Speed Queen AWN542 Water Supply Hose Angled or Straight?

[agitator]

All,

After months of research and deliberation I've ordered a SQ AWN542 washer. The unit comes with cheap rubber hoses and I want to get braided stainless steel ones before the unit arrives.

I would like to know if I should get the ones that are angled on one end or the straight ones. I diligently research pretty much everything I purchase, but couldn't find a thread regarding this.

If I recall, the hookups on the washer also stick out at 90 degrees. Also, how long of a hose do you recommend?

Thanks for all of your help. This forum has been invaluable!

I've attached a photo of what my wall hookup looks like.

 

[kb0nes]

Hi Jon, welcome to AW and congratulations on the new machine! The SQ toploaders seem to be very well liked overall from the people that value a traditional machine.

So have you seen the hoses that come with the machine? I'm curious what brings you to the conclusion that they are cheap. Is it only because they don't have the stainless outer braid jacket? Since hoses rarely fail anywhere but at the crimped ends, I'm not sure SS is the end all be all. Just like with modern appliances I'd rather take a quality made unit over a cheap one with stainless window-dressing. I'd bet the SQ hoses are decent quality though. Some of the no-name SS hoses I see at the home stores look pretty poorly made.

As for angles on the hose ends, in theory allowing the hose to drop vertically from the fitting would result in slightly less physical strain on the hose. But since the hose is stiffened and supported by the internal pressure, that may not be all that important either. Length of the hose is immaterial, choose one that fits your installation and allows enough of a loop to pull the machine out for cleaning or service.

 

[arbilab]

The idea of angled hose ends is taking strain off the washer end of the hose since most will end up hanging down so pointing them down in the first place reduces strain. In a breakdown situation the most strained part will break first.

In all my laundry years I have never known of a washer hose breaking, though certainly not denying it can happen. For the extra protection at moderate cost I prefer the braided metal reinforced hoses.

For ultimate protection there are electric valves that shut off the source when water is sensed on the floor. Such an installation is very expensive given the rarity with which the failure occurs. Next to that is a simple, cheap water-sense alarm, but that only works if someone is home to hear it.

 

[repair-man]

I agree that the majority of hose failures that I see are at the fittings but I see a lot at various points along the length. Sometimes it's not known where it failed because the entire outer jacket is swollen with water. Have never seen a SS jacket hose have a major failure. I have had them drip at the fittings. Sadly I find the rubber hoses on machines that are only a few years old on the brink of failure.

 

[yogitunes]

save your money....not worth the investment in the long run....
some have some have smaller inside diameters reducing flow rates, some also have a flow restrictor in the event of a burst, that will shut off.....that's the somewhat good side, the down side, there are machines that require a certain pressure/flow rate that is monitored to operate, and can cause the machine to shut down if it cant fill in X amount of time.....

standard rubber hoses work fine if you follow guide lines....

turn off the valves after use

replace every five years....this goes for steel braided ones as well

I have seen some last 20+ years with no issues.....and have seen one a few years old, flood an entire house.....people were on vacation and came home to a lake

you can find ones with elbows at both ends....what ever fits your need best

 

[estesguy]

Turn off the valves ?

I'd honestly like to know how many people turn the valves off after each use. In my 40 years of laundry, I never have, and I don't know anybody else whos does either. I'm not arguing that it's a safer way to go. I do look at the hose's every so often and replace at some point, but I think turning the valves off and on ususlly leads to leaking at the valves. And wouldn't a weakening hose show signs of leaking first, and not just blow up or pop off? I just wonder how many on this site actually turn them off.

 

[frigilux]

I turn both faucets off after the final load of the day. Always have, always will.

 

[rapidry1000]

I always turn off both hot and cold faucets after completion. Have done this since 1959. I remember my mom's 1951 Frigidaire's hose leaking and the landlady making a big stink about damage to her building.

 

[mikeske]

Water always off here except when washing

My wife has always had the habit of shutting off the water when she is finished washing. We had a hot water hose I caught ready to rupture and no not at the fitting but in the middle of it. It had swollen up to a fair size and if the water had been on our home would of been flooded. I was doing a yearly cleaning/checking of our dryer and glance over and saw the swollen hose. I made a quick trip to the appliance store and bought a new ones.

The main reason my wife always shut the water off was she was instructed by the owner of the appliance store that we bought our Maytags to always shut off the water when she was not using the machine as he stated warranty did not cover wore out hoses.

Since that is the case I have also always replaced the hoses after 2 years. I realize that the hose are generally still good I just replace them more frequently after the swollen hose.

 

[agitator]

All thanks for all of your replies! I just received my new Speed Queen AWN542 and I like it alot. I ended up going with the straight stainless washer hoses (Watts 5 foot), which worked fine.

But, on a side note I have a question regarding the spin cyle and how wet the clothes should feel after washing. I noticed that after the first wash that water was removed from clothes after spin cycle, but they felt more damp than I'm used to compared with a standard front loader, (have owned Whirlpool and Maytag). The clothes were not dripping water but I think maybe more water could be removed. The SQ was very well balanced during the spin cyle, even with a large load.

The wife thinks that the SQ washes clothes which are submerged that this is normal vs HE front loaders which use little water to wash that HE washed clothes will be dryer when the load is finished. This makes since, but being the perfectionist that I am I want to make certain.

I would like to know from the veterans if this is normal or is my Speed Queen not adjust correctly from the factory in that it should be spinning at a higher rpm to remove more water?

Thanks for your help.

 

[foraloysius]

Frontloaders have higher spin speeds than your toploader. A wider drum might help a bit but the rpm is the most significant variable in this.

 

[henene4]

That makes no sense...

Though a HE machine uses less water, I yet have to see a FL that was normaly loaded and did not wet the load completly. And wet is wet. Laundry dosen't get wetter than dripping wet, even if you submerge it in water.
But that is a thing lot of new SQ users mentioned. Of course, the tub is smaller and the spinspeed is probably 2/3 of a modern standard FL.
But some said as well that the final spin is rather short and as the machine spin-drains, the time at max rpm is really short. So you might try to just re-run the spin cycle.

 

[agitator]

Thanks henene4 your answer makes perfect sense. I do agree that the spin cycle is rather short.

Have a great New Years everyone!

 

[washman]

In all honesty

I think the rinse cycle is a tad short whereas the spin cycle is long. That being said, I have no FL experience to compare with. The only thing I have to compare is a plastic fantastic GE that spun at roughly 600 RPM vs 710 for the speed queen. Is 110 RPM a major difference? I say no.

IIRC there is a kit that has a stiffer spring and/or shorter belt to bring up the spin speed if it is not sufficient.

I attached a youtube vid below where you can see my unit in action, including the spin. This was when the machine was fairly new and was washing a full load of 100% cotton towels.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7EsAlUs6LM&list=PLVpngWITH6pJo28Wg06CYC0UuAvdCTSC9