Short Cycle Times
Are one fo the chief turn offs for the SQ front loaders.
Lack of a pre-wash/soak cycle and other cycle limitations are other reasons why these units are not flying off sales floors despite their "commercial laundry" construction.
Previous incarnations of SQ's "Homestyle" line features washers that had pre-wash/soak cycles and a more traditional control panel. For some reason when SQ re-entered the residential market it redesigned the units and we now see the results.
Considering the price, SQ washers lack many of the features a Bosch "Nexxt" washer offers, and the Nexxt washers are pretty much up there in terms of build quality and have offer a heater that works in all cycles.
Like others, one really likes the capacity and build quality of the SQ front loaders, but those short cycle times and lack of cycles are too huge a problem. One could stand there and manually reset cycles to attain the desired results, but whom always has that kind of time?
SQ's rationale for short cycle times is that it prevents soil from being redeposited onto laundry. They further state that the strong washing action of their front loaders means cycle times do not need to be long. Have not used or even seen a home style unit but the laundromat SQ front loaders tend to really slap laundry around, especially when not overloaded.
Finally SQ's have some unique features that probably enchance or at least try to compensate for short cycle times. For one even though these washers do have a pump, it will switch off every now and then during draining and let gravity take over. In theory this should lessen the chance of "suds-lock" and the drum having to slow down during spinning because it is choking on too much water/suds.
IIRC the SQs also have a rinsing system where the tub fills while the pump is open a few times. Again this comes from commercial laundromat washers, and not certian if the homestyle line has it on all models.
If SQ dropped the price down to around $800 I'd nab one, cycles be damned. But for $1300 or more, that is too dear for a very basic front loader.
Launderess