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Low Speed?

I believe the first spin in all cycles is at low speed.
Perhaps that is the difference in the motor noise?

The only way to know for sure is the record a video and post it for the group.

Malcolm
 
I used the slow spin speed frequently on my 2014 SQ and it didn't make any odd sounds. It did, however, make the sound of a can of pennies being shaken when set to slow agitation from time-to-time.

Have it looked at. It's under warranty.
 
The first spin is always low speed and it does have a very deep pitch that resonates through everything. Depending on where I'm standing in the kitchen or family room it can come off as overpoweringly loud when it first starts. I have to listen again but it's possible my videos haven't portrayed this accurately. Bob, could you possibly post a video of yours?
 
Normal operating sounds..............

that sound the pump is making is normal, is the machine functioning properly? Then the noise is normal, also these machines do NOT have a lint filter. The pump is attached to the bottom of the motor and the drain hose is attached to it, there is nothing in the way of the pump.
Mike
 
I'm curious if having some knocking sounds during spin is anything to worry about. My machine has been developing some noises like that lately.
 
THE SOUNDS OF new SQ TL WASHERS

These are heavy well built washers BUT are a fairly crude older style construction. I completely agree with Mike, if the machine is working well there is most likely nothing wrong with it, and while you have a great warranty calling for service and having someone come out and start messing with the washer is not a good idea in my experience it can easily do more harm than good. [ and you will just drive everyone nuts in the process, and accomplish nothing ] LOL.

 

If you want quieter operation you probably should have gotten the FL SQ however you can sound insulate the SQ TLer if you wish,  Jason and I made my Frigidaire 1-18 nearly silent by adding a lot of sound proofing insulation to it.
 
THE SOUNDS OF new SQ TL WASHERS

These are heavy well built washers BUT are a fairly crude older style construction. I completely agree with Mike, if the machine is working well there is most likely nothing wrong with it, and while you have a great warranty calling for service and having someone come out and start messing with the washer is not a good idea in my experience it can easily do more harm than good. [ and you will just drive everyone nuts in the process, and accomplish nothing ] LOL.

 

If you want quieter operation you probably should have gotten the FL SQ however you can sound insulate the SQ TLer if you wish,  Jason and I made my Frigidaire 1-18 nearly silent by adding a lot of sound proofing insulation to it.
 
gusherb said: "The first spin is always low speed and it does have a very deep pitch that resonates through everything. Depending on where I'm standing in the kitchen or family room it can come off as overpoweringly loud when it first starts."

That perfectly describes my machine, so I suspect it is normal. The "resonates" part is what worried me that something was abnormal!

I made the following videos with an iPhone 5s, and but its microphone steeply rolls off the bass below 250 Hz, so it cannot portray the true sound unless you boost the bass during playback:

#1: Agitation, full tub of water only (no clothes); looks & sounds completely normal:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/36417795/Extra Large Rinse - Agitation.mp4

#2: Final Drain & Spin with loud, deep, sound until water completely discharged at 1m18s. Spin is slow before that time, but then gets quite fast, evidencing that motor and belt are good:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u... final Drain & Spin, low freq stops 1'18".mp4

I ran the audio from video #2 through a spectrum analyzer. It shows a huge peak at 120 Hz, which implies the deep noise is vibration from the motor. Screenshots are below. Photo 1 is the average spectrum between the 2 and 76 seconds points in video #2, while water is being pumped out. Photo 2 is the average between the 90 and 120 seconds points, during fast spin.

bobcurley-2015070203372008253_1.jpg

bobcurley-2015070203372008253_2.jpg
 
p.s. — The intention of my post was not to complain about the sound, but to verify that my machine is not defective.

Just to be "safe", when I get some free time in a few days I probably will remove and inspect the pump. I already ordered a replacement "heavy duty" version of the pump. Interestingly, the standard pump is only $14, while the heavy duty version is $40 from PWS Laundry.
 
Nosie

These washers are very well built, and like all older well designed machines there will be some noise. Interestingly my machine would squeak in the wash and rinse when filled all the way up. The tub would tilt forward and rub against the foam piece in front making a distinct squeak like sneakers on a wet floor. It went away after about 3 months.

There was the occasional grind from the gear case but it went away. The motor is nosier and does vibrate on slow, but not by much.

Personally, or maybe Ive just been blessed with a quiet machine, Speed Queen washers are overall are quiet. I think people are just overly concerned (which is ok). Ive dealt with far worse, GE sounded like it was going to bring the house down. Whirlpool would off balance easily, and there was that loud bang going into spin.

An interesting note Ive noticed that my tub does lean more than other machines, but so far nothing. It could be each washer has its own unique quirks. In any case we should be blessed, far worse washers are being sold on all levels. Not that Speed Queen is bad in any way, they rival older, coveted time tested designs.
 
gusherb said: "I'm curious if having some knocking sounds during spin is anything to worry about. My machine has been developing some noises like that lately."

The last 50 seconds of my video #2 has a chugging sound about once per second. Is that what you hear? I can't imagine what it is. In my case the chugging is not caused by unbalanced clothes because the tub only had water to begin with! The tub is 99% empty by that point in the video.
 
Heavy Duty Pump?

Please post your thoughts and perhaps pix of the two different pumps when your HDP arrives. I am interested in the differences between the two...

Malcolm
 
Go to a Landromat and See

bobcurley = As a suggestion, find a Laundromat that has your style TL Speed Queen and listen to it. This may answer you question about what constitutes normal. If you live in the San Diego area there is an excellent fairly new all Speed Queen Laundromat is Serra Mesa.
 
Pump-Less

You could always disconnect the pump from the motor then run a spin and see if the noise is gone.

Malcolm
 
Can the pump be removed without removing the motor by simply removing the three mounting clips? I doubt it; there is not much clearance between the pump and the bottom panel, so I probably cannot drop the pump far enough to disengage it from the motor shaft.
 
SQ TL Washer Pumps

The water pump can be removed and replaced with the motor in place [ we do several times every week ]. It is not all that easy to reinstall the clips however with the motor in place. By far the worst thing about the current SQ TL washers is the lack of a neutral drain and a separate electric drain pump. The current design is a waste of electricity, hell on belt life and the spin drain leaves much more lint and grit in the clean laundry and causes about 1/2 all the service calls we are running on these washers. SQ could save a lot of money on warranty calls if they would spend another $5 on an electric pump.

 

[ We are now carrying transmission drive pulleys in our trucks because they melt when something gets caught in these washers because it gets thrown over the wash basket during the stupid SPIN DRAIN, of course this also destroys the belt and drain pump every time it happens as well]

 

I don't think that changing the water pump to the SO CALLED heavy duty one will make any difference in the sound level, the pump makes very little noise.
 
Years ago we had a Raytheon Amana. It had a strange vibration on low speed spin that came from the drain hose.  There was a section of plastic hose after the pump to the drain hose that was secured to the floor of the machine.  The vibration I heard was solved by wedging a tiny piece of foam weather strip between the plastic tab on the hose that held it to the metal floor plate. I wonder if the drain hose is still secured to the baseplate with the plastic tab on the new SQ's?
 
2013

Low scoring top-loaders:
Speed Queen AWN542, $800
Maytag Centennial MVWC300V, $430
Kenmore 2125, $520
Whirlpool WTW4950, $600

"...these washers either didn't clean well, were inefficient, or both".
"... all these models had overall scores of 40 or lower....[this post was last edited: 7/3/2015-18:54]
 
Bob

That chugging is the sound of the pump cavitating. That's actually one of the sounds I love about my SQ (though it doesn't do it once per second, probably cuz yours was empty). Mines more of a rattle or knock, started doing it in low speed spin at first and now it does it throughout high speed spin too.
 
CRs Cleaning Tests

CRs has fairly soft water in their area, they generally use the warm setting which is pretty cool in SQ TL washers, I also believe they don't adjust the amount of detergent up for high water use machines, so a SQ or other water hog machines will not do well compared to HE machines when it comes to removing tough stains and other dirt.

 

I have long said that the ONLY way I will use a conventional TL washer is if I can reuse the wash water because they need a very large amount of hot water and detergent bleach etc to do a decent job and they are just too expensive to use if you do not reuse the wash water.
 
Hear, hear! The reason for Speed Queen's low ranking by CR isn't because it's a poorly-made machine. It's because there's little chance a traditional top-loader will perform as well as an HE front-loader (or top-loader) given the parameters of their test in 75 degree water. An HE's detergent solution is 5-6 times more concentrated; the wash time is 2-4 times longer. All the water in the world isn't going to make up for the advantages an HE machine (especially a front-loader) has under those conditions.

CR also scores on water/energy efficiency and how much water is removed in the final spin (saving time/energy in the dryer). Those parameters make it difficult for the SQ top-loader to score well in their tests.
 
You are missing the point. People, like myself, who buy these washers, don't care about CR reviews. I know exactly what I have got. I've had it for almost 30 years now and am getting exactly what I want in a washing machine.

BTW, I have recently purchased Dynamo and Ajax HE liquid detergent and they seem to work pretty good so far. My washer is used in a real home setting to wash real clothes for real people - it just doesn't get any more real than that. I know, it's totally unreal.
 
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