Is Whirlpool making COMMERCIAL belt drive washers?

[repair-man]

also

I have to ask why it is thought that Whirlpool should stop making the direct drive because the design is now over 30 years old. And as much as considering the raw materials used in building a product should we not also consider the impact of building 2, 3, or even 4 or more products just to equal the same time of using ONE well built product ? This argument applies to all new appliances. As I have said here before, you will never convince me that I am helping the environment by buying a new energy star refrigerator that has an 8 to 10 year avg life when the manufacturing, warehousing, merchandising, delivery, removal and disposal cycle is repeated so frequently.

 

[repair-man]

just one more though

I am not absolutely deeming the new VMW machines a total failure. Any new design can have a few unforeseen weak spots that can be changed to build a much better machine. BUT, Whirlpool will need to make performance changes as well. I only fix the things so I don't pretend to be an expert on what people look for in an appliance. But my job does put me in a position to have a lot of conversations with customers about their appliances. My overall experience is that customers do not like lock down lids and cycles that waste time. Even if it isn't true customers equate cycle time with energy use and people are busy and want to do laundry fast. I can honestly say I almost never have a customer tell me that they bought a particular machine to save water.

 

[norgechef]

Were onto another topic now but...

I get what your saying. Why do they call modern day appliances energy efficient and all that when they don't last more than a few years? they're certainly not helping the landfills much! sure they use less water and power but after a few years you have to get a new one and put the other one out to the curb, so wouldn't it be worth it if washers still used around 630 kwh a year and filled up the full way on both wash and rinse cycles if it meant longer life? then people would be able to buy a washer that costs around $500 and have it last at least 10-15 years. I think that is much more cost efficient in the long run.

 

[wp-dude22]

agipeller

wonders if this washer works liek the regular agitator models with 90 ans 180 degree arcs or 360 arch wash action i would buy a agipella and test in my wtw4850 o see if it works there as that wash is auto water level as well

 

[foraloysius]

I'm not too sure if it would fit. To me it looks like the bottom is part of the agipeller, the reason for it's name. Perhaps someone can enlighten us, who has seen this machine in real?

 

[washerdude]

sad thing is that here were i live i have not seen ANY direct drive washers being sold and i think the motor is going out on ours (lets hope not).i dont wanna replace it with soemthing grabagy like this, theses are to weak, sensitive, and defnelty delicte to handle. seems like one unbalenced load got destroy the whole washer.
which reminds me:

 

[wp-dude22]

VMW failure

honestly i have a wtw8450 that the auto load sensing one
the sensing works 80% of the time any small load will wash @ extra small since the washer does not detect it well unless one or 2 heavy items are in the tub ...
as for that i agree with NorgeCheff clothes do come out digy 2 times if it does not get a long wash cycle or if the water level is to low for roll over .... ....
a low water level and agitator will not wash clothes an maybe the agipeller design will be better for this washer and will make the close move in bloom action so @ least there is roll over.

the fact that there are no real live images of the agipeller design makes me wonder
the whirlpool digital library only have control panel and washer images for the new models hmmmmmn

as for spin speed 700 rpm does not do much and since the tubs in those machines are porcelain coated i think 700 is the max i can spin without causing it to crack or sum-thing .... the price os stainless steel is cheap i mean whirlpool cant just make all their drums stainless steel these washers should have stainless steel baskets and 900 rpm spins with the wash plate variant having spin speeds of 1000rpm
also whirlpool need to change their agitator designs the one on the cabrio was kinda nice and futuristic and it looks like that agitator was suited to auto load sensing washers like what i have

 

[cammurray22]

New Commercial Whirlpool Belt-Drive Washers

From my point of view, they should have rebuilt them by using the demestic belt-drive design from the early 80s.

 

[washerdude]

Maybe a petition to bring back the old direct drives and belt drives? no wait only the old belt drives.

 

[wp-dude22]

agipeller

agipeller

 

[wp-dude22]

credit for the pic mickeyd
his thread http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?47058_13

 

[norgechef]

How ineffective looking

So they are going from poor cleaning and dingy whites in their regular belt drives to soaking action that won't do anything unless the machine was severely overloaded then it MIGHT clean the clothes at the bottom of the basket. Obviously the agitator is meant to just brush by the clothes, who knows if it would even send a current or a ripple through the water!!!?? This is a worse design then previous Frigidaire top loaders with the straight vane agitator and its indexing tub.

 

[wp-dude22]

agipeller

peller

imo this could work if the bottom of the agi-peller was perforated like the regular wash plates with holes and if the 3 main baffles were wider coming towards the outer rim and a bit more pronounced.

also the center pole is a bit to fat for my liking take up space it should have been a smaller diameter with a fabric softener dispenser

last but not least the center pole should have little fins that are designed to push clothes up since an agi-peller would operate like an impeller and push clothes up the center and down the edges near the tub the fins should be in a way that they are compact but still be able to help pull clothes up the center while giving them a little scrubbing love.

btw what happen to the thread this image was originally posted in

 

[combo52]

Agipeler

I have a funny feeling that this might actually work and I bet WP has already tested it, LOL, after building a couple 100 million Top Loading washers WP has never really made anything that didn't wash well.

 

[user 3941]

That AgiPeller looks like my FlexCare one piece that I put in my HydoWave. Interesting.