Installed: Maytag 8100 Washer & Dryer

[mark_wpduet]

Wait?

So why is OK for WP to have an access panel on their Euro machines but not the US machines? So stupid!

 

[henene4]

With that question, I want to point out that if you sue a café in Germany because YOU spilled hot coffee on your self, you won't get a penny. I heared different happend over the pond

Its assumed that a German consumer knows that opening that port on 140° or even our famous boil washes can hurt you. And that if this is needed, care should be taken.

However, I think its more a style over use thing.

 

[logixx]

Yes, I also think it was mainly a design decision to remove the access altogether. After all, the US washers come in all different colors... while we only get white.

 

[frigilux]

Henrik: I'm suing you over the emotional distress caused by your defamation of an entire country!

 

[lordkenmore]

>Only a few of the specialized cycles run anywhere near two hours. Most of the cycles are between 40-50 minutes.

>Most of my loads are cleaned just fine with the 43-minute Normal cycle.

Interesting. It seems to me I've heard whining about how long cycles take on front load washers. 40-50 isn't that bad.

>I wash all the shorter-cycle loads first, then end with the kitchen whites/long cycle.

How cruel--make the washer do the most tiring cycle last! By that point, it's probably sore from all the work of washing clothes. Doesn't it deserve to end with an easy, fast cycle? LOL

 

[frigilux]

Most front-loaders from the US have relatively short Normal cycle times available. Sometimes people see the cycle times at Consumer Reports and freak at the 80-110 minute cycle times. Remember: Those times are with the heaviest soil option selected. Most garden-variety cycles are far shorter than that. Once you subtract the time saved in the dryer (fast spin speeds) there's not much longer than a load washed/dried in vintage machines. You're not going to touch the 20 minute cycle of a coin-op 1964 Frigidaire, but most other top-loaders can't touch that, either.

Last cycle of the day: It's the one load I don't have to worry about folding as soon as the dryer shuts off. I can leave kitchen and personal whites in there overnight and fold in the morning. Or more likely, as a raging insomniac, at 2:30 a.m., LOL.

Henrik: I hope you realize I was poking fun at our litigious society. I re-read my post above and was concerned it might not be taken as the lighthearted commentary it was intended to be.

 

[henene4]

I recognized your pokeing, no problem at all And it was just a stereotype joke I made as well, so, no problems either

And, to keep jokeing, I rather feel sorry for some of the folks arround here haveing to spend their life on 120V service and with applainces cut down in function due to stupid lawsuits and design over use. What a pitty to be an US folk

I actually think that 50 minutes is a cycle time most MOL FLs in the EU can manage as well, given only for lighter soiled half to 3/4 loads.
And people raveing about cycle times: Almost any serious FL today has a time remaining display. Set, start, return. Just because my washer runs longer, I don't spend more time doing laundry. It stratches, yes, but I think not to an unadaptable level.

 

[pierreandreply4]

well pure wastes of energy in my book at least for me if i compare my old inglis superb II topload washer 1 it was a better cleaner if i compare it to my actual washer thats a pure waste of energy and 2 i still think shorter wash time like 10 minutes like the wash time seen on this dial screenshot is more than engouh and also water heaters in washers are not needed it only cause and create more air polution in the enviroment.

 

[mark_wpduet]

I'm running the

clean washer cycle on my Duet now. It doesn't have a dedicated one like the newer ones, but it's hidden touching a series of codes.....I think the last time I did it was six months ago....But one thing I notice is that it doesn't use HOT water....it uses warm water and the drum fills with a LOT of water and then spins violently with water going all over the place - then the drum rotates normal speed for a bit, then fast again, then slows down, drains, fills back up with a lot of water, does the same thing, drains once more and does the same thing again, only in the other direction........then drains, but doesn't spin..it cleans the drum really well but I can imagine it would be better if the water is really HOT instead of warm......I've never seen a clean washer cycle with machines that have a dedicated clean washer cycle.....I think I'll go to youtube now to look......

Did your Frigidaire have one and, if so, did you ever use it and what was it like?

 

[countryguy]

What is the series of codes you have to enter? I'm curious to see if they would work on my Kenmore he4t.

Gary

 

[logixx]

Here's a Tub Clean. The video comments say it fills with cold water after a steam phase.https://youtu.be/QD_3eqL7F10

 

[lordkenmore]

>Most front-loaders from the US have relatively short Normal cycle times available.

>Once you subtract the time saved in the dryer (fast spin speeds) there's not much longer than a load washed/dried in vintage machines.

That thought had occurred to me. (Of course, during part of the year, drying times don't matter much to me--what's an extra hour hanging on the line?)

The other thought that hit with the longer cycles: it may run forever, but if the load is so seriously dirty it needs the cleaning power in a longer cycle, it could take forever in a top load machine, too, once soaks, prewashes, and pretreatment (and sitting), are factored in.

>Last cycle of the day: It's the one load I don't have to worry about folding as soon as the dryer shuts off. I can leave kitchen and personal whites in there overnight and fold in the morning.

Makes sense. I tend to do laundry spread through the week. Who can limit such excitement to one day? Certainly not me. But I'm careful with certain loads. If it's something that needs to look good (e.g. dress shirts), then I try to be careful to get it dried at a time when I can be certain to be available and functioning enough to get the items out of the dryer. I don't hate ironing, but I try to avoid it, anyway.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Lets see

I don't wanna hijack this thread

but here's the link from a long time ago

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?36263

 

[frigilux]

The Frigidaire used warm water on its clean cycle, which was supposed to be run when prompted (every 40 cycles). The Maytag's manual says the prompt will occur every 30 cycles and recommends using Affresh tablets. Picked up some Affresh and will use it for the first clean water cycle. I have two packets of Tide Washing Machine Cleaner to use up if it appears to be compatible.

 

[logixx]

You might want to crumble up that Affresh tablet. I recently read a complaint that it put dents in the drum of someone's Whirlpool FL, while being thrown around with no water.

 

[frigilux]

Alex-- That's why I like Tide Washing Machine Cleaner; it's powdered. Will pummel the Affresh tablet before putting it in the machine.

DRYER CLUNKING: I noticed a random 'clunk' that occurred when a large load (two-thirds capacity or more) was being dried. Sounded like someone was inside hitting the cabinet with a little hammer. This didn't occur with small loads, and it usually went away the last 10 minutes or so of the cycle.

Dealer stopped by yesterday and took off the top of the dryer. There was a slight bulge in the seam of the drum right at the front edge. That tiny, little bulge was occasionally hitting the right side of the cabinet when loaded. That's how close the tolerance is between the rotating drum and the cabinet. I couldn't believe it!

The repair for this marvel of 21st century technology? He took a hammer and pounded down the slight bulge, LOL. No more clunking.

I guess when they want to fit a 7.3 cu. ft. drum into a 27" wide machine, there is absolutely no room for even the tiniest deviation from spec.

 

[johnb300m]

No Room for Runout

HAHAHAHA! Gotta love CAD engineering.
In our design schemes, we run the "collision tool" and as long as nothing touches......SHIP IT!
Hehe

 

[mark_wpduet]

My Duet dryer

has never been serviced in over ten yrs now. It has always had a sort of thump when rotating - nothing that sounds like a hammer hitting something like you described. No matter what size the load is....and it sometimes squeaks constantly when first turned on but then it goes away after 5 min or less and sometimes it doesn't squeak at all. It has never been what I would call a smooth sounding dryer. It's nothing that sounds worrying or anything though. Even the Whirlpool dryer I had before with top mounted lint screen sounded the same way, so I assumed this was normal...My grandma's Kenmore from the 60s sounded so smooth when drying compared to all the dryers I've had.

 

[frigilux]

Mark-- The Maytag dryer is whisper-quiet. It dawned on me that I hadn't checked CR's rating of the 8100 dryer. Sure enough, it's one of the few to rate Excellent for quietness. Every dryer I've had (all of them Frigidaire/WCI or Electrolux) has been noisy---lots of exhaust sound. The 1960 Kenmore model 80 I grew up with was the worst. It had the lint bag on top which caused it to be louder than most dryers. There is only a small hint of the exhaust note with the Maytag.

I couldn't believe how little space there was between the drum and the cabinet. That little bulge was maybe 1/8-inch higher than the rest of the seam, but that was enough to make it hit the cabinet. The funniest thing was watching him take a hammer to it. Show it who's boss!

[this post was last edited: 9/17/2015-13:35]

 

[henene4]

Smooth dryers

Oh yeah, the smooth constant sound of a dryer.

I have used a vented and a few condenser Mieles, and nothing comes close to this smooth run they had.

The old ELux dryers at one laundromat are small, but beyond powerfull. They literally run no hotter then 140°F. If even. However, these things feel and sound the negative king of durable. Not exactly cheap, but just not smooth.
However, their home heatpump dryers with inverter motors and best the A+++ models are in my opinion the smoothest operators in HP dryers.

BSH has the silent dryers at 61-65dB, but I always thought that the heatpumps sounded rather annoying, and the start was always so weiredly "slow". First, condensing pump turned on, then light, the motor, the heater on condenser models clicked in, and all happend in well distinctable timeframes.

However, while the Whirlpool build dryers are far from bad, you really don't want on in living areas. These are loud, and run verry suttle. Their heatpumps have this tendency to cavitate (loud, destinctable compressor noise vs audible medium humming), and the motors have this clear sound of working motor with lots of speed variations that drasticly change motor noise, even with small loads.