Stabler Horizontal Axis Washer

[stricklybojack]

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Does anyone here have recent experience with one of these?
I know early on they had reliability issues, is that still true?
I have a Sun Frost Refrigerator I love (see second pic), imagine the Staber to be a comparable product.

Commercial & Residential Laundry Equipment | Staber Industries, Inc.

Staber Industries is a leader in the commercial and residential laundry equipment industry. Staber delivers American made, high quality laundry solutions. No job is too large or too small!

www.staber.com

 

[frigilux]

Don’t know anyone who has a Staber, but CR tested one a number of years ago and found it lacking. Cleaning score was not good and vibration was a major issue. The dealbreaker for me is that you have to service it yourself. They supply parts and phone line assistance.

I’ve never heard of a Staber dealer—not even mom & pop shops.

 

[DADoES]

 
Jon Charles had a Staber some years back, don't know for how long.  IIRC, mostly liked it, had some dislikes, had some recurring repair issues.

They don't have a dealer network far as I recall, for either sales or service.

 

[ladd]

Samurai Appliance Repairman (fixitnow.com) used to be a huge fan of these washers. He is no longer. Wish I could remember exactly why.

 

[pulsator]

I've seen one of these in person but I've never seen one run (well, heard one run I suppose since there's no window) and I just looked into it a little bit...

No wonder they've kind of fallen off the face of the earth, the cheapest model is $1,699. They don't even list a price for the more expensive stainless one. You have to contact them for a quote for that one.

Oh yeah, and shipping is $449. That gets the semi to your house. If you want the semi to have a lift-gate to lower the washer down from the semi instead of having to lift it down yourself, you have to pay and additional $75 on top of the $449...

Someone would REALLY need to have their heart set on this machine in order to shell out over $2,000 for their cheapest model without having seen one in person.

 

[johnb300m]

$2000+

Wow that’s ludicrous.
You could build your own washer for that price.

 

[launderess]

As per usual whenever Staber is mentioned

Will call (again) attention to fact Whirlpool long ago patented a top loading h-axis washer, but to date hasn't done a thing on that front.

Considering Whirlpool sells h-axis topladers in Europe or elsewhere, wonder why they just don't pull a Miele, modify and ship some to USA.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Horizontal-axis toploader

Probably the reason is that American housewives - generally - could not be bothered with the fight to get a duvet/quilt into such a small drum opening.

That, and the fact that the outer surface of the perforated drum is like a cheese grater. So said 'Which?'

They were never the most popular style of automatic in Britain. Tub-type agitator machines were more popular (Hotpoint, Servis); front loaders even more so.

Philips had a few models, and very occasionally, other manufacturers 'bought in' such a model.

Hoover Ltd had one initially as part of the 1980 range, alongside the 'Electronic', 'Keymatic' and 'Selectamatic' frontloaders. In Hoover's case, I think it was made in France, whereas the front loaders were made in Wales.

 

[rolls_rapide]

Here's the pic...

Courtesy of Matchboxpaul.

It's the Hoover 'Topline'. Apparently made in France by Brandt.

 

[foraloysius]

Here is the Whirlpool patent once more. An American sized version should be able to hold a lot of laundry, perhaps even more than an American sized front loader.

 

[kate1]

The cost of the washer isn’t terrible I guess (more than I would personally spend) but I can’t imagine buying a machine completely sight-unseen. There aren’t even good pictures. I’m also failing to see what the selling point would even be here. Not to mention, their dryers start at $900 and they’re made by Whirlpool, why not just buy a Whirlpool dryer for $700 at Home Depot? Can someone explain the benefits of a washer such as this? Is it just having the perks of a front loader with the convenience of a top loader?