Top Loader suggestion

[jkbff]

Hello all..

Work has kept me ... ... busy... I hope everyone's holidays were Great!

I am looking at purchasing a late 30's brick house and will need to buy a washer and dryer when I move in... In the long term, I am putting a front load washer and dryer in the kitchen when I rebuild it.

Until then, and after, I am looking at purchasing a new top loader and a decent / matching dryer to put in the basement. The set will stay down there even after the remodel, as I want something that will wash pet blankets and random bulky articles.

The required list that I have is short and simple... If I set it on hot, I want that water damn hot. Not 'internal electric element' heated hot, hot from my commercial grade gas fired water heater hot. Second, I have two main coon long haired black and white cats... It must handle long pet hair without damaging components... Last, I want it to use more than spitball of water.

I realize everything I am asking for is saying look for a preloved filter-flo, but there is no one here to repair appliances if something breaks down. I need something with a warranty so someone will have responsibility to the machine.

I am guessing the pet hair requirement means an agitator model... As long as whatever I put in comes out clean, I don't care what it is..

I'm thinking speed queen, but am concerned with water levels etc... What do you guys think?

 

[jkbff]

Was kinda thinking Whirlpool WTW4880AW cause I can get one cheap, but I notice its not a pure hot.. ... This makes no sense.. I do like how it has Super Wash with Deep Tub wash if needed..

The American Made Maytag MVWC300BW Might fit the bill.. Though it still mixes cold water in.... I wished there was a way to over-ride that?

http://www.maytag.com/laundry-1/laundry-appliances-2/washers-3/-[MVWC300BW]-1107177/MVWC300BW/

 

[laundromat]

The Admiral (Whirlpool made) @ Home Depot is cheap but a good,basic agitator washer and has a marching dryef. They're on sale $329 ea. Sears has some good prices on a few of their LG/More front loaders that do great in removing pet hair.I have five dogs and two cats that sleep in my bed . My Whirlpool Duets and LG Troms get all the fur out.

 

[washdaddy]

Chuck-

Hopefully your bed is king size and you don't have to fight them over who gets the covers and who sleeps with the pillow! LOL

 

[qualin]

jkbff,

I would agree that a Speed Queen would be in your best interests. You literally live about 11.5 hours away from the factory.

One thing I will admit that I like about Alliance is that they stand behind what they build. They have 3x the warranty of any other manufacturer on the market. To me, that says volumes about the quality they put into their products. If you are looking for warranty, those are the people you should be buying from.

The link below shows exactly the problem and how to fix it. It's an extremely easy modification to do, but even if you don't adjust it, the washer still washes with an adequate amount of water.

Some members here adjust the maximum water level until it reaches the top row of holes, not to the lip. That's more than enough in some cases.

Good luck!

 

[qualin]

Just thought I'd also post this...

It's a Speed Queen Top Loader working on a Full Size Comforter, which is a true test of the capabilities of this machine.

You may find it a little boring to watch, but a few minutes in you can really see how great a job it does cleaning.

Although, keep in mind that the machine in the video has a modified water level.

Remove three screws from the rear of the panel, take off the top, pull the whole panel forward, adjust the water level adjustment screw and put some lock-tite on it so that it doesn't move. Done.

 

[qualin]

Damn, I forgot to mention one last thing..

On Speed Queen washers, they do NOT have automatic temperature control. Thereby:

Cold is tap cold.
Warm is a set cold/hot water ratio mix. The warmth of the water depends purely on your water pressure and the temperature of your water heater. Warm can be made hotter by drilling out the hot water restrictor.
Hot is tap hot. Although, it is slower to fill because of the restrictor.

Not too many washers left on the market that are like that.

Sorry for so many posts... I just thought of that.

 

[timborow]

Hot Water Inlet

Our Speed Queen works great. I have raised the water level, but I would like the hot water to come in faster. How do you fix that? I don't want to mess up the machine!!

Tim

 

[washman]

timborow

I concur with the fill rate on the HOT side. Short of removing the valve and drilling out the hole, I don't know how else to correct that.

 

[frigilux]

I bought a Speed Queen AWN542 a couple of months ago because it's the last of the truly traditional/vintage top-loaders. A simple turn of the screw raises the water level to the top row of holes in the tub. More expensive than some other top-loaders, but your list of requirements has Speed Queen written all over it.

Full disclosure: I prefer front-loading washers for a number of reasons, and my daily driver (as we call them) is a 2010 Frigidaire front-loader. I added the SQ to the laundry room for its 'historical' value. It replaced a 2012 Frigidaire impeller-based top-loader which dumbed-down the hot water temp to around 100 degrees and was hopeless with comforters/blankets. While I only use it once or twice a week, the SQ is a high quality machine that's built like a tank and has a strong warranty. And it cleans well.

 

[pierreandreply4]

why are you so keen on using hot water?

why must you always use hot water you can get the same cleaning power washing in cold water me the only time i set up the water temp to hot is for bedsheets other wise i would set the temp knob to cold water and leave it on the cold water setting would only switch to warm or hot if needed and one washer thats still offers vintage knobs is the ge washer this model to be precise

 

[henene4]

So, I will explain it to you first and last time. If you want to wash in cold only, well, do what ever you want. We want to wash warm and hot, and that si ok either. Let's say both parts of us (the cold-wash-front and the hot-is-the-best-rebellions) will end this debate for ever, ok?
Now, we start over by looking at detergents and their contents and sort them by there temperature of best activity and efficensy. The main contents are soap (or more accuratly surfactants), enzymes, bleaching/whitening contents, any kind of scents and others such as activators, water softeners and care contents (like special stuff to prevent you wool from getting hard and unsoft).
1. Cold water:
At this point, soap and enzymes are not as active as they could be. They may work a bit, but don't give their maximum. Any parfume and watersoftner works best and the care contents are at good health either. But there is no bleaching or whitening action at all!
Why? Enzymes are like the stuff that transforms everything you eat into what you remove from your body. They dissolve and disintergrate stuff like blood, juice, proteins and so on. Most of these work best at bodytemperature, and that is more than cold. Soap works better at higher temperatures because they need to dissolve properly and that works best at tempertures higher than 86°F ( I don't talk about dissolving at optical range, I mean in a way smaller scale). And bleaching agents are oxidizing any colorparticals. An oxidisation is the same chemical reaction as it happens in a fire (just way less aggressive). But this needs lots of energy in form of heat to start. And as the name says, cold water is not hot.
Anything other works just well because their goal is exactly not to dissolve and transform in their working forms. So they work best at low temperatures.
2. Warm wash:
At thsi temperature, dissolving works way better. It's like with suggar: Suggar in cold water takes long to dissolve. In hot water, this works rather quick! Now, soap dissolves perfectly and is abled to take all the oils out of your clothing and solve them in water (again, if you add oil in pure water, the oils stay at the top, on top of the water. Now add some hand washing dish detergent and you will see, the oil is now abled to interact with the water). Bleaching agents have a small possibility to start working, just enough to work some, but they work way better in hot water. Water softener still dosen't care, it just works at any temperature. But all the care components and scents are now not abled to settle on clothing. They don't work perfect anymore.
3. Hot water:
Now, enzymes are mostly dead. Some special ones work on, but some just stop working. Soap is now starting to lose its ability to work because it starts to disintegrate in smaller particles that have no effect any more. Anything else does stop working either, except the bleach: It is now abled to give its full performance by splitting color molecules (like the green of grass or the red of blood) in smaller, invisible ones. So, bleach works best at high temperatures.

Now, to conclude, this means cold water activates mostly special components, warm water activates enzymes and soaps best and hot water is bleaching best.
Now, why do we use warm and hot water? Becasue the warm wash tacels the stains and soils that are most common: fats/oils and organic/biological residues.
But anyway, as I live in a place were the water is heated in the washer, if I selcet a boilwash, I get anyway a washphase at low, medium and high tmeperatures, so I have the best of all worlds!

 

[jkbff]

I want to wash in hot water because I have two cats that lay their butts all over everything, puke on things and one of them has a piddle problem when he sneezes... No amount of cold washing water will clean those kinds of stains.

 

[frontloaderfan]

Ask yourself this:

If cold water cleans just as well as hot water, then why do all dishwashers use only hot water?

 

[yogitunes]

I was thinking the same thing about COLD washing....and wonder...WHY take a warm shower?

this makes perfect sense actually....if Cold can remove body oils and sweat from clothing....it should work equally well on the body that created it.....what a great energy saver of getting rid of that useless water heater....

who cares...wash anyway you like.....if it suits you, fine!.....a great majority knows what works for them best....

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Pierre

Thanks a lot for destroying another thread with your completely false and uninformed rhetoric about cold washing. 

WK78

 

[tolivac]

Another question-If cold water is so good for everything-why do sinks have hot water taps???

 

[qualin]

Pierre,

Your comment about cold water washing is inappropriate to this thread and is not related to the topic. Please STOP thread jacking! (In case you don't know what that is, I've posted a link.)

As well, The thread on cold water washing has been BEATEN TO DEATH. Please do not mention it anymore! If you really truly want to discuss it, start a new thread instead of hijacking other peoples threads.

To Add, The model you are citing will not meet the requirements of the poster because it has automatic temperature control, which isn't what the OP wants. As well, GE Hydrowave Top loaders have issues with mode shifter failures. This has been discussed before.

Urban Dictionary: Thread Jacking

Thread Jacking: Taking over a thread on a message board by taking a part of the original posted topic, twisting it around and

www.urbandictionary.com

 

[jkbff]

I'm thinking I will go with the Speed queen top loader..

I guess I wanted to get as much research done before I get the house, but truth is, I've been eyeing speed queen machines ever since I joined this forum.

I've always wanted a Miele front loader, and always presumed when I purchased a house, Miele would be the way I'd go, but I honestly think the front loader set thats going in the Kitchen will be Speed Queen AFN51F matched set too. As soon as I can afford them.

AWN542 for the washer, but now I need to decide if I want a gas or electric dryer... Any thoughts on the two?

Also, since the thread has gone wayward, The AFN51F's -- Are those hot tap too or are they blended? I wished I could find videos on youtube about the AFN51F machines.

Thanks for all the replies btw.