Kitchen Ensemble Washer Mutiple Issues ??

[loftbearnm]

Greeting from returning memember, formally TampaPhil and SeattlePhil now AlbuquerquePhil, Just brought a loft with MOL Kitchenaide appliances, disappoited with the washer, already replaced door latch assembly and circuit board, otherwise like the machine, anyone else have the same issues ?

 

[pulsator]

I have the Duet version which is identical mechanically and I have never had a problem with the door latch, although the circuit board is about to go. (We never unplug it during thunderstorms, the dryer now beeps randomly and constantly while it runs, almost like a twitch!) The only thing replaced on my Duet was the pump, but that's because it was defective to begin with.

 

[gansky1]

A twitch - that's funny!

I've had no trouble with my Duets at all - I don't use them for 100% of the laundry, but they've performed well and reliably so far.

 

[goprog]

Sort of curious - having MOL Kitchen-Aide appliances
automatically translates to the Duet equivalent? Sorry
for my lack of knowledge if that is a given. Makes me
curious what a TOL Kitchen-Aide washer would be since
I'm still trying to decide what to do regarding appliance
upgrades/additions.

 

[passatdoc]

manufacturer

My understanding is that:

1. Both the Duets and the Ensembles were made by Bauknecht in Germany.

2. Whirlpool, which now owns both Maytag and KA, is moving the design to the Maytag label, hence the Maytag Epic. KA now only offers the $3000 built in washers and dryers (per their website). The trend at Whirlpool has been to increase the number of lower priced Duet Sport options sold under the WP brand, while moving the higher end Bauknecht machines to the Maytag brand.

Remember, before the fiasco with the Neptunes, Maytag was considered top of the line. Many people who did not purchase FLs in the last decade still think of Maytag (toploaders, anyway) as the cream of the crop. I remember buying my first and second washer/dryer sets and Maytag was simply not in the cards due to the cost, but it wasn't unusual for pre-1990s Maytags to last 20 years or more. So for people with Maytag top loaders over ten years old, who were never in the market for a FL until now, the Maytag brand still rings of prestige and quality. Evidently WP thinks the name can be resurrected with the right products.

 

[loftbearnm]

Another thing I discovered, the softner is not dispensed in the final rinse????? It's dispensed on the next to last rinse it this normal?

 

[pulsator]

My Duet doesn't usually do that. However, the dispenser on my Duet is a piece of shit in my opinion! I quite often caught the machine dispensing the softener as it ramped up to spin and immediately drained it all away! I don't trust the machine to dispense anything but detergent anymore. I've taken to using the soak cycle and the drain and spin only cycle to get my clothes clean. I'll do a soak with detergent, then do a drain and spin on full speed (900RPM on my Duet) then do another shorter soak with fabric softener and another final spin. I see no need for multiple rinses seeing as how I never fill the machine full and the soak fills nearly halfway anyway!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Pulsator, If the dispenser is emptying as the washer ramps up for spin, you might want to make sure that you are filling it only to the full line or a little lower. The vibrations transmitted to the dispenser can cause an over-filled dispenser to totally lose its contents. Also check the tube for burrs in the plastic. Remove the siphon cap and make sure that the tube going up from the dipenser is smooth and then check the interior of the tube on the siphon cap.

LoftbearNM, no this is not the way it is supposed to work. If you are using the Whitest Whites Cycle on a WP Duet, which automatically gives three rinses, the softener goes into the 3rd rinse. Any cycle for which you can select the extra rinse puts the extra rinse right after the 1st rinse so the last rinse is the one to dispense the softener. There is a problem with your machine.

 

[laundromat]

Ensemble dispenser

I love my kitchenAid Ensemble washer and dryer!However(now mind you these are now 3 years old and have been moved to 4 different homes since purchased.)The dispenser tray is built like the ElCheapo Frigiscares and Kantmores.Thhere is a plastic armiture that is connected to the manual as well as the electronic timer wheels on each model.this connection has the wheel move the armiture which directs the fresh-water spray to the correct area in the dispenser tray to mix the water with the additive in that particular part of the dispenser.Other models like the higher end Frigidaire and the models they make for competitors have the solinoids to direct the water flow correctly.The solinoids work 100%better and are more direct and precise.The "manual"types that are physicly connected to the timer can get out of line and miss or dispense the wrong additive.Mine one day saved the bleach and spotted all my colors!!!!I was pissed because Whirlpool would only reemberse me $50!When I had the GE Profile set,I had no problem with dispensing at the wrong time or leaving any trace of water behind.you would think that at $1399 as apposed to $599,Whirlpool would at least put a better style dispenser in their "Golden Goose"