The Maytag Neptune TL: The Washer that Caused Maytag’s Death

[electronicontrl]

Today, I’m going to be discussing one of the worst washers ever, the top loading Neptune. Extremely rare to find one working these days because most broke down years ago.

It had so many mechanical problems and it was notorious for tying clothes into knots. Common failures included the motor, transmission, and control board.

The transmission used on those was also plastic I heard, and the design caused mold to build up in the washer. It was like a top load washer replicating a front loader.

Video of someone with issues with Neptune TL (note: NOT Whirlpool made).

This is one of the reasons why Maytag had to be bought by Whirlpool, I heard they were actually sued for making this extremely poor design.

The Whirlpool built Maytags are much better than the TL Neptune (even the new new ones).

Maybe I have the last working Maytag TL. I'm not sure it is a Maytag design, It was manufactured in Florence (Italy)? It is still manufactured as I've seen it without the Maytag name on it. In any case the machine is very effective at producing clean laundry. See Consumer Reports. Colors / Jeans doesn't spin at a high speed and the clothing releases easily. To me it is a fun machine,

 

[kenmore_elite]

Ya know, at day's end THAT'S what its all about...... clean laundry, and having fun while doing the wash.

 

[combo52]

Maytag Neptune top load washers

This was a Maytag design that they can see and built in the Norge plant, it was very effective at cleaning. In fact it got the highest rating in consumer reports the one time they tested it.

It was not well liked by consumers because of the severe tangling problems. A lot of them were returned.

It was also rushed to market. It had a lot of glitches in it however it was cool truly cool machine. I have one that’s still working one of the digital touchscreen models for the museum. My brother has the less expensive model that still works fine neither get used much

Did not know they were still being made somewhere, I thought I heard at one point the design was sold to accompany in China and they were made for a while, but never saw any confirmation on either one of these scores. Maybe someone else knows.

 

[DADoES]

I used mine last week, as I posted (with a photo) in another thread.

I vaguely recall seeing an Amana?-branded version years ago.