Finally the full wash video of the new 2018 Speed Queen washer

[joeypete]

FP Water temps

I've had my WashSmart since November and I can fill you in about some things. First of all, this machine only uses water temp selected during the initial fill to Eco Active stage, where it recirculates the concentrated water/detergent solution on the items for 4 minutes. It then finishes filling with uncontrolled cold water. So depending on the season and location, can be very cold or not so cold. The only cycle that fills completely with the temp selected is Allergy. I don't have a thermometer but I can tell you compared to the other machines I've used, the selected water temp comes out TRUE. Hot is dang hot and warm is almost what hot was on my previous machines. So it doesn't appear that they dumb down the temps. There is an option to turn on or off controlled cold only. I have controlled cold on now simply because tap cold water in NH in the winter is very cold. However like I said, the machine finishes filling with that and you can't change that, aside from using Allergy.

To be clear, this is NOT an HE machine. It fills completely with water with complete manual control over load sizes. The auto load feature works surprisingly well and does use less water, but not low water by any means. From what I've noticed, auto will pick a load size roughly 1 smaller than if you selected it manually by using the load size guides on the agitator. Sometimes I've had to pause it and select the size manually (which is great you can do), just because I wanted a little more water. It's a very versatile machine.

Overall I've been very impressed with this machine. It's cleaned the dickens out of everything I've put in. Granted my stuff doesn't get that dirty but I've had some cat puke incidents on my bedding that came out no problem.

Mine did come with a 5 year warranty. Overall reviews are very positive. I did have 1 person comment on my YouTube videos that he had many problems with his, but I know 2 people personally that have had this machine for going on 10 or more years with no problems. It's a very simple machine actually. Even the suspension rods are easy to fix.

Hope that helps.

 

[DADoES]

 
JoeyPete, your vids are great! 

Presumably one can start on the Allergy cycle to fill for a load, then pause or cancel and reset to another cycle (manually select the same water level) and it'll continue along ... thus a full-hot fill could be had with a delicate-speed wash.

It'd be useful information if you could obtain one of those instant-read kitchen thermometers to check the incoming temperatures. 

 

[neptunebob]

There's still one last hope...

If the people running Speed Queen, since not many washers are in stores yet, decide at the last minute to cancel the redesign after reading so many bad reviews.

This has been known to happen in the movie industry, for example, the movie Heaven's Gate was canceled at the last minute because it saved the cost of distribution, even though the movie was very expensive. There have been several movies like that in past decades. One book about bad movies I read even said: "This is one abortion even pro-lifers would agree with". Could this Speed Queen be a bad movie?

 

[lorainfurniture]

Doubt it.

Manufacturing is a slow process. They likely have millions of dollars in parts ready to assemble. They only thing they may be able to do is program adjustments. It likely won’t help. The issue is the fixed agitator. No easy rework for that as they redesigned the shaft assy, etc.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Eugene:

Thank you so much for taking the time to do all of those videos. I feel that your review was fair and honest. I could hear the pain in your voice and I hope that someone at Alliance heard it too. What a shame that a company who has built so many good products is letting this go to market. Thanks again.
WK78

 

[toploader55]

Well,

Maybe we should invite Speed Queen to join AW and/or send them a link to all of Eugene's videos and all of our comments.

Then maybe Speed Queen will realize that Automatic Washer is a force to be reckoned with.

 

[rp2813]

Eugene, thank you for doing such thorough testing and presenting the results here.  You invested a lot of time in this, and I know you had your customers in mind even more than the curious members of AW.  I admire your highly principled approach to appliance sales and protection of your customers against purchases they would regret.

 

Perhaps Alliance can design or temporarily outsource an adaptable agitator that will salvage this disaster.  It seems to me that this would be the quickest way to improve wash action, and if they have any class at all, they should offer to retrofit them onto every machine purchased, much like a mandated recall.  Otherwise both Alliance and their retailers who push these onto customers are going to to experience an epic backlash from legions of dissatisfied buyers.

 

Regardless, they absolutely need to go back to the drawing board, and fire all involved with pushing this redesign forward when it was clearly going to be an epic failure.

 

[neptunebob]

Well, let's hope Speed Queen uses the "Just in Time" method of manufacturing so as to not have much parts inventory. That may be the only way SQ can be saved. I hope so, as "Heaven's Gate" destroyed United Artists as an independent studio and MGM bought them. After all, who would buy SQ, Whirlpool?

 

[lorainfurniture]

Thanks everyone.

Not much of a YouTube type so it was a learning experience. I decided to make an effort to produce more videos, perhaps more of a review style than just wash videos, but likely a mixture of both.

I purchased a much better camera, and some semi pro lighting. In doing so I applied to have my videos monetized.

I figure it takes me about a full 8 hrs or more to produce one video. A portion of that is just downloading and uploading. A great deal of it is me trying to work that video editing software. I have a lot of respect for other videos that I see on YouTube that look like a tv show. That takes a lot of time and talent.

I’m glad that you all appreciate it, it motivates me to make more/better videos.

 

[lorainfurniture]

Also

Aw exclusive: the old generation agitator won’t fit. The new hub is a larger diameter. I was able to squeeze a GE profile 2 piece agitator and watched it go. It improved slightly, but not enough to save this machine.

 

[appnut]

Thank you Eugene for the above comment.  You're a real trooper. 

 

[Chetlaham]

Can we see the GE agi?

 

[trappn]

joeypete:

Thanks for the info on the F&P WashSmart, which some may choose as a reasonable alternative to the 2018 Speed Queen.

If F&P allowed for "Controlled Cold" under all circumstances, then the WashSmart would be on our list. Unfortunately, the winters are too cold, here.

Right now, our Kenmore D.D. from around 1990 is beginning to look pretty good to us. Unfortunately, I had it hauled away in 2005 after the transmission failed. This was before I began working on our own appliances.

Then, we had a Whirlpool Ultimate Care II for 10 years, but it didn't seem as durable as the Kenmore. It was a Quiet Wash; and, the noisiest machine we had ever encountered. Plus, we wanted our next machine to have a stainless steel tub.

If there was a mixing valve that could control incoming cold @ around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, then we'd be perfectly happy with our SQ 92 series. Unfortunately, these valves are usually not engineered to be set, that low.

We were thinking that if the politicians had to do their own laundry, bet we wouldn't have to put up with some of this nonsense.

Thanks for your help!

 

[DADoES]

 
Any cold fill for the wash period should be controlled-cold on the WashSmart.  Rinses are probably tap-cold instead of controlled.

 

[stricklybojack]

.
So did SQ use an agitator to keep their fans happy, when perhaps they would have been better off using an agitation plate design instead?
Reviewed.com blasted the performance of their TL washer and dryer as crap, but nevertheless SQ likely sold a ton of them.
Maybe they don't need to care about washing performance on their "traditional" machines...just make sure the customer thinks it's like the machines of yesteryear and ring the register.

 

[henene4]

Recomended Delicate cycle for jeans

I just found out that the manuals were avaible for the machines. Went ahead, downloaded them.

Especially the Speciality cycles are interesting... There is now a Delicate, a Hand Wash and a Wool cycle.
Further, you can have both Heavy Duty and Delicate as "Eco" versions.
Plus a Denim and a Water Proof cycle.
Further a Whites Cycle and a Rinse/Spin with selectable final spin speed.

What somehow confuses me though is that the manual recomends the Delicate cycle for stiffer fabrics like jeans.

Laurain Furniture in the meantime slayed the washer design for its incapibility to wash exactly such loads. There is a general review up now.
AFAIK he only tested the Heavy Duty and Bulky cycle, and did not follow the manuals recomendations.

 

[iowabear]

The section of the manual in question

It actually recommends "Heavy Duty" for heavily soiled jeans and "Delicate" for stiff jeans. 

 

Who in the real world is going to select the delicate cycle for dirty work jeans, "stiff" or otherwise?

 

Very strange.

 

[lorainfurniture]

Delicate cycle

Will agitate even slower than heavy duty.

Passing water through my work pants are certainly not going to get them clean, I don’t care what that manual says. During my work pants cycle I highly doubt an extra few inches of water would have helped. In fact, it likely would have made it worse due to floating.

Maybe I can save a thousand dollars and just start showering with my clothes on.

 

[gusherb]

Or wash your clothes as you soak in the bath, and can agitate the clothes with your legs. Bathe, launder, and exercise! Kill three birds with one stone!

 

[henene4]

Lorainfurniture

Never doubted your conclusion.

Just added what I found out and red.

I was hoping that the design worked, but apparently, it dosen't.

7 years of warranty give or take, these will be a debakel.