Mechanical Timer

[huebschman]

Are there any companies that are still making good quality TL washers with mechanical timers?

I know many companies that still do, mainly for their bottom of the line brands/products. But what about the higher end of the spectrum ?

 

[lowefficiency]

Just to be clear, you're asking specifically for mechanical timers, and not "knobs instead of buttons/displays", right?

Because a lot of companies have kept the traditional user controls, but are all electronic behind the panel now. You would almost never know from the front.

 

[ryner1988]

Unfortunately...

No mechanical timers that I know of anymore, not even on BOL washers. Even the cheapest washer I can think of off the top of my head, which is the Amana NTW4516FW made by Whirlpool, has electronically driven knobs and a push-to-start button. Control boards are the new normal, my friend.

 

[Chetlaham]

Tragically, none that I know of. There is consumer demand for timer models as this post proves but unfortunately appliance manufacturers have moved past "freedom of choice"

The only option I can think of is buying a used model.

One can only hope that one day someone will come to the rescue offering machines that people actually want.

 

[launderess]

At some point it just became unprofitable for mechanical timer producers to remain in business I suppose. When Whirlpool among others stopped using electromechanical timers on their dishwashers, washing machines and dryers there went a huge customer base for Midwest Timers and rest.

“We needed a different product,” said Bruce Chapman, co-owner of Midwest Timer. “Electromechanical timers are more or less going away. They’re going to continue to decline.”

The decline stemmed from appliance manufacturers “obsoleting” electromechanical timers in favor of digital components. While electromechanical timers still had a place in commercial applications, Chapman and his partners realized the business was “never going to grow.”

https://mibiz.com/sections/finance/deal-for-lectro-breathes-new-life-into-midwest-timer

 

[DADoES]

 
There are dryers that still have mechanical timers.  Whirlpool, Maytag, Amana, GE, Hotpoint ... Speed Queen.  Perhaps others.

 

[pierreandreply4]

washer dryer with mechanical timer

here a store that sell use refurbish as new washer dryer with mechanical timer in the quebec region https://econopluselectromenagers.ca/fr/product/refurbished-appliances/washer-dryer

 

[qsd-dan]

I think the last washer with a true mechanical timer was Speed Queen top loaders around 2017/2018.

 

[qsd-dan]

Decent mechanical timers faded out with the 90's. Superb mechanical timers died out in the 80's, with a few of them in the 70's. As I mentioned in the past, if a timer isn't somewhat difficult to turn while making a racket dialing in a cycle, it ain't gonna last very long.

 

[DADoES]

 
The timer on the parents' 1994 KitchenAid is what brought it down at 18 yrs.  It was always hard to turn, lotta cycles and functions crammed into the mechanism.  Super Wash was the real-deal Whirlpool version with prewash, pause/soak, partial drain/pause, continue into Heavy.

 

[qsd-dan]

18 years is a pretty good/average run for a early to mid 90's washer. What failed in the timer, was it the timer motor, escapement, contacts, or something else?

 

[DADoES]

 
The shaft broke loose from the cam mechanism.  Could be turned only by grabbing the dial skirt behind the plastic slip-shield.  Replacement timers were available at the time ... but the porcelain top quality wasn't good.  The laundry room is an outdoor room adjacent to their carport, not climate-controlled and rusting had occurred through the years.  I had a refurbed Kenmore 90 available to swap-in.

 

[qsd-dan]

I'd say that's a good life for a timer exposed to the elements.

 

[panasonicvac]

I think Speed Queen is still selling a mechanical top load washer in the commercial home style version.

 

[DADoES]

 
QSD-Dan, the parents' laundry room is not heated/cooled but is not directly open to weather exposure.  It's a separate room with a door and small single-hung window.  It has a single-bowl sink, storage cabinets, one of the two water heaters, washer, dryer, chest freezer.

 

[Chetlaham]

@dadoes: Indeed! Dryers still have EM timers. IMO its not so much that electronics have become vastly cheaper than mechanical timers but rather modern appliances require variable functions modified upon varying sensor inputs due to the reduced amount of material and mechanical components compared to older appliances.

If washers still had brakes, dampened suspensions, transmissions, ect- if dishwashers didn't have to purge air out of the sump, take air expanding inside the tub into account, turbidity based fuzzy logic, ect I think new appliances would still have mechanical controls.

Reading up about Midwest timer makes me so sad. They perfected Whirlpool's timers with excellence, and seeing a masterpiece, along with the company abandoned, is undeserved.

I would give anything to be able to contract with them adapting timers into new models of appliances. One can only dream.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

tragic state of affairs

We are in a tragic state of affairs. We have washers and dryers that have way too many electronics in them. Who needs fancy touch screens? I don't.

 

[DADoES]

 
I recall someone, somewhere complaining about inconsistency of moisture sensors on small loads due to insufficient contact with the sensor bars but I couldn't find the discussion here via search.  And/or a mix of disparate fabric types throwing sensing askew.  Preference for temperature-based autodry was expressed, or timed drying in some instances.

I had a tragedy today via overturning a bowl of salsa on my leg/jeans while sitting in my office chair.  I wrapped the fleece throw that I keep on the chair around to prevent salsa running down to the floor while I arose and walked outside to remove the jeans and flush the salsa off with a hose.  Thus, both the jeans and throw needed to be washed.  Together.  On the Stained/Tomato cycle in the Aquasmart.  And dried.  On moisture-sensing autodry.

One pair of jeans, and one synthetic fleece throw from which 1,010 RPM spin removes an appreciable amount of water.  An already almost-dry throw with one pair of considerably heavier jeans.  Will they dry OK together?

I have no details on how F&P formulated their sensor algorithms but the Aerosmart produced one perfectly dried pair of jeans along with the fleece throw, using the Jeans/Workwear autodry cycle.

 

[panasonicvac]

It looks like Speed Queen is still selling their commercial home style top load mechanical washer afterall according to when the literature was last updated which was this year. The same goes for the matching dryer.

https://speedqueencommercial.com/en-us/products/top-load-washers-commercial/

https://speedqueencommercial.com/en-us/products/single-dryers-commercial/