Using a Speed Queen FL commercial machine at home?

[micahmcdowell]

Hello, new here, but I've learned a great deal from browsing about the forum.

I've had bad luck with washers lately, and I've figured out that the newer and more electronic they are, the less reliable they seem to be. My current Whirlpool Calypso has died for the final time, and I'm tired of feeding it new control boards, which leads me to my question...

I've found an older small Speed Queen small front-loader, ex laundromat machine for sale close to me. It needs timer repair, but the price is cheap and may become cheaper after some negotiations with the seller. Model number is sc27mn2yu40001. Now, is this something that would be reasonably suitable for home use? I do have a concrete floor and a large area for it. Thanks for any replies!

 

[frontloaderfan]

That's something most of us can only dream of, myself anyway. If I could do that, I would do it in a heartbeat. Most of today's appliances are designed to be disposable and tossed after a few years so you're forced to buy a new one.
Add to that the SQ laundromat version uses a decent amount of water, not just a couple of thimblefulls like the modern plastic junk made in third world countries.
If the machine is otherwise sound, I'd go for it.

 

[henene4]

Depends on its power suply and if it needs to be bolted to the flor. If these two things are no problem, you just have to be awear of the higher noise levels that may occur with an commercial washer. But I'm not the expert in US Washers, so, thats all i can say.

 

[frontloaderfan]

It would probably be three-phase 240 V (just assuming, so FWIW), and most definitely need to be bolted to the floor. I believe the commercial versions also have a different kind of drain in that they do not pump out their water as much as they just open a valve and dump it into a drain trough (sp?).
I'm not an expert on commercial machines either, but I do recall seeing this kind of setup at the local laundromat.

 

[kb0nes]

It _may_ be 3-phase, I'm not so sure I'd assume that as a certainty. If its a smaller machine (which it probably needs to be for home use) then it is just as likely to use single phase power, although it could be 240v. If it is 3-phase there are work around methods to derive 3-phase power from a single phase for that but one has to question if it is worth it.

The bigger question is if it is a hard mount machine. Most commercial machines have no suspension therefore require that they be bolted to the floor to keep from walking around. The bolt-down requirement is probably a deal breaker for most home users. There are some soft mount machines (which have suspension) but they aren't very common in laundromats.

You will need to contact the seller and get a photo of the model/serial # plate, that will list the power specs the machine requires.

If you are looking for a solid home machine it might be worth looking into either a top or front load current Speed Queen residential machine. They have been proved to be quite reliable and don't have excessive levels of electronic controls that often scare people off.

 

[micahmcdowell]

Thanks to all who have replied!

I talked to the seller, and it is a single-phase machine that runs on residential 240V. Not sure if it's hard mounted or not, but I have a concrete floor which it can be bolted to.

It's only $100, so I'm going to go pick it up tomorrow regardless. I will post updates as I have them.

 

[kb0nes]

I did turn up a service manual doing a google search on a partial model number. The manual was titled as Hardmount Washer Extractors so it will need to be mounted. I was unable to find any info on the Alliance web site.

My suspicion is that the 27 in the model # is the capacity in lbs. That's a big home machine, bet it weighs about 500 pounds!

 

[jetcone]

I've had a commerical

soft mount in my tenants for 12 years - perfect machine!!

 

 

[henene4]

Go for it and ask the owner how it had been mounted on its place till now. And if it was bolted, ask him how to do that. But will be nice to have such a washer.

 

[micahmcdowell]

Alright, I'm getting ready to leave the house with trailer in tow. I will ask the seller how they have it mounted. May have to pick up some concrete anchor bolts!

 

[henene4]

Good Luck

 

[micahmcdowell]

It's purchased and on the way home. It was a pain to load, but looks nice!

 

[henene4]

Oh, haven't thought of it being that big... This will be a twice a month wash for you, wont it? Now you just need the matching dryer...

 

[a440]

What a great looking Speed Queen!
What a bargain!
Are you going to put this in your laundry room?
Take pictures when you get it in place.
Would have been great if he would have had a dryer to go with it.
Talk about getting your laundry done quick!

 

[tomturbomatic]

You probably have no idea of the thickness of the block of concrete you are going to need for that machine.

 

[qualin]

The hardmounted White-Westinghouse 8 kg machines at the local laundromat near where I grew up were on a solid block of concrete about six inches thick and were bolted down with 1 inch bolts.

With a big machine like that, who knows. Best to call Alliance and ask.

 

[a440]

So how is it going?
Are you washing away?
I have been checking on these in the Atlanta area. I was shocked how many are for sale. Not as cheap as you found, (lucky you) but not bad prices.
Would love to see your set up for your new machine. I have the itch to get one of these...and a commercial dryer.
Brent

 

[micahmcdowell]

I did get it home and yesterday got it in the basement. Let's just say that moving a 29" wide, 500 lb. machine down a flight of stairs and through a 29.5" wide landing was a challenge, especially since it was just me, my father, and my wife assisting.

Now, another challenge. The machine runs on single-phase 240v but has a funky L6-20 twist-lock electrical plug, while I just have an old-fashioned 10-30 240v receptacle for my dryer. Anyone with electrical experience want to chime in on how to make this work?

 

[kb0nes]

You either need to swap out the plug, or change the outlet, pick one. The Twist-Lock connectors are great connectors but for home use any 3 (or 4 whichever suits) prong connector of proper power specs is fine. Changing out the plug will be a lot cheaper and easier. You can buy a suitable replacement plug at the local home store.

Now for the $100,000 question, have you figured out how to hold it down yet? Contacting Alliance as mentioned up thread would be a very intelligent thing to do...