Fisher and Paykel Topload dryer (Post images below)

[iej]

I think the main reasons they didn’t take off is they’re cumbersome to load and unload through that small hatch in the drum. They’ve improved the design, but it’s still a bit fiddly compared to a porthole door.
The older models even had issues with things getting lost down the outside of the drum as there was a significant gap.

The other issue is the fact that they have a top opening and a lot of people prefer machines to be built under countertops. Even in a utility room / laundry room you’ll typically find the machines are under a countertop that gets used for putting things on and you also, obviously, can’t stack them.

I know one french household which had 3 of those top loaders in the garage next to a regular front loader dryer. They just used all three simultaneously to get through a lot of different types of laundry. The whole setup was very compact and flexible compared to one big machine.

They not exclusive to France but they’re very niche in most other markets. I mean I think you can get them here but I think I’ve only ever seen one on display once. In fact, I would say if you encounter a top loader here, it’s much more likely to be a U.S. style agitator machine. There’s always been a niche market for Speedqueen and Whirlpool. Also I have encountered the Australian brand Simpson here. They used to find a lot of use in light commercial contexts like B&Bs etc.

The rise of big capacity front loaders and the poor energy rating of the agitator machines seems to have caused them to all but disappear in recent years. You definitely used to see maybe one model on display in some larger retailers. These days I’m seeing Electrolux Pro and Miele Little Giants in that semi commercial space.

You can definitely still buy Speedqueen gas dryers here though.

 

[launderess]

Don't find using top loading h-axis washer a bother, this even with "two lids". At least to one reaching down often beats having to squat down to load/unload washers with front door or porthole.

Also with my toplader can just take things out and drop into basket, again as opposed to bending over and having to haul things out of drum and dump into basket.

Some of this might come from being an American and thus quite used to top loading washing machines both fully and semi automatic.

Suppose it really all comes down to what tickles one's fancy.

 

[iej]

It depends. If one has back problems, there are ways of raising a front loader. I’ve seen plenty of laundry rooms here that have a raised plinth for the machines taking them up a couple of feet off the floor. In my grandmothers house it was just a concrete platform in the garage. Slightly awkward if you ever need to service them, but not all that big a deal.

The other factor in this market anyway, I can’t speak for the whole of Europe, was that “top loaders” were generally seen as old fashioned by the 1970s as the first automatics here we’re almost always front loaders. There was one notable exception - a Hotpoint that basically a europeanised ‘Filter Flo’ machine with smaller cabinet to fit a the standard modular “unit” dimensions, an internal heater and a faster spin. However, in general top loaders were associated with semi automatic drudgery and seen as obsolete.

You’d kind of talk about “top loaders” in the same context as “round pin plugs,” Brillo pads, Vim scouring powder, 78s, valve radios and black and white television. If that makes sense?

I’m not saying they are old fashioned just that’s the instant perception.

Top loader tends to trigger this in my head lol :

[this post was last edited: 2/25/2022-20:27]

 

[smartdrive1100]

Got a video from someone about a dryer.

Any thoughts about it?

https://www.facebook.com/messenger_...message_id=mid.$gABELX4NRY9yFXBInTl_KsvvH-rEn

 

[foraloysius]

The main reason for the reduced interest in toploaders in Europe is the wish to stack a dryer on top of the washing machine, at least on the European continent where a laundry set often is installed in a bathroom rather than in a kitchen. A stacked frontloader and dryer have a smaller footprint than a topload washing machine and dryer next to eachother. Also the fact that there are no heatpump dryers available as toploader reduced the interest in topload dryers.

I still see a lot of topload washing machines in older people's homes, especially when they line dry everything. You often see it here in houses from the 70's that are on the market. Most of them owned for many years by the same owners. Often a rather new washing machine in a house with a decor from the 70's.

 

[foraloysius]

Here's a picture I posted before. The Siemens topload sets were the first topload combinations.

I told the story before, but I never get tired of telling it. lol

I mailed Fisher & Paykel this picture with some others of topload dryers when they launched their topload dryer. The campaign said it was a world's first. They responded that they would look into the matter. Their campaign was stopped and later they came with a new slogan: The world's first large capacity topload dryer. I guess it's the only time I had a little influence on the white goods market. lol

 

[DADoES]

 
Smartdrive1100/Callan, your video link doesn't work.  It appears to be a link to a FB message you received.  I don't think those can be shared as working links, anyone clicking the link would need to be logged-in to *your* FB account to view it.  You'd need to save the video as a file on your computer, then upload it for public view to YouTube or other photo/video-sharing service and provide that view-share link.

 

[iej]

The use of appliances in bathrooms also varies a lot. It’s basically completely illegal here, and in the U.K.

Our wet area regulations don’t allow any socket outlets, or light switches the you can touch, never mind washing machines, in bathrooms. The only exception is a shaver/toothbrush outlet that is connected via an isolation transformer, and that uses a different two pin plug and that’s limited to providing well under 1 amp.

So washing machines in those kind of areas just never were a thing here. You can’t even use a hairdryer in a bathroom and that’s despite RCDs (GFCI) being mandatory here (later in the U.K.) since the late 1979s sometime.

I would suspect if those top loaders are becoming niche, there’s also a probability that the economies of save aren’t there anymore. I notice a lot of them across multiple competing brands seems to be outsourced to the same plants too. I had a look across some of the French online stores and several machines looked identical.

FagorBrandt/Vedette, wherever they’re being made and despite ownership changes, seems to dominate that market niche in France.

 

[logixx]

Ah, yes. I remember all the female exchange students being upset they couldn't use flat irons etc. in their UK dorm bathroom - the only room with a mirror. I was only irritated by two separate faucets for ice water and lava.

 

[smartdrive1100]

DADoES,

Oops, I thought I downloaded it as a video link, perhaps not.

I’ll try and describe it best as I can,

It doesn’t seem to have any big scratches or dints, but the lid and control panel are a bit faded and looks to have crayon marks. It seems to sound normal. It’s the only one listed, should I wait for another one or get this one?

 

[foraloysius]

Washing machines in bathrooms were hardwired here with a special switch with a cord. The switch was installed high up the wall so you couldn't touch it under normal circumstances. This was already done in the late 70's, not sure how it was before.

Nowadays the rules are less strict, I have normal Schuko outlets in the bathroom between the two sinks. I think there is a minimal distance from tub or shower so you can't touch them when you're bathing.

 

[smartdrive1100]

It sold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ll guess I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled.

 

[DADoES]

 
Seems as if they're appreciably scarce on the Aus market similarly to the U.S. so best to grab whatever comes up unless the specimen is too far wrecked.

 

[smartdrive1100]

DADoES,
Little bit late, one might come up in the upcoming weeks.

I’ve put an ad out asking if anyone is wanting to sell, just the waiting game now.

 

[iej]

Logixx:

Absolutely zero sign of the bathroom rules on wiring here being relaxed. If anything they’re now even stricter. You can’t use any kind of open light fittings, they all have to IP rated. Also a lot more use of extra low voltage for lighting and fans (under 48V).

In kitchens you can no longer install sockets under sinks either, which means dishwashers are often connected to a fused connection unit with a switch, which must be accessible. Historically, dishwashers would have had a plug and socket which was commonly under the sink.

Considering that RCDs have been mandatory here since the late 70s and the number of people killed by electric shocks per year is basically zero, I never quite understand why our regs keep tightening and tightening relative to the continent. It’s at the stage we’re resolving problems nobody has. We’ve always had mandatory shutters. Non grounded sockets were outlawed in the 1930s and aren’t encountered anywhere. You’ve to ground bond all the plumbing, including metal sinks and connect pipe work together with bonding straps and heavy gauge earth wires, just in case. That’s done even between the hot and cold taps under sinks. We’ve just mandated AFCIs (arc fault interrupters) in houses. Use of plastic distribution boards was banned - has to be metal boxes with a door over the breakers now and must be accessible from a wheelchair position basically - so it’s now a flush unit with a door located in a hallway.

We had some interesting discussions with an architect as you can’t install sockets below a minimum height nor light switches above a minimum. Both must be reachable from a sitting position, so in new build all the outlets are rather high up - used to be about a foot from the ground. Now about a meter. The switches are all about the same height as a door handle would be. They used to get about 1.5m up. The net result was that because sockets were so visible, we went for much more expensive fittings.

I can’t speak for the U.K. but the non-mixer tap tradition has definitely died out. There’s literally no reason whatsoever for it in regulations or standards. It was just a thing because it was a thing.

Interestingly Brexit has made non mixer taps hard to get here. The vast majority of fittings available are continental style. There’s a slight issue as the plumbing systems here are often low pressure, large diameter due to the British inspired approach of using gravity fed hot and cold water other than in the kitchen - also finally dying out!

Houses here have a buffer tank in the attic which is filled by the mains and that supplies the feed to the hot water heater and cold water to the bathrooms and toilets. The logic behind it was when Victorian era water mains were small and demand for showers shot up in the early 20th century those tanks provided a buffer between the mains and peak demand. They are a ludicrously complicated work around though and the mains have long since caught up. However, most houses still have double headed pumps boosting pressure to showers and all of that! Only kitchen taps and washing machines / dishwashers are directly connected to the water main.

One of these Grundfos pumps sits under my house - when you turn on a tap or shower it activates with a flow switch and gives you 4 bar pressure and high flow by simultaneously pumping the hot and cold sides of the supply. You’ve no interaction with the pump, but it kicks in the moment you open the tap. There are about 3 companies do them and most homes have them fitted - big heavy brass centrifugal pumps in either end. They connect to the plumbing using braided, sprung, flexible hoses to avoid noise/vibration, but if there installed somewhere silly, you’ll hear them.

You definitely get a very good flow on the showers though![this post was last edited: 2/28/2022-06:48]

 

[rapunzel]

"I never quite understand why our regs keep tightening and tightening relative to the continent."

For something to do and to justify their regular paycheques. It's administrative fluff from desk jockeys.