The final "nail" in the Maytag Neptune coffin

[revvinkevin]

 

The **cough** Maytag Neptune (built by Samsung). 

 

I supposed I should be really ashamed of this acquisition and depending on your comments, I may be.   I understand these are problem laden P.O.S. but this one seems to work so far and for the price I paid - $60 - I'll play with it for a while and pass it on to some other unsuspecting individual (insert evil laugh here) or use perhaps just use it until it dies (can't be that long, LOL).

 

I was looking for a W & D for a friend of mine and saw this ad.  "Maytag Neptune washer" the text inside only stated "Used", with 3 so-so photos of it.    Great ad, huh?     I e-mailed the seller asking "OK what's wrong with it?"  The answer: "Nothing.  The dryer died and we decided to replace the set because the wife had to have a matching set."

 

RedCarpetDrew says it's either a MAH8700 or MAH9700 (I forgot to look).   I'm guessing it's the 9700, based on the "Sanitary" cycle and temp options, assuming it has a heater.

 

Observations so far:   Normal cycle with extra rinse - 117 minutes (or is that is "1" hour "17" mins??)   Unlike my 10-11 year old LG, this does NOT dumb down the hot water when you select hot (excellent!).   But (worse than the LG) OMG this thing takes a loooooong time dicking around for each drain / spin! . . . . Drain w/o tumble while cycling the pump a few times, tumble, stop, cycle the pump, <span style="font-size: 12pt;">tumble, cycle the pump, stop, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">cycle the pump, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">tumble, </span>cycle the pump,<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> stop, pump, tumble, pump, etc, etc.</span>

 

There's a slight leak when draining I need to investigate (pic 4).    I need to do more cleaning and run another HOT (or perhaps sanitary) cycle with LCB.

 

So how big of a mistake did I make by buying this piece-o-crap? 

 

 

[kb0nes]

Mistake, for $60??? How could one go wrong at that price. Even if it turns out to be a scrapper, you get to experience another appliance and maybe even share said experience with the group! I'd call that well worth the admission price.

Now had you bought this new....

 

[foraloysius]

Don't be ashamed, be proud that you bought one of the underdogs in Applianceland. Many members here have a weak spot for the less fortunate appliances. Hope the leak can be fixed.

Try cleaning it on a hot cycle with a few tablespoons of citric acid. Chlorine is not really a good cleaner, more a sanitizer. I always had good results with citric acid.

 

[henene4]

I second citric acid. Just make sure to use the sanitary cycke for that, the hotter the better.

This time display seems really rather confusing. But, I guess 2h for heavy soil and extra rinse seems somewhat legit.

Oh, and please tell us about your experience with the Enviro Plus cycle. Just for the giggles

 

[gusherb]

HISSSSSSSSS!!!

That is all.

 

[nmassman44]

I had this beast of a washer for a few years, it took forever to balance a load. In the end, the bearings went and oozed slimy orange goo all over the load in globs. This washer was also recalled since there was an issue with the board and Maytag sent out a surge protector to have the washer plug into. This washer also gave me a T2 error code...something with the heater assembly. The time you see is 1 hour and 01 minutes. But when one sees that and I would think, ok I need to come back down in an hour and the load will be done...ummmm no! Add about another hour because it would just futz around during each f-ing spin until I was pulling my hair out! And if one would watch said washer during the blessed spin event, I would tell it you got it and nope it would drop out of spin and do the balance dance all over again! I hated this washer with a passion. The dryer died a year later...motor and controls went. The dryer performed ok, not stellar by any means. I will never buy a Samsung built washer and dryer.

 

[revvinkevin]

The reason I bought it.......

 

 

..... aside from the price, is because of the window!    Also, as California is still dealing with a severe drought, all of the machine I do my weekly laundry in are HE.  So yes, this is another one to play with.

 

I moved a real Maytag Neptune off of a my "wet wall" to move this "wannabe" Neptune in.   The plan is for it to be one of the 4 HE washers I use for my weekly laundry.  

 

I will update and report more as I learn more.

 

Phil: Thanks for the words of encouragement!!   Had the price been much higher, I would have passed.  FORTUNATELY the seller entered his phone number wrong (area code off by 1 digit).    Had the number been right, it probably would have been sold by time I saw the ad.  

 

Louis: Thanks for the tip on the citric acid!   I see if I can find some on my way home.

 

Henrik: I doubt I'll use the "Enviro Plus" cycle, it scares me!  LOL

 

Kevin

 

[vacerator]

Samsung must be

the Hyundai/Kia of laundry equipment.

 

[gansky1]

You'll have fun playing with the new arrival, for now.  The Samsung rush of joy typically wears off pretty quickly.  

 

Just ask the WP service techs.  WP inherited warranty and service obligations from Maytag which of course, included the Samsung imports branded Maytag.  

 

I've seen a few of these on CL here as well, still running and have a friend with a MaySung dryer still going that was left in a house they bought.  Now that it's drying for a family of four, it likely won't be long before they're calling to ask what dryer they should buy

 

[revvinkevin]

A few updates.... the model tag

 

 

Yes it's the 9700 and look, it's 10 years old (I'm surprised it's still working)!  Haha

 

[revvinkevin]

Update... a home made washer clean cycle

 

 

Thank you Louis for the suggestion of the Citric Acid powder!   After going to a grocery store and Target, I had to go to Walmart (ugh!) to buy some as it seems to be the only place in my area that carries it.

 

Per Henrik's suggestion I ran empty it on the sanitary cycle, sanitary temp, with light soil & extra rinse: 1 hr 58 mins at the start.  I also added around 2.5 tablespoons (didn't really measure it) of citric acid powder.  

 

The heater definitely works as it got nice and steamy!  

 

Tumble action: It tumbles 11.5 seconds, then pauses 8 seconds before tumbling the other direction.  

 

Even with "light soil" selected, it the main wash went for an hour & 10 minutes.   After a while I realized it was still tumbling, but the count down timer stopped at 49 minutes (I assume it was waiting for the water temp to reach the "sanitary temp".

[this post was last edited: 3/7/2016-23:02]

 

[revvinkevin]

Update: Schmutz!

 

 

After 10 minutes of "49 minutes remaining" I decided it had gone long enough (because I was getting bored) so I canceled the cycle and put it into "drain & spin".   I jerryrigged a longer drain hose so it would reach a bucket I put in the utility sink.   After all I wanted to see what type of schmutz came out of this thing.   As you can see, the water was dirty and a lot of sediment in the bottom of the bucket.  YUK! 

 

After the drain, I powered off the washer again, and started a rinse & spin with an extra rinse, then came on the house to update this thread and post pics.

 

Kevin

[this post was last edited: 3/7/2016-23:04]

 

[revvinkevin]

Update: Water level

 

 

By the way.... the one thing I really do like about this washer so far is.... it has a decent water level!   But then again, it is 10 years old and "they" hadn't started cutting was back on water levels yet.   So far I've seen this same water level on the Normal, Sanitary and the Quick Wash cycles.   One thing I will note about the "quick wash" cycle, is after the wash, it drained and refilled w/o spinning.

 

P.S... no water leak throughout this entire 1:10 wash, drain, 2 rinses or final drain. 

[this post was last edited: 3/7/2016-23:14]

 

[gusherb]

That was made right around the same time as our MAH8700 was. If anyone wants to know about operating characteristics I lived with one for 9 years though it sounds like you got most of it Kevin.
I will add though that the water level is the same in any wash cycle. ATC is not the smartest on these machines, I think it mostly just guesses as I always noted wild temp variations depending on load size and incoming hot/cold water temps.
Delicate wash does nothing special but shorten the tumbles, outside of that this machine doesn't adjust tumbling speed based on cycle, it's all the same. They are infuriating to watch try to spin as it does take all damn day for it to do it!

I will admit ours worked decently the first 3-4 years before it quickly started declining. Oh and one should make extra sure their pockets are empty using one of these! There is no strainer basket on the drain pump...

 

[spiralator60]

Dirty Water/Sediment in Bucket

Kevin,

What kind of sediment was emptied into the bucket, sand, gravelly dirt, etc.? It reminds me of what the water in the bucket looked like when my grandmother soaked my grandfather's work overalls (he was in construction) before putting them in the washer.

I'm wondering if the previous owner just tossed dirty items in the machine without shaking them out or brushing the loose soil off first, and the residual that was not flushed out of the washer during draining accumulated over time.

How many more times are you going to run this type of cleaning cycle?

 

[roto204]

Sediment

A deep, dark part of me wonders how much of that is spider-yibble.

 

[DADoES]

 
^^^
What he said.

 

[revvinkevin]

 

 

While I did look at the sediment, I didn't run my hand through it (should have).  There was other stuff in there too, what looked like (dried slime) softener or detergent residue, but spider-yibbles?  That could very well be and it makes sense too.

 

OK so this thing has a limited life expectancy, who knows just how long it will last.  I'll just use it until it grenades, strip off the pump and kick it to the curb.   Hopefully I'll get a bunch of cycles out of it before it commits suicide.

 

Darryl, I'll run another cycle empty w/o the citric acid and see what else comes out.

 

While citric acid is a good cleaning agent (according to Louis) what effect do you all think it (2-3 tablespoons per cycle) could have on a deteriorating spider?

 

Thanks!

Kevin

[this post was last edited: 3/8/2016-12:04]

 

[henene4]

None

The effect is close to zero on an intact spider. And a spider that is covered in already oxidized/loosend jibbles will basicly be 'protected' by this layer.
Further, an hour of this low acidity solution, which likely will be partly neutralised by detergent left over, won't have much effect on any metal anyways.
I mean, its the most common descaler used on this side of the pond. If it would harm spiders, EVERYBODY over here who takes care of his/her washer would have problems.