LG Waveforce Investigation

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There are solid-state accelerometers so cheap they can be included in $20 toys so there is absolutely no excuse for a $600-1200 appliance not being able to sense imbalance before it destroys itself.
 
To Arbilab

That's the other thing too...

We're accustomed to conventional top loading machines with spin speeds of somewhere around 600-700 RPM. (Vintage Frigidaires excluded.)

Now, GM had something up their sleeve when they designed a machine capable of 1150 RPM spins. I mean, you have to think, Automotive engineers designed these machines.

Then LG and Samsung come along boasting 1400 RPM spin speeds. I bet the ability to spin at 1400 RPM was more a marketing decision than a engineering decision. Then the bosses at be wondered how they could do it for the cheapest, this is the result.

I really makes me wonder what kinds of machines GM would be developing and building today if they ever decided to purchase the Frigidaire name back from WCI.

I can imagine it now...

"Well, we build these really large commercial trucks, maybe we can use the wheel bearings from those in our new front loaders."
 
My Fisher & Paykel . . .

. . . spins at 1000 rpm with never a problem in six years. AND, I have washed my queen size comforter in it several times.

I have used Dennis' LG, and it is a smooth running machine.

Jerry Gay
 
Dennis

I agree with your point but people on average don't display common sense in my experience. And as Glen pointed out, LG does advertise jumbo loads for their machines as well.

I think there is "under-design" here for economy's sake. A simple OOB switch would have caught that. And the switch could have triggered an electronic brake cycle in the motor easily.

Arbilab, must check out those SS accelerometers they sound cool!

But can you imagine if a kid was watching and he/she was positioned between the wall and the machine looking in from the side?? Gawd that would be awful!

I love washer drama!! Bring it on!
 
I am going to retract my "perfectly happy" comment actually because of an incident that occurred this weekend. I was washing a king-sized cotton blanket and two pillow cases Saturday on the bulky/bedding cycle, and suddenly I heard beeping coming from the inside washing area. There was an out-of-balance error code displayed. I lifted the lid and adjusted the items. I tried a total of three times to get this load to complete; it never would. I just got fed up with it and stopped it and put everything in the trusty Speed Queen toploader. The SQ ran flawlessly.
Dennis
 
common sense??

I have owned this washer since May 2011. This machine requires way more than a little common sense to operate. It requires careful attention to loading and cycle selection. It can never be left unattended as it will bang the cabinet during washing, rinsing and spinning! While I am relatively pleased with the washing performance and appearance of the machine, I hate having to pay such close attention to it during operation. I am happy with the dryer but if I had it to do over again, I would not purchase these machines. I miss my 9 year old Kenmore HE3t's that they replaced. Would be interested in hearing feedback from others that own this washer.
 
The SS accelerometers can be found in model helicopters (another hobby of mine). They operate to keep it pointed in the same direction and perform very well. I own about a dozen of them. Cost is on the order of $1 each in bulk. It's just a little stainless can with 4 connections and firmware in the control chip that responds to the SS gyro. Some will even shut themselves off if they hit anything, that depends on programming. So there's no question it can be done cheaply, easily, effectively.
 
To Arbilab and Kakkid

Arbilab:

You know, that blows my mind... I mean, these LG machines are fairly expensive here in Canada.. I'm amazed that a machine which sells for $1200 here lacks a $1 part which could potentially save the machine from self destruction. If LG bought them in bulk on reels, they could probably pay half that amount. I mean, they could even mount this component on the control panel... any banging would get picked up and it could reduce the speed...

Kakkid:

I think that by principle, washers and dryers should never have to be "attended to" during their normal operation. There have been numerous times where I swore my old GE would self destruct, by the time I ran down the stairs and dove for the stop button, the washer would just calmly slow down and use a slower spin speed.

So, I'd wait there, waiting for it to ramp up again to self destruction speed, but it never would.. the controller was smart enough to "remember" what speed "didn't work" and it would just spin at a slower speed.

Now, that's in a 2004 vintage GE top loader... and supposedly GE is very well known for cutting corners.. but they didn't with that machine. (At least, not if you count the plastic outer tub...)

So, if GE can do it with a $850-ish machine (At the time), why can't LG do the same with a machine which is 1.5 times the price?

I'm truly baffled. In some ways, I kind of wonder why domestic manufacturers of top loaders never got past 1150 RPM..
 
Proper Loading??

Does anyone have any advice for loading these machines for best performance and least amount of tangling. My understanding is that clothes should placed loosely in the middle of the tub and not around the edges leaving the impeller exposed, is that correct?? Also, the machine never seems to add enough water for the load to turn over so I frequently use the water plus feature to add water but this seems to cause the machine tub to bang more frequently during agitation at high speed. Any pointers??
 
This loading video is just silly!
It really makes their machines look bad if you ask me.
"Make sure you put bulky items as far down as they can go in the tub".
What is this saying? "Our machine cannot pull your clothes down and clean
them during the wash cycle if you don't do this".
Also that rocking video of it what I would imagine would be in a spin is
Scary!!!!
Brent
 
In the video, it's actually a little scary how the machine is banging around.

I think they should at least make the suspension system much stiffer than what they're using now.. I'm not sure why it has to be so loose.
 
Loading

"My understanding is that clothes should placed loosely in the middle of the tub and not around the edges leaving the impeller exposed, is that correct?? "

The instructions that came with our Harmony say just the opposite: put the clothes around the edges and don't pile stuff on top of the impellor hub. I've also found that after you load it, you need to push the load down towards the bottom of the tub a bit -- not hard, but just kind of take up the slack. If you don't do this, sometimes it doesn't sense the load properly and then the fill is short.

Did they use a narrower cabinet for the Waveforce? The Harmony's tub has never once hit the inside of the cabinet, that I know of, and I do pay attention to it sometimes when it's running.
 
waveforce

just a thought..... i wonder if this has anything to do with the waveforce action, i know that in the owners manual it says that with bulky items such as pillows or comforters or rugs that the bulky cycle should be used because otherwise the spinning of the tub with the water inside for the "wave action" could result in a flood, so i am wondering if you put a comforter in and use the regular cycle if maybe water could be the reason the machine malfunctioned??
 

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