I like these
If/when my 2140 gives up the ghost, I want one of these. The 2140/2940/Affinity's 27 x 27 inch footprint worked for some people with tight clearances in laundry room or closet installations. Their 3.5 cu ft capacity was "mid-range" when the machines were rolled out c. 2004-5, and basically only Duets with 3.7-3.8 were larger. Now, of course, 3.5 is small, but I was glad that Frigidaire kept making them for those who need the convention footprint size (3.5 was the largest capacity made on that footprint).
While I don't have depth clearance issues, my machines are in the garage and the washer space is blocked by a code-required bollard (steel pipe filled with concrete) to protect the appliances (and the adjacent water heater and furnace) from a runaway car. The house was built 1988 when there were basically no FLs for sale in the mass market, and they placed the bollard smack in the middle of the washer space. Of course, they didn't realize they were blocking the door of a future FL!
My solution was to stack a Frigidaire pair, using Frigidaire's $25 dryer stacking bracket, and place the stack in the dryer space, which has no bollard. This arrangement precludes use of a pedestal, so there is stooping involved, but the dryer is at chest height so I can unload dryer standing straight up, neither stooping nor reaching (I am 5'10"; someone a lot shorter wouldn't like a stacker dryer, and someone a lot taller would be stooping even for the dryer).
What I like about these new machines is that they get the larger capacity from being deeper (30 instead of 27 deep) without being taller. Some of the large LG and Electrolux machines get their 4.5-4.7 capacity by being deeper and taller---while they can be stacked, the dryer is not convenient for someone who's shorter (I could make do, someone 5'5" could not). These machines are often 38-39 inches tall, so that a stack may stand 6'6" or taller, with dryer controls at the top.
A friend of mine who owns an appliance store did a stack installation of Electrolux for a woman client and she could not reach the controls on top without using a step stool. One of the competitor stores here, Pacific Sales, has actual stacked displays in their showroom so customers can see how high the machines would be if stacked.
These new Frigidaire machines are 36 inches high, so buyers who stacked them would have a six foot tall stack and no higher, but reap the benefits of higher capacity by being deeper (extra depth not an issue in my garage). They appear to have some of the Electrolux features at a Frigidaire price.
Below is a link to Universal Kitchen Appliance (large LA retailer) and they list four of the new models, one without and three with steam. The stated capacities vary from 4.0 to 4.2 to 4.4. I wonder if perhaps these are typos, as the outside dimensions are all alike.
Another plus is that the door is reversible, a la Electrolux. When I've read Electrolux reviews, while most buyers wanted the sturdy quality or large capacity, a number of them mentioned that they bought the washer because of the reversible door (which may had suited their particular installation requirements). Offering a reversible door at a lower price will probably win them more customers from lines like Whirlpool and Maytag, now that this feature is available at a middle of the road price. [this post was last edited: 5/29/2010-11:04]
