Switching back to a classic

[toggleswitch]

Frid-GE-more

I have this one. Psychologiclly, cleaning with so little water is hard to adjust-to. But it does do a great job.

Interesting tid-bit:

Of the four cycles

Whites Called "Normal" in the old days,
Colors "Perm. Press"
Short-wash and
Knits/Delicates

Only the 18 minute timer setting (HEAVY) of the "whites" cycle fills with water as the tumbler is revolving. For all the rest of the timer settings, the tumbler sits still while the machine is filling.

It's just plain stupid. When there are towels in there, the thing has to pause at least three times to re-fill because of all the water the towels absorb. Why doesn't it just keep turning for all fills?

I do "get" the phase when the wash water drains and the fill valve opens while the drain pump is still going. It's the equivalent of a spray-rinse in a T/L.... and probably necessary till we as a group/country/society get used to using way less detergent. But then why not spin too, while the water is still running?

 

[westytoploader]

We replaced the original (old and in bad shape) toilets when we moved in here, and 1.6 GPF is way too little. I hate the way they shut off in mid-flush...very annoying and clogs much more frequently. Now the pressure-assisted low-flushers are another story...

I replaced the weird flapper/chain assembly and the float valve on mine (an American Standard Cadet) with a "normal" one, and now it drains the whole tank...probably 3.5 gallons or so. You don't have to stand there to make sure it flushes either (like you have to do in my parents' bathroom). A big improvement without having to get an old, sometimes unreliable one!

--Austin

 

[westytoploader]

On the original topic--after you pull out the timer dial and it starts filling, my 1993 White-Westy FL begins tumbling constantly clockwise until the desired water level is reached...much better than the "fill-pause-tumble-fill-pause-tumble" method. After the pressure switch trips, it starts "dual-tumbling" for the wash. Haven't looked closely into the remainder of the cycles, but I think a constant spray rinse and deep rinse are somewhere...

 

[partscounterman]

Since I started this thread

Hi kids-I haven't been posting much lately as my shop has been really taking off. I do want to share the tale of the Maytag SE1000.
I had the Maytag stack at the house for about 6 weeks. At first I reveled in the fact that the Maytag cruised through its standard cycle in under 30 minutes. As time went on, I found that I needed to run everything through a second rinse, though this only added ten minutes. I also became increasingly dissatisfied with the extraction. Things that dried on the line were "crustier" than when spun in the HE3t.
Besides, the "used" appliance crowd wasn't interested in buying my high-end washer, so I have now switched back again to the high efficiency front load.

So I did the big switcharoo (Dennis has the patience of Job!) and the Maytag stack sold in a few days of hitting the floor. A lady in Kihei just bought a condo with a 24" stack and she wanted a full size machine. She had her moving guys pick it up on a thursday. Friday morning she calls me and says it washed for 5 minutes and quit. JFC! So I go there and discover that A) Its really overfilled with water (???) and the outlet to the washer is dead. So I get the washer going again and the damned thing starts SMOKING! I could have layed down and died right then! Its all so bizzare because it worked perfectly at my place for weeks-I even washed rugs! So my customer went and bought a new cheep fraudigaire stack and I brought it out for her when I picked up the Amnityville Maytag.

So I am better off with the HE3t anyway, since we are on the solar water thing. I can only count on truly hot water in the middle of a sunny afternoon. The rest of the time its merely warm.

Since this thread ended up with a discussion of toilets, I just want to say the the Eljer Savoy is the best low flow toilet I've seen so far-its cheap too!

The old agitator washers are more fun, but the front load does a better job, now that I really got to compare. I still get to play with the good old washers at the shop. Just turned over a Maytag A483 and now have a Gold A308 for sale.

The frontload police did NOT threaten to send me to Gitmo!

 

[david]

David

To get rid of the Maytag stack, there's always the Pacific LOL!

 

[laundromat]

frontoaders vs top loaders

I have the new KitchenAid ensemble pair and the washer has a 35 minute cycle I use frequently.I have no problem with that at all.I also use the sanitary cycle to do my whites using NO bleach.Yes it takes about 1hour and 30 minutes but remember,most people DON'T imediately remove their clothes from the washer to the dryer.I have no problem at all waiting.In fact,I usualy do the long cycles before bed and place the wash in the dryer when I awake the next morning.

 

[stainfighter]

Frid-GE-more (not) tumbling while filling

Toggleswitch, I agree it would make sense to have tumble action while filling on shorter cycles and all rinses. I wonder if the new 05 model with 3.5 cu has that as one of its improvements? Still my 01 edition does a great job!

 

[toggleswitch]

New edition

Would this happen to be the Fidgi-lux one with a larger port-hole and a square door?

 

[stainfighter]

05 square door

I didn't notice the door that much, but the porthole is much larger looking than the '01...

 

[andrewinorlando]

As a former owner of a Frigidaire Gallery FL machine, I can say factually that it cleaned better then ANY TL machine I ever had...GE Filter Flo, 1-18, Lady Kenmore 90, or my old Kenmore belt drive with dual action agitator . Of the TL machines, the FilterFLo was the best hands down. But perspiration stains, oil stains, grass, blood, ground in dirt all were no match for the Frig FL. When you are caring for an elderly parent, stain removing ability is paramount, and the FL beat the TL every time. Not to mention whitening ability....the FL with its bleach dispenser into the first rinse never let me down. The TL just could not compete. Clean is clean, it's not subjective. Either the stains/soils/odors are gone or they're not. Things never had to be re-washed with the FL machine....not so with the TL. Also interesting, it was never necessary to soak anything with the FL, unlike the TL. Timewise, the Frig FL took 40 minutes for a normal cycle. The TL machines were all never less than 35 - 40 minutes for a complete cyle. Hell, they took 5 minutes just to fill up. Factor in soak time when necessary, and the FL comes out way ahead. Modern FL machines, like LG, HE4T have capacities that NO TL machine can match....so you are able to wash more clothes at one time and actually have them come out clean!! So it takes 5 minutes longer...big deal!!

 

[stainfighter]

It's worth the wait

I agree with you andrew and as Hoovermatic said most can find something else to do while the machine does its work. We occasionally use 1T of LCB in the bleach dispenser diluted but much of the time use non-sudsing ammonia to the fill line in the bleach dispenser as a substitute to remove stains. About every 3rd wash we use LCB. We love the capacity of our Fridgidaire Gallery but wish that the dryer had a larger capacity. I was the one who pushed for a matched set (!) as the old Monkey Wards (Norge heritage) dryer worked just fine and everything dried in 20 - 25 minutes. With our Fridg dryer it is usually 50 minutes unless we select the bake cycle (anything above the medium-low setting). Live and learn!

 

[Smitty]

In Defence of Front-Loading Washers (The Whirlpool Duet)

I found this board because I was looking for information about the water frugality of the Whirlpool Duet washer. Many of the postings here seem to be centred on complaints about front-loading washers~ in particular, long cycle times and requirements for special detergents.
I bought a Whirlpool Duet in 2002, and I have been ecstactic about it ever since. It's true that the cycle times are a bit longer than on my 18-year-old machine (a Kenmore top-loader). But... on the old machine, I had to reset the machine to get the second rinse; otherwise, the fabric softener would be wasted in the first rinse. I also had to reset the timer to extend the wash time. I could not leave the machine unattended because it frequently got out of balance on the spin. On the Duet, I can get an extended wash, a soak cycle, and a second rinse, all without returning to the machine. It's much easier than having to turn the timer back on the Kenmore to extend the wash time. Moreover, the Duet never gets unbalanced whilst spinning.
As far as detergent goes, I use regular Tide powder, not the HE kind. I just use less of it. The same thing goes for bleach and fabric softener.
The washer is extremely frugal with water, perhaps too frugal. Maybe I just want to see a bit more water in there, but at least the clothes are clean-- cleaner, in fact, than from my old machine. The extra high spin speed means that clothes emerge practically dry already, and that means less time in the dryer, and less electricity used. The cost of electricity is the largest factor relating to energy costs, after all, with gas being second.
With the front load design, I can wash things in it that I could not wash in the old machine-- or anywhere else. The handwash cycle is extremely delicate. I have washed pillows, electric blankets, caps, suits, and even certain leather items in it without any damage, whereas these items would most certainly have been damaged or destroyed in a top-loading washer. The no-spin setting is handy for items that must be drip-dried.
Even though cycle times are long, don't forget that you can wash twice the amount of clothes in one load that you can wash in a top-loader. So instead of doing two ten-pound loads, just do one twenty-pound load. Go ahead and fill it full! It saves water, detergent, energy, AND time. I can wash all of my clothes for one week in one load.
I have not once had a problem with my Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer in over two years. But... knock on wood. I have read about a lot of problems with Neptune washers. I vacillated about whether to buy one of those. I was swayed toward the Whirlpool by recommendation. I am not sorry that I bought this machine and would gladly buy it again if I had to do it over.

 

[maytagbear]

Sounds intriguing!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[partscounterman]

The Maytag stack....

After the horror I had with that Maytag stack I probably should have loaded it into a shipping container and got it the heck outta here. I just couldn't give up on it though. An email from another clubmember alerted me to the fact that the 24volt water valves on that machine are not the most reliable things on earth. It dawned on me that perhaps my Kihei customer had pretty high water pressure, which caused the valve to stick open and overfill the machine. So I replaced the valve with a new one, checked the machine over again and resold it last week to some people in Wailuku. No complaints so far!

 

[velvetgreen]

Well, I purchased my SG1000+S1000 in 1988 or prior, and it has been in use ever since.....Until Now. The seal finally died and during the replacement water was sprayed all over the place, the ground connector on the control board was fried and the unbalance switch was broken into itty bitty pieces. I can bypass the ub switch but i do need a control board. This will be its second one, I replaced the first about 10 years ago as it came completely unlaminated, just everywhere. At that time it was only about 65.00 now they want at least 150.. Anyway YES I have been going to a laundromat and no, my clothes are not at all clean. Grumpy I am. If you have a control board let me know!

 

[NYCWriter]

My mom ...

... bought her Maytag top-loader in the summer of 1984, when I was in high school (and while she was pregnant).

After nearly 30 years of often times *daily* use in our large household (at any given time there were anywhere from 4 to 8 people living in that big house), that sucker still looks and runs like it's brand-new. Mostly because my mom is fastidious about keeping her appliances well-kept and clean -- and my dad is handy.

Last month, though, something went on it, triggering a call to the same family-owned Maytag dealership from where she bought it. The now-owner, Brian, was just a young boy when he tagged along with his dad -- when it was his dad's dealership -- when they installed it for Mom. He of course remembered Mom, the house, and was thrilled to see that the old Maytag was still in near-perfect condition.

The fix was a $6 part and 12 minutes of his time. He charged my parents $20 and a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. He told my mom that her washer was one of the last great Maytags made by the "real" Maytag company, AND one of the last all-mechanical washers that was entirely mechanical, without computerization. He told her to hang onto that sucker as long as she could, because it can outwash and outlast even the high-end Miele and Bosch units he now sells.

******

My Manhattan apartment space limitations aside, when I eventually build my own home in the country, I have every intention of tracking one of you guys down and offering an insane amount of money for one (or more) of your lovingly-restored late '60s Lady Kenmore sets.

I can't stand this misguided "green" movement of using less water. Even the Maytag repair guy told Mom that the expensive new units can't get her clothes as clean as her old Maytag, because despite the propaganda and hype, less water DOES, in fact, mean less clean.

I'm a huge proponent of water -- LOTS of it -- and just *this* side of boiling -- to really clean and sanitize.

 

[kenmore700bill]

Matt,
I have the SG1000 model at summer home at the Jersey Shore. It survived Sandi mainy becasue of the fact the motor is upside down and we only had 3 inches of water in our home..we did loose all kitchen appliances but not this Maytag. It definitly is a work horse, in the time I had it changed dryer belt about 7 years ago and the Washer belts after Sandi. Machine is still pushing out the loads of clothes. We use the summer house all year long so it is used every week especialy in the summer daily use 2 to 3 loads of clothes..... I plan on keeping it for as long as it keeps pumping out the loads and repair it as long as I can...
Bill