Time for a new front loader...

[wishwash]

My 2009-model Samsung gave up yesterday. It sounded quite off-balance coming down from the final spin. I turned the tub by hand - its got about an inch of runout and smelled a bit rubbery. It's either the spider, bearings, or the tub somehow went out of round. I'm going to let it go rather than sink time and money into it. 15 years is a good run for a modern machine!

I mainly like the Electrolux and LG machines. I've only heard good things. Any feedback on either of these? Also, I'm not replacing the dryer now, but may in the future.... who makes the better companion dryer?

Maytag is a runner up. I know I can get parts. I also know these used to take forever to balance before final spin.

GE's look nice but I'll probably avoid them.

 

[henene4]

It really depends - would you be willing or interested in a heat pump dryer?
Cause if that's something you'd be curious about (and I highly would recommend it), than an LG set would be the go to.

The LG is probably a bit faster overall. TurboWash really is a great system.
And given they've switched to inverter pumps, they are really quiet even with recirculation and during spin.
They are a bit more restrictive on temps (it's 120F range or 160F range, nothing really in-between) and can be fuzzy in certain ways.
Their failures often are smaller things, like a hall sensor or a pump. Maybe a control boat after a few years. But bearing failures and such are not terribly common - and AFAIK they still have splittable tubs, though I'd have to recheck that with the newer models.
They are known for water hammer with their filling aswell.

ELux is the cleaning champion in many tests. Especially the TOL machine with its third mixing pump and the very innovative cycle design is just that bit ahead. The stains options give useful tools for those heavy duty situations
Their dryers - be it gas or electric - are also that bit ahead. Better sensing, better temp control, gentler temps.
But if they get bearing failures - which they appear to do more so than the LGs, but not that its particularly common either - they are sealed tub designs.
Conventional pumps on these, a bit longer cycle times.
But a reversible door on the washer!

I think these 2 are both excellent, just in different ways.
Either would make you happy.
If you want fast, I'd go with LG.
If you want perfect results in any case, I'd go ELux.

If it's up to the dryer, if you want cutting edge, LG heat pump, if you want conventional, but perfection, ELux.

 

[appnut]

Since 2006, I've had a Frigidaire, Whirlpool Duet, and LG. LG is my favorite because of performance. Biggest thing is it's been the best and balancing faster than my previous two washers. And I still see on Youtube Whirlpool/Maytag frontloaders struggling and taking time to balance, drives me nuts. [this post was last edited: 10/18/2024-14:02]

 

[panasonicvac]

I love my LG. If I had to do it all over again, I'd get another LG. If it had to be a different one, I'd probably get a SQ or a Samsung cause one of my relatives still have theirs' for over 10 years now and my local technician I recalled saying they're good. My last place I lived at just shortly before I moved had a brand new Electrolux and it was terrible. Maybe all the other models are different like what Consumer Reports tested on since I remember seeing mine had one of the lowest ratings and the others are much higher. I don't know but I think I'm not going to get another Electrolux again because they all look so similar to mine. I recently had interest in GE, they certainly look nice especially with the UltraFresh vent feature. Maybe I may get one for my next place if it's just as good as LG because I grew up with GE washers. I also recently had interest in Whirlpool/Maytag with their newest FreshFlow vent model, grew up with both of those washer brands as well and wouldn't mind buying one if they're just as good as LG.

 

[appnut]

Alex, unless you grew up with front loaders, I don't think it's valid to compare brands you grew uo with if those brands were all top loaders and you are now looking at and considering only front loadeers They are such profoundsly different beasts.

 

[mark_wpduet]

!

Ain't that the truth!!

A 2008 Whirlpool/Maytag/LG/Elux/Samsung does not equal a 2024 Whirlpool/Maytag/LG/Elux/Samsung... think about all of the changes that happen during those years.

This is the second POST I just read about a long lasting Samsung washer... the other one was 10 yrs still working... and now yours died after 15... that's NOT bad really at all..

I will say... seeing some of the newer samsungs wash on Youtube... they remind me a LOT of LG's turbo wash... I wouldn't mind having some models of the samsung FL after seeing the way they wash/rinse...it's just that I'm terrified of that brand reliability

 

[panasonicvac]

Our Maytag and Whirlpool were both front loaders. Two of our GEs' were top loaders, you're right that they're opposite machines compared to front loaders. But to clarify, if the GE front loaders today can clean just as well or better than their top loaders like my LG, then it'd be an honor going back to the brand from my younger days and remind me more from the good times I had with their top loaders.

 

[wishwash]

I’ve recently had to replace the door latch and drain pump also. Still, 15 years is pretty good for any modern washer.

For what it’s worth, my parents have an older “Little Swan” GE front loader that’s still ticking after I’ve replaced the fill valve. Not a bad little machine so far. It’s LOADED with features.

Are inverter pumps that much quieter? The rattly appliance pumps drive me crazy.

 

[panasonicvac]

I never noticed mine was any quieter on my LG. But I did had to have my inverter pump replaced not too long ago in it's short lifespan. My technician swapped it with a regular LG pump because according to him, the inverter ones don't last as long.

 

[henene4]

Again, from all I know, there is no way to replace the inverter pump with a regular one on an LG.
The inverter ones are run on DC from the board, the regular ones with AC.

You'd have to have an entirely different control board for that to work.

Yes they are significantly quieter. You don't get that typical hum when running under low load, neither the start up rattle you get sometimes.

Edit:
Yes I just double checked for sanity. The US pumps are basically identical to the EU pumps.
The inverter ones run on 26V DC from the control board. The normal ones run on standard line voltage AC.

There is no way you can just swap out one for the other, neither one way or the other.

And if an inverter pump failed on you, that's an isolated case. I don't think that's common at all, neither on the US models nor on the EU ones.

 

[wishwash]

Parts...

Are LG and Electrolux really that much harder to get parts for than a Maytag? More expensive to buy parts for perhaps?

 

[appnut]

ON LG, standard hot fill is restricted to 112F. I have found that I can select extra hot wash and either two of the lieghtest soil settings on Normal or Sanitize and obtain wash temps of 130F to 140F. When selecting the heaviest soil levels on either Normal or Sanitize, once the temperature reaches 155-158, the heater will turn off until the end of the wash segment. On Allergiene, temperature reached is between 165F and 169F.

 

[combo52]

How long will inlet hoses last?

The average ones will easily last 30 to 50 years, however it’s best to inspect them periodically if they show any sign of failure, bulging, etc. replace them immediately.

There are some really bad quality hoses out there that are lucky to last 10 years, you should try to get excellent quality ones Stainless steel reinforced ones are likely a little better and may be worth it to you, especially if your machine is in an area where a flood would be disastrous.

Hi Eddie, those quarter turn valves are less likely to leak at the stems, but they do wear out and there is still a moving seal that can leak and will be more likely to leak the more you turn them on and off nothing less forever.

John

 

[ea56]

Shutoff Valves

John,
Yes, everything eventually wears out. But so far in well over 10 years of use the 1/4 turn brass shutoff valves on my washing machine shutoff valves aren’t leaking. If they do, then I’ll replace them. In my mind it’s far better to assure that I won’t have a flood in my home due to a ruptured fill hose that could potentially result in the collapse of my living room ceiling and thousands of dollars of expense to replace the ceiling.

When one lives in a dwelling with the laundry equipment on an upper floor it’s wise in my opinion to do everything possible to plan for and prevent a possible major leak that can result from either a fill hose rupture or a fill valve failure be turning OFF the water supply when the machine isn’t in use.

If others wish to play Russian Roulette with their washing machines on a upper floor, far be it from me to stop them, but I’ll play it safe.

Eddie

 

[panasonicvac]

I'll also say it again. Whatever my local technician did definitely made it work again without changing out any boards. I promise it now uses a different pump because it's smaller than the original one, he even showed me a side by side comparison before putting the new one on.

 

[combo52]

Flooding washing machines located over living rooms

Eddie, I assume you’ve installed a complete drain pan plumbed into a good drain system actually better yet a complete shower base under your washing machine. Any washing machine can flood at any time in a major way if you’re really worried about flooding.

I suspect the shut off valves that were in the condo lasted more than 10 years also. We are seeing quite a few of these quarter turn and quick shut off valves or washing machines fail, a lot of them are actually not shutting off either. You may want to test periodically when you’ve turned them off by starting the washer and making sure they have really shut the water off. When we go to install new machines, we often turn these valves off and when you unscrew the hose, there is strong water pressure there they have not actually shut off. You may have a false sense of security with them.

John

 

[henene4]

Again: There is NO TECHNICAL WAY a normal, synchronous AC pump can just be a drop in replacement for an inverter pump.
You can't run an AC 120V pump off of 26V DC.
Neither the other way around.
If you hook up the AC pump to the DC, nothing would happen - the pump would just sit and not move.
The other way around, hooking a 26V DC pump up to 120V AC, it probably would just burn up.

These are completely physically - as in based on the physics of their operation - incompatible designs.

You'd have to really tinker to get anything like that to work.
You'd need a 26V DC relay to switch 120V AC to the pump, then run some wire to that relay from the main power in. Then mount relay somewhere and hook up the pump. That is assuming the control just sends 26V DC and the driving/switching for the BLDC pump is done on the pump and not the board.
Even then a technician would NEVER do such a conversion - they'd be 100% liable for any of that work and there is no kit or such from LG suggesting they approved or designed such a modification.

There are however 2 different versions of the inverter pump design it appears, as in 2 different sizes of housing and thus different insides.
There are also some NLA parts with replacement links on LGs website suggesting that design has been updated a few times, perhaps due to issues of some kind.

But they still all are BLDC pumps.

See the pictures: The first is a 120V AC pump for an older LG, then one BLDC design with bigger motors and one with the apparently smaller motors.

Edit: There are actually a bunch of these pumps. LGs documentation even suggests realizing drain and recirculation with one reversing pump kinda like on F&Ps DishDrawer - just for washing machines.
https://www.lg.com/global/business/... BLDC Motor_Leaflet_2021[20220210_154809].pdf

Further, there is another version with a partially black housing that appears to be used in EU machines.
So there are a bunch of inverter pump designs by LG, but nothing pointing to going back to AC pumps.[this post was last edited: 10/20/2024-05:10]

 

[henene4]

@appnut

That's very interesting that extra hot does allow a 140F wash as a work around.
Still really odd that they actually aim to get to that temp, but still temper the fill down to below 120F.
But gives you somewhat of a profile wash, nice.

Just out of curiosity - what are the main wash times for those 140F work arounds like?

 

[revvinkevin]

Reply to wishwash....

My 2 cents, I'd say go with the LG or "Maytag". Pass on the Electrolux. I have older (5-8 years?) TOL Electrolux pair and I don't like the washer. Sure it can hold a lot and has some nice features. But even though it has what they call a "fresh rinse" option... that only recirculates / sprays the rinse water AND it only does ONE RINSE! A friend used to work for Electrolux and says has a sensor and can add another rinse if it determines another rinse is needed. But every time I've done laundry in it, it has only do one rinse and that isn't good enough.