In your opinion, when was the true beginning of the end for Maytag?

[combo52]

Maytag Neptune

There was a counter balance wait inside the door with four springs attached.

If they had used a better suspension system and had a better cabinet they would’ve needed it nobody else uses that type of thing today, there are some Samsung’s that have a vibration weight in the top of the machine. And some Electrolux products.

 

[maytag85]

Reply #17 & Reply #18

That’s what I am saying, Maytag shouldn’t have even bothered with the Neptune or HE machines and should have continued to make washers and dryers like they did for many years. Not repeating myself, but Maytag would be far ahead of everyone else if they were still genuine Maytag since their washers could literally run for decades and the only repairs they would need would be belts or a pump. Maytag could have perfected their washers even more for dependability, longevity, and washing/rinsing performance which would make them even more reliable more than ever.

 

[launderess]

Yes, but even Maytag would have had to deal with government regulations forcing water/energy restrictions on washing machines. As with Whirlpool, GE, and everyone else this would have meant offering H-axis washing machines or some sort of "HE" anyway.

In a perfect world I suppose HE regulations never would have come down pike and Maytag could have continued building top loaders of old.

 

[qsd-dan]

"In a perfect world I suppose HE regulations never would have come down pike and Maytag could have continued building top loaders of old."

Actually, Maytags older models before the second rinse option came into effect in the early 90's are actually more conserving of water than a modern Speed Queen. Their larger capacity models used 19 gallons of water, so with a deep rinse and 1 minute spray rinse put it around 42-ish gallons total use. A Speed Queen TC5003WN washer uses 24 gallons per deep fill. With a deep rinse, spray rinse, and 2nd deep rinse, the machine is at a whopping 73 gallons per cycle.

42 gallons vs 73 gallons and the Maytag spins at full speed with a solid one minute spray rinse which totally negates the need for a second deep rinse more than 95% of the time. I'd say the Maytag wins that round of efficiency standards. That's not factoring in a full control of the timer, water water levels, and no dumbed down water temps.

 

[chaskelljr2]

When they were taken over by Whirlpool.

—Charles—

 

[rapunzel]

Arrogance and laziness led to the demise of Maytag.

 

[vacerator]

Re; Neptunes, etc.

the Neptunes had a door latch wax motor issue, but I think wau worse for Maytag was
branding a Norge washer and dryer "Performa"!!

 

[DADoES]

 
You folks are all aware that one of the Neptune engineering revisions was changing to a solenoid door lock instead of a wax motor, yes?  I don't know when during production that occurred but my neighbor's MAH6500 has a solenoid.

 

[vacerator]

Neptune door lock redesign:

Yes, they addressed the problem promptly.

 

[goatfarmer]

I always liked the Performa's. Simple design, easy to work on.

 

[repairguy]

I did too. They may not have had the heavier materials like the dependable care machines but they had a good wash action and many of them lasted 20 years.

 

[mickeyd]

@qsd-dan, What the fudge and holy crap ~

Shocked that you would undercut the generous luxurious spray rinse on the Maytag. It's seven gallons, man, maybe eight, more than double the measly three you suggest. Check for yourself. Fred Maytag is pissed, LOL.

 

[mickeyd]

Need a new lens on the iphone.
Spilled a quart or two, working the hose whilst draining the spray rinse from the Maytag into the Frigidaire. The volume of water nearly fills the Frigidaire. Now that’s a spray rinse, surpassed only by the GM 1-18perhaps.

 

[rapunzel]

When Maytag’s management decided to stick their heads up each others’ arses and inhale.

 

[qsd-dan]

"Shocked that you would undercut the generous luxurious spray rinse on the Maytag. It's seven gallons, man, maybe eight, more than double the measly three you suggest."

I never measured it, but having a tempering valve skews the results since it adds hot water to the cold water during the fill for a 85F final temp. Winter temps skew the results even more with it adding additional hot water to maintain the target temp, increasing the total water volume. Selecting warm uses a bunch of water being cold+hot for the proper cold temp + hot water, so its cold+hot+hot for 120F. Now with a modified timer motor and a 1:30 spray rinse, it's most likely exceeding 10 gallons during a warm spray rinse. I should install water flow meters on both spigots and get some accurate readings for cold and warm spray rinses as well as monitor them throughout seasonal temperature changes.

 

[panasonicvac]

I think acquiring Hoover and other brands instead of focusing more on what they already have to improve the products better.

Regarding the Neptunes, I honestly liked those as we had a set before and my grandfather still has his today. They do a great job, they looked so cool especially with the electronic touch screens on ours, and they seem to hold up well for us other than our gas dryer which the motor died after 10 years of use but I would've had it fixed instead of tossing it out.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

whirlpool/maytag

At least Whirlpool used Maytag on their direct drive washers and dryers, and later their tall tub dishwashers.

 

[robbinsandmyers]

I think had Maytag gotten on the China bandwagon very early they could have made the expensive pitman trans there for pennies instead and it would have been just as durable. I think the trans was the biggest cost in building those washers since it was so well built.

 

[DADoES]

 
If the 2-belt Maytag washer platform was a better design and more durable then wouldn't Whirlpool reasonably have gone the other direction ... abandoned the direct-drive and labeled the Maytag design as Whirlpool?  And perhaps abandoned the VMW design which surely was already in development in 2006 since it debuted 4 years later in 2010.

 

[Chetlaham]

DD vs Dependable Care

My guess is DDs had more capacity (one of the big reasons DDs sold more), the factory more advanced, easier to service over all, less raw metal, no need to redesign the agitator for more aggressive cleaning, and I'll give a bet that in 2006 Whirlpool had already made a decision to cease DD production as a whole in the next 10 years.

At that point keeping Dependable cares in production would not make any financial sense, considering the average person does not know, or care, about the difference between the two or what took their place altogether.

Now, if everyone was like me the dependable cares would have become the new DDs. Heck, the DDs would never have even caught on to begin with. But sadly, and perhaps less so today but very common back then, US culture tends to be anti intellectual. Not looking for what lasts the longest or the best in the long term, but rather what ticks superficial boxes at the time of purchase.