SPEED QUEEN PREVIEWS THEIR NEW CONTROL PANELS FOR THEIR TOP LOAD WASHERS!!!

[mrb627]

What about...

1) Extra Rinse Option?
2) Fabric Selector?
3) Pre-Wash?
4) Pre-Soak?

Some of the features of the current higher end models appear to be gone...

Malcolm

 

[gansky1]

The flexibility of the touch-controls blows the others away but would hope the final product gets tarted up a bit. Looks kind of boring.

Hopefully the domestic models will have a different cycle profile than the commercial. Replacing some of the wash water and calling it a rinse wouldn't work for me. Blech!

 

[tomturbomatic]

Malcolm, those use water and that's a no-no.

 

[pulsator]

Link to the survey...

Let's see if this works!!!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=HVbZvrCYqEUAv3akJi5atg%3d%3d

 

[frigilux]

I like the smooth touchpad panel (Option 1), but as Malcolm noted, wish it had more options for things like soak and prewash.

If you want maximum flexibility to repeat/lengthen/skip parts of a cycle, then the current (Option 2) panel is the way to go.

Boy, I really hope they're not extending the disgusting feature of rinsing clothes in half of the wash water to their home line. I use liquid chlorine bleach frequently, so that would be a big problem. The top-loaders they've been making recently are the closest thing on the market to a traditional/vintage machine. Would hate to see that corrupted.

Thanks for the information on this, Jamie! I think it's commendable that they're interested in getting opinions from the general public.

 

[georgect]

Be sure to link this site so Speed Queen sees us

I put this link in the first question "How did you hear about this survey" choosing "other".

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?41593_23

Maybe they'll track out concerns & comments right from this site.

 

[foraloysius]

They should have looked at the old Amana electronic control panels, they were more flexible than this one. A top of the line machine should have more features.

 

[mrb627]

Amana

I agree. I replaced a TOL Kenmore set with the TOL Amana set back in 1997. They were awesome machines. They should look at that setup.

Also, SQ has had touchpad controls in the past. As I recall, they included a variable rotary water level control, but everything else was electronic.

Malcolm

 

[mrb627]

Like This...

Remember this?

Malcolm

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

I agree completely with Eugene (Frigilux) and echo his comments.

 

Georgect: That is a great idea, however I'm not sure Speed Queen will see the actual answers to the survey as it's a 3rd party company doing it, they may jsut give them a graph with the overall results.   But who knows.

 

Kevin

 

 

[mtn1584]

YOU GUYS BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH!!!!!

I was gonna post "LAST CALL FOR SPEED QUEEN TOP LOADERS!!!!"
I do not like any of the new panels with the possibility of the hybrid.
1. WHERE IS THE EXTRA RINSE OPTION
2. SOMEONE MENTIONED PRE WASH AND SOAK
3. FABRIC SOFTENER USE?????
4. PARTIAL WASH WATER DRAIN AND REFILL FOR RINSE????
5. MORE COMPUTER BOARDS INSTEAD OF TRIED AND TRUE TECHNOLOGY.
6. IMO THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE LAST GREAT TOP LOAD WASHER.
I too took the survey, and voiced my opinions...............Do they have to follow the govt. regs on ALL machines???? Just curious.
Mike
PS WHEN WILL ALL THIS TAKE EFFECT? THEY MAY STILL BE RELILABLE AFTER THIS, BUT PERFORMANCE IS GONNA GO DOWN THE TOILET.

 

[foraloysius]

The Amana set also had lighted controls. Was that the last set to have them?

 

[launderess]

Do they have to follow the govt. regs on ALL machines

If appliance manufacturers want federal R&D funds/tax credits and the all important use of the "Energy Star" label they do.

No law is stopping any white goods maker from producing washing machines that "guzzle" water and or energy, it is just that with free federal money why spend their own. Also consumers are becoming more and more programmed to seek out "Energy Star" rated appliances, not to mention various rebate schemes.

Don't know about elsewhere but households in NYC have been hit with water rate hikes yearly for the past several. Apartment dwellers including co-ops and condos are often somewhat sheltered because certain multi-family buildings do not have individual meters per unit, but all private homes here have had them by law for over a decade now. Worse still NYC recently switched all meters over to those electronic versions that transmit information via radio waves. Many here swear the things are inaccurate but the city is standing by them. One local homeowner in Staten Island got a water bill for several hundred dollars even though the house was empty that month because of renovations.

 

[pierreandreply4]

sure electronic control panels are nice but the only trouble is if you pause the machine the electronic panel turns it self off and i can predict that alot will went a refurbish second hand set because newer model usaly comes with a raise in price depending on the components and i do not have a water meter but it do not mean that i agree and i remember seeing back in 1992 a dependable care maty with electronic controls a model like in this pic but the controls where electronic me in my eyes and book and do not say i am wrong could have engergy star washers but stick with the good old fashion timer dial that you pull to start and push to stop.

 

[qsd-dan]

Nice 810 set there, Pierre.

 

[launderess]

IIRC The Story Correctly

Fully electronic/motherboard controls are now cheaper to produce than mechanical or even electronic/mechanical versions so the latter are being used less and less. Since they aren't be used those who made them either went out of business or moved on to something else.

Fully electronic controls allow appliances to seem more upscale than perhaps they really are. Great for slapping onto what otherwise would have been a BOL or MOL appliance years ago and thus allowing higher price points.

 

[wayupnorth]

That Maytag pair looks just like my 1984 LA511 and LDE410 that still run perfect after 28 years. I guess being old school, I would prefer the regular mechanical controls if I was ever to buy a new Speed Queen, which would be my only choice in new machines. But hopefully I can keep these Maytags going for as long as I am still able to do laundry.

 

[rdmatos]

Matching Dryer?

If they end up using option one for the new models will they make a matching dryer with a digital panel? Most people would want a matching set if they planned to purchase both the washer and dryer at the same time.

 

[mtn1584]

Love that electronic Amana set!!

@ combo, where are you getting your info from about SP warranty issues with timers? No one on FB, over 1000 likes, has mentioned that, and no one on this site, and I think we are the biggest SQ fans, has mentioned it either??? So where are you getting your facts from??
Mike

 

[combo52]

Speed Queen Relibilty

I own a SQ dealer and we do warranty work, I also have a friend in Cleveland Ohio who does the same and he is disgusted with the quality of the TL washers Timers. SQ washers in general have far more problems in the first few years than WP or GE laundry. They are very much like MTs in the 1970s and 80s. This is both good and bad as both machines were well built, but both suffered from a lot of early failures being smaller companies. The inlet valves that SQ uses are not that all that great, we have had quite a few that did not shut off and caused floods.

 

Conventional timers are not used in many machines any longer and they have been cheapened over the last decade so I would expect them not to be as good as they once were. We have also seen these types of problems with ovens that still have mechanical controls for the ovens, the thermostats are very cheap and don't hold up well.