new GE tl. need advice

[mamapinky]

ge tl model # GTWN280 is being delivered 8/3 this is a surprise gift from my son..I've been using a tl roper 15 years old with no problems....I'm assuming I won't get a full fill? Can I hold reset to get more water? Will it be dubbed down hot wash, and can I change that? It has a dual action agitator, and power rinse option, can someone explain these features? Its listed as a 4 cu ft with 3.8 wash interior.any info you can give me on this machine is appreciated. Cheryl

 

[ea56]

Cheryl,
You will love this new washer. I had one of these for almost 3 years and the only reason I got rid of it was due to the drought here in Calif. When you select super water level it will fill to about 2 1/2" from the top which will be adequete for almost any very large load, but if you want more water just hold the switch on reset until it fills to the top. Yogitunes explained in an earlier post that the water level switch can be adjusted like the SQ water level switch can for a higher fill, but I never really found this necessary. As for the hot water, you will get hot water the same temp as it comes out of the tap, there is no ATC. The hot fill will be slower than warm or cold fill due to the flow restrictor on the hot inlet valve. I washed most all loads on hot, and even with the slower fill time I found that the loads completed in 45 to 50 mins using the max wash time setting. The warm temp is fairly cool because the hot water has a flow restrictor. So if you want a higher temp warm wash fill with hot first then switch to warm to complete the fill. Always use the power rinse option and you will get a spin after the wash is finised, then a complete fill rinse, just like an old time conventional TL. The perm press cycle most closely replicates a delicate cycle. Hope you will enjoy your new washer!
Eddie

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you Eddie...I feel much better about this machine now, you were very helpful.one more question, when I open the lid during wash cycle will all action stop? Again thank you muck..cheryl

 

[ea56]

Cheryl,
When you open the lid , yes all the action will stop. But there is an easy work around for this. Just place a strong magnet in the right hand corner of the top where the lid magnet would land when the lid is closed, viola, you can now observe the agitaion and spin. You can leave the lid open during the fill, but be sure to close it after the fill ( or place the magnet in the right hand corner ), because after 10 mins has elapsed with the lid open the water will drain out. You can however turn off the timer by pushing it in if you want to do a prolonged soak. Then when you are ready to resume the agitation just pull out the timer and you can allow the machine to complete the cycle. You will also notice that there will be some clicks and other noises at the beginning of the wash cycle as the machine senses the load before agitaion begins, this is normal. I never had ONE problem with this machine, so I hope this will be you experience too. I might add that in almost 3 years of use this machine never went out of balance. You might want to check out GE's website on the GTWN2800, there is a really good Q&A section that will answer almost any question that may arise. But I'm also happy to help you too.
Eddie

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you Eddie for your advice....I'm so glad I can open the lid and watch lol..I'm really glad it doesn't have a locking lid. As for the hot water running in slow, my tank is set at 130 degrees so with a slow fill it will cool down more than I like, but that's what my soup pot is for, lol..I guess I never did allow a automatic to be automatic. I just have to be able to see the washer in progress when I want, feel the water, stop and let soak, all the things I'm used to doing in my older traditional. I do like the fact it has a larger tub and its stainless steel. Do you have any do's and donts on the stainless this is a first for me...anyway thank you very much Eddie.

 

[ea56]

Cheryl,
I didn't find any need to take any special care of the stainless steel tub. As far as the water cooling down too much, I have our water heater set at 130 too and the fill isn't that slow. Even with a max fill doesn't take any more than approx. 8 mins. I washed kingsized comforters with no problem, but there isn't a lot of turn over, even so they always came out clean.
Eddie

 

[mamapinky]

Oh wow..I can't even wash a full size comforter and get much turn over in this old roper so this will be great. I think I will save on the water bill beinv able to wash larger loads..I'm getting really excited now l. Thank you Eddie...Cheryl

 

[mamapinky]

Hi Eddie, my GE as stated above was delivered this morning..I have some issues, when I use hot fill, it comes out warm, actually tepid, I have to shut the cold water off in order to get hot, is it safe to do this? Also I hear a series of clicks after it fills before agitation starts, I'm assuming its making sure the load is level? Also the magnet works just like you said it would lol. But seems I'm waiting a long time for agitation to start I've waited as long as 12 minutes and several loads during rinse cycle after it filled agitation never started, I had to turn the dial to the wash cycle, let agitate awhile than turn knob back to final drain/spin. This was with the lid shut. I think there may be a problem and I'll have to call Sears, hopefully their repairmen are more knowledgeable than the delivery set up men...after they set up the washer they left I found out later they should have done a quick test run, they didn't...so I started a empty run as soon as they left..started a hot quick run, left the room to grab my coffee and omg, when I returned maybe 3 minutes later I had a flood, they didn't connect the hoses to the washer.I had a huge mess, Sears response when I called about it * oh my were sorry this happened to you** I could have crawled thru the phone and choked them.anyway any advice you have Eddie would be great...by the way love, love, love the more gentle agitation, with my soft water the fast agitation from the direct drive always kicked up too much suds. And I forgot the awesome sounds a belt driven makes lol.

 

[ea56]

Hi Cheryl,
The GE that I owned like yours was a 2012 model, so they may have changed the temp control to an ATC switch in the newer models, because on mine when I selected hot I always got water as hot as it came out of my hot tap. I don't think that turning off the cold water should cause any problems if you want a hotter wash temp. As for the agitation not beginning on the rinse cycle, if you don't select the Power Rinse option there will not be much agitaion during the rinse. Always keep the option switch on Power Rinse and you will get a complete spin after the wash cycle, then a complete rinse fill and agitation before the final spin. I noticed that whenever I used the magnet to keep the lid open for observation of the agitation that sometimes I would need to move the magnet around to catch the "sweet spot" before the agitation would begin. It is normal to hear a series of clicks before the agitaion begins. BTW, I don't think that this washer is a belt drive, I believe it is direct drive. That Sears didn't connect the hoses correctly is really unacceptable. I have a neighbor that had this also happen when Sears installed his washer. His was upstairs and the living room ceiling got flooded and tripped the fire alarm. Fortunately, he caught the problem quickly and was able to put a nail hole in the ceiling, let the water drain out, allow the sheet rock to dry out and repaint the ceiling. This could have been much worse, but Sears needs to be more careful with their installations!! Hope this helps.
Eddie
[this post was last edited: 8/3/2015-20:58]

 

[washdaddy]

Just remember if you get away with turning the cold water off to get the "hot" temp you want for your wash that once the machine starts to agitate for the cycle you turn the cold faucet back on since the washer will use it for the rinse portion of the cycle

 

 

[thefixer]

"BTW, I don't think that this washer is a belt drive, I believe it is direct drive"

These are Hydrowave belt drive machines.

 

[kenmorebd]

On my 2013 GE agitation will take up to a minute to start after the fill. You will hear clicking sound as the drive system is set to agitate mode, which will lock the tub and allow agitation to start. If the washer will not agitate and it makes a lot of clicking noises you might have an issue.
On the rinse no agitation is normal when the "power rinse" is set to off. I leave mine set to on, which should give you a regular rinse cycle.
Good Luck!
-Andy

 

[ea56]

I stand corrected, I didn't recall seeing a belt in the schematics for this machine, but yes, it is in fact belt driven as was pointed out. Mea culpa!

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you all for your comments and advice. One of the 1'st things I did was turn Power Rinse on and left it there, so its not that, but someone mentioned it could the problem with it not going into agitate on rinse could have something to do with the computer system and me opening and closing the lid at the wrong time...this is what I noticed...if I leave the lid shut but open and peek in it won't go into agitation on rinse, but if I use the magnet and let it go thru the entire cycle without disturbing it there is no problem.today I will do a load with the lid shut and not peek in, but I do think now it has something to do with me opening the lid just to peek and reclosing it. If I resolve these few issues than its a keeper, I really like this more gentle agitation as opposed to my direct drive that kicked up the suds. Lol I think I already said that...thanks much everyone. ..cheryl

 

[mamapinky]

Just started a medium load of darks, left the lid shut, it filled, made a few clicks, started agitation, and within seconds I heard 2 different noises, a loud bang, bang, bang, and a squealing noise...I opened lid placed magnet..it started agitation again...bang and squealing started...agitator wasn't moving but tub was flipping back and forth...this was the last straw. I called sears and since I bought protection, I told them I want this machine replaced, he said he agrees that with my protection agreement it should be replaced, took my # and will talk to his superior and call me back. I am sooo pissed, but I do know sometimes this can happen with all products.long as sears honors my agreement I will be easy going, but if they try to get out of this protection agreement, it won't be pretty....cheryl

 

[kenmorebd]

Sounds like a major failure of the drive system, maybe some sort of shipping damage. Sears should agree to take it back without question as it is clearly defective. Sorry the GE did not work out for you, hope the next washer works out better.

 

[ea56]

Cheryl, I'm sorry to hear that you are having problems with your new GE TL. It surprises me since I never had a single problem in almost 3 yrs of use. Clearly you were delivered a defective machine and protection agreement or not Sears should provide a replacement or refund without any questions. Good luck!
Eddie

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you much...sears is taking care of it, some sort of manager returned my call and fully agreed to refund, or deliver another GE or I can choose another washer course if its more money I pay the difference, they also gave free shipping and 5% more off the sale price...I chose anotherGE same model, I really like this washer, problems aside, I just don't think I want a FL and this is all they have without a locking lid. Besides like I said I really like it. Also sears td me they don't do their own delivery, they hire an outside company, tbat company offered to pay all damages from the flood, I think the floor is fine, wet vac extracted it all, but I will keep an eye out on it..other than that I lost a half empty box of sears ultra green box and a box of 120 load cheer unopened, I saved them so they can replace these after all its DETERGENT lol. Anyway what do you think, do you think I'm crazy to get the same washer again?? Thank you all so much for your advice. Cheryl

 

[ea56]

Cheryl, I think that you'll ultimately be happy with your decision. Let us know how the replacement works out for you, and make sure you get reimbursed for that ruined detergent!
Eddie