new FL pair in the works----what would you buy?

[passatdoc]

My neighbor is between jobs and his TL Kenmore is shredding the life out of his clothing. I am going to give him my Frigidaire FL pair (Model 2140) and buy a new pair for myself. Specs are as follows:

1. Must be stackable. I have a steel/concrete bollard embedded in my garage slab, required by county code, and the clowns who built the house placed it smack in the middle of the washer space. Even on a pedestal, the bollard blocks the door of a FL (house built 1988, when 99% of washers sold here were TL). I solved the problem by stacking a pair in the dryer space and placing a table for folding and baskets in the washer space

2. Budget $2500

3. Gas dryer

I am 5'11" and the current configuration of the stack---72" high---is perfect for me. Some of the taller machines, 40" high or so, would likely be a bit too high, in terms of the dryer drum being at a comfortable chest height for me.

I am leaning toward ELectrolux. My eight year old Frig 2140 has had zero service issues. In addition, while some machines have increased capacity by being taller, Electrolux is only about 38" high, a consideration since I have to stack. I am leery of the steam options, so I think I would go with the basic 55 model. I have some king size comforters that I now have to take to a laundromat once a year to wash in a triple load machine. I doubt that any home machine would have capacity to wash them, and in any event I wouldn't buy a huge machine to accomplish a once/year task, since most of the time I'm not washing huge loads. So the 4.2-4.4 ft capacity of the Electrolux seems about right for me.

Your suggestions?

 

[combo52]

New Stack FL Washer-Gas Dryer

Speed Queen ATG50 is the ONLY one I would consider, when you stack a dryer on a regular FL washer the washer becomes unserviceable till you get the dryer out of the way.

 

[brucelucenta]

I bought a Kenmore set made by LG that is huge capacity wise. The washer and dryer are indeed big enough to wash a king size comforter. I have a down filled one that I have washed and dried about three times now. I do have to dry it for an extended amount of time, but it does well.

 

[brucelucenta]

Oh yes and they are stacked too. Very convenient for me.

 

[georgect]

I'd go with Electrolux too...

They still seem like the best option out there.
Even though (I'm sure) Speed Queen's are built even better, they don't have the capcity and correct me if I'm wrong an on board heater.

I really really don't like anything made by LG or Samsung in regards to appliances.

Best of luck with whatever you decide and keep us posted.

 

[mrb627]

And the BONUS......

You can reverse the swing of the washer door as well as the dryer...

Malcolm

 

[passatdoc]

door reversal

Malcolm---I'd forgotten about that, my Frigidaires have the default door hinge placement, on the left side looking at the machines, but in retrospect having a dryer that hinges on the right would be nice. If the washer door can open 180 degrees or close to it, a right hinged washer door would be nice as well.

After I bought/positioned the current pair, I bought a laundry center (three sorting bags/hanging rod/upper shelf), which I placed to the left of the machines. In the corner is the water heater, to the left of the heater is the laundry center, to the right of the heater are the machines. So the laundry center and the machines are oriented at a 90 degree andle from each other.. When the dryer door is opened, it blocks access to the hanging rod until I close the door. Given that most of my work clothes are LL Bean 100% cotton wrinkle-free fabrics, I have to hang up the shirts and trousers straight from the dryer. Not having the dryer door block the hanging rod will be a nice plus (could have done it with present dryer but never bothered).

[note: nothing will be a perfect solution. The folding table (where I place folded towels/linens/t-shirts etc and load them into baskets) is on the right of the machines. So a right-hinged dryer door will free up access to the laundry center but partly block access to the folding table. For complete ease of use I'd need a door with hinge on the top!!]

Several of the reviewers at retailer websites, such as Best Buy, mention the reversible doors as a major reason they purchased Electrolux. Most of these were new owners for whom Electrolux solved their laundry area geometry issues, and I"d like to have heard more from long time owners re: durability. Some people at automaticwasher.org own them and most of the reports here have been positive. CR, which I take with a grain of salt, gives them good reviews, but keeps them off their "recommended" list due to noise issues (only "good", not very good or excellent. Since my machines are in the garage, noise is not an issue as it would be for someone with an indoor laundry area.

When the laundry center bags are stuffed full, they fill the present washer, so they serve as a unit of measurement: when the bag is full, it's time to run a load. I sort based on washing/drying needs: one for perm press (as above), one for sheets/towels, one for non-wrinkle-free cottons (jeans, t-shirts, etc.) and it works fine for me. A new FL with bigger capacity will upset this unit of measurement, but I can adapt. If the Electrolux can wash a king comforter, fine, but I don't need a 5.0+ cu ft machine---too big for my daily needs---just to wash two king comforters, which I do once a year at a laundromat (and which I'm willing to continue doing). I also have twin and full/queen comforters which wash nicely in the current (Frig 2140) washer, so I'm sure an ELectrolux would handle them just fine.

Electrolux machines are 38" high, which will result in a stack that is 6'4" rather than 6'0", which I can handle, but I wouldn't want to stack anything taller than that. At 5'11", I could easily reach the controls, but I don't want to strain to reach an item in the back of the dryer drum, or stretch to store something (dryer sheets, etc) on top of the dryer.

I don't know how much longer the Frig pair will last, but given my neighbor's need to watch expenses, even a few years are better than nothing. They have been meticulously maintained: descaled with citric acid once a quarter, door always left open when not in use, gasket crease always wiped dry, dispenser kept dry (I invert it over a small plastic pail after last load of the day). Never used bleach or fabric softener in it, though I have used OxyClean a few times. I know opinions vary as to which additives are bad for spiders, and I've read too many posts stating that regular bleach use is bad for spiders. I would like to have x-ray vision to see what kind of shape the spider is in, but it's gone 8 1/2 years without any service problems and works the same as it did new in 2008.

 

[logixx]

I'd go for the 60 model - it has the wonderful recirculation jet which the 55 models lack.

 

 

[appnut]

Ahh, I noticed a bout 3 minutes before the end of the video, I was watching a Frigidaire Affinity and not an Elux 60.   Some things my Duet does better and some things this machine does better. 

 

[frigilux]

Don't be leery of steam options. I use it frequently on my Frigidaire.
Glad you're gifting your set to someone who needs it. Pay it forward.

 

[washerdude]

We got a new whirlpool duet, and we are really happy with it to be honest. Never expected it to be this good. You can't really see any water during the mainwash, exept during the deep rinse where it feels to the bottom edge of the door. Yet still everything comes out clean, better then our old top loader surpsingly. It did our king size comforter as well on the Heavy Duty cycle. However, on the U.S site it lists the washer at 4.2CF but on the CA site it is listed at 4.8CF.

Washer: http://www.whirlpool.com/-[WFW72HEDW]-1022121/WFW72HEDW/

Dryer: http://www.whirlpool.com/-[WGD71HEDW]-1022126/WGD71HEDW/

 

[gusherb]

washerdude

I'm curious about the new Duet's, our 2006 Samsung (rebadged as Maytag) needs replacing and one thing that bothers me is the lack of water the newer machines use, and the dumbed down temperatures. How many rinses does your Duet do and are they all "deep water" rinses? and does the heavy duty cycle use non dumbed down temps?
These seemingly simple questions I have don't seem to be obtainable via searching online anywhere.

 

[washerdude]

Our duet does 2 rinses default on ALL cycles. And yes it does dumb down the temp of the water on certain cycles such as normal and delicates (Makes sense for delicates).Cycles that are not dumbed down are the Heavy duty, Eco sanitize with Oxi and quick wash. Heres one thing that won't make sense, during the first rinse bleach is dispensed, not sure why. And during the first rinse it will fill a little more then the main wash, then it drains and this time when it fills you will see that water in the bottom of the boot rising. Once when we did a load towels it filled up with water touching the bottom of the door. It does only 1 deep rinse but if you select extra rinse, you get 2 deep rinses (1 cycle rinse and 1 extra rinse) with the same amount of water. I will try to get a picture of the deep rinse later on.

 

[gusherb]

Does the Heavy Duty cycle's main wash use an adequate amount / more water then the normal wash as well? And what is the shortest cycle time in the Heavy Duty setting?
So far it sounds like the Duet will give me what I want, the only other thing I'd consider is a SQ top loader, I don't like that their front loader doesn't include a heater nor many customizable settings and is also bit out of my price range.

 

[washerdude]

Yes it does use more water, I've noticed that sometimes during heavy loads it will almost fill 3 times throught the main wash on heavy duty. The lowest time would be 1h and 7mins on light soils.

 

[washerdude]

Should also add, when we washed our king size comforter, we saw 0 water in it which was a little scary. But when we opened the door the entire comforter was soaking wet.

 

[gusherb]

That's great. Thanks for answering my questions. I think I will like the Duet based on your observations. The only thing I will miss is the warm/warm cycle on our current machine. I don't understand why the Eco nazis had to do away with that on front loaders, our machine for instance only adds maybe a gallon or two of hot on the final rinse to raise the temp to 85! I can't possibly imagine a gallon of heated water being the end of the world...

 

[washer111]

ATC

And thus it seems those who conclude that ATC is only used on TL machines because they "waste too much water" are wrong. Its used in equally draconian quantities on the FL brethren...

Instead, we've got ourselves a race to the bottom, punishing users in terms of personal choice and select-ability for wash temperatures that barely meet their designators, if at all.
At least there are cycles that override this problem, and heaters to assist for a better washing environment

 

[cam2s]

Maytag Maxima XL

I have had the duets twin the Maxima for almost a year now. Normal wash has the lowest water level (barely any), sanitize, allergen, and powerwash have the highest water level and the rest of the cycles split the difference. Mine has the steam/heater option, which actually works quite well. Using the steam for stains will cause the machine to do a steaming period at the end of the wash cycle, but it also will kick on the heater during the wash to maintain or boost the temp. Sanitize of course will get you 150-160 degree water and allergen will actually boost the temperature without having to use the steam option (you can only use hot or extra hot though). Default is two rinses, extra rinse is 3. It also employs a bleach rinse instead of dumping the bleach in the wash. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is so the bleach won't interfere with the detergent and to limit exposure to the harshness of the bleach. All in all a very capable machine as long as you know how to manipulate the settings. A unique feature to these is the fresh hold. It uses a small fan to circulate air through the drum after the load ends. I thought this was going to be frivolous when I got this washer, but it actually works really well. If you aren't around the unload the wash right away it will hold it up to twelve hours and everything will stay fresh. My only beef with the new duets and its various twins is that you can't easily access the pump trap. Older duets had a kick plate on the bottom that came off but now you have to take the top and front off to get to it. It's not terribly hard just obnoxious.