ever fill anywhere near the window. I know the European ones (most of the ones I have used or seen in operation) fill half the way up the window allowing no way to add or remove any laundry or foreign objects in the drum that may harm the clothes or the machine itself.

The hole idea in using the horizontal axis as apposed to a top loading agitator type machine is to:

1)Save water
2)Save electricity
3)Save our lakes,streams and oceans
4)Save money on energy,water,detergent,bleach and fabric softener as well as dry cleaning costs because the front loaders as opposed to agitator type top loaders are able to was items like wool.silk,rayon and dacron with excellent,shrink free results.

and they also have;
5)High speed spin (1,000 RPM)helps save money on dryer operational costs.
6}No gears to wear out,no oil to leak underneath.One belt operates the entire unit.The pumps have their own seperate motor and there are some made outside the U.S. that are direct drive (LG,Daewoo and high end Samsungs)they have no belt.

 

[suburbanmd]

Here's the manual for the home SQ front-loaders. Longest wash cycle appears to be just 24 minutes, with no way to extend it. Temperature boost is only up to 140F, and (based on what an SQ dealer told me a few months ago) the heater is only used for boosted hot temp, not to maintain temperature of "regular" hot water. 1000 RPM spin isn't very impressive for that price, even if it were discounted. No real provision for washing bulky items like comforters -- the manual says to use "handwash/delicate" with its 12 minutes of agitation. Hard to believe it would completely wet a comforter in that time.

http://www.speedqueen.com/sq_con_tech_pdf/802759en.pdf

 

[surgilator_68]

It can hold an over stuffed king size comforter just fine. The 24 mins of wash time is adequate to clean all the greasy, nasty dirty clothes I get from fixing everyone else's machines. The price you pay is for the durability, warranty, the simplicity and the fact that it's made in the USA. The entire normal cycle (no heated boost) is 44 mins, excluding fill. balance time and extra rinse.

The draw backs of the machine.....
If it's on a wood floor it will vibrate. If you don't load it properly it will shake, carry on and jump worse than a crack baby. This is a no nonsense machine that is ruggedly built and made to process laundry in the fastest, most economical way possible without screwing around for 15 minutes trying to balance and make up it's mind on what to do next. So you will have to be a little forgiving and have some thought as to what you are washing and use the proper cycle. It is imperative that the machine is perfectly level side to side, front to back and that the lock nuts on the feet are tightened securely against the base of the machine.

Jeans, towels, rugs, sheets, blankets and the like do just fine on Normal. Shirts, sweats, spandex and other light weight items that aren't that dirty do just fine on the Delicate cycle, if you want a shorter wash time.

If you want the wash cycle to be extended you set the water temp for warm or cold, let it fill and tumble for a few seconds, then turn the control to off, set the water temp switch to Boosted Hot and then restart the washer on the cycle you want. It will continue to heat and tumble until the water reaches 140. If the machine is far away from the water heater then just set it to boosted hot to begin with. However I personally don't think the boosted hot is needed if you do laundry properly to begin with.

If you get a big door SQ make sure it has the black door boot. The black boot is more pliable than the original grey one, reducing vibrations. They also made a few other changes to reduce vibrations and updated the clothes guard when they went to the black boot.

If you happen to find a dealer who still has some of the small door machines in stock they only have an 8 min normal wash time. However this too can be extended by filling with cold or warm and resetting to boosted hot.

Jason

 

[ronhic]

That's a huge amount of money....

...for a machine that sounds rather 'agricultural'. I have no doubt that it is a strongly made machine, but to have to pfaff around if I want a longer cycle and/or the heater to engage would just not be on in our house.

For that money (in OZ $2500) I can buy a mid line Miele and get change. No need to worry about the incoming water temperature, higher spin, solid build is a given (though not industrial solid, granted), good brand reputation and easy front servicing not to mention several 40min cycles if I am in a hurry.

 

[logixx]

That's very true what Jason said about vibration. My dorm had these machines standing on concrete flooring, ground floor. While the machines themselves hardly moved, the floor was indeed vibrating. I sat in front of the machine(s) every time I did a load - because I didn't want somebody to exchange my washed clothes for this dirty ones and then just throw mine in a corner - and the spin was canceled only once. Something must have become tangles and the unit shook so hard that the dispenser drawer slowly opened.

BTW: the large paddles inside the drum are very good. They shower a lot of water over the clothes - not like these silly Whirlpool versions.

Alex

 

[launderess]

In a properly seated front loader, the vibrations are supposed to go down through the machine and get sent throught the floor/building. That is simple physics, and better the energy get absorbed that way, than the unit shaking itself to death.

Have sat sitting in front of the huge SQ frontloaders at our local, and am here to tell you, you can eaisly feel vibrations from the units as they are spinning, even when the machines themselves are rock steady.

L.

 

[ronhic]

surely.....

....the suspension should be designed to absorb the vibration rather than transmit it?

I have only used one front load machine where I could feel (and so could the rest of the kitchen!) the machine spinning and that was because a floor board had sprung and the machine no matter how level it was, was not 'solid' on that foot...we sorted that out quickly with two large 1/2" pieces of MDF with some cheap anti slip matting between....

The same machine in our flat you could lean on when spinning and you could tell as the frequency of the machine is different but there was no vibration at all through the floor....

So if they have a tendency to transmit vibration down through the machine into floors/walls rather than the suspension absorbing it, you would have to question if they are as suitable for home use as something like a Miele....the last thing I want is part of the house to vibrate or resonate with the damn washing machine spinning....

 

[launderess]

Yes, the suspension does aide in absorbing some of the forces, but just as with a car, it only goes but so far.

In a light and well balanced load, things probably are fine, but when the washer is filled to capacity, and or dealing with an unbalanced load there is only so much a machine can do.

As you found out, this is why most front loaders are happiest on soild flooring, and when put onto soft floors, such as wood, things get very interesting. When the machine's vibrations become into synce with the flooring, then forces are sent down through the floor to dissapate throughout the floors and walls.

The above is why so many persons in apartment buildings have troubles with front loading washing machines, especially those trying to hide the machine.

 

[suburbanmd]

Comforter size

If an over stuffed king size comforter fits into the SQ, then our comforters, which are really nothing special, must be "ultra stuffed" or something like that. We can fit a full-size comforter into our Miele W4840, whose "US Department of Energy" volume is a little bigger than the SQ. We pushed a "full/queen" into it once, but the door wouldn't stay closed. Didn't seem smart to hold the door shut until it locked. Our experience is consistent with Miele's recommendation that a full-size 84"x88" comforter can be washed. No way that a king-size comforter would fit in there.

Our Miele is on a sturdy wood floor on top of a basement. We haven't had excessive vibration. It'll choose to spin a severely unbalanced load slower, or not at all, rather than shaking the house.