New Front Loader Quest

[agiflow3]

Speed Queen would have to sell washers running on 240 V for the machines to heat quickly enough.

I know with my Whirlpool and it's very miserly water use that a heater is a MUST or no matter how hot i run the tap that water will turn tepid very quickly.

I'm thinking of investing in a Speed Queen front loader when I finally sell my home Lord willing.

 

[henene4]

Having a heater dosen't mean it has to heat water verry much. A heater is - for normal washing - just there to supplement keeping the temp in check.

Let's say the water is 110F after sensing, but you ran a hot wash with a 20min main wash after sensing.
You could get the water to 120F or even 130F without extending the cycle time even at just 1000W.

 

[turbowash]

I’m very concerned about hand wash cycle disappearing from all new models. I use this cycle at least once a week. What I’m going to do once my current washer is going to brake? I saw only one model available with this cycle at the moment

 

[henene4]

Delicates, Wool and Handwash seem interchangable on many US washers.

Over here you have delicates, Wool/Handwash and Silks usually as a choice of delicate main cycles.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

New Machine

I am having the same thoughts about replacing my aging Duet. It recently has not been spinning at the full final spin speed after each load. It doesn't always do it, but when it does, the final spin is only about 400 rpm for 4 minutes. Very anemic. Luckily I have the spin dryer I can run items through.
My Duet is not the best machine ever made by a long shot, however it has quite a few features and details I will certainly miss if it is replaced. Warm rinses, stepped cleaning on steam for stains option, handwash cycle, soak cycle, tap hot fills on certain cycles, and 1400 rpm spin (albeit brief).
I find that a majority of 'delicate' cycles are too aggressive while handwash cycles are a bit too weak/short in time. I use the handwash cycle far more than the delicate cycle considering it is very gentle and the items washed in that cycle are not soiled.
I wish that they would make a front load machine with knobs and a panel similar to that of older TOL Kenmore direct drive machines where you can control just about every aspect while selecting the amount of wash time using a knob, etc. This would be very flexible and ergonomic. Most people now just do not care enough for these details though.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Reply to OP

Personally, if I had to buy a new washer, I would try to buy a LG made Kenmore front load. These machines have all of the proven elements of the LG machines, but they include the auto-soak feature. However, given the poor history with LG, I do not blame you for wanting to avoid the brand. With that being said, I know quite a few people who have had LG machines for years with hard use and no problems. Other machines I would potentially purchase would be Speed Queen FL, Miele W1. Hope this helps.

 

[turbowash]

Delicate and handwash cycles on my LG washer are very different. Delicate cycle is too ruff for cashmere and fake fur covers I wash weekly.

 

[appnut]

Delicate & Handwash cycles on my Duet are also very different.

 

[brisnat81]

Delicate over here usually means, medium water level, Medium tumble, low speed spins

Wool/Handwash is usually medium/high water level, low tumble, with Short Highspeed spins

Silk/Handwash is usually high water level, low tumble, short low speed spins

So same, but different. Delicate is definitely more aggressive though.

 

[henene4]

Should have been more clear

I mean that brand to brand, it appeared to me that one brands delicate was another brands wool cycle and so forth.

If one machine has multiple delicate cycles they surely aren't interchangeable...

 

[gelaundry4ever]

lg washer

I recommend the lg front load washer and matching dryer. I use the cotton/normal cycle on everyday clothes. On the dryer, I use normal or heavy. I also recommend the Kenmore elite version of the same brand. I use normal/casual which is the same cotton/normal. I also use the whitest whites cycle. Always with accelawash. When I use the dryer, I use either heavy duty with wrinkle release, which injects steam during the last few minutes. When I use normal, I always turn energy saver off.

 

[launderess]

Powerful heating isn't necessary (within reason) if a washer can draw hot water, and temps coming out of taps are consistently 120F-140F.

Commercial laundries that use steam for heating wash or rinse water rarely take tap cold and heat; rather hot water is boosted from say 120F to 160F which requires far less energy than going from 84F to 106F.

Problem is many domestic washing machines are fundamentally flawed nowadays thanks to electronics and interfering government mandates.

A short pre-wash at cold or even warm, then hot fill with boost to 120F, 140F or even 160F is easily done with a 1300 watt or bit less heating element. Thing is most manufacturers are leery of putting heating elements rated higher than 1000 watts or so for fear of machine drawing too much current from a 120v/15 amp circuit. They could get up to 1800 watts of power from a 20amp circut, but that might alienate sales from those who don't have such an outlet where washer is located, nor are interested in doing the upgrade.

SQ likely never bothered again with adding a booster heater to their front loaders because they assume American households obsession with chlorine bleach is enough for sanitizing, whitening and stain removal.

 

[sudsmaster]

My 20 year old Maytag Neptune 7500 is still going strong. At 110 volts, it can only heat water to about 130F, but generally that's more than enough. I also have multiple Mieles, and I used to use one for white towels and wash cloths, but haven't bothered with it for at least a year.

Unless one's water heater is very close to the washer, there can be a considerable temperature drop between the heater and the washer. Add to that, the need to heat up the washer tub/drum and laundry load. This is accentuated by the minimal water usage of modern front loaders. A water heater 20 feet from the washer, set to 120F will be hard pressed to result in a wash temp over, say 105F, in a heater-less washer.

For heavily soiled loads I find the Neptune at a boosted 130F, plus an ounce or so of STPP, plus a good HE detergent, does the job quite well.

YMMV

 

[agiflow3]

I wish Whirlpool would give info on how hot their heaters get the water. I know a half hour into the cycle before the door locks the water is not scalding but is very hot. Once the door locks it continues to heat. It does a cool down before the drain cycle by adding cold water at the end of the wash.

 

[sudsmaster]

One nice feature of the Neptune 7500 is that you can monitor the actual water sump temperature at any time. It does take some keystrokes, but it doesn't interfere with the wash program. If I were to get a new front loader, I'd want to continue to be able to do that, so it's a feature I would favor.

One reason why I've stuck with the Neptune is the layout of my laundry closet. The plumbing and venting connections require that the washer be on the right, and the dryer on the left. The Neptune washer door can swing either way, so it works fine in that location. The only other modern front loader I've seen that can allow for washer door reversal is the Electrolux series. But if I'm not mistaken the model that could do that has been discontinued. At least I'm not seeing it at Home Depot any more.

 

[DADoES]

 
My IWL12 targets 116°F/46°C for Warm.  The temp in the tub for a non-Eco "Traditional" wash is typically ~105°F when done

The AquaSmart targets 50°C for Warm and 56°C for Warm/Hot, even on a deep-fill cycle such as Sheets or Blanket (I haven't checked what's the temp in the tub when done).

 

[henene4]

Both the 527 and 627 feature a reversible door on both the washer and dryer on the ELux side if O am not mistaken.

LG should still have the ability to hold 2 buttons to get a temp readout in C on the display. Same for the rpm.
At least mine still has it over here...

 

[combo52]

SQ FL Washers

Can be purchased with a RH or LH door, but it is not reversible.

 

John L.

 

[appnut]

Depending upon cycle, WP washers either begin heating water as soon as the water level is satisfied or it can also wait up to 10 minutes, but it depends upon cycle and options.  The door will not lock until temperature is above 120 degrees, at least on mine.  

 

[sudsmaster]

Did I tempt fate...

Just a day after stating how reliable my Neptune has been, I was washing a load of jeans and shirts today - warm setting. I had put a load of towels through in the morning, set on hot, extended wash soak, without incident.

But after starting the warm cycle just now, I realized I had forgotten to add the liquid detergent after the washer had filled. No problem dumped an appropriate amount of Tide HE down the hatch, and chased it with about a quart of hot water.

Then I started smelling something wrong, like over heated electrics. Plus looking like steam coming out of the fill compartment. Hmm. Let it sit a bit, started it up again, ran the system check and noted the heater off, sump at 96F. OK. Then the temp dropped to 95, and heater signal came on. But the sump temp continued dropping. Down to 94, the 93, despite the heater being commanded on.

My conclusion: the heating element just burned out. I don't think it's a too difficult job to replace it, but I guess I'll find out. The burning smell stopped, so it's probably safe to run the machine as is, without a functioning heating element.

And so it goes.

Maybe I'll be looking at those Elux machines. They are kind of hard to find here. Home Depot (or is it Lowes?) used to have them, but not any more that I could see last time I checked.

Sigh.