LG Front Loaders

[imperial70]

Return of the front loader

Mike,

I knew you would do it someday.  I could tell you were on the fence. My speed queen has sat on the side lines since I put my GE PFWS4600L0WW into full service and I haven't looked back.  The heater was the clincher for me, especially this very cold winter. 

 

I have to think about selling my Queen too.  Just waiting for a clear path from the basement to the street for the buyer.

 

 

 

[nmassman44]

I am making the right decision I think in retiring the SQ washer since our water bills have been horrid since we got it. It makes no sense that they want us to conserve, yet we have an abundant supply of water here in Mass. So they get people to conserve and lo and behold they are not making the same revenue that they were before, so they jack the rates up again. Its a vicious cycle. Plus with our electric rates, its been a painful winter.
The other thing is I want a washer that will hold a comforter easily. In the Frigidaire built GE that I have, I can put a comforter in it, but it wont move all that much since the drum is a tad smallish. It does fine with other loads, but large items and she chokes some. The SQ washer washing a comforter is a joke.

 

[pierreandreply4]

My 2 cent on this i still think that a top load washer is a much better choice than any front loader thats why when the washer i have that is a duet front load breaks that i am going back to a topload washer

 

[mark_wpduet]

Not me Pierre

My Duet will be 10 yrs old next month and I have LOVED it. The fact is, I really really want to try an LG FL washer next time, but I'm just so afraid because I read such mixed things about them. Some people on this forum LOVE them, but some HATE them. I have read that if you do buy one, good luck if you need repair because parts usually take weeks/months to get for the repair person to even fix them. I couldn't imagine if I had an LG washer waiting that long for it to be fixed. Can you imagine going to the laundromat for that long? I'd be so mad. But then again, things may have changed. I don't know.

 

[golittlesport]

Parts

LG appliances are relatively new to the U.S. marketplace and I would suspect that as LG washers have gained popularity and are now also sold under the Kenmore brand that commonly replaced parts are also much more widespread. Maybe one of our repair guys can comment.

The CR customer survey shows LG as the brand least often needing repairs.

 

[a440]

~ Agree with Rich

I agree with Rich as far as parts being available and interchangeable with the Sears Machines.

In fact when I had to replace the pump on my 14 year old HE3T the replacement part that was

recommended to me by Fox Appliance in Atlanta was a LG / Zenith built pump.  The motor was much

larger on the pump that it replaced.  I asked the parts guy at Fox Appliance if they get a lot of complaints

from LG and Samsung Customers about parts availability and his answer was no.  He said they either had in

stock most of the common parts or could order anything from either LG or Samsung.  He also stated that mostly

what is needed are door seals, water valves and electric drain pumps.  Common on any machine...

 

[jeff_adelphi]

LG parts

As an independent appliance servicer, LG will only sell me parts at retail prices. Tribles, my local parts supplier, can't get LG parts. Until this changes I will not be servicing any LG appliances, this includes LG made Kenmores. Jeff

 

[mark_wpduet]

I don't know -

maybe things have changed with LG parts since a while ago? I remember when I first got my Duet, I frequented the laundry forums. And I definitely remember reading horror stories of posts of people that had bought LG washers that, when they needed repair, they had to wait weeks for the repair person to get the parts for their machine to be repaired. So I guess that image has stuck in my mind when I think of LG, even though this was probably around 2005 or 2006 (ish).....

 

[joe_in_philly]

My Whirlpool (Bauknecht) HE3t will be 12 years old in a few months, and I love it too. When it comes time for a replacement, I am thinking of getting a Whirlpool. While I don't think the Whirlpools are as showy as the LGs, I do think that they do a good job, are well built, and have decent options. I don't know if LGs heat the water on as many cycles as the Whirlpool models can, and I find that is important to getting outstanding results in a FL washer.

Another things that is pointing me to Whirlpool is that it gets a 100 rating from HRC, and is made in the USA. LG gets a 0 rating from HRC, and they are made in Korea. I guess all those Made in America news reports about how purchasing US designed and manufactured products help our economy are starting to sink in. While it is not a eliminating factor for me, it definitely is a plus in the pro column, as is supporting companies that are LGBTQ inclusive.

 

[logixx]

My Whirlpool (Bauknecht) HE3t will be 12 years old in a few months

 

Now that's good to hear! And as far as heating the water goes: there's a poster on GardenWeb who kept track of how the individual cycles on his Kenmore functioned. He said that the Whitest Whites cycle on Hot never exceeded 105F. He even added that, if the initial temp was high enough, the heater wouldn't come on to reheat the water.

 

[nmassman44]

Well I bit the bullet and bought the LG 3570 at Sears. The sales guy tried to get me to buy a Kenmore Elite but I said no since the reviews on the Sears site made me stay away from those models. I got it in white since it's going in the basement. I did buy the water hammer arresters to protect my pipes. Our water pressure here is very high and I don't want any issues with banging pipes.

 

[revvinkevin]

I don't want any issues with banging pipes.

 

Why would "banging pipes" be more of an issue with an FL than a TL machine?   The water valves in an FL washer flow far less than a TL machine does.   If your pipes don't "bang" now with your SQ, they won't bang with an FL.... IMHO.

 

Kevin

 

[henene4]

Pipe banging is not a matter of flow, but more a matter when valves open/close.
A SpeedQueen TL does 2 continous fills, which equal opening 2 times and closing 2 times, plus a nother time for the spray rinse.
A FL generally needs to open its valves 2-15 times for one fill. So if it bangs, it bangs more frequently.
But these water hammer arrestors seem to work fine and are pretty cheap.

 

[golittlesport]

Congrats!

Congrats on your new LG 3570, Mike. I think you'll like it a lot. I love mine.

 

[nmassman44]

If you watch the video, one can hear the water valves opening and closing in rapid fire. Once in awhile with my machines, the pipes will hammer a little bit, not much but just enough to let me know it's going to be a slight problem . The ones I got go right behind the washer and the hoses connect to it. They were $10 a piece and I figured $20 spent here may save me more money in the long run. I also bought new hoses since the sales guy told me that hoses don't come with the LGs...but on the LG website it says it does have the fill hoses. So I will see when the washer arrives if it has them or not. I am prepared just in case.

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

That makes perfect sense Mike thanks for explaining.   BTW, CONGRATS on the new LG!   My friend Rich (golittlesport) has the same thing and I have to say, from what little I've experienced with it, looks like it does a great job.

That's the one thing I don't understand about how the LG's operate, when the cycle is first started, it pulses the water valve a 1/4 second like 5 -7 times before letting it flow.  That just baffles me.

 

Kevin 

 

[logixx]

That pulsing is an LG exclusive "feature". My theory is that these short bursts of water are supposed to flush away detergent better than just one continues stream.

 

[mrb627]

Water Hammer

I had that problem with my lg set. In the six months I had them. All toilets had to have valves changed and on tub faucet cartridge too. Lg needs to eliminate the "feature", IMO

Malcolm

 

[nmassman44]

Malcolm that's exactly what I want to avoid happening here. I am as prepared as I can be I think.

 

[washerdude]

I have noticed with our new whirlpool duet, water hammer is highest during the final rinse. Infact when ever it stops filling and your in the bathroom near the toilet,you can hear the fill valve make a "creaking" noise. However i did notice that on the older washer when there were rubber hoses, this didn't happen as harshly.

 

[mark_wpduet]

Duet - same here

I hear the water pipes hammer but from the LG video's I've seen, the Duet's (at least mine) don't nearly do the water on/off each fill as the LG's do. I know the next washer I buy when my Duet ever dies, I will be getting the water hammer thingy's.

 

[suburbanmd]

It's been reported that LG's bursty filling doesn't work with tankless water heaters, because the bursts aren't long enough to activate the heater.

 

[nmassman44]

I have a regular gas fired tank water heater. Those tankless ones are useless here in the winter since our water gets so cold and it would be just luke warm I think coming from a tankless water heater. Summer it would work fine.
I get the new washer tomorrrow and I have plenty of laundry to put it thru the paces. Its funny how I feel like a kid waiting for Xmas, it cant get here fast enough. LOL

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Mike I'm sure you will be quite happy with the new LG!

 

I did a large load in Rich's 3570 to really test the load capacity, since he said it was extremely large.   It consisted of FIVE King size sheets, TWO Queen size sheets and FIVE king size pillow cases.   The 3570 easily handled this load with no issues at all!   Drying that load on the other hand.... we had to split it into two loads.

 

Kevin

 

 

[nmassman44]

I know my GE Profile dryer is a nice 7 cu ft of space, but I think that I will have to split loads between the two dryers, its either that or I get the uber sized LG dryer at 9 cu ft. But that said , thats a rather huge load! And thats the first time I have ever said that out of the bedroom...lol

 

[appnut]

I feel like a kid waiting for Xmas,

Mike, that's why we're all here.  We have the same feelings with any appliance acquisition. 

 

[a440]

~ Mike

Congratulations on your new washer!  Nice that you saved up wash!  Fun!

Will be fun to hear your reports!

Brent

 

[retro-man]

I was having problems with the on and off sequence with a Maytag top loader in the hair salon. You could hear it in the kitchen faucet next to the washer. Causing problems at that sink and all the other sinks. I had a small expansion tank put onto the water system this week and this has eliminated all hammer noises and problems with the sinks. I was also having problems when the water heaters shut off after a cycle, they would build up pressure in the system. This eliminated that problem. Total was under $300.00 and it takes care of the house and salon.

Jon

 

[nmassman44]

It's here! Washing away on its maiden load.

 

[mrb627]

Out of curiosity...

What kind of reaction did you get from the delivery crew when they saw your collection of machines?

Malcolm