Is Whirlpool making COMMERCIAL belt drive washers?

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norgechef

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I have seen a few comments on here about Whirlpool making commercial quality belt driven washers....is this true? I suppose they wouldn't be any worse than GE commercial washers but still, shouldn't they just continue making direct drives for commercial laundry products? I don't understand why they would want to make people hate Whirlpool commercial washers as well? if this is true it sure won't be helping their reputation any!
 
They still market commercial DD washers that meet 2007 energy standards. The new commercial line that meets 2013 standards are the new belt drive model. They also make consumer grade belt drives that they label as "commercial quality", whatever that means.
 
New Belt Drive WP TL Washers

In my Expert opinion I think it is far too early in the game to pronounce that the new line of WP BD TL washers are going to be excessively troublesome or short lived. WP has already sold MILLIONS of these machines over the last 3 plus years and yes those of us working on and selling new appliances have seen a few problems which does not seem unusual for any washer sold in such LARGE NUMBERS, and I have yet to see one trashed either by us or the huge appliance distributor near us [ I get to look over the hundred or so machines they pull out of homes every week to see if there is anything there we want ].

 

I think it is a good sign that WP is moving this machine into the Commercial lineup, many mainly residential machines never got this far. I remember going to many Maytag sales meetings and the MT reps telling us how good the Norgetags were and I would always say if they are so good why is there no Commercial Version ?, MT of coerce stuck with the DC Helical drive machines for commercial applications to the end.
 
An "Agi-Peller?"...........................

You can call it an impeller, wash plate, agi-peller, and it still doesn't matter.....They DO NOT work!!!! A top load washer that doesn't use water is the most assinine product on the market today, especially in a commericial setting!!! I am a huge advocate of top load washers, but ones like SQ that use water to wash!! I think these along with the Duet Sport commercial models, although in huge production, are a colossol design failure!!
Mike
 
Well...

I have a friend who's 2011 Kenmore belt drive is making a clunking noise when the spin cycle is coasting to a stop and its only ever been used in a single person household. Hes also always complaining about it constantly going off balance and making strange burning smells when the heavy duty cycle is used, not that he even uses that option very often. So 2 years of less than average use and its already wearing out!

I wont disagree that Maytag had many design flaws with some of their product lines but honestly my Maytag branded norgetag washer is 7 years old and I will admit it has had a few minor repairs but it is still going strong, and it has had ALLOT of use (some overloading) so i really don't understand why the reviews for these washers were so bad because my experience with this washer has been great except for the occasional crazy out of balance load. When it breaks i will most certainly be fixing it, no matter the cost. If it costs $800 for a basic top loading washer with rotary controls (Speed Queen/Huebsch) then what is the point in paying that much for something similar to what I already have? or $500 for a Whirlpool belt drive that will break in 5 years or less?! Besides, im not supporting that company after what they did to Maytag.
 
Looks kinda similar to GE's HydroWave system with the raised center on the impeller to hold fabric softener. I assume the pole in the center of this unit avoids loading issues - like people dumping everything in at once instead of layering items around the impeller with its center remaining visible. The pole automatically keeps items away from the middle of the impeller. Also, the agi does look a little like in a deep-fill washer. Looks old-school but it ain't. Some (many?) people would likely be put off using a washer with an obvious wash plate in it. The center pole helps in that regard, too.

BTW, read a GE commercial washer manual today and it said that the softener must be added towards the end of the main wash as it won't dispense during the spray rinsing. *eww*
 
Loading

And seeing the way that some people load machines at the laundromat, I wouldn't expect these to fair very well. Sure hope I am proven wrong...

Malcolm
 
Overloading the New BD WP Built Washers

That is the wonderful thing about new electronically controlled washers, They will protect them selves, the motors do a great job of detecting strain and overload and react accordingly, the load just won't get washed and maybe the user can take the detergent covered stuff out and put it in the dryer, LOL.
 
I agree with what Alexander and Malcolm said. I imagine the extended wash plate will force a user to properly load the washer, as they won't know to drop the clothes around the wash plate, avoiding covering the center. But from what I have seen in Laundromats, people often overload the machines.

Don't HE top-load washers take a long time to complete a cycle? It seems to me performance will suffer as long wash cycles are not compatible with a typical Laundromat. Although, in a Laundromat setting, perhaps the machines can dispense with time consuming load sensing, assuming that every load is a full load.
 
The appliance company I work for, We just recently replaced 2 front load washing machines in a condominium and they went back to the traditional top load machines and they were direct drive top loaders. I don't understand why they would switch the true commercial/ coin op machines to these belt drive ones I personally feel as though that's a bad idea on whirlpool's behalf but that's just my personal opinion. In my opinion these residential machines that claim "Commercial Quality or Technology" is just a gimmick. the true "Commercial Quality" machines were the old Maytag Top Loaders.
 
New Commerica Whirlpool Belt Drive Washers

Manufacturers can justifiability use the term Commercial Quality on the control panels of residential machines if they are using basically the same machines in commercial applications.

 

Whirlpool is going to STOP building DD washers and they SHOULD, the design is now over 30 YEARS OLD and while it is probably one of the best TL washers designs ever it just does not spin fast enough, uses too many raw materials to build and the newer design is much easier to repair and will likely be MORE RELIABLE in the normal life of a washer 12-30 years.
 
The spin speed hasn't been much improved. It went up from 640rpm to 700rpm. That's even slower than the TOL Amana's did and the SQ's do nowadays. GE sold machines with 800rpm years ago and the GE Harmony spins at 1010rpm. I don't think Whirlpool changed the world with the slightly more rpm's.
 
Lets face it...

These machines do not turn the clothes over the way they should so clothes end up coming out fairly dingy, they do not rinse the way they should which makes your skin itch with leftover detergent and lastly the spin speed is not very fast. I have done loads of laundry in a belt drive washer and it still took almost an hour to dry in the matching dryer while Washing in my norgetag takes the same amount of drying time for only 620 max rpm spinning and the rinsing is far better than spray rinses. I know most of you don't like norgetags but i would assume they work similar to a direct drive, doing full rinses and all. I know we can't avoid spray rinses because energy standards are forcing the manufacturers to do so but Whirlpool did not do a very good job creating a washer that could rinse out the clothes well with spray rinsing partly due to the fill flume if you ask me. And don't even get me started on the fill times because last time i did a load in a belt drive washer it took almost 20 minutes to fill so if its taking that long to fill imagine the lack of water that gets dispersed through the clothes with spray rinsing!!!??? If my friends Kenmore belt drive clunks and smells of burning after 2 years of not even average use what does that tell you about how they would handle 25 loads a day at a laundromat!!! the motors in these will be burnt up so fast in a laundromat that it would make your head spin. @combo52 im sorry if what we are saying about these washers is offensive to you but in all truth they can't currently handle 2 years of home use so they are not meant for laundromats. Guess laundromat owners will just have to sit around and wait until Whirlpool ''works out all the bugs'' while there laundromat has only 5 working machines after less than a year of owning them, at least that's how i see it turning out. If i ever see one in a laundromat i will be leaving and finding somewhere that has Maytag's, Speed Queens or direct drive Whirlpools.
 
from my experience

I see far too many of these machines (VMW) considering the short time that they have been sold. Some problems are a simple fix. For example I have seen many that will not start the cycle because a small article of clothing is stuck between the basket and the tub. As was said earlier the motor is sensitive enough that even the smallest item (i.e. baby sock) will stop everything. Also the mode shifter (switches between spin and agitate) are also very weak. Not a major repair but unacceptable to the degree that it occurs. It's the cheapest built looking part imaginable. But the worst is a board failure. Not nearly as common as the other two problems but just too expensive. The customers response is almost always the same. And this I believe is the most telling part of the story. The customer usually decides that it is not worth putting a ~$200 part in a $400 - $500 washer that they never really liked anyway. So I have seen a few go to the trash already. Ed
 

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