Both my GE front loader from 2008 and Haier top loader from 2010 both died last week. The GE's rear bearing and the Haier's pump (for the second time). I decided against trying to fix the GE because that washer has been very heavily used, I may still see if I can get a cheap pump for the Haier somewhere.
I'd been watching Sears because I knew the bearing was going and they had a bunch on clearance. Including this one because the top was dented, but they weren't moving on price (I actually had been watching a Kenmore elite). Basically my idea was to buy a better front loader and a cheap top loader.
While waiting for the prices to go down my GE seized up entirely. I was sick of the lousy construction of these machines so I told my wife we were just going to buy a Speed Queen and try that and buy a cheap front loader, basically the opposite of the initial intention.
I actually did buy the Speed Queen from a local dealer that is retiring from sales only to do service and parts going forward, so I bought the digital control model for $699 which was a good price. I told my wife as they're ringing it up Sears was going to mark these things down dirt cheap (I was still hoping to get the Kenmore Elite for cheap).
So we went over there afterwards anyway. So what do you know they marked the washers down. So I go to check the Elite and what is sitting there? The Samsung for $499. Figures right? The dent is inconsequential, it looks like someone kneeled on it and it can be easily popped out so I say what the heck I spent slightly less on the Speed Queen than I had anticipated and buy it, cheapest local price otherwise is $1099. I ended up getting all the incentives on top of it so I get like $135 in rewards points on top of this, which is good cause I need a chainsaw too.
So we have it delivered today, my son and I installed it early this afternoon.
So it seems like it's built OK. It has a lot of cycles, a sanitize cycle that heats the water to 150 degrees but the manual is not to clear on many of the cycles, and it has quite a few. In fact the manual is actually pretty useless overall. The connected home stuff, even if you invest in the USB dongle for it is pretty useless in my estimation since it appears it only alerts you as to the cycle.
The washer is quite gimmicky as well, I get that it's the top of the line but a lot of this stuff is kind of unnecessary. Ok, show your friend the cool new washer and all the cool things it does. You can turn a light on in the drum, it's not super bight, it might help if you want to see if something is stuck inside as it turns on when you open the door. You can turn it on in the wash cycle, so if your lighting is dim you can watch it throw water around. It plays a song at the end of a load. You still have to pause the cycle for the add wash, I guess the large advantage is you won't drip water everywhere or have clothes fall out. I suppose it might help if you wish to use certain detergents.
There are a couple of lights on the control panel that light up, only they light up a dim red. You can't see them lit under standard light.
It washes pretty good on a normal cycle and extracts the clothes pretty well based on a few loads. It seems quieter than the GE was. It's quieter than the Speed Queen.
I have a few more loads to play with since I'm somewhat behind so I'll report back after trying a few different cycles.
I'd been watching Sears because I knew the bearing was going and they had a bunch on clearance. Including this one because the top was dented, but they weren't moving on price (I actually had been watching a Kenmore elite). Basically my idea was to buy a better front loader and a cheap top loader.
While waiting for the prices to go down my GE seized up entirely. I was sick of the lousy construction of these machines so I told my wife we were just going to buy a Speed Queen and try that and buy a cheap front loader, basically the opposite of the initial intention.
I actually did buy the Speed Queen from a local dealer that is retiring from sales only to do service and parts going forward, so I bought the digital control model for $699 which was a good price. I told my wife as they're ringing it up Sears was going to mark these things down dirt cheap (I was still hoping to get the Kenmore Elite for cheap).
So we went over there afterwards anyway. So what do you know they marked the washers down. So I go to check the Elite and what is sitting there? The Samsung for $499. Figures right? The dent is inconsequential, it looks like someone kneeled on it and it can be easily popped out so I say what the heck I spent slightly less on the Speed Queen than I had anticipated and buy it, cheapest local price otherwise is $1099. I ended up getting all the incentives on top of it so I get like $135 in rewards points on top of this, which is good cause I need a chainsaw too.
So we have it delivered today, my son and I installed it early this afternoon.
So it seems like it's built OK. It has a lot of cycles, a sanitize cycle that heats the water to 150 degrees but the manual is not to clear on many of the cycles, and it has quite a few. In fact the manual is actually pretty useless overall. The connected home stuff, even if you invest in the USB dongle for it is pretty useless in my estimation since it appears it only alerts you as to the cycle.
The washer is quite gimmicky as well, I get that it's the top of the line but a lot of this stuff is kind of unnecessary. Ok, show your friend the cool new washer and all the cool things it does. You can turn a light on in the drum, it's not super bight, it might help if you want to see if something is stuck inside as it turns on when you open the door. You can turn it on in the wash cycle, so if your lighting is dim you can watch it throw water around. It plays a song at the end of a load. You still have to pause the cycle for the add wash, I guess the large advantage is you won't drip water everywhere or have clothes fall out. I suppose it might help if you wish to use certain detergents.
There are a couple of lights on the control panel that light up, only they light up a dim red. You can't see them lit under standard light.
It washes pretty good on a normal cycle and extracts the clothes pretty well based on a few loads. It seems quieter than the GE was. It's quieter than the Speed Queen.
I have a few more loads to play with since I'm somewhat behind so I'll report back after trying a few different cycles.
