Installed: Maytag 8100 Washer & Dryer

[logixx]

"As Alex mentioned, it may be going out the same port used by the Fresh Hold option"

 

I didn't mean to refer to where steam may be coming out, I thought I had found where the "unseen water" enters the machine for the steam portion. In the "cryptic" drawing below, you can see a blue line I added. I think water flows into the air channel [#5] that is used to blow air inside the machine during the Fresh Hold option. This hose [#5] is obviously connected to the tub. Fresh water enters the vent hose, flows into the base of the tub and is turned into... humidity by the water heating element (red, my dear).

 

As for your interpretation of the other parts: you were very, very close! #29 is the Fresh Hold fan, # 19 is yet another air vent and # 28 is a suspension strut. So yeah... don't give up on you career as a washing machine engineer just yet!

 

[logixx]

And finally

"I don't know that any washers commonly found in the US have steam generators anymore. LG used to; does Miele?"

 

Initailly, LG, Samsung and Whirlpool and had true steam washing machines. LG had something like a tank that would fill with water, heat it up and steam would reach the clothes. Whirlpool and Samsung had flow-through heaters (a heating element wrapped around a pipe above the wash tub) that would turn water into steam as it passed through it. Now, they all just fill with some water under the drum and start heating - like a veggie steamer you'd use in the kitchen.

 

Yes, some Miele washers have steam generators like espresso machines. But their steam is used to dewrinkle and refresh; not to boost washing performance.

 

 

[frigilux]

Alex-- I realized several hours past the editing window that I'd goofed up on that one. I put my hand over #29 the Fresh Hold vent during steaming, thinking I might feel excess steam escaping. I did use the Fresh Hold feature on the final load last night. It ran only about an hour. I woke up, remembered there was a load to transfer to the dryer and went downstairs. The Fresh Hold fan is easily heard. It must be moving a fair amount of air.

I can just picture the Ingalls family in their sod house with a beautiful pair of front-loaders on pedestals!

 

[logixx]

Yes, no more schlepping buckets of water to wash clothes!

Now, can you deselect the fan option on the overnight wash & dry cycle? This should then be your Quick Wash. I wonder of it uses more water - the way fast cycles often do.

 

[mrb627]

Check This Out.

Just Wow!



Malcolm

 

[logixx]

Are these people emptying their trash into their washer? Even though the filter should be more easily accessible, there's no reason for this much gunk to be in there.

 

[neptuneguy27]

These people have to be

Confusing their washing machine with a garbage disposal. I opened the pump once on mine about 3 years ago when the washer was about 5 years old...all I found was a tiny piece of lint.

I'd have died if I found anything remotely resembling what this guy found. Blah!

 

[washerdude]

The good thing about newer Duets and Maxima's is that the pump and trap are mounted right under the tub. This means you can just remove the back panel and clean out the trap.

 

[countryguy]

I have a Kenmore He4T. The clean out is at the front so I just have to remove the lower front panel to get at it.

Gary

 

[appnut]

Gary for about the last 3 years, there's a new cabinet style that no longer has a lower access panel.  You have to take the entire front off from what RCD told me to get access and it's not easy to do.

 

[frigilux]

Mother of God! That was nasty.

washerdude-- I'm glad the trap can be accessed from the back panel. My first question was going to be, "How the heck do you clean the trap if your machine is on pedestals?"

 

[countryguy]

Of course the manufacturer should make it much more difficult to access so that the average person will have to call in a service person. Wouldn't want it to be user friendly.

 

[nmassman44]

Thank gawd my LG has a front access door to get to that filter on the pump. Thats insane to have to go thru all that just to get to that filter/trap. Not to mention time consuming, and what does one do if they have the washer on a pedestal like Eugene has?! One would think that Whirlpool would have made it easier to get to that trap.

 

[mrb627]

Clog

But what came out of the pump looked like a piece of clothing.
And it looked like it smelled awful, too.
If he has to perform this procedure often, I suspect they are chronic overloaded.

Malcolm

 

[mark_wpduet]

The guy sounded like a nice guy

but he thinks and probably lots of people think it would be normal for it to smell really bad down there.

I stopped checking mine a long time ago because I check all pockets religiously. The few times I've checked it in the past I only saw a little piece of lint and no smell, so I just stopped bothering.

This is one thing I do not understand about Whirlpool - other manufacturers do this, yet they don't? And now it's even harder having to access it from the back?

 

[alr2903]

Very useful vid Malcolm, thanks for posting! I bet some of that gunk was Kleenex. Every once in a great while I miss one and it is a mess. -A

 

[mrb627]

Whirlpool

I wonder of the legal suits at Whirlpool Corp are concerned about a potential lawsuit with having the end users accessing this pin trap. I would expect enzymes to break down a tissue and move it on its way. The previous designed Duets had a removable kick panel that allowed access to the pump and cleanout. Maybe someone did file a suit... I opened it while it was running and 160* water came out...

Malcolm

 

[logixx]

No access panel

Say what?

 

[bttdxn]

Maytag 8100 Running time

Eugene,

I am sorry to ask repeat info, however, I am trying to read all of these threads and my eyes are crossing now!

Additionally, I am new to the jargon, etc., but do I understand correctly the run time on your machines is about 2 hours? What does a "normal size, no frills cycle typically take"?

I have never timed my current FL, which is now decommissioned in the garage, but I would guess it is about 45 minutes. Long enough for me to go do something else, but not so long that I cannot do several loads in one day if I need to.

Thank you in advance!

Bette

 

[frigilux]

Bette-- Only a few of the specialized cycles run anywhere near two hours. Most of the cycles are between 40-50 minutes. I use either the Sanitize or PowerWash cycle for big loads of heavily-stained kitchen whites. Most of my loads are cleaned just fine with the 43-minute Normal cycle. I wash all the shorter-cycle loads first, then end with the kitchen whites/long cycle.

The Normal cycle (my go-to for most loads) times out this way:
Light Soil = 41 minutes (using Max Extract spin speed)
Medium Soil = 43 minutes
Extra Heavy = 75 minutes

The PowerWash cycle is the longest:
Light Soil = 1 hr + 50 min
Medium Soil = 2 hr + 6 min
Extra Heavy = 2 hr + 30 min

The Steam For Stains feature adds 30-40 minutes depending on the cycle.