Miele 3033 or top-end Electrolux or Samsung

[launderess]

How Is 120V Power "Safer"

Than 220v? I mean if a properly trained person does the installation and all other precautions are observed both should be equal.

I say the American system is "backwards" because for many applications it is not the most efficient electircal system. There is a reason one rarely finds commercial laundry equipment even without heaters that run on pure 120v power.

Regarding cost of Miele's front loaders, historically H-Axis washers have always cost more than top loaders. More still if one does the thing properly and builds a machine to last. Much of the cost difference is due to the design nature. A front loader not only has to keep water inside the tub, but remain quite stable upon spinning heavy wet laundry.

In Europe and elsewhere that markets are dominated by front loaders costs can come down a bit as there isn't the competition from top loaders (with central agitators).

Even the most inexpensive commercial front loader will cost more than the highest priced domestic unit. However again those machines are built to give years of service.

 

[tolivac]

Note:More people are electrocuted on 120V than 220V or other voltages.

 

[Jsneaker]

Post# 551397, Reply# 9 10/23/2011 at 11:58 by AZREOSpecial

Miele's large 4 cu/ft washers here have a carbon-composite outer tub, called "Glaron". It is yellowish in color, and drastically helps reduce drag with the water while spinning the SS wash drum, and also helps insulate the heat from the interior of the machine's cabinet. As far as Launderess' comment on voltage, it's 60 or 50 HZ(cycles), and NOT amps!

 

[qualin]

To JSneaker

This should be somewhat relevant to the topic..

How does Glaron compare to Porcelain coated steel? I know that it doesn't retain as much heat, but what about the hygienic factor? Will it hold soap residue, grime, dirt, mold, mildew, etc?

Is it true that a lot of European washers just have a steel outer drum without a Porcelain coating? As I've read in other threads, Europeans don't use bleach as often (or at all?) than North Americans, so the machines are built differently. As a result, they don't require that extra coating.

As well, from what I understand, Porcelain covered steel is much more expensive to manufacture, which is why most washer manufacturers use plastic outer drums.

In the Youtube videos I saw, Glaron looks one heck of a lot like plastic, so it was easy for me to make that assumption.

I wish that there had been some better information on their site. It seems to me that many washer manufacturers don't want you to see the inside of their machines.

 

[mieleforever]

the using of bleach

That is correct, the Miele machines does not have a compartment for bleach as far as I am concerned. Our Miele only has 3 compartments 1 for softner, the main wash, and a prewash which we rarely use. There is no need for bleach in a frontloader. It just washes better and cleaner with less water and washing powder. Get yourself a Miele and you will see the difference between the t/l and f/l. I too was once a t/l camp fighter but at the end of the day the f/l won me over and I would not ever look back. and they are much more gentle on your clothes.

Regards

 

[launderess]

Enameled ( Porcelain) Covered Steel

To my knowledge was and or is used on BOL and lower end front loaders sold on the otherside of the pond. Better quality and top shelf units have stainless steel outer and inner drums, well they used to at least.

We once had a Malber unit built by one of the Merloni brothers companies and it had enameled steel outer tub.

Glaron K is fiberglass and one is told it is also used for hulls on very expensive yachts.

 

[foraloysius]

Launderess is right. A lot of European frontloaders had porcelain coated steel outer drums. Even Miele's had them for quite a while. Later stainless steel outer drums became the norm. That was until some manufacturers changed to the Carboran outer drums. I have never seen a plain steel outer drum on a European frontloader. And I have never seen a European frontloader that didn't have a stainless steel inner drum apart from a machine that came with a removable, plastic drum (I forgot the name).

In Western Europe (not the UK) the voltage is 230 Volts and the regular amps is 16. I only have 16 amps fuses. So 230 x 16 makes 3680 Watts.

Washers are relatively cheap in the Netherlands. Besides that we are one of Germany's biggest tradespartner. A BOL Miele (W1712) costs 799 euros overhere (around 1080 American dollars).

 

[qualin]

OK, but from a Hygenic and durability perspective, is porcelain coated steel or stainless steel better than Glaron, or is it equal?

If a salesperson could have told me the difference, I may have bought a Miele W4842 instead of my Huebsch ZFN50R.

 

[Jsneaker]

Bud, stick with your Huebsch!

You obviously got the machine of your dreams, I have not! NA-made stuff is no longer made well, sadly. I would never buy a SQ or equivalent front-loader. I have yet to try the fairly-new top-load SQ's in my apartment building laundry room, but I am not too eager to use a "public" machine there! Just leave any-loading-type washer's door open after washing until the next washday(unless it's in the way, leave it propped-open. You won't have to deal with mold or such. My machine stays open after the last wash to the next time it's used! It still smells like new! I am tired of competing with "know-it-alls".

 

[mikepaquette]

Samsung Hmmm

My Samsung set is less than 1 year old (next March) and the washer has been out of service for 3 weeks now. Suspect the mother board. The error code that comes up is not even in the service manual... Just my thoughts. Mike

 

[nmassman44]

Rut roh! My Maytag Samsung built Neptune gave me that error code and its something to do with the heater in the sump not responding. In fact they were recalled because of a fire hazard and Maytag sent me the solution...a plug in circuit breaker that plugs into the outlet and the washer plugs into that. How I got it to work was to unplug the beast and wait for a couple of mins to reset the control and it should work.

 

[mikepaquette]

nmassman44

Thank you It has been unpluged for over a weel and the same code comes up. Thank you , Mike

 

[nmassman44]

Well sounds like your machine has a bigger issue then.

 

[qualin]

Hey Jsneaker, I apologize if I came across sounding like a know-it-all. I don't know everything, but I try to sometimes. I'm glad to hear you enjoy using your Samsung machine. If you ever visit Calgary, send me an e-mail (qualin@n0$pam.shaw.ca) and we'll get together and chat over a cup of coffee or something.

Mike, sorry to hear about your Samsung issues. I hope the service techs eventually get to the root cause of the problem.

One feature I did like about the LG washers, I wish more washers had this, was that if the washer produces an error code, you can call the service center, hold your phone up to the machine and tell it to produce noises which they can hear and decode over the phone which describe the issue.

My suspicion is that it works on the principle of a 300 baud modem, just a frequency shifted tone which transmits data at 300 bits per second.

 

[Jsneaker]

Post# 561004, Reply# 39 12/3/2011 at 15:24 by mikepaquette

Mike, my Samsung worked fairly well for one month after receiving it, then the machine started to skip spin cycles and/or shorten them. I called Samsung, and they sent two adorable young Korean guys to fix my mother board, which was replaced! Since then(July 2010) our machine has been working pretty well, with few complaints from me. I am still disappointed at the low water levels these machines use, so I mostly use the "Towels" cycle, which uses more water,and adds a third rinse. The cycle takes 1:13 normal or 1:18 heavy(which I use). I also got an extra 3 months on my warranty for registering the washer online.

 

[henrypeter21]

Samsung Eco Bubble

I have heard that samsung now produce the Eco Bubble for people who cant afford high temperatures. Do eco washes actually work, at the moment i always use at least 40c usuallly, although the hotpoint wml540p has eco washes on it, but "Synthetics and "Fast Wash" dont spin any higher than 800 (1400 i prefer).

 

[Jsneaker]

Hi Bud!

I would very much like to visit Alberta sometime, I've been to BC, ON, QC and NB. I definitely would like to meet you, and also a nice You Tube & Facebook new friend. I don't mean to imply you're a "know-it-all" guy, but you do have an admirable wealth of knowledge like me! To meet more AW guys would be so nice, it is a dream very slowly becoming able to realize. I've had the great pleasure to talk only with Peter "peteski", and lost contact with "mistereric" a few years ago. Malcolm in GA is near dear friends and my family, but we haven't "connected". I have gotten emails from "rhonic" and another gentleman from AW.

 

[qualin]

To Henrypeter21

I believe they call "Ecobubble", "Powerfoam" over here. Sounds a bit more.. uhm.. "American" I guess.

The thing I've been led to believe is that suds are supposed to prevent front loaders from washing clothing properly.

For me, since we have very hard water here, I would suspect that a system like that would gum up and eventually fail after a few months if not a few short years, since detergent doesn't dissolve as readily and water leaves deposits on everything.

That also would probably prevent one from using normal detergent as the machine would very quickly suds lock.

I would personally like to see the powerfoam system in action. Youtube videos don't really do it for me.

Again though, everything I've heard and seen about that system seem to indicate that it is just a marketing gimmick and doesn't really add too much practicality into the cleaning effectiveness of the machine.

 

[qualin]

To Dougpark

Hey Doug.

After re-reading this thread after two months, here's what I think... (You may have already bought the machine, but I just should get my opinion out there..)

I have determined that most likely what you want is a smaller capacity machine. The larger capacity machines put more stress and pressure on the floor and would cause more noise, vibration and shaking, even with Samsung/LG VRT.

Unfortunately, as a compromise, washing anything king size would probably require a trip to the laundromat, where a larger, better suited machine will do the job. How often do you see yourself doing a load of king-sized items anyway?

I believe that the Asko W6903 would most likely be the most suitable candidate for what you are looking for in a washer/dryer. If the machine can handle a 2000 RPM spin speed without jumping around and killing someone, chances are, it would be lot quieter if you used a spin speed that's half that.

Keep in mind that a lot of European designed machines are designed to be used in a Kitchen, so they're supposed to be quiet. Whereas a lot of North American machines are designed to be used in a basement with a concrete floor.

If you do make a decision, post pictures and videos!!

 

[favorit]

Supertronic W 5000 is smaller than W4842

Hi @ everyone,

the miele supertronic is 60 cm (somewhat 24 inch) wide and deep.
How can you say it is bigger than the american W 48XX machines ???

The W 4840/42 are true 8 Kg machines as their drum has a 80 cubic decimetres (a.k.a "litres") inner drum.

Here in Europe those frontloaders wider and deeper than 60 cm / 24 " have been a market flop. Whirlpool german factory has always produced much more Duets than european counterparts (Dreamspace, basically a 230 Volt Duet). LG and Samsung gave up to sell in EU big machines. Now producers are focused to put in 24"x24" machines thi biggest drums as possible. LG has a model with a 71 cu dec drum. They claim it can wash 11 Kg , actually it is a 7 kg machine. That' s why I bet we won't ever see the W48XX here in Europe.

In dryers this fact is even more ridicolous. Same sized drums (say 110-115 cubic decimetres ) 10 years ago were sold as 5 Kg dryers, nowadays they are claimed as 8 Kg machines.

The actual 8 Kg Mieles are the american W48XX and the professional Octoplus, period