GE is making combos again

[verizonbear]

Interesting! I know these are likely re-baged Haier units

GE 2.4 cu. ft. Compact White 120-Volt Ventless Electric All-in-One Washer Dryer Combo GFQ14ESSNWW - The Home Depot

GE appliances provide up-to-date technology and exceptional quality to simplify the way you live. With a timeless appearance, this family of appliances is ideal for your family. And, coming from one of

www.homedepot.com

 

[combo52]

24" 2.4 CF Combo

Is too small to be a serious machine,

 

I will get excited when we see at least a 5 CF drum and either 240 volts or gas heated or a heat-pump machine, then I will be among the first to buy one. 

 

A good combo should do a full wash-dry 10 pound load  in 60-90 minutes tops, they did it in the 1950s I think they can do it today.

 

John L.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

GE!

If GE is making combos now, just imagine if they brought back the filter-flos!

 

[freshnclean]

To John L

Why hasn’t there been a vented combo front loader?

I think whirlpool sells 240V combo. That one looks interesting. But despite 240 machine the review is bad , mostly flaming about the drying.

“ A good combo should do a full wash-dry 10 pound load in 60-90 minutes tops, they did it in the 1950s I think they can do it today.” - why isn’t no longer possible?

 

[henene4]

It is for sure from a technical standpoint

Just not in the market today.

You'd have to build an entirely new platform for a product that is and will be just as it was in 50s a verry small quantity product.

And it would have to fullfill a lot more safety regulations for dryers as well probably.

Also:
What was a good combo in the 50s? 300$-400$?

That's like a 3000$-4000$ purchase today.

Not many can and will spend that much on a "compromise".

BTW 60min for a 10 pound load sounds verry ambitious for cottons.

Don't even think a Unimatic/RapidDry combined with a 5500W dryer would be abled to meet that standard every time.

90min though seems more reasonable in the context of a true washer dryer.

Actually:

Electrolux professional over here offers a washer-dryer-combo. It is like 4.6cuft.

Dunno the cycle times and such, but being professional, it is beyond 10k.

 

[aquarius1984]

Reply to freshnclean - post 3.

John has an attitude towards European machines and out way of doing laundry. Anywhere he can get a bitchy comment in, he does.

Nothings ever going to be good enough for him despite several people trying to get thru to him. It’s either ignorance or trolling.

It’s been explained many times before that if you live in America and only have room for a combo most likely you need a compact size machine which is what we call full size in Europe because space is really at a premium in your home.

Our combination washer dryers can wash 18lb/20lb of clothing in a 60cm x 60cm footprint machine.

Then they can dry around 10-12lb of it on the drying cycle of a combination washer dryer.

Our washer only machines and dryer only machines have the same footprint but both wash and dry 18/20lb laundry just as your Oversized machines manage in America.

As for cycle times. In Europe we have many good quality detergents that contain all you need to cleaning and stain removal in one product. We don’t need to pre treat. Soak, wash, add bleach, etc etc.

Our washer might take 2 hours to wash 18lb of clothing and 1.5 hours to dry it. But it’s all automatic and requires none of the laundry additives or pre treating you guys have to use to babysit your machines with.

We ship our combination machines over to America under a few brand names but we have to programme them to the American way of laundry ie quick cycle times for washing because you prefer to pre treat stains by hand, soak, then swish your clothes about in warm water for a few minutes and let your automatic washer , sorry I mean automatic rinsing machines finish the job.

 

[combo52]

Combination Washer-Dryers

reply #2, I believe the reason bigger faster combos are not available today is that marketing people do not realize the sales potential of such a product, in the appliance industry there is a pact mentality and each manufacture seems to just follow each other, there is very little really new and different in the appliance landscape.

 

Reply #3, Hi Henkik, there is certainly no great engineering challenge to building a full sized combination or serious safety hurtles to go through. All any manufacturer needs to do is take their 5CF FL machine and properly outfit it with necessary heaters, gas burner, or refrigeration system to build a heat-pump model, when you are building a larger appliance it is automatically easier to incorporate necessary safety features and clearances.

 

There were quite a few US combos and washer-dryer pairs built in the 50s and on that could completely W&D a 10 pound load in around one hour, with faster spinning machines and better detergents to day this is very possible for all but really heavily stained clothing.

 

Replay #4, If you want to come out of your appliance closet and have a real discussion do so but I do not get into pissing matches with anonymous trolls, if you keep up the personal attacks I will ask Robert to take a-property action.

 

John L.

 

[appnut]

Aquarius1984, thank you!!!  

 

[launderess]

Am no expert, but hazard to guess any combo that resembles those of old able to take a full ten or eleven pound wash load, would have to have vented dryer. That plus good fast final extraction speeds would give decent total wash and dry cycle times.

Looked at the Electrolux video for their combo, and it like others only recommends 1/2 load for washing and drying.

But we can all dream of GE bringing something like this back.....

 

[launderess]

Or maybe a Philco-Bendix!

 

[chestermikeuk]

Combination Washer Dryers

"Have moved on considerably from the 50`s, when a massive sized drum capable of drying 10lbs of clothing (so able to wash 20lbs ? ) in an uber sized cabinet with drying by means of large gas burnrs or 2 / 3 large calrod burners
because the spin extraction is so slow and energy costs today would make it a no go...and the nuclear family back then was just that a large family of 6 in a typical household...

So..fastforward to the 2020`s

Max extract spinning machines give us the best water extraction, as good as spin dryers , the nuclear family is usually at best 2 people often 1 person in a home and no space for a separate washer and dryer. Clothing tends to be new lightweight modern fabrics that dont hold water etc, so for many people these new smaller washer dryers are perfect (not for everbody) and they are a very different way of operation to many laundry principles of old..

I now live in a small apartment in a very old building which has space for a washer dryer. Having used separate`s most of my life the thought of using a WD was daunting, But, I`m living on my own, so generate much less laundry than a 6 bed home, and find it great to use.I dont store up laundry over a month to wait for full max loads I use it a few times a week for 1 x hot whites wash, 1 x hot 60d light wash for towels bedding etc, 1 x hot 60d / 40 d wash for darks, I dont use the autodry but sort clothing after washing for tumble drying when required..

This machine is a Servis made by Vestel, I was given 1 to test for the UK market when they first launched here in 2013.
Spec: 9kg (18lbs) washload / 6kg (12lbs) dry, 62 ltr drum (2.4) 1400spin speed, temps from cold up to 90d ,

So a weeks worth of darks wash for me consisting of underware , socks t-shirts and cargo type pants would be a half to 3/4 full drum, washed in 1.38 mins, cottons vigerous wash , 4 rinses, intermediate spins and final 1400rpm max extract spin over 12 mins
really does leave stuff dry.I usually remove trousers and dry everything else, all dry in an hour ..

Hot whites wash for 14 cotton t shirts , 1.38 wash time @ 60d, rinses fast spin, then 30 mins times dry on high heat leaves them with just enough moisture for me to hang perfect or stretch over back of chair.
Another 30 mins (lowest manual timing) on low is too dry, I can use the autodry but it takes so long I prefer not to , the dryer is a condenser with little if any moisture escapage, it uses a calrod heater (240v 1.8kw, 10 amps) with fan attached in a metal housing on top of the drum,
hot air is blown in through a vent from the top front of the drum. This then is passed through the tumbling clothes its the back outer drum with cold condenser plate and steam is turned to water and pumped down the drain.

[this post was last edited: 6/5/2020-06:23]

 

[chestermikeuk]

Combo washer dryers

Fascia Control Panel , usual wash programmes covering all options, ( I dont agree with the 12 min speed wash but hey) It has a weight sensor for load / detergent optimisation, 3 compartment dispenser, removable for easy cleaning, Stainless inner drum with plastic rainwave paddles.
You can see the dual spray drum jet for soaking the laundry which is activated 4 times during wash & rinse, not continuous, it also uses different drum pattern, distribution spin washing with alternate jets and fast / normal tumbling .

For me you work with what youve got, this certainly works for me, energy wise per kg wash rinsed & dried todays washer dryers are prob the most efficient to date !!

 

[chestermikeuk]

Combination Washer Dryers

I tested V2 of this washer dryer for the UK market , (now sold as Sharp models) better programme displays, I actually tested the water usage for washing and drying a set of king sized bedding, wetted down it was a half load in the drum,
the jets really do wet everything down but water levels are decent on this, as to are the rinsing...

The whole operation didnt even fill a Hoover single tub full of water for washing a 6lb washload without rinsing , so I do maintain todays machines are the most efficient , to date, for now, before microwave or laser tech takes over lol !!

 

[sudsmaster]

The relatively new TOL Ultra Fresh Vent GE front loader (model 850) has an "All in one" feature where "smaller" loads can be washed and dried in the same machine.

 

Remember, this is a 5 cu ft washer, so it's enough room to tumble dry "smaller"  loads.

 

 

[combo52]

Reply #13

Cool Rich, I will have to look into that model, 5CF is large enough to dry 10-12 pounds of laundry but I dough that that GE has drying that much laundry in mind without being 240 volts, HP or gas etc.

John L.

 

[sudsmaster]

John,

GE says the max load for the wash and dry cycle is 2 lbs. Instead of calling it "All-In-One", they term it "One Step Wash and Dry". It does not use heated air, but instead draws in fresh air through the vent system, for up to eight hours. GE says it's intended for when one needs to wash these small loads at night to be ready for the next morning. I'm not sure how useful that will be.

Here is text from the use and care manual:

1 STEP WASH + DRY (on some models)
This option is available on all cycles except Self Clean.
The 1 STEP WASH + DRY is intended for small loads only. Use when clothes need to be washed, dried and
ready to wear or finished the next morning. This feature will tumble clothes and introduce a constant stream of
air into the washer compartment upon completion of select wash cycles. Although the drying portion is set to 8
hours, the clothes can be removed at any time by pressing Pause or Power to cancel the cycle.

And,

1 Step Wash + Dry

Our washer also offers a combination wash and dry feature that cleans and dries loads under two pounds in one cycle without applying heat. It pulls air from the vent into the front of the basket and a fan in circulates it to dry the load.

Here is a video of the process:

 

[combo52]

GEs New One-Step-Wash&Dry

Thanks Rich, I figured this is what they had done, this approach minimizes what to do with a lot of moisture from drying clothing and of corse any heat.

 

I believe it is only a matter of time till full sized [ 27" wide roughly 5CF drum ] combination W-Ds are on the market in the US and elsewhere in the world.

 

One of the major things that killed the original full sized US combos [ 1952-1972 ] was large families and the need to wash and dry a lot of clothing every week. It is ironic that US manufactures pulled the plug on combos right when baby boomers were coming of age and the boom of condos and smaller families and delayed or no marriages became common.

 

But they will make a comeback, it never made any real sense to have two different machines to process a load of laundry [ no one would buy a machine to wash dishes and another to dry them ] and now that front load washers are finally popular the world over it is easy to make it dry the load of clothing as well as the manufacturer is 85% of the way to having one machine that does the whole job.

 

It is also much more sanitary to have one machine do the entire job and a properly used combo will never get moldy.

 

John L.

 

[neptunebob]

I thought the reason for the demise of combinations was because Philco had all the patents and they would not let anyone else license. Are the patents all expired by now? They might not have been in 1972.

 

[logixx]

GE had that feature back in 2010, calling it Overnight Ready. Whirlpool-made washers also use their fan to Overnight Wash & Dry small loads.