Maytag 712 Slows Near End of Spray Rinse

[rp2813]

I mentioned this problem in another Maytag thread, but have decided it needs its own discussion.

 

Advice in the other thread was to check pump belt tension.  I did, and it was loose (the belt could be squeezed in the middle and both sides would readily touch -- while keeping the motor stationary) so I adjusted it to proper specs.

 

I ran a load of towels as an acid test and all seemed fine until toward the end of the spray rinse, when the tub slowed way down and as a result the pumping action slowed too, contributing to the drastically reduced spin speed.

 

Final spin was fine all the way through.

 

I replaced the pump belt a few years ago, but couldn't find a Newton Maytag OEM one.  This machine isn't a daily driver, so the belt is super low mileage.  I got a new after market drive belt at the same time, but it didn't compare to the OEM Maytag belt that still looked decent, so I didn't install it.  Could either belt be the problem?   If not, what else could be the causing this?

 

[akronman]

Suds Lock

Towels and throw rugs hold back tons of suds, it sounds exactly like suds-lock to me. I bet the entire cycle would run fine if it was dress shirts or sheets, they give up their suds much more easily.

For towels, try a low-sudsing detergent. It does NOT sound like a machine problem to me.

 

[toploader55]

Hi Ralph.

My 806 does exactly the same thing with towels or sweatshirts if I dose the detergent a tad too heavy. By the time of the Last Spin, everything is good.

 

[swestoyz]

Ralph, the advice from Mark and Eddie is spot on. Towels seem to be the common denominator from what I've observed in the past. Rarely does this occur when I'm washing shirts, jeans, etc.

Your Maytag is fine. Maybe the next step is to pair with with a Frigidaire Unimatic?

Ben

 

[washerlover]

Hi Ralph,

 

My Maytag does the same thing — sometimes when it slows down too much, the water shuts off.  I thought it was to ensure the fabric softener dispenser didn’t dispense during the slowed spin speed, but was told this is a normal function to prohibit the dreaded suds lock!

 

[kenwashesmonday]

My Maytag used to do this when I had the end of the drain hose up too high.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks guys.

 

I was thinking suds lock, but I use the same h-e detergent as the Neptune FL gets, and I feel I'm fairly conservative with it considering how much more water the 712 uses on a full load.  I was absolutely sure that it was suds lock after I first got the machine and was thrilled to use Mexican powder in it, but this latest situation had me scratching my head.  There's no suds whatsoever on the surface of the water during agitation, so I figured it had to be something else.

 

When we had an A206 for many years, this never happened, and that was before h-e detergents dominated the store shelves.  Could this be a common flaw in the larger tub models' design since mechanical specs are, I presume, no different from the smaller tub models? 

 

Since it just so happens that the last two or three loads I've done in this machine all consisted of towels, I'll run a different type of load and see what happens. 

 

Todd, I had the lid open for the spray rinse sequence and noticed that the fabric softener cup empties early on in the spin process -- well before top speed is reached -- so in my case the FS dispensing wasn't an issue.

 

 

[rp2813]

All's Well

I did a full load of tee shirts and lightweight shorts tonight and the tub maintained full speed throughout the spray rinse.

 

Next time I choose to run towels through the 712, I'll load it with fewer of them and dose it with less detergent.

 

Thanks for the replies.