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Have not been here in a long time but seen this post. Do not buy samsung I have had one that was under ge name. I say had not even 2 years old and it has been sent to the dump.

This washer was fixed once under warranty worked fine but then the same thing happen aging. Cost to fix hold your hat $1279.97 price of washer around $800.00.

I now am washer shopping myself but think I will stick to a twin tub over another front loader. I am at the point if it cost more to fix it then to buy it I will buy cheap from now on.

This is the washer I had will bever buy GE aging they suck. There cs was not nice told me to fix it or buy a new unit would not help at all with this washer..

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/WCVH4800KWW.html
 
But I doubt Asko is as reliable as Miele.

That is a fair comment, but subject to change at the moment.

 

The for-runner to the ASKO name was ASEA Cylinda (from 1978) and ASKO is still sold under the Cylinda name in Sweden. ASEA machines were about as close to Miele reliability as you could care to find and then, the firm was sold to ASKO in 1988 and then to Antonio Merloni in Italy in 2000. Quality did drop and has taken an age to start to climb back.

 

Now, ASKO was sold to Gorenje in July 2010.

 

Gorenje make significiantly better quality appliances to start with when compared to anything Antonio Merloni have made and I would fully expect ASKO to become Gorenje's international flagship brand with a return to overall quality similar to Miele. In fact, I'd suggest that if you look at a 5 year old ASKO and a new one, you'll see the difference straight away.

 

Let's not forget that reliability is not generally based on current models, but experiences that people have had with machines that can be quite aged and if a brand has been sold, then you can't rely on anything you've read....what you can rely on here is that ASKO's new owner makes better appliances than it's former owner....just about any European on here will confirm it....and Gorenje will not want it's reputation tarnished by poor quality.
 
Belt Drive vs. Direct Drive FL's....

As Jsneaker commented above, he feels a direct drive front loader is "better" then a belt driven one. I have to disagree with this. I think if some kind of drive system failure were to occur, a belt driven system would be much easier to work on. Am I wrong?

Aaron
 
Asko was one of the brands I was considering when I was going to buy a new washer. I was considering the W6903, but the washer itself requires 220 volts. (@ 60 hz!) Fortunately, the dryer has a power supply included for the washer, so you have to get them as a matching set. (At least, this is what I read on the Asko website.)

I think that any washer with a 2000 RPM spin cycle probably is built to last, provided that you don't use that spin speed very frequently and use common sense. :) I've heard they use Volvo Semi Truck bearings, which is encouraging.

There were three things that put me off to buying one. The first was price. The second was the capacity and lastly, the supportability. I was concerned about having to wait a month (or two?) or so to get parts if it ever broke down.

I'm quite happy with my Huebsch, but I don't think it would be suitable for your second floor situation unless you put down a concrete floor. If you want quiet, you'd almost be better off with a top loader, provided that you wouldn't mind the increased water consumption.

http://www.askousa.com/laundry/family_size_laundry/washer-w6903/
 
It's quite interesting the differences that countries have with appliance reliability and support.

 

My mother had her ASEA (ASKO fore runner) from 1989 until 2009 - 20 years and ASEA as a brand had been available on our market for several years before that. During that time the machine had 2 service calls. One was to sort out the door latch as it become disconnected and another was for a timer problem as it wasn't advancing smoothly.

 

Neither had caused the machine to stop and only the timer had caused any form of delay. I've just been told 'about a week' on the phone. It would seem our spares and servicing is faster.

 

The only thing that prevented her buying another was money. I bought the ASEA for her and now that they've both retired, they couldn't justify $1400, which, I may add was only a fraction more than I paid 20 years earlier.

 

 
 
Power is probably part of it...

....but I'm sure that there are other factors too. Price will certainly be one of them. In Australia, noting that our dollar is actually worth more than the USD at the moment, the W5000 Supertronic is AUD$5000....or basically double the numeric value that it is retailed for in the UK.
 
Ow Ow Ow

Currently, $5,000 AUD (Australian) is $5,237.23 CDN (Canadian)

OW OW OW

That's a downright crazy amount of money to spend on a washer. The Miele W4842 runs just a little over $2500 CDN here.

Launderess, to correct you.. European power is 220 volts, 15 amps, 50 Hertz. (3300 watts) .. North American Power is 117 volts, 15 amps, 60 Hertz. (1755 watts) I don't really consider North American Power to be "Backwards", but it is safer.

One reason why European washers simply can't work in the US is because the heaters consume too much power for a typical US power circuit.

Dougpark, if you are worried about vibration and noise, it would be better to consider either a top loader, which won't vibrate as much as a front loader, or to consider a smaller capacity front loader, which won't vibrate as much as a large capacity front loader.

IMHO, I would agree with the other members on this forum that Miele makes some of the highest quality machines on the market, but you'll also pay for it as well. The old saying goes, "You get what you pay for."

As a FYI, Miele would have been my second choice over Huebsch, with the W4842, but I wasn't prepared to drop $4k on a washer/dryer set (Those were demo models!) and the Huebsch washer/dryer set was nearly $1500 cheaper for the same quality.
 
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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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
 
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.
 
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).
 
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.
 
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".
 
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

mikepaquette++12-3-2011-15-21-40.jpg
 

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