weighing in on Frigidaire
My ten year old GE blew up in March, and I decided to move up to a front loader. One obstacle: my laundry area is in the garage (Southern California, hence it doesn't freeze, plus keeping the dryer in the garage keeps the house cooler---we are near the coast and there is no A/C), and per county building code, there is a bollard (concrete-filled steel pipe, 32" high) sticking out of the cement slab in the middle of the washer space. The laundry alcove is on the back wall of the garage and also houses the furnace and water heater. So, a runaway car could sever three gas lines at once.
The bollard is required by law and is a safety feature. But when the house was built in 1988, there were no domestic front-loaders, so they put the darn thing in the MIDDLE of the washer's space, rather than at the juncture of where a washer and dryer would meet---as far as the builder was concerned, everyone had a top loader then, so the placement of the pipe didn't block anything important (like the door of a future front loader...). You "can" remove the bollard, but should the home later be sold, you'd have to replace it---very pricey.
I adapted to the bollard by purchasing a new pair that could be stacked, and situating them in what used to be the dryer space---which is not blocked by the pipe. This raised the expense, because I was forced to replace both the broken washer and a GE gas dryer that was working fine (my neighbor had his eye on the dryer, as he wanted to ditch his electric dryer, so we traded and I got a tax receipt for both my old washer and his old dryer). I'd budgeted in the area of $1000-1200, which might pay for a Duet if only a washer was purchased, but since I had to buy a stackable pair, I set a limit of $1200 for both machines combined.
I bought the Frigidaire 2140 with matching gas dryer. Stacking bracket was $25. I received a $100 water district rebate and a $35 gas company rebate, so the "raw" cost, before tax, delivery, and extended warranties, was $1065 (I found an area retailer, Universal Appliance, selling the pair for about $1100 before rebates, but they aren't local and I wanted to kick the tires, so to speak). Universal sold the next higher model, the 2940, for the same as I paid for the 2140, but I decided to pass on the fancier knob, a few extra cycles, and automatic temperature control (the washer is next to the water heater, so lack of hot water is not an issue, and I have the water heater set to deliver 140 F water). If my washer were far from the hot water source, perhaps automatic temp control would be worth paying extra for.
Anyway, I've own the pair for seven months now. Performance has been outstanding. Washer gets the clothes really clean (whites look like bleach was used, even though I don't use bleach) and no trace of suds left at end of cycle. The time delay feature is nice: set up the washer at 9 pm, wake up to freshly washed clothes which the dryer can handle in the 40 minutes it takes to fix breakfast and have coffee in the morning. The washer has a 3.5 cu ft capacity---not as large as Duets, but large enough for a king size comforter. So far, the dryer has been large enough to wash every load the washer can churn out, but since this is a stackable pair, I guess both machines must share the same footprint (you can put them under a counter, stack them, build them in, or use pedestals side by side---however, even on a pedestal, the door would still be blocked by the pipe). I do have to stoop for the washer, but the dryer is at comfortable chest height. Frigidaire advised against stacking the pair on a pedestal due to weight, balance, and height issues (the top of such a pair on a pedestal would be over seven feet tall...).
At first I was hesitant to buy a "low end" machine, but in the end, I was reassured by Electrolux's experience and reputation. I have a Frigidaire counter depth fridge and a Frigidaire gas convection range, and both give excellent service. I took out a five year extended warranty on the washer, knowing that it has complex mechanics and is "new technology" (for the US if not for Electrolux). I just hope the thing works 6-10 years from now.
