New to me WP, plus questions

[lordkenmore]

My landlady has just replaced her laundry equipment, and the old washer and dryer have come down to live in my laundry room. Actually "old" is relative--I am guessing it's fairly new, certainly newer than what I've used recently. Supposedly both work well, although cosmetic appearance could be much better. (I haven't gotten around to a full cleaning. Even with that, though, there will be issues like scratches.)

I'm assuming the washer is a direct drive design. I am also assuming it's a rock bottom product--the temperature control is controlled by the timer dial.

Model # is WTW5200sq0

Some photos attached. Excuse the poor quality--the camera is old, and the operator was in a rush when taking them...

 

[lordkenmore]

Questions I'm wondering...

Roughly when was it made? (Serial # CU4121001)

As we all know, DD machines have a certain...reputation for being rough on clothes. One possible concern I see: from what I see on the timer dial, it looks like the delicate cycle works by intermittent agitation. I assuming the motor is one speed. Is that cycle actually capable of being "delicate"? (I don't do a whole lot with delicate, but I do like having the option.)

Is this machine new enough to have issues with seriously dumbed down water temperatures, weird water levels, etc?

Thanks for any answers!

 

[lordkenmore]

A final photo showing the old washer. One look, and many here will understand why I hope this new washer works out!

 

[DADoES]

 
Yes, direct drive and lower-end model.  1-speed.

Model WTW5200SQ0 Parts Listing

 

[lordkenmore]

BTW the clothes pin on the Frigidaire is part of my State of the Art Spin Assistance program. The washer needs a helping hand often, and so that gets used to hold the lid switch down.

 

[lordkenmore]

>Yes, direct drive and lower-end model. 1-speed.

Thank goodness! DD has issues, but one fear I had when I first heard about this equipment (but hadn't seen it up close) was that it might be some problematic design using two drops of water or whatever. (I think this washer went into service at my landlady's about 2.5 years ago. But they might not have been brand new.)

 

[DADoES]

 
Comparable to a Roper I inherited from a relative but with 3 water levels (the Roper had two). The agitation periods on delicate (functions like a Maytag FabricMatic) are brief, seemed reasonably gentle. Only one water level pressure switch on the parts listing so rinse should be same level as wash. The water valve shows a thermistor connection but can't say if it's wired in the circuit on this model.

Serial indicates 41st week of 2007, several years newer than the aforementioned Roper.

 

[lordkenmore]

Thanks, DADoES

I guess these aren't quite as new as I'd thought! I knew they were bought about the time that Frigidaire appeared here, but, of course, they could have been bought used. In any case, the probable one water level for wash/rinse sounds hopeful. Thermistor less so, but I generally don't do super hot washes.

 

[yogitunes]

for most gentle of agitation, always use a high water level for the Delicate cycle....

they pulled some tricks to certain machines when it comes to these dubbed down temps, or rather tricking you into thinking your getting something your not....

worked on one, that when you selected Hot wash, you did get full hot water, for 1 minute, and the rest of the fill would be Warm.....you could not reset the timer for another minute...tricky little bugger, the best you could do was for the duration of the fill, was to turn down the Cold faucet until it was filled....

every model will probably be a bit different, wont know until you plug it in and try it out, and just monitor to see what kind of results you get....

wash action can't be any worse than your Horizon, moving the clothes in a circle, not the most desirable wash system, but it does work....

try it out, see what you think....

 

[lordkenmore]

>wash action can't be any worse than your Horizon, moving the clothes in a circle, not the most desirable wash system, but it does work....

As far as I'm concerned, those Frigidaires are not particularly desirable, period. I have had experience with 2 Frigidaires about that era, and neither really impressed me as a washing machine. When this one appeared on my doorstep as "your new washer!" I just about did something that would result in a tough laundry stain in my pants. Maybe for this Frigidaire, it would be an impossible stain...

I have been able to get by OK, if not happily. One thing that helps: I don't have hugely challenging laundry. Even so, conditions seem to need to be right. I hate to admit this, but once upon a time, many years ago, I was a cold water wash abuser. [Lord Kenmore looks down in shame.] What changed that--in a hurry--was the experience with Frigidaire #1: warm water was a requirement, not a nicety, to assure a reasonable chance of cleaning properly. I also have to wonder if laundry detergent quality isn't also considerably more important than it might be for a better washer.

The only good point to that Frigidaire is that it MAY have better tub capacity. It's hard for me to judge by looking. It certainly was a huge increase in capacity with Frigidaire #1 (which replaced a WP BD of some sort). But being single, and compulsive about sorting laundry, most of the time capacity isn't much of an issue.

Even with dumbed down wash temperatures (if they are an issue here), I have to think this WP DD will be a huge step forward.

 

[lordkenmore]

As mentioned above, the washer came down with a dryer friend. Here's a picture of the dryer for those wondering. It appears to have similar stying, although no idea if it was the "matching" dryer.

 

[lordkenmore]

Close up of timer dial.

 

[thefixer]

The water inlet valve assembly does not have a thermistor, it's a bi-metal contact that limits the hot water temp to probably around 110 degrees. If you want true hot water, disconnect the yellow/black wire from the valve assembly.

 

[lordkenmore]

Well, I did a preliminary test with a garden hose to supply water, and it appears to more or less work OK. The one problem I do note is that it appears that it appears to do a spin drain, not a neutral drain. I am assuming neutral drain is "correct", which raises the question of "how important is neutral drain"?

Other point I note: the water level is definitely lower than I'd probably ideally like, although it should be high enough to handle my day-to-day laundry needs.

 

[lordkenmore]

>The water inlet valve assembly does not have a thermistor, it's a bi-metal contact that limits the hot water temp to probably around 110 degrees. If you want true hot water, disconnect the yellow/black wire from the valve assembly.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[thefixer]

Did you let it agitate and go into drain on it's own? The washer must agitate for a few seconds in order for the neutral drain mechanism to be "set", then when it switches to drain, it should go into neutral and drain without spinning. It's no big deal if it isn't working but does put a little more strain on the motor and may cause the clutch pads to wear a little more than normal but neither of these are really of any significance.

 

[lordkenmore]

>Did you let it agitate and go into drain on it's own?

I am thinking I did, but can't say for sure. I was in a rush, and the big thing was just making sure the basic functionality is there, and whether the machine will likely work for that laundry room. Call me paranoid, but I've had enough bad experiences with supposedly working laundry equipment that I need to see for myself before committing to the hassle of pulling out the old machine, putting in the new machine.

I'll have to test again.

 

[whirlcool]

The neutral drain only works when the washer ends agitation with the lid closed. Then it will neutral drain for you. If you have the lid up it will agitate but then stop for the spin. When you close the lid the neutral drain is bypassed and it will go into spin/drain mode. That's how ours works.

I don't particularly like the neutral drain as it redeposits any soap suds you may have left over on top of the clothing.

 

[thefixer]

No direct drive model made in about the last 12 years will agitate with the lid up. For older models that will agitate with the lid up, closing the lid after agitation stops should not interfere with neutral drain. If it does, that's just a quirk of your machine.