Poor Quality Maytag "Commercial" Dryers

[launderess]

Wanted to dry some really large articles, so ran over to a laundromat not normally used; and to my surprise since my last visit the old "ADC" dryers have been replaced by Maytag "Commercial" coin stacked dryers. Well am here to tell you what a piss poor results, and won't be back there again!

First the dryers are of such poor construction quality it is hard to belive they would survive a year in commercial laundro mat use. Though coin vended, methinks these units are designed for route/apartment complex use. The doors barely align, and plastic, plastic, plastic.

Interior drum is much smaller on these Maytags than the ADC dryers they replaced. As a result a load which would have easily fit and dried in 10 minutes, took 20 (on "high"). Worse the lift and float/drop is so poor that one had to keep stopping the dryer to take items out to "fluff & rearrange". Instead of the large heating/airflow area found in most commercial dryers, the Maytag has only a small circle, which reminds one of compact 120v dryers. In fact the whole appearace of these units reminds one of small a small compact dryer. Probably would have saved time and money by borrowing a friends small Whirlpool dryer for the same results.

If that was the best Maytag could do in the commercial range, then it was high time they went. Sad, very sad.

L.

 

[oxydolfan1]

But of course, they WANT for you to stand there feeding quarters into it! The fluffing, repositioning, etc. is there to distract you from realizing how many quarters you put into it!

Have you another laundromat within reasonable walking distance?

 

[toggleswitch]

1- Where are they comapnies getting their engineers /designers /planners.

2- How can they all be so clueless?

3- Is it too late for me to change careers?

 

[oxydolfan1]

1) They don't believe in design. They believe in maximizing profit, at any cost or rationality.

2) See #1...

3) Of course not, dear....

 

[toggleswitch]

~They don't believe in design. They believe in maximizing profit, at any cost or rationality.

You got that right. Short-run oriented. Future be damned. Even if an inferior product is churned-out

 

[launderess]

Here It Tis

Yes, there is another laundromat closer, but they were shut for the night.

Follow the link to view the dryers in question. These are not true laundromat dryers IMHO, rather lightweight dryers designed for "homestyle" use. Cannot believe the laundromat owner took out those ADC dryers for those Maytags.

Really the laundry came out so badly would have been better off using a small portable dryer and doing one or two items at a time. Being they were spun dry in the Miele, only wanted to "fluff" before folding.

L.

http://www.abtelectronics.com/product/21343.html

 

[oxydolfan1]

You know where I've seen those? Not even apartment buildings, but "garden" apartment houses in suburbia where only a few tenants have access....

I agree. Not suitable for laundromat use, IMHO....(and may actually be against regs...)

 

[volvoguy87]

Modern trash.

I used these dryers in my college dorms. They are indeed small, slow, and VERY poorly built. One of these wouldn't even stand up to residential use for all that long. I am a historic preservationist, and I love, preserving, restoring, and using old machinary because it so often works better than its newer replacements and does so far longer. How much sense would it make to replace something like a Maytag center dial with a new front loader? Sure the front loader will use less energy, but the old center-dial will outlast the new machine by decades! Throwing away entire machines and making new ones can't be that energy efficient a process!

Just my 2-cents (likely wheat pennies),
Dave

 

[launderess]

Rather than be lifted and float/tumble as in true laundromat dryers, items simply rolled about in the Maytag, no wonder items came out wrinkled and damp/wet in spot even with frequent rearranging. Load consisted of one pillow case, two sheets, and one duvet cover. All sateen but still a very pathetic showing by Maytag.

Oh yes, the older ADC dryers had periods of tumbling with no heat until laundry was removed, even after one's time was up. Not so with the Maytag's, if you leave laundry sit sitting in these machines it probably is probably going to emerge wrinkled as heck.

L.

 

[sudsmaster]

In Maytag's Defence...

These are quite small dryers, only 6 cu ft. Even my Neptune dryer is bigger, at 6.5 cu ft (I think).

Can I dry a load of laundry from the Neptune washer in the Neptune dryer in 10 minutes? Absolutely NOT. However it does have a very powerful blower - as evidenced by its ability to blow a big clot of lint out of the 15' dryer vent ducting that the previous anemic WCI dryer let gather.

The Neptune dryer also errs on the side of gentle heat. So if you want anything approaching the usual blazing commercial temps, you must set the small Maytag to "Hot". "Hot" on the Neptune dryer is only 135F, so it's not all that hot to begin with.

The party to blame for your inconvenience is the laundromat owner, who obviously is looking to maximize profit by putting in more, smaller dryers. Unlike the usual big laundromat dryer, these 6 cu ft models really can only take one large load at a time. They are not doubleloaders, were never meant to be.

Due to the smaller drum volume, I have also noticed that large bulky items take longer to dry, and sometimes the corners/folds don't dry evenly. For example, I've learned that if I want to dry a big load of a queen sheet set plus mattress pad, I dry the mattress pad seperately from the sheets. I suspect that if you just tried to dry the duvet cover seperately the process would have gone much better. And you could have used two dryers and been done all that much quicker.

Maytag does make large commercial industrial laundry equipment, very heavy duty stainless stuff. But obviously the laundromat owner is more interested in getting people to feed quarters into his till than drying large items most efficiently and rapidly.

 

[repair-man]

Nothing really new about these dryers. They are just a stacked version of the Dependable Care residential dryer. Internally they are identical part for part. Not sure how the size (6.0 vs. 6.5) is rated different. The Part # for the drum is the same for the commercial stack as that of a common Neptune.

I have seen these in a few laundromats here in Pittsburgh. And they are never popular. Maytag used to (maybe still does) sell a laundromat package that they called a "Maytag Just Like Home Laundry" where these where common. But I agree, TOO small & TOO slow.

 

[peterh770]

The size is the same, 6.5 cu ft. They don't run separate line for a tub that is only .5 cu ft smaller.

Yes, these are nothing more than a domestic dryer, stacked and with a coin slide. They will take at least twice as long to dry a load than with the ADC/Maytag true commercial dryers.

Yes, these dryers are designed for apartment/dorm laundry rooms, route operators and "home style" laundries. They have no place in a traditional retail coin laundry.

These dryers have been around forever and there is a market for them. It has nothing to do with design, profit, cost or rationality. They were purchased and installed here by an owner who probably is just a stupid business person.

 

[toggleswitch]

The heat input alone at 1/3 or less than a "Real" commercial unit should have probably been a tip-off to the owner.

 

[roto204]

Pairs well with...

We have these dryers in our apartments, and they're not bad. However, they're intended to go with a standard-capacity Dependable Care machine, not anything with much volume to speak of.

If I do wash in my Design 2000 (not the hugest tub either, but more capacious than the Maytags in the laundromat), I can sometimes overtax these dryers.

I find them to be acceptable, if not noteworthy, performers...

 

[sudsmaster]

It's a 6.0 cubic foot drum...

As indicated by the product literature in Laundress' link...

Maytag Commercial Single-Load Stack Dryer Over Dryer Combo - MLE23PDWH/ 6.0 Cubic Foot Drums/ Advanced Computer Trac Controls/ Coin-Drop Prevents Tampering/ Fits Two Dryer Pockets In The Floor Space Of One/ 220 cfm Diagonal Airflow/ Faster Drying/ White Finish

 

[askomiele]

We don't have such small dryer. Normal capacity in laundromat dryers (witch are or Primus or Miele or Ipso) is between 14 to 18 kg (is it 28 to 36 lbs?). I found those dryers good, fast and effective, but duvets and the real bulky stuff is hard to dry, due to the non reversing drums. So manually fluffing is the key to succes!

 

[launderess]

Had to laugh yesterday when going home and looking about the avenue. What did I spy with my little eye? A third floor laundry room in a small apartment building with the top row of these same Maytag dryers cleary visable through the windows.

This confirms something else one has been saying, many NYC apartment buildings have been installing laundry equipment where ever they can fit them. When people are asked to pay $1,500 or more per month for a closet, you pretty much better offer them every mod con possible.

L.

 

[johnb300m]

I love the Maytag Laundromat

I moved to the Maytag laundromat down the street, because the shitty SpeedQueens at my apartment complex were always busy, always broken, and never dried in their non-adjustable 40 minute cycle. Lots of times my clothes would need 50min. not a whole 2nd 40min. cycle. The laundromat Maytag machines are "just like home" for me, since we have a LA511 and a Dependable Care drier in a Neptune package.

They have sort of old looking Maytags here. They are almond in color. The washers have the standard blue tubs and black agitators with the quick transmission. The dryers are the dependable care models. I like them very much, especially since i can adjust how long the cycle is by how much money i put in. the machines must be quite durable becasue they are old, with their porcelain coatings rubbing off, which means they've seen lots of use and have not been replaced. I've never been to this place where a single unit has been broken. Long live Maytag, and this management must be using their heads not getting new Maytag stuff, since it's probably junk.

there are also a row of Neptune washers there. they have the famed mold spots on the boot, but they work very well. when i have huge loads i use these, and the clothes always come out fresh and clean.....and then totally dry in the driers.

the place DOES have a row of massive stainless steel Maytag double load driers in the back. They look very industrial and very tough. Never used them though.