Speed Queen AWN 432

[joelippard]

I can not believe I am actually making a post about a modern machine!  However, I recently acquired a pre-owned Speed Queen AWN 432 set with the assistance of fellow club member Bob Orear.  It took quite a bit of cleaning up and a new wire and fuse on the dryer.  The previous owner was a heavy doser with fabric softener in the washer along with cold washes.  It was disgusting to take apart and clean up.  

 

I have to say I really love this machine, they both do a very fine job, are extremely well built and the washer is the newest "essence of old school" that I have ever seen.  I'm impressed!

 

[gelaundry4ever]

fabric softener

Fabric softener works as long as you use a deep rinse and a reasonable water level and temp.

 

[Chetlaham]

Oh Congrats!

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This is one of the best washers ever made! I have the model below this one (AWN 412) as my daily driver.

 

 

Best suspension in existence, (balance, vibration, noise), excellent cleaning, fast cycle times, good rinsing, big transmission, self cleaning with warm water and detergent, long life, reliable, dependable and overall solid.  

 

Do not listen to all the negative voices on here saying these are poor performing washer that are merely imitations of a once not so popular in the competition design. They are just jealous you have a real washer. I know, I use a Speed Queen every day. I only fall deeper in love each cycle.

 

Use, enjoy and don't think twice.

 

[DADoES]

 
Photos of the disassembly and clean-up of gnasty toploaders are always a positive to validate that the issue isn't confined to frontloaders ...

 

[gelaundry4ever]

what chetlaham said

I agree with what Chetlaham said. I have the commercial version at my apartment complex. It's identical to what he just described. The only exception is that it has a coin box. I use the csc go app which it uses. I always use the heavy soil on the normal cycle on everything just so I can have a real deep rinse. I stay away from eco rinses.[this post was last edited: 9/28/2023-16:13]

 

[gelaundry4ever]

big transmission

I wonder just how big the transmission is. I also wonder what the oil smelled like or does smell like. I bet it's very thick for all those beefy steel gears.

 

[repairguy]

Congrats on acquiring an excellent modern set.

 

[Chetlaham]

Transmission

Tis big! Here is one on a grid:

 

 

  https://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Transmission/203768/4962036

 

[appnut]

Congratulations Joe. Bob is a terrific guy. I still miss him and wish he aws still here in Texas. It's such a crime for an owner to be so heavy handed with fabric softener and on top of that only washing in cold water. Congratulations on such an outstanding cleaning from the ground up!! And a perfect model before they bastardized changing the cycels to Heavy Duty/Perm Press and Normal/Eco crap. That timer is a true, legitimate top load washer.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

to chetlaham

I bet that Speed Queen Gear Oil smells strong and is thick. How do you think that gear oil smells?

 

[Chetlaham]

I've never smelled Speed Queen oil, probably because these washer just don't break all that often. I have smelled filter flo oil, and it smells rather industrial. 

 

[gelaundry4ever]

filter flo oil vs. direct drive oil

What about direct drive oil? How does that smell compared to filter-flo oil? I've smelled filter-flo oil and I completely agree. It brings back memories.

 

[Chetlaham]

DD oil really didn't smell strong to me, even up close it smelled relatively mild almost sweet in comparison.  FF oil was rather pungent. FF oil also appeared darker in color- more grayish too.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

post FF oil

What do you think of post FF oil compared to FF oil? I have a feeling that SQ uses pungent oil like the GE FF and Whirlpool DD. To me, the FF and DD oils smell similar.

 

[Chetlaham]

Believe it or not I've never taken apart a post FF transmission despite the fact the apartment haul away pile was absolutely teaming with post FF washers. My interest was only in FF washers, I only ever played around with post FF washers just to get a general idea of what was wrong with them rather than studying or experimenting with them in depth out of curiosity. It wasn't all that hard to tell what was wrong with a post FF washer, when the agi lifts straight up without hesitation with the air bell cracked or you set the machine to spin with the motor shaft spinning in its clutch but the belt does not turn you knew- I was satisfied enough. However today I am kicking myself I never forensically autopsied these washers in depth. I wish I had, there was so much I could have learned but at the same time my love for vintage and dislike for modern had already been solidified into my personality. I was 100% invested in FFs, hoping that GE might bring them back. I know that was naive thinking 15 years ago, even more so today.

 

Fortunately there is still Speed Queen. For now.

 

[gelaundry4ever]

post FF transmissions

Those post FF transmissions were small, yet sounded similar to the DD washer when agitation was in progress. I bet that oil had a pungent smell like the FF counterpart without taking them apart.

 

[Chetlaham]

They were tiny! Way to tinny. Longevity was not GE's goal. GE effectively ceased all washer production by 1997. 

 

[gelaundry4ever]

GE transmissions

It's astonishing how GE went from huge transmissions to tiny ones. What an insult to the GE filter-flo. They ruined themselves. I missed everything about the filter-flo since it left my house for the one that came after, including the familiar souns I enjoyed.

 

[Chetlaham]

Absolute crime what became of the FF. Don't get me started. Had GE abandoned the FF design for the Raytheon or Amana designs I could forgive/understand that. But no. 

 

GE did ruin themselves. Haier now owns GE, which shows the outcome. I remember comparing motor and drain seals on their mids 80s vs late 90s Potscrubbers. They fact they literally had had less than half the wear material not even adjusted for age shows not just deliberate cheapening but deliberate built in planned obsolescence.

 

As much as it hurts us, GE is happy with the outcome. Executives want to extract what wealth is in a company before they retire with no concern about future of said company because it no longer effects them in any way.

 

If everyone was like me it simply wouldn't happen. Apart from the political movements in the streets people would only buy solid designs.