Videos: 2013 Frigidaire Immersion Care Washer

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MANY THANKS, EUGENE

Not just for the wonderful commentary and vids, but for the new friend I made today at Lowe's, the Appliance Guy at the desk, two years out of college, very interested in washers. When he told me that Lowe's doesn't carry Frigidaire, he looked up the Affinity Immersion on his computer to direct me, and Holy Toledo, there was your thread from Aworg, and I said, Hey, that's my friend in the club I was telling you about. Not busy, he chatted me up for almost half an hour.

You are now famous. I wonder if Frigidaire is paying attention. Speaking of whom: someone over there must know and love the former glory of Frigidaire, and want to return the washer to at least some semblance of its past grandeur. Your new machine is meshing with the old on many levels: Gentleness, Water Economy, Unusual Agitation, Squirting Jets, Novel rinsing.

You made me laugh, Re: "Wait till you see the shirts cycle." I LOVED it, much more than the heavy towels cycle. The wash-spins were so exciting and satisfying with the water hurling back in, the relentless, abrupt shifts, and water jets ahoy, (Yes, they should be stronger). Also, in complete agreement with you that the spray rinses are more effective than the deep rinse. Leave it to the new unknown Frigidaire Engineer to crack that nut: thorough rinsing with minimal water.

Brandon found your new baby at the on-line store called Goedeker's for $495--there are four in stock-- and he's coming over to see my machines next week. Thank you, again!
 
Here are the same items after being washed on the Sanitary cycle with Persil Bio (UK) and some Tri-Zyme (Amway's oxygen bleach) in the front-loader. Clean, clean, and clean! I knew it would have no problem tackling those leftover stains.

frigilux++1-13-2013-19-18-22.jpg
 
FINAL THOUGHTS: If you'd have told me six months ago there would soon be an impeller washer in my laundry room, I'd have scoffed. Perhaps I should have gone with one of CR's recommended models from LG, Maytag, or Whirlpool. They all appear to be smarter and more stylish. But I have a soft spot for Electrolux/Frigidaire and that's all there is to it. I will not be a bit surprised when CR tests the Immersion Care and kicks it straight down to the bottom of the ratings. There are a number of things working against it, and since I have no other impeller machine to compare it to, I can't rave about its cleaning power. I think LG, Maytag, etc., have more effective, powerful wash systems. The Immersion Care does its best work when using as much water as a traditional top-loader.

Here's what I like about the Immersion Care:
> User-selectable water level (a big plus in my book)
> Lid unlocks immediately when cycle is interrupted and tub comes to a halt
> Handles load balancing very well/ very stable suspension
> Timed fabric softener dispenser
> Easy to defeat lid switch (Thanks, Martin/Yogitunes!!)
> Cleans well under ideal conditions

Here's where it comes up lacking:
> No detergent or timed bleach dispensers
> No internal heater
> Modest capacity
> Plastic instead of stainless steel tub
> Relatively slow maximum spin speed
> Wash system interesting, but not very brawny

Despite getting surprisingly good results the past few days, I'd still recommend that someone interested in a new washer get a Frigidaire front-loader. Having said that, I could live with the Immersion Care being my only washer if I had to. I couldn't say that about its 2006 agitator-based predecessor.



[this post was last edited: 1/13/2013-20:38]
 
George: I haven't taken the water temps with an instant-read thermometer yet, but I will soon, then let you know. I'd be surprised if warm is over 85 degrees, and the hot water is, unfortunately, dumbed-down. I could hear it alternating between warm and hot during the fill for the load of whites. Haven't used the cool setting yet. Temp-controlled cold is probably 60-65. In other words, all the temps are cooler than I'd prefer them to be.

Rich: It fills to what I consider an acceptable level with heavier fabrics like bath towels, etc. I feel it under-fills for lightweight fabrics, like loads of dress shirts. I'm so glad Frigidaire permits the choice of letting the machine decide or letting the user decide how much water should be in the tub.

Frontloaderfan: The impeller at the bottom of the tub is actually bolted/screwed to the tub. The impeller doesn't move separately from the tub, as with other impeller machines I've seen. In short, the answer is yes: the spinning tub is creating the agitation.

John: Unless you have the waist and inseam of a 10-year old, I don't think eight pairs of jeans will even fit in the machine, LOL. My front-loader, however, says "Bring it on!"

Mickeyd: Glad you found a new friend who is also a washer-head! Did he already know about AW? This site the holy grail for appliance-lovers. I'm glad you've enjoyed the videos. It's been fun to play with this machine because it's very different from any washer I've had. There are so many different agitation strokes and other little surprises that keep it interesting.[this post was last edited: 1/13/2013-21:42]
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you also own a late model Frigidaire FL (4473 or 4474?). Assuming I'm right, how does that machine and this new one compare in terms of cleaning ability, cycle time, etc.
 
Hi Jim--- I have a 2010 Frigidaire front-loader; it was the first of the larger capacity redesigned models. I believe it's the 4474. It is far superior to the Immersion Care in a number of ways, including cleaning ability.
The cycle times for Frigidaire's front-loaders were recently increased.

The Normal cycle on my 4474 is 40 minutes, which is way too short for a machine of its capacity. The newest one, tested by Consumer Reports, has a Normal cycle time of 80 minutes, which brings it in line with LG, Maytag/Whirlpool, and Samsung. Not surprisingly, the Frigidaire raced to the upper reaches of the ratings because the cleaning score improved. You can probably get an 8-lb. load clean in 40 minutes, but not a maximum capacity load, and CR tests for both.

I get excellent cleaning results for large loads by using the steam option (additional 20 minutes of tumbling in the form of a hot first rinse) or the allergy option (again, about 20 minutes of additional tumbling, but in the wash period). I use the Sanitize cycle for my very heavily-stained loads of kitchen whites, which gradually heats the water to 155 degrees. That cycle is 1 hour 36 minutes, or 1 hour and 47 if you add an extra rinse, which I do since I use liquid chlorine bleach. The wash tumble time is 70 minutes if you select the heaviest soil level option. It has never, ever failed to remove any stain of any kind. It's a long cycle, but definitely worth the wait.
 
thanks for all the wonderful full length videos...

this is the first proto type, and of course there are gonna be a few changes....ones I would like, or actually see them doing.....

1. larger fins on the impellor
2. a more forceful waterfall, and maybe lasting thruout the cycle like the Calypso or Catalyst Pre-Soak Cleaning
3. ribs built into the tub itself.....but have noticed them missing on the single unit, but they are there in the stacked set...wonder why?

yogitunes++1-14-2013-15-41-57.jpg
 
I've taken the temperature of all the water temp settings using an instant-read thermometer. Temps were taken after one minute of agitation.

Hot: 115 degrees
Warm: 90 degrees
Cool: 70 degrees
Temp-Controlled Cold: 50 degrees

HATE THE DUMBED-DOWN HOT SETTING!! 115 degrees is not hot water. You can safely proof yeast at that temperature for God's sake. I was hoping for tap-hot water in the Whites cycle, but no. Note to manufacturers: Washers without internal heaters should get tap-hot water.

50 degrees is too cold for detergents to work to their potential. Most washer manuals tell you that detergents will not clean effectively at temperatures below 65 degrees. Guess I'll be using the hot setting for everything but black loads, which will get cool water.

Washed a load consisting of two bulky (1000-thread count) queen-sized sheets, two king-size pillowcases and four standard pillowcases on the Bedding cycle (not to be confused with the Comforter cycle). Machine handled it with aplomb. No tangling, although the top sheet did rope a bit.

John/Combo 52: Eight pairs of my x-large jeans wouldn't fit in the tub. It handled six pairs, but I'd only do that if they were lightly soiled. If they are really grimy, I'd go with only four pairs. Eight pairs of heavily-soiled jeans is a tough, tough test. Which top-loaders have you found pass that test?

Martin: The tub of my 1986 Frigidaire top-loader had those vertical ribs, if I recall correctly. The tub in the Immersion Care is exactly the same as my 2006 top-loader. It's a series of vertical slats, which I was told help to channel more water to the tub holes during spins.[this post was last edited: 1/14/2013-17:08]
 
of course I can't find it on YouTube right now...but they had video of a lady using a Haier portable, and how to wash a blanket....and wonder if this would help in one of these machines.......

she would first lay the blanket flat, and then fold it in a "Z" formation lengthwise, and starting at one end, roll it up into a so-called barrel, and placed it in the machine to wash....with the right water level she had great results....just a thought

still, all in all, an interesting machine....
 
Are you reading my mind?

If you had had real hot water rather than the dumbed down tepid nonsense, those stains might have come out ! So this machine is an even greater performer than tests will allow, unless you can hose fill it with tap hot. By the way, loved the found art in the stain pile, "Chefsmears."

 

Has anyone out there figured out how to outsmart the not hot water? OH, MARTIN! What if you turned off the cold tap during the wash fill, or would it shut down and shout, "ERROR 666, Frigilux, that does not compute." ;'D

 

To answer your question: Brandon was showing me the store vids of the Bravo on the very large computer screen at Lowe's. I had told him earlier in the conversation about Aworg. When he searched to see if Lowe's had plans to order the Frigidaire Immersion, and found out that they would not be carrying it, he said he"d find out who has it. When he searched, your Aworg thread, the one you just made, was right there, 5th or 6th on the list of Immersion references. It was uncanny, cool, and wonderful. So you're right up there as a first explorer! Congrats.

[this post was last edited: 1/14/2013-22:44]
 
Mickey

these auto water temps are getting harder to by-pass......I was doing that on my Cabrio (which actually only dubbed my hot water down 10 degrees from the water heater, 140 was still not bad!), first I removed the sensor from the fill flume path, granted it did a complete HOT fill now, everything else was COLD, not a bad thing, but you would not get a WARM fill at all by doing this.....so I slid the sensor back in place and left it alone..

turning off the COLD tap did exactly as stated, ERROR CODE 666...now what I do, is turn the COLD water valve down to almost a trickle, this will allow the most HOT water for the wash, and then back to Normal for the rinses....it may be an idea that will work for you as well...

every machine is different though, and would be curious as to what would happen by taking the sensor out of the Frigidaire....

theres always the idea of maually doing it by "Y" valves or manually moving both hoses to the HOT valve for the first fill...

Eugene, what is your water heater temp set to?....like I said, the Cabrio only drops it down 10 degrees no matter what the Hot water is set......so if mine was set at 120....I would get 110.....
 
Mickeyd & Martin: Read your posts and gave it a shot: I turned off the cold tap and fired up the Whites cycle. As in every other cycle, the first minute or so of the fill is with cold water. The machine just sat there. So I opened the tap and when it did its first little spin to dissolve the detergent, I shut the tap off again. Suddenly...HOT WATER!! Yay!! Dancing in the streets....until the water in the tub reached 115, then it wanted only cold again. The fill alternates between cold, warm, and hot during a fill for hot. As soon as it wants cold water, you're stuck. Frankly, whites are going to be washed in the front-loader, so it's not a big deal.

Hot water comes out of the tap at 140 degrees. For all the energy-saving steps I take, dialing the gas water heater down to 120 degrees is something I've resisted. I keep the house at 64-65 degrees all winter to make up for it.

Glad to know my foolishness at being an "early adopter" is paying off in Google searches, LOL! I know it's prudent to wait until the bugs are worked out of products before buying, but someone has to be the hard-headed idiot to buy immediately, otherwise new products would wither on the vine, right? That's how I rationalize it, at any rate.
 
Martin to the rescue. I knew you'd know.

Yeah, with quick release adapters on the taps and the faucet end of the cold hose, you could snap it on another hot tap for the wash fill, then slip onto cold thereafter. The Y hose would be a permanent solution, and you'd always have full manual control of temps.

 

It was such a rude awakening to find that this silent performer lost the stain race to a heating front loader.

 

How would the Front Loader have fared in Yeast Water LOL, and without the powerful Persil Bio and Tri-Zyme ? Our host has done too much to ask for another contest.

Maybe in the summer.
 
YAY

Love the videos! Downloaded them to see them in 4x speed and one can clearly see the reverse turnover (just the first video for now). The wash action is similar to a Haier TL that was out a few years ago. I think they should have added paddles to the drum to make for even more movement:

 
Nice!

Thats a very interesting wash action. Looks like it is very gentle on the clothes, whilst still providing a good cleaning ability. Its a shame the "Hot" option is tempered. Perhaps you should just adjust your cold tap, or will the machine get angry with you for that? 

 

Thanks for posting the videos! Much appreciated
 
The set that I have being 3 or 4 years old now had the water temp control to dilute the hot water with cold. Strange thing happened last month. When the building I live in upped the hot water to 160 degrees for the winter from 120 in the summer this feature stopped working. when set to hot thats all you get now is hot. Don't know how or why this happened but now i am a happy guy. anybody have any ideas why this happened? Just moved into this building in july and the machine was never connected to hot water this hot. maybe it burned itself out. lol
Jon
 
@frigilux: old vs new Frigidaire model numbers

I have a subscription to CR and looked up their latest washer ratings. I saw the 4473/4474 ranked in the 60s, and above that models described as 4073/4074 (currently sold by Lowes) ranked in the 80s. Above, you mentioned Frigidaire changing the cycle times with subsequently higher ratings. Are 4073/4 and 4473/4 essentially the same machines but with the wash times changed?

I noticed from checking online inventories in my area that the 4473/4 is virtually out of stock now, but Lowes carries 4073/4. This would mean that the 4473/4 is being phased out in favor of 4073/74---

When/if my trusty 2006 Frigidaire (2140) FL dies---sooner or later the spider will break, though it just turned seven years old and no trouble yet---I think I would replace with the 4473/4 series. I keep up on the latest models, knowing that I might have to replace on short notice someday, as I did with my old TL (I had done my research when the TL began to have trouble, and decided on Frig 2140 or the next model up in case I had to buy a replacement, which did happen). My machines have to be stacked and I don't want a pair of 39" machines that make a stack 6'7" high. I am 5'10" and the current 6'0" Frigidaire stack is perfect for me, with dryer door at chest/shoulder level.

There is room in the laundry area for additional depth (say a 31-2" deep machine) but I don't want anything taller, since I have to stack. I have a county-mandated bollard (concrete-filled steel pipe) embedded in the garage slab and sitting right where the washer should go---but in 1987 when built, there was virtually no US FL market. If you remove the pipe it's against code and could be problematic should you try to sell the house. My solution was to stack a pair of machines in the unimpeded dryer space, and to place a folding table in the washer space. The pipe is tall enough that it would block a FL door even if on a pedestal.
 
@ PassatDoc or anyone else...

I noticed that the Frigidaire FL'ers are designed to be "disposable" (replace rather than fix). You can't just buy the bearings when they go, you have to buy the entire rear tub assembly; you have to buy the entire basket assembly as opposed to just buying the spider.
When mine (3801) goes (I just bought them, so probably not for a while), I would like to fix them as opposed to throwing them away. It doesn't seem right that such a hunk of machinery should end up in the landfill simply because the bearings go out or the spider breaks.
Anyone care to comment on this?
Ryan
 
Ryan

you might not have to buy the whole caboodle......

the same issue has come up with the Neptunes.....you have to buy the rear tub with bearings and seals installed....$700.00.....

only to find out the bearings(standard stock) and seals are still available.....around $50.00 for everything....and with a little muscle and a few tools.....and about 2 hours, you can have it running like new again!...

the TONY TOOL can help and speed things up, and can be rented, but this all can be done without it as well....

once you do your first one.....the rest are a piece a cake....

you may want to shop around now for bearings and seals, while in stock, and have them ready!
 
Yogibear:
Sounds like a good plan! I haven't been able to find said parts for my machine though. I've gone to several online parts places and they all tell me the same thing: The bearings/seal cannot be bought separately, they come with the rear tub, etc.
Perhaps the Frigidiares use the same exact bearings as other washers and these can be bought separately?
I saw on youtube where a guy actually upgraded his Whirly's bearings to some kind of high-performance stainless steel roller bearing and the thing ran like nobody's business afterward.
Maybe somebody out there in aworg land knows something...:-)
Ryan
 
There was a file on YouTube, or maybe it was a blog with photos on one of the repair sites, of a guy replacing the bearings only on his Frigidaire. It was step by step and didn't look too terribly difficult, although time consuming. I think the bearings are standard issue that can easily be located. This was years ago I saw it, but it still may be around if you search the Internet.
 
When I referred to my washer's future death, I was referring to eventual failure of the spider, not the bearings. Not sure about availability of replacement bearings, but pretty sure if the spider breaks you have to buy the whole assembly as frontloaderfan reported above. I too dislike the idea of tossing out a perfectly good washer because a $30 part failed (bearings or spider). What really bugs me is that most major manufacturers use aluminum spiders, which are doomed to fail long before a stainless steel basket. I'd gladly pay $50 extra for a stainless steel spider.

If it's hard/impossible to find replacement bearings, that's even worse. I like the way my machines work now, and given my special requirements (have to stack the machines, extra depth ok but don't want the top of the stack much over 6'0"), 36" high machines are what I need. Looking at it philosophically, though, I paid $600 for the machine, minus $135 in utility rebates, so my net cost before sales tax was $465. It's given me seven years of flawless service, and no service calls or issues ever. If it say dies at nine years of age, then probably it's time for a new one.

I'm not so attached to the matching dryer. It has only a 5.7 cu ft capacity vs 7 cu ft which is more standard today. Sometimes the ignition doesn't kick in (usually it does but not always) and it spins a wet load for twenty minutes before shutting down, so when that happens I have to reset the machine and make sure the heating unit fires up. The moisture sensor does work well, and it has a nice perm press cycle that starts out warm and finishes cool. For me, the most important cycle is perm press, because all of my work clothes are LL Bean khakis and dress shirts with no-iron finishes. I hate ironing, and the clothes look ironed if I remove them immediately from the dryer. Once the damn thing fires up, it does a nice job on the clothes. The "low" heat setting is very low and gentle, making it safe to tumble dry delicates.
 
Spiders, etc

I also saw a video of another guy that actually coated his new spider with some kind of enamel paint which he then baked on in his oven (!) in order to stop the galvanic reaction between the stainless tub and the cast aluminum spider. I'm the kind of guy that would try this sort of thing.
 
Not To Hijack This Thread

So perhaps it should be covered in a new one, but "throw away" washing machines are pretty much the standard one way or another for modern offerings.

Unit tub/bearing assemblies,lots of plastic, unfriendly service design, high cost of repair and or parts in relation to cost of purchasing new, and so forth are all reasons for this change.

From high end brands to low you can read comments posted all over places like Thathomesite.com and else where about washing machines five years old or less being junked or sold off because of a part "failure".

Miele washers and dryers in particular have very high part replacement costs and often labour as well. If the motherboard or some other major component goes you're easily looking at three to four hundred dollars in part costs, then two or more hundred for labour. That is if the thing can be repaired in house. There are reports of certain Miele washing machines having bearing or spider failures (W1918, W12XX series) after less than six years of use. Those repairs cannot be done in field which means the unit must go back to New Jersey. Unless covered by warranty or otherwise Miele picks up the tab, most choose to junk the washer.

There is a rumor that Miele used aluminum spiders on the W1203 and similar series, but cannot confirm.

Here's another thing, many washer and dryer makers are quickly laying the blame for many issues with consumers using "too much detergent" and or the wrong type, and thus refusing to cover warranty repairs. Miele's most recent offerings of washers all have over sudsing indicators and each occurance is kept on "file" inside the machine. When or if a Miele tech arrives for a service call they can download the history of the machine including such events. Miele USA's customer service/tech support already is quick to lay blame on a host of issues consumer's experience with their machines (bearing failures, activation of the Waterproof system, leaks, etc...), if the tech arrives and the machine "tells" him it has been "abused" they will run with that.
 
yikes and apologies...

My apologies. I realize I did hijack this thread. Sorry 'bout that! I'll start a new one.

For my particular model, the replacement parts, without labor, would come to about $400. Almost as much as a new one. A pathetic situation indeed!
 
for most, these are just standard bearings.....forget the idea that their used for a washer, just give them the bearing number, for a few dollars more, I pick the stainless steel ones, and sealed at that....

a lot of guys also use a washer of types, wether plastic or neoprene, when reinstalling the inner tub to the spider, so the two don't actually touch, which is also a factor in corrosion of the spider...worth a few pennies if it helps...
 
I don't mean to hijack either

But don't most all front load washers that are out now (other than SQ Or Miele), regarding the spider; you need to buy the entire tub, and not just the spider? I could be wrong, but I don't that applied to just Frigidaire.
 
An appliance store owner I know put it this way: Selling more product is what impresses corporate boards, as well as the stock market and shareholders. In light of that, a company is far more motivated to sell new washers than they are to sell parts to keep used washers running.
 

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