Yes Sean, Bruce is right, I am talking about an LG Front Loader, not top loader. Not all vintage washers use springs in the suspension, Whirlpool/Kenmore belt drive machines are one example, Philco ball-point balancing machines are also another without springs. Frigidaire Unimatic washers (1947-1963) used one heavy duty spring, but it was more to act as a snubber, and only one part of the suspension. Modern LG machines use shock absorbers which I think is a good design, Bendix front loaders also used heavy-duty shock absorbers. My guess is the reason for the exploding washers has more to do with cheap/thinner metals and use of plastics than anything else.
My LG front loader will shake and make quite a bit of noise at full-speed if the load is over 50% unbalanced. It will produce more vibration than any vintage washer of mine that spins over 1100rpm. My Frigidaire Unimatic washers will vibrate at 1140rpm, but not a severely and no where as noisily as the LG FL, the GE washers are amazingly solid at 1140rpm, but the snubber pads can be a bit noisy. Again I think this has to do more with the cheap/thin metals used in modern machines than any design flaw in the suspension.
My boyfriend has a LG toploader, we were in his kitchen the other day and up from the basement came this loud vibration noise of his machine in full-speed spin. I was actually surprised that it was as noisy as it was and I had previously made sure it was perfectly level. He hates that washer after seeing my machines and wants me to get him an agitator top loader. I have a good lead on a TOL Wards 20lb machine which I'm going to restore for him, a truly excellent 70's washer design (performance and capacity-wise that is) which he can use in conjunction with his top loading LG. I'll be willing to bet he stops using the LG after getting used to the Wards.
One thing I like to do with my LG front loader is starve it from cold water by turning off the cold water line. I don't use it for anything but the sanitary cycle anyways. My hot water heater is set at 150F and the LG likes to mix a bit of cold water in. Nope, not allowing that to happen, when I select hot I expect to get hot, hmmmmmmmph and nothing else missy! Also I like giving it 3 hot rinses with WaterPlus selected. I want the bleach in the first rinse to be in hot water anyways. After the final spin when it unlocks, I open the door and steam pours out. I love removing steaming hot things from that washer and the washer dries itself out much faster than with cool or cold water for rinses. It also smells wonderful for days after doing that.
Mike I really like those scent-free white Tide pods. While I have never tried them in the LG, they work wonderfully in my vintage machines and not once have I ever had any plastic pouch residue left over. I'm not surprised that they sometimes wont melt in a modern front-loader, simply not enough water. I do remember experimenting in the LG once by placing two 1960's Salvo tablets into the drum. The Salvo never dissolved! I heard knocking as those tablets tumbled for over 40 minutes without melting properly, I had to stop the machine and remove them in the first rinse. I then put a fresh set of two tablets in the Westinghouse Laundromat and they dissolved within 60 seconds in warm water.
