To get in to my house installed would cost about 180 more is
What on earth for?
Surely the delivery fee isn't higher than a 'traditional' machine?
Just level it off, screw on the hoses, connect the drain and plug it in....
I will just clarify something though. You comment that
'Maybe in Europe, Oz etc folks have more clothes; or smaller washers too'
I have no idea what people have in their wardrobes, but I will say that there seems to be a great deal of confusion between 'size' and 'capacity'.
The American way of measuring in cu ft is not comparable to the rest of the worlds use of pounds/kilograms unless you look at the chart you provided in a previous forum. I've pulled it from the original document, but have not formatted, so sorry about the difficulty people may have reading it....
Basically, a 4.0cu ft machine should be tested with a load of about 7.5kg (16.5lb)and a 2.3cu ft machine, with 4kg (9lb)....but here's something interesting...
I've just read the owners manual for the following machines:
Whirlpool 2.3 cu. ft. I.E.C. Compact Front-Load Washing Machine (WFC7500V)
Whirlpool 4.0 cu. ft. WFW9050XW
..and let's take towels as the capacity measurement....
The 'normal' load for both machines according to the handbooks are:
2.3 cu. ft. - 8 bath towels, 8 hand towels and 10 wash cloths (page 17)
4.0 cu. ft. - 8 bath towels, 8 hand towels, 10 wash cloths AND one bath mat...(page 15)
Sorry, are you recommending (Whirlpool and undoubtedly other manufacturers) that a machine with a stated capacity over 70% larger can only wash an extra bathmat?
Now, the smaller one is European designed....and has similar cycles (adapted for the US) to the larger, US built machine. It is currently on offer through SEARS for $599....
All the above information proves to me is that Americans are being 'sold a fib'...these large capacity machines are actually not that big when it comes to what you can actually get clean in them. Their large size exacerbates the high G-forces when spinning potentially causes premature wear and they don't appear to do anything better than a smaller machine. In fact, they can't handle a small load nearly as well as the smaller machine will and they certainly don't have the capacity that their size would indicate...
Additionally, 3beltwesty, the smaller machine has a 30min quick cycle, the 'normal' cycles are faster than the larger machine AND you can get away with washing smaller loads in a smaller drum without the balance issues you have experienced yet still wash 95% of the capacity of the larger machine should you require it....
Bigger is not always better....
3.3.2Determine the test load as shown in the following table:
Container volume Test load
cu. ft.¡Ý< liter¡Ý< lb kg
0-0.80 0-22.7 3.00 1.36
0.80-0.90 22.7-25.5 3.50 1.59
0.90-1.00 25.5-28.3 3.90 1.77
1.00-1.10 28.3-31.1 4.30 1.95
1.10-1.20 31.1-34.0 4.70 2.13
1.20-1.30 34.0-36.8 5.10 2.31
1.30-1.40 36.8-39.6 5.50 2.49
1.40-1.50 39.6-42.5 5.90 2.68
1.50-1.60 42.5-45.3 6.40 2.90
1.60-1.70 45.3-48.1 6.80 3.08
1.70-1.80 48.1-51.0 7.20 3.27
1.80-1.90 51.0-53.8 7.60 3.45
1.90-2.00 53.8-56.6 8.00 3.63
2.00-2.10 56.6-59.5 8.40 3.81
2.10-2.20 59.5-62.3 8.80 3.99
2.20-2.30 62.3-65.1 9.20 4.17
2.30-2.40 65.1-68.0 9.60 4.35
2.40-2.50 68.0-70.8 10.00 4.54
2.50-2.60 70.8-73.6 10.50 4.76
2.60-2.70 73.6-76.5 10.90 4.94
2.70-2.80 76.5-79.3 11.30 5.13
2.80-2.90 79.3-82.1 11.70 5.31
2.90-3.00 82.1-85.0 12.10 5.49
3.00-3.10 85.0-87.8 12.50 5.67
3.10-3.20 87.8-90.6 12.90 5.85
3.20-3.30 90.6-93.4 13.30 6.03
3.30-3.40 93.4-96.3 13.70 6.21
3.40-3.50 96.3-99.1 14.10 6.40
3.50-3.60 99.1-101.9 14.60 6.62
3.60-3.70 101.9-104.8 15.00 6.80
3.70-3.80 104.8-107.6 15.40 6.99
Notes: (1) All test load weights are bone dry weights.
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2010-title10-vol3/xml/CFR-2010-title10-vol3-part430.xml