Can anyone report how many gallons is the fill (no clothes) for a Neptune 5500/6500? A single fill, not an entire cycle.
Neptune Water Consumption
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Neptune 6500
I've had my 6500 for a little over a year and had been wondering about this, too. The owner's manual (on page 5) is pretty much silent on the matter, except to say "The amount of water used will vary with each load." As you might expect, I have tried to figure this out on my own, and have done so a couple of times.
Before I say anything else, I want to emphasize that what I have observed on my machine might well be different from what someone else sees and measures on their own 5500 or 6500. Maytag made some changes in the Neptune over the years, so there are no doubt differences in the operation and performance between one year's model and another year's. My Neptune, a 2005 model, drains into a sink, so I am able to measure the water output in this way.
The "cotton/sturdy" cycle is what I use most, so I am going to report only on what I have seen on this setting. It is a pre-programmed 48 minute cycle that has one wash and three rinse phases. For the wash phase, I measured about three gallons of water were drained when nothing was in the machine. When the machine is full with a heavy load of towels, for example, the amount is usually closer to five gallons. When I do a load of clothes that I wear to work (dress shirts, slacks, etc.), the figure is about three and a half gallons.
The first two rinses, on an empty drum, held what was a little over two gallons. It is roughly this on most loads. The final rinse, when the fabric softener container is flooded and the diluted solution is added to the drum, usually has about three gallons. More water, maybe around a gallon, is added to heavier loads. This is something that the machine calculates and performs throughout the entire cycle - Maytag calls this "adaptive fill," and I have observed that different loads can and do use different amounts of water on the same setting. This is also true for other cycle selections. There is also an option for an extra, fourth, rinse which seems to use as much water as the third rinse.
I know that you asked about water amounts in an empty drum, but I wanted to give a fair description about what I have seen over the past year.
Darryl
I've had my 6500 for a little over a year and had been wondering about this, too. The owner's manual (on page 5) is pretty much silent on the matter, except to say "The amount of water used will vary with each load." As you might expect, I have tried to figure this out on my own, and have done so a couple of times.
Before I say anything else, I want to emphasize that what I have observed on my machine might well be different from what someone else sees and measures on their own 5500 or 6500. Maytag made some changes in the Neptune over the years, so there are no doubt differences in the operation and performance between one year's model and another year's. My Neptune, a 2005 model, drains into a sink, so I am able to measure the water output in this way.
The "cotton/sturdy" cycle is what I use most, so I am going to report only on what I have seen on this setting. It is a pre-programmed 48 minute cycle that has one wash and three rinse phases. For the wash phase, I measured about three gallons of water were drained when nothing was in the machine. When the machine is full with a heavy load of towels, for example, the amount is usually closer to five gallons. When I do a load of clothes that I wear to work (dress shirts, slacks, etc.), the figure is about three and a half gallons.
The first two rinses, on an empty drum, held what was a little over two gallons. It is roughly this on most loads. The final rinse, when the fabric softener container is flooded and the diluted solution is added to the drum, usually has about three gallons. More water, maybe around a gallon, is added to heavier loads. This is something that the machine calculates and performs throughout the entire cycle - Maytag calls this "adaptive fill," and I have observed that different loads can and do use different amounts of water on the same setting. This is also true for other cycle selections. There is also an option for an extra, fourth, rinse which seems to use as much water as the third rinse.
I know that you asked about water amounts in an empty drum, but I wanted to give a fair description about what I have seen over the past year.
Darryl
Darryl
Thanks so much for the water comsumption info. I have the original Neptune and had no idea how much(or little) water it actually used.
Thanks so much for the water comsumption info. I have the original Neptune and had no idea how much(or little) water it actually used.
If anyone wanted to see how much water it took to saturate a load, it would be easy if you had a small water meter that measures gallons instead of hundreds of gallons. I had to order a couple a few years ago for a project. They were not horribly expensive. Lacking the meter, you might be able to determine roughly the amount by turning off the water faucet and adding three gallons to the tub with clothes in it, then start the machine. If it is not so delicate that it senses that a load was started with water already in the tub and immediately starts pumping the water out, you could listen for the fill valve to start a low buzz as it called for more water. Using a quart pitcher, you could add water through the detergent dispenser until the buzzing stopped. Or, you could place the towels in a sink or bucket and find out how much water it takes to saturate them and then put them in the washer and add that amount to what drains out since after the drain, the clothes will still be saturated. All of this is a wonderful excuse for playing with water.
Darryl and all, thanks for the info, it fits the bill for what I was wanting to know. I expected 3 to 5 gals, not counting what the clothes would absorb.
