New Fisher & Paykel Top Loaders

[hvtech42]

Sadly F&P pulled out of the laundry market here in the US a while ago, but I'm curious about the current generation of top loaders they're selling in Australia and New Zealand. I had assumed they were just continuing with the same SmartDrive technology as always but a F&P tech in New Zealand I follow on Youtube mentioned off hand that they redesigned their machines in 2023 and they were now completely different and used a gearbox? Kind of shocked, as it seems the antithesis of F&P's whole laundry philosophy for decades.

Anyone down there with any experience/details about these new machines? Are they just rebadged Haiers or something?

 

[logixx]

Don't know about their top loaders but their front load design for 2026 looks interesting - although, as one would expect, it's all touch screen.

 

[brisnat81]

The Topload washers are a Haier design now. The smart drive models no longer exist. They’re essentially a Haier that looks kinda like an F&P

 

[fisherpaykel]

Whoa! rebadged Haier

wow that's a big step backwards and a disappointment-is the Haier design that much cheaper to manufacture?

I was hoping for a return of the top loaders to Canada and USA for the possible time my GWL 11 has to be

replaced, only a pump replacement done by myself easily in approximately 20 years of use.

 

[hvtech42]

That's a shame the SmartDrive is gone. Perhaps it's a matter of the market shifting to front loaders, and F&P could no longer justify their own separate top loader production line so instead consolidated around the (likely much higher volume) Haier factories.

Are the Haier top loaders decent quality?

F&P has always been about the engineering for me, so never took much of an interest in their front loaders since I knew they were rebadges from the start. Nowadays I think they're pretty much the same as the GE front loaders we get here in the US - Haier through and through.

 

[henene4]

The TLs are just Haier rebadges, yes, but actually haven't seen much in terms of actual trustworthy usage reviews.

F&Ps FLs were very heavily based on Haier, at least in their physical design.
But UI and programming has always been different (and honestly better in many ways) than the Haier counterpart.

Many of the TOL features are kept for the F&P versions since Haier really always was a bit more budget focused with the Haier brand itself and separated any real TOL offerings out (Cassarte, F&P).

What's interesting is that even besides the DishDrawer, Haier has 3 entirely different DW designs out there.
F&Ps full size offerings in AUS/NZ are one thing, in the US they offer the GE based designs through GE and in the EU they now use the old Candy/Hoover design they've upgraded somewhat.

At the same time, they haven't launched F&P as a premium brand over here really - except for some special stores and UK.

 

[hvtech42]

I didn't even realize F&P sold dishwashers anymore other than the drawers. Are the non-drawer F&P offerings in AU/NZ actually their own design, or just more warmed-over Haier?

I used to have a GE Profile 18" dishwasher made in China that I think was made by Haier. It was awful. Poor wash performance and the control board went out in less than 5 years.

I remember F&P used to have their own conventional dishwasher design made in NZ (the Nautilus & Nemo - never heard much about these machines) - but I believe this was phased out in the mid-2000s.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

Haier

I didn't know Haier had 3 dishwasher designs. The one I'm most familiar with is GE.

 

[agiflow]

I think my GE portable is a Haier design. It was made in China. I do have to say it works very well and runs both arms simultaneously. The wash arms look like what Bosch used about 15 years ago.

 

[agiflow]

I think my GE portable is a Haier design. It was made in China. I do have to say it works very well and runs both arms simultaneously. The wash arms look like what Bosch used about 15 years ago.

 

[agiflow]

Sorry for the double post

 

[smartdrive1100]

Someone brought this up!

I’m absolutely devastated that F&P got rid of the smart drive. It was a fabulous piece of engineering and worked great. They were always my go to brand for modern washers but now all I can really say is Speed Queen.

Recently a family members Simpson kicked the bucket. I told them about F&P thinking they had the same design. Turns out, nope. Oh well, I guess they’ll test the new haier design.

 

[brisnat81]

I saw one next to a Haier in the good guys, from the rear they are now identical. Even down to the cheap looking hot and cold labels stuck on the back of the control panel.