Speed Queen front loader walking

[helicaldrive]

My Speed Queen front loader, not quite a year old, has gotten to the point that it walks during virtually every load. When new, it only did so with a full load of towels, and even then not every time. The walking occurs when the tub swings back and forth to balance the balancing balls, and it will walk an inch or two or three with each tub swing. It stops walking when the tub swinging is finished and it revs up to spin, at which point it is perfectly smooth and vibration free.

This machine is awesome and produces the best laundry results I've ever had. In fact I want to buy another -- the stack model -- but I'm hesitating now, because this walking issue is getting really annoying. And if the stack were to walk, it would pull the dryer vent out of the window and could break the dryer gas line.. Luckily it always walks in the direction where the floor slopes down, away from anything I wouldn't want it to hit. I even tried putting drywall sanding screen under the two front feet, thinking the friction would help. Nope. And I tried wedging shims under it by the leg that always slides. No help. And the machine is perfectly level.

What's the deal here? Should I make a service call? Is there a balancing sensor that could be defective?

I hesitate to have a service call, though. Three people here seem to have had nothing but even more problems after service people began tinkering with their SQs.

Thoughts?

 

[stricklybojack]

.
Are the rubber pads installed on the feet of the machine?
If they are not it will walk. Put them on and it stays put, in our experience with the same machine.

 

[brucelucenta]

Dang!!! Sure seems like there are a LOT of problems with speed queen washers!!!

 

[helicaldrive]

Rubber feet are on

I'll try replacing them with new ones. Thanks

 

[mrb627]

Rubber Anchors

My SQ FL came with 2 of these for the front feet.
They really do solve vibration and walking issues.

Malcolm

Speed Queen #802844P Washer/Dryer ASSY ANCHOR FLOOR MOUNT (2X) - Commercial Speed Queen Laundry Parts

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www.pwslaundry.com

 

[brucelucenta]

Buying a different machine solves it even better!!!!! Along with solving many other issues too. I'm beginning to think that speed queen owners have overpaid so much for their machines, they don't want to admit they aren't what they thought they would be and/or any problems they have with them.

 

[foraloysius]

I'm not particularly a Speed Queen fan, but beating on a dead horse in every Speed Queen thread becomes very annoying now Bruce.

 

[brucelucenta]

What is dead is speed queen.....

 

[washman]

Kinda hard to admit a problem when I've never had one in the first place Bruce. But you knew that already right?

 

Ordinary clean or Speed Queen clean?

 

Make an investment, not a mistake, see your local Speed Queen dealer today!

 

[washerdude]

Leveling suggestion

I know you said the machine is perfectly level, but by any chance if the unit manages to get out of level, I'd recommend setting the feet to the lowest they can go and leveling the machine like that.

Further, I have a newer Whirlpool Duet which sits on the second floor of a wood framed house and it has never ever walked since the day it was installed, however, I noticed vibrations would increase after a couple of months and I had to re level the machine over and over. I tried a different way of leveling when after the last time it happened. I linked a video below which I used to level my machine and vibration has been consistent ever since and I have not need to re level it again.

You could also try putting down a piece of plywood and see if that helps any at all.

Lastly, is this a newer or older SQ front loader?

 

[helicaldrive]

Thanx for the suggestions

My floor is not the best. It slopes a bit by the front left leg which must be extended considerably more than the others. The back legs are not extended at all. It always slides in the direction where the floor slopes down. I suspect floor paint has come off on the bottom of the feet and is reducing the grabbing power of the rubber feet. Other washers have had tenacious walking problems in the same spot, I remember now.

Anyway, called Speed Queen -- they suggested rubber anchors, most likely same things you mention, Malcolm, and I ordered some.

They offered another suggestion: anchoring an aluminum track to the floor and putting the back feet in it. Sounds like a plan to me.

Not to change the subject but Malcolm which do you prefer, ur SQ's or ur Elex set?

 

[lorainfurniture]

Look up stove anti tip bracket, it might be the perfect thing for you.

 

[brucelucenta]

washman

Yeah.....sure....right.....an investment.....get real! To my recollection an investment should increase in value or be so worthwhile to own that you have an extreme advantage to have it. speed queen does neither and has been quite a detriment to some of the owners who post on here. Certainly no investment at all regardless of the high price you pay for one. As far as "speed queen clean", any front load machine will clean just as well as a speed queen machine if not better in most cases. I have used them in laundromats before. The home units are impressive looking, somewhat crudely built in comparison to other machines and smaller in capacity than most other machines. The fact is that not all of them are trouble free for years of use as people would be led to believe. And what is worse, is that service for them is not good either. I would just expect more from a product that is supposed to be the best of the best and certainly costs like it should be, so they are held at a higher standard than most. On this very site there have been several people with horrible experiences with both the top and front loading machines and the service providers for those machines. That certainly has nothing to do with me or my opinion of speed queen.[this post was last edited: 2/1/2017-01:16]

 

[mrsalvo]

I bought my Speed Queen in April of 2015 and I don't regret buying it at all. It sure is solid, very heavy. I thought then i was definitely buying a good machine, I still think so. I don't think it's really all that expensive now considering the new import excise tax tariffs that are getting ready to come into play. It's going to hit nearly every single manufacturer out there including Whirpool. Good luck on getting parts that won't eat your lunch. I not saying I agree or disagree with the new line of thought coming out of Washington, just peering into the crystal ball. I look to see cost of living go much higher in terms of food and consumer goods. Hmmm!?!

 

[combo52]

Walking Washing Machines

Hi HD, you never said what your laundry room floor is made from, but I will assume it is concrete, in any event an aluminum channel for the back feet is not a bad idea, this is done all the time in laundry rooms.

 

I have seldom ever seen any brand of stack WD walk and the SQs are no exception, the extra weight seems to really keep them in place.

 

Speed Queens are a good investment,

 

There Are

 

An investment in the Earth, they won't have to be replaced for 25-50 years, some of our customers said they are listing them in their will.

 

They are an investment in American Workers.

 

They are an investment in things that WORK and not aggravating bells and whistles and failure codes, LOL.

 

 

My SQ FL washers and my Brothers are both 12 years old now and neither has missed a beat, my 9 month old TOL GE DW is about to get pulled out of my kitchen, it is the most aggravating appliance I have ever had. When I open the door and it sings a little tune after a THREE HOUR cycle and I see everything wet and food bits on many items and the inside of the machine, AND the stale smell if I don't open the door for more than a day.

 

Hi Bruce, I like the fact that I live in a country where we have the choice of buying things from all around the World, BUT I will not spend my life promoting Chinese-Korean appliances when this country has been so good to me and generations of my family, I would not be able to sleep at night.

 

 

 

[brucelucenta]

For me, it is not really about where it is built. If the USA built the best cars, appliances or anything else and had the features that were important to me, that is what I would buy. In this case I bought an LG made machine because it holds at least half again what the speed queen does and it has the temp. boost feature too. There was a time when I would buy ONLY American made cars. Since cars like Honda and Toyota have been around and far surpass American made cars for reliability and durability that has changed. It's a shame, but why settle for something less just because it is built in America? As far as how long a speed queen washer will last, I think that is beyond absurd. Only time will tell, but there are already others who have discarded their speed queen machines or gotten something different on this very site. It is unrealistic to think that one would last on average 25 years. I have nothing against speed queen, I just don't believe they are really any better than anything built in China or Taiwan.

 

[glomain]

BEAT

that dead horse Bruce.Maybe it will drink your kool-aid !!!!!

 

[washman]

I am real Bruce. Very real in fact.

 

How about you?

 

Hi frig!

 

[bendix5]

When living in our last home we bought Maytag (Samsung) front load washer and dryer. These replaced our Frigidaire front loads which we loved. We thought they were damaged when we moved in the house because the Frigidaire shook violently which it never did in our old house. Had repair man out and he said nothing wrong. We bought the Maytags and in high speed spin they shook the house. Worse than the Frigi. The left side came dancing out from the wall. The water heater was next to the washer so I traded the w/d around to see if that made a difference. Not at all. Talked with a guy down the street who had same washer with the same floor plan with the same problem and he told me when they bought the machines he had to have extra support put under the laundry room. We had the same guy do ours and it fixed the problem right away. No more shaking in the house at all. Who would have thought. Since then we have moved back to OR, live in a mobile home and the machines are stable here going on 12 years. They do a great job for us.