Should I swap out my Speed Queen set for this KitchenAid set?

[thomasortega]

@john: you're right, somehow I was thi king about an electro ic control panel like the Catalyst and Calypso (the two machines I bypassed the lid switch by adding a toggle switch)

Soon (when I don't feel lazy enough) ill have to do the same with the Maytag Shitennial. Temporarily I just unscrewed the lock from the lid but I dont like the visual and the lid doesn't close completely.

If I let it complete the cycle, it won't restart if I don't "open" the lid.

 

[thomasortega]

@mark:

I have some jump connectors that are great. I discovered them thanks to Kevin.

I bought two boxes (I think 100pcs) and gave one to him. When you need, we both have plenty of them. No wire stipping or cutting, just crimp them on the wires and you're good to go.

 

[geoff]

Hi Mark,

It always seemed to me at least that mine was slower to fill than a regular direct drive that filled from the back. I gave mine to my mother years ago and it quickly became her favorite machine. She misses it greatly. I always told her that when they sell the house that the Kitchen Aid was not to be sold with it and it would come back to me. Well, I wasn't able to get it back in time and it sold with the house. Took me a while to get over that because it was my own fault. One quick thing about the warm rinse. It is auto temp controlled at 70 degrees. It even says so in the manual. It's regulated to temp controlled Cold temperature. If your tap temp is cold, it alternates between warm and cold until the tub is filled. It worked great in the winter but it never added added warm in the summer.

 

[geoff]

Sorry, one more thing

I had my lid switch bypassed by jumping the wires.

 

[gusherb]

If it was me I would jump on that KA set in a heartbeat but I don't think there's anything that could come along that would make me give up my SQ. Also, I've yet to have to put a new belt on it. I thought I would do it this year at the 5 year mark but I'm seeing no signs of excessive slip or other wear and it's been used quite heavily.

 

[good-shepherd]

$450 for the set. Should I or shouldn’t I?!

Whilst everyone is discussing the pros and cons of SQ vs KA they've probably been sold and installed in some multi-family rental unit.

 

[Marky_Mark]

Ok now I’m definitely convinced. I need a KA set!  Thank you, guys.  I really appreciate all the input. 

As soon as I saw this set for sale a few days ago I contacted the seller straight away.  He said he would be out of town until yesterday.  So I contacted him again yesterday and unfortunately he said the set has now been sold to someone who had previously expressed an interest.  I was so disappointed!  But fortunately these machines are not too uncommon.  So I am checking listings for others. 

Would a KA set like this be more desirable than a similar Kenmore set?  If so, why?  I ask because Kenmore sets are easier to find.   I really liked the look of the KA set. 

 

 

[thomasortega]

Mark, if you have the chance, also put your hands on a Calypso..

At first I wanted one just because it's "weird" (the same way I'm desperate to find a neptune TL), until I ran the first load and. WOW, what an incredible washer!

 

[DADoES]

 
Direct-drive action is essentially the same across all the lines, other than nuances specific to the various brands.  Kenmores don't have the larger-base agitator with reduced agitation speed, typically don't (some possibly do but my 1999 90 doesn't) shift to slower agitation for the last few mins of the wash period, and don't have stepped-spin.

The Catalyst and Resource Saver models have more substantial differences.

 

[DADoES]

 
LOL @ Thomas.  All the Calypso naysayers can't possibly be wrong .... or can they?  Hmmmmm ....   

 

[thomasortega]

@dadoes

I can't answer about other people's opinions, but about my own opinions only.

My Calypso was a craigslist find, nearly free of charge, I thought it would be a huge lemon.

Nah, it was perfect (just horribly dirty)

I OCD cleaned it (and I mean I REALLY cleaned it) and went to the first uses, expecting mediocre performance, shredded clothes, miserable rinses.

Load after load after load, always good surprises.

Never had anything coming out dirty, poorly rinsed, poorly washed.

Then I decided to overload it once, just to see what happens... omg, it worked!

The only thing it doesn't handle well is my absurd-size duvet, but thats a challenge for any household washer.

What impresses me is the perfection of rinses, no matter what. Even using Brazilian Omo that is known for being a suds bomb.

Once I filled it with towels up to the top (dry, a very full load). Once it started wetting the load, I tossed in ANOTHER FUL BASKET of towels. Definitely a monster overload.it washed and rinses to perfection and it was so full that the load filled 3/4 of the tub AFTER WET.

Now, want to have a Calypso struggle, wash extremely small loads or wash a load of towels and ONE bed sheet. Adiós rollover, farewell mechanical action, say hello to a horrible tangle and tub violently hitting the cabinet during wash.

A couple of months ago I was surprised by a leak and stopped using it. I though something went really bad, but I procrastinated because I had to move 5 other washers, including two stacked units to be able to move it out of its corner.

About a week ago I said enough is enough and did it. To my surprise, the drain hose was brittle and cracked in several places.

Hose replaced, washer performing as brand new and I also used this opportunity to change the layout. Maytag Shitennial went to that dead corner thats a pain to reach because of other washers, affecting usability and the Calypso went to the premium spot, way more convenient.

Every time I do laundry, the Calypso is my #1choice. It saves water (great) but with common sense.
My second favorite is the Maytag Neptune superstack (now with a reduced usage because I need to replace the bearings) followed by the catalyst (just because I like the catalyst part of the cycle)

 

[panasonicvac]

I may get criticized for this but...

If I had to choose for myself on which set I would prefer to have, I think I would honestly go for SQ. Now I'm not a collector as I'm basically a consumer on washers and dryers but I think would rather have something that would last longer and something I would have better luck on finding parts for. SQ all they do is produce laundry products, Kitchenaid on the other hand sells more than just washers and dryers and they don't even sell laundry products anymore. I'm sure without a doubt in my mind that Kitchenaid performs better but I usually like to keep my clothes cleaner and last longer so I don't think I would need something that would be very aggressive on my clothes. Anyways, those are my thoughts.

 

[DADoES]

 
KitchenAid laundry was always Whirlpool dryers and direct-drive toploaders or the German-sourced frontloader so nothing esoteric about it regards to parts other than model-specific items such as timers and the uber-sized agitator ... except for the upscale Pro Line® dryer which was sourced from ADC/American Dryer Corp.