LG top loader added to my collection

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sparkcymru

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 11, 2006
Messages
251
Hi all, hope everyones ok. Now as a few of you know i've just aquired an LG top loader. I've been after one of these for a while and i'm really pleased with it and it was an ebay bargain. It has a 10kg load works very quietly and has no heater so requires a hot and cold supply. I've done four loads so far in it and all have been excellent. It has auto wash which means you just put the clothes in, detergent in the drawer and press start. The machine then does a quick spin of the drum and decides what settings/water level you need and away it goes. Has a waterfall fill, detergent, softner and bleach dispenser. You can alter anything you want from water levels, spin time, wash and rinses. Makes the usual LG pretty tune when you turn it on and plays a different note for every setting! I'm unsure of the spin speed but clothes come out similar to an 800 spin front loader. The wash action has a pulsator which spins in opposite directions and the whole drum goes back n forth at the same time while water pours from the sides over the clothes. I will do vids soon once i've disabled the saftey switch! This is my 7th LG machine and I know you have issues in the USA with LG but all of my freinds here in South Wales have LG washers (all sold by me of course) with no problems in the past 3 years use. Now this one dwarfs my Hoover vision next to it in the picture and i will be moving it on soon as it takes up so much space, but for now i'll enjoy it!

Steve

2-15-2007-08-53-58--sparkcymru.jpg
 
would never fly over here

We have the situation here in Germany that the only people who use top loaders are either folks with lots of space or very little.
Top loaders in 40-45cm widths often end up in small bathrooms where there is no space for the 60x60cm units.
Since nearly all kitchens use "built-in" counters with continuous counter tops, adapting one to fit is a real pain. I had one for a long time (Miele) and loved it.
But these are H-Axis machines with low water levels.
Given that our laundry comes out cleaner with less water, detergent and energy use than with these designs, I don't see how they would appeal to anyone except me.
I love Rube Goldberg solutions - but most folks I know would say "too complicated" "too loud" "a repair waiting to happen".
And the energy/water ratings would kill them. I also wonder just how well they would work with the problem of heating the water.
The UK is radically different to the rest of Europe here, there they might stand a chance. Many British machines expect a hot water input, here that is extraordinary. And heating that much water to a useful temperature with a 2000W element...there goes any time savings.
LG in Germany at least, has a good reputation. I know five people besides me with LGs - none of us have had any problems and the service is properly organized. In the US, based on what I have read here and in other forums (together with what the obviously rehearsed lies the idiot sales in-duh-vi-dual at Homo-Depot said about how good there service was)I would never buy an LG anything.
 
I remember seeing one of these in Gardiners in Bristol some years ago and was SO tempted to buy one but didn't. IIRC, the one I saw had a metal pulsator. What is the load capacity? I would still get one of these if I had the room. I would love to run my Hotpoint TL but the 10lb capacity is a pain as I really want to increase the load size I have at my disposal plus I have nowhere to plumb it in!! Really looking forward to the vids!
 
IIRC, the LG Turbodrum machines (as pictured above) had a spin speed of 680 rpm. That's slightly faster than a Whirlpool US top loader, which hits approximately 650 rpm.

The model with a metal pulsator was the Turbodrum DD (direct drive). On this machine, the pulsator actually formed the base of the drum itself. Rather than counter-rotating against each other, the drum and pulsator rotated back and forth together as one piece at varying speeds, giving a centrifugal wash action. The spin speed was a little higher on this model, at 730 rpm.

We had one of each type on the sales floor at one store where I worked, but never managed to take any orders for them - so eventually the display models were sold off and that was that. Always found them fascinating myself, but never did get to see one run so I'm looking forward to viewing the clips too.

Cheers,

Kirk
 
Dig that shag-a-delic pulsator, baby!

NOW THAT IS INTERESTING!

21 minutes, but not 20? *LOL*
5 (count them )5 rinses?

Interesting location of fill-solenoid valves!

I too look forward to videos! Thank you so very much for posting this!

Now If I could only get past my fear of LG service, I reluctantly really like their products!
 
Thanks everyone,
Hoovermatic it's a 10kg load which is quite hefty.

Yes the fill pies are in a strange position and also the 21 mins wash is a strange choice. Maybe someone at LG was a bit of a fun person and said lets not have a 20 min wash but 21 just for the hell of it!

I figured about 680 spin was about right. it's quite good due to the size of the drum the clothes come out pretty well spun. Also the spin comes in bursts. The motor kicks in in short bursts over a couple of mins until the speed builds up then stays on till it finishes.Makes a lovely sound. Very very stable and not had the oob kick in yet. No spin brake either like the hotpoint TL ,just slows down gradually. great fun. Now i've only done cold wash so far as it seems to like them but dirty white shirts came out spotlessly clean on a 15 min wash. Now i'll try get those vids done and get them up for you all next 24 hrs or so. Steve
 
Life Expectancy

Hi Guys,

Most of the earlier versions of these machines and most LG FL's appear on Ebay over here with various faults by the 4 year mark.

LG is now managing to sell more machines, as with the retailer they now offer a 7 year guarentee all the machines, which most people see as alright, because by that time its paid for itself.

People buy them with the view, that its LG and likely to need service, but at least its paid for, for the 7 years.
 
That is a very attractive machine, and I like the control panel, which seems very intuitive.

Steven, would it be possible, at your convenience, to look and see where this machine was built/assembled?
 
5 Rinses

LG quality here in Germany is seen as very good. But after the bullsh** (sorry PC police, forgot we are supposed to pretend) I got told at Homo Depot a few weeks ago; I will not buy anything from them in the US:
Me: "So I hear they have serious service problems?
Sales Weeny Idiot: "They are our top of the line. Even men find them easy to use" The fantasy continues:
Me: "Well, yeah, they look good, but I hear folks have trouble getting them repaired."
Sales Weeny Idiot: "They outsell GE Performa with our high-end customers. Your wife will just love all the stainless steel."
(What a jerk. There I am in my pill-box hat, my whiter-than-white Samantha Steven's purse under my arm and he thinks I'm straight?) My "wife" needs to shave twice before lunch, mister...but I digress.
Anytime a salesman avoids a direct question twice, you know they are lying to you through their teeth.
Never had any trouble with my LG here...but what should a US consumer do, ship their problem child over here to get it fixed?
 
made in Korea

oxydolfan1, this machine is built in Korea as are all the UK ones. Are they made anywhere else?

Now I must get on with those vids

Steve
 
LG and others

These machines are very seldom to be found at EBAY's here in Germany - but one of the members in the "Waschmaschinen-Forum.de" (which is currently out of order - heaven knows why Kai stopped it...?!?!!), Bernd, told me that a friend of his in Spain has one of these machines - a Daewoo - and she is so disappointed. She says it knots everything up, all washing is absolutely tangled...I cannot imagine that...well....
I'd love to have one of those - but my mate would quarter me if I buy one...

Ralf
 
Tangling does not happen with this machine although i've had a pulsator twin tub that tangled everything up in knots. I guess its all down to the wash action. The Transmission and pulleys etc are all metal in this. Good strong belt too like an alternator belt rather than a a washer one. It is quiet yes especially on spinning. Just hums really and no rattles.

The waterfalls run when the pulsator spins Mike so its not constant but stop start.
I've got it apart at the mo while i bypass the door sensor. Nicely made inside with a resin sealed module too so no water can get in it.

Steve
 
Ross-- you da man. I thought the same thing. We picked up, as in put out for scrap, a brand new Harmony. Found out it had a dime wedged in between the plate dealy and the tub lip or whatever you call the piece around the plate thing. Dime removed--all parts moving harmoniously again.

Toggle, I think you are allowed to choose the number of rinses depending on how many times you mash the RINSE button.

Steven, Thanks for posting this. Question: What are "fill pies"? I wonder if 21 is a lucky number in Korea?

The Cabrio, a F-P clone does the same pulsing when it starts spinning to keep the pump from air-locking while the bulk of the water is spun out
 
Fill pies! yes well spotted Tomturbomatic, guess I had pies on my mind when i typed that lol. Back to grammer school for me!
 
Hey Steven - "sparkcymru"

Is there any chance you can get your new machine to operate with the lid open and shoot some video?? I would love to see it in operation!!

Thanks in advance!
Kevin
 
Kevin i'm working on it as we speak. A fiendishly clever door sensor is incorperated in this machine with a hidden magnetic switch in the lid and under the top rim. Its a pain to fiddle but i'm nearly there with it so vids coming yeah.
Steve
 
none of the uploaded vids are able to be viewed as yet, if it dont sort out i'll put them on another site soon
steve
 
Cool vids - thanks! The spin is amazingly quiet, kind of reminds me of our spin dryer. The auto load recognition really seems to work. BUT: how do you like turn-over? In the vid it seemed like to items would be swishing back and forth but there didn't seem to be a lot of turn-over.

BTW: the putfile.com videos have a much better resolution. I, too, noticed that after uploading my dishwasher videos - the quality dropped *in some cases* dramatically after YouTube down-sized the video file. :(

Alex
 
Alex, well there really isn't any turnover in this machine but then with another pulsator i had that did more action it just tangled the clothes, where this one doesn't. I think LG have it just right with this wash action. The machine is very stable on spin too as the whole tub hangs from four rods attached to the top with a plastic float type end on each one that moves with the tub. No springs to squeak and makes it very smooth. The only problem I have is I don't have a hot water feed to it and we don't have things like cold power detergent in the uk, but it still washes well. I will be moving this machine on soon so i'll enjoy it for now.
Steve
 
I was successful in locating and saving WMV clips of your LG and Hoover washing machine demos. In my situation, lack of eyesight did not hamper my enjoyment of these videos, as the sound quality was such that I could get a good audio view of how these machines work. Many thanks for these washer videos!--Laundry Shark
 
5 Rinses

Keven-

I remember that day at the "depot", you were in your nighty, hair in curlers, and green Grinch slippers. I'm sure the salesman was doing his best because he thought you were fresh off the "tour" bus.

The guy was truly a geek!
T
 

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