whirlpool862
Well-known member
I didn’t know that I had to share another rant on modern Whirlpool washers. I’m also doing it for Samsung. I’m not going to discuss control board issues again since I discussed that plenty of times. But, over the years, Whirlpool has been reducing the RPM’s on their narrow drum style stainless steel VMW’s. The original versions from 2010 were 800 RPM, and they were 800 RPM until 2018, when they reduced it to 770 RPM for the 2018 redesign models with the redesigned tub and balance ring. They reduced it even more in 2021, and those are now 680 RPM. Now essentially all the smaller VMWs have similar spin speeds to the bigger 4.2 to 4.3 cu ft units made from 2014 to 2022 (which were 660 RPM).
Was the reason why they reduced the RPM so they could reduce noise? Well, my washer wasn’t that loud on spin cycle until the bearings went out.
So, the newer VMWs, apparently you need more drying time after it’s washed because they don’t spin as fast.
Maybe they did it so the bearings didn’t go out as much. Well, they should’ve just used better bearings rather than just reduce the spinning speed. Many of the modern GE’s are 800 RPM and they don’t get bearing issues that often. Same goes for even the older Samsungs (despite how much I dislike Samsung). The 800 RPM VMW Whirlpools never had issues with exploding, so I don’t think that was the reason. I think it was so Whirlpool can promote customers to buy their top-of-the-line $1000 VMAX unit for them to get less drying time.
VMWs used to consistently be 800 RPM for the stainless steel tub units (as long as it wasn’t the 4.2 to 4.3 cu. ft. model) and 700 RPM for models that use the porcelain tub. Some sites misclassified the rating (like the Amana NTW4755EW being classified as 700 RPM when it clearly spun at 800 RPM in the video of the normal cycle I watched). For the newer VMWs, this doesn’t seem to be a misclassification, it seems to actually be true.
Whirlpool also now seemed to have removed that spec to make people not know this. Apparently now the NTW4516FW is now listed as 680 RPM, when it used to be 700.
They also seem to now use 1/4 housepower motors for the stainless VMW units. So, the newest Whirlpool VMWs (at least the stainless ones) aren’t even as powerful as the oldest ones when it comes to spin cycle.
My 2014 Whirlpool WTW4900BW0 has the full 800 RPM spin speed. 680 RPM is closer to the low spin speed on my washer than the full spin speed. Even the extra big VMWs have RPMs that claim to be 750-770 RPM, which is lower the 800 RPM for the narrow drum VMWs, but I guess it is close enough. A new narrow tub VMW spins 120 RPMs slower than an older one.
The older floating tub units had 1100 RPM (which is excellent for a top loader), I believe all the VMAX’s are 850 RPM which is still decent. But, many people cannot afford a VMAX (which is usually around $1000). You used to be able to buy a stainless drum VMW with 800 RPM for $599 I think. Not quite like 850 RPM, but that's still a good spin speed for a top loader.
I think a lot of the newest GE VMW styles are 800 RPM but some I think are 700. Samsungs are 700-750 RPM. LG top loaders seem to have the highest RPM of all modern washers. It seems like as time went on, Whirlpool VMWs just kept getting worse and worse. It seems that the older the VMW is, the better it is. I think all the commercial units are 700 RPM and always have been.
Also, I think Whirlpool should go back to the older balance ring designs on their narrow basket VMW’s, the new narrow drums make this horrible popping type of noise when it spins and they sometimes even like shake like crazy and put a hole in the wall. The small balance ring design has been proven to not do a good job in balancing, and Whirlpool keeps putting it on more of their machines. GE seems to actually be getting better (as long as you’re not buying the Profile unit). They don’t need to necessarily bring back the older tub designs but they should go back to the bigger balance ring. I think they should do that for the big drum VMW and VMAX units also.
Whirlpool VMW’s also seem to be slowly looking more like Samsungs or Mideas than Whirlpools. The Maytag font and their metal (may be just plastic that looks like metal) control panel is gone, now they just use the generic font and slap a Maytag logo on it. The MVW4005SW is essentially just the WTW4855HW with a Maytag branding on it.
There is no wonder why Whirlpool VMW washers are not labeled as high efficiency anymore, it’s because they are making their washers less efficient in a bad way. Samsung also has been reducing RPM’s on their units. The newer Whirlpool narrow basket VMWs don’t even spin much faster than the older direct drives (640 RPM for a direct drive vs 680 RPM for a VMW with narrow basket). I’m pretty sure when H.E. washers first came out, higher spin speeds were an advantage. Nowadays, Whirlpool keeps reducing the spinning speed. Someday, I might see VMWs with only a 600 RPM spin speed and VMAX’s with 750 RPM. This is getting ridiculous!
Samsung seems to be doing the same thing, their older stator driven units were 800 RPM and 1100 RPM consistently, now they are all 750 RPM.
GE seems to actually be increasing the spin speed on their units, with all being at least 700 RPM now. Their HydroWaves had spin speeds of 630 to 700. Now, the newer units from 2015 and onward are now all 700 to 800 RPM.
I hope the newest style that just came out (like the WTW4100SW) has a higher RPM than the six light units from 2021 and onward did, but I can’t find RPM specs for it.
Was the reason why they reduced the RPM so they could reduce noise? Well, my washer wasn’t that loud on spin cycle until the bearings went out.
So, the newer VMWs, apparently you need more drying time after it’s washed because they don’t spin as fast.
Maybe they did it so the bearings didn’t go out as much. Well, they should’ve just used better bearings rather than just reduce the spinning speed. Many of the modern GE’s are 800 RPM and they don’t get bearing issues that often. Same goes for even the older Samsungs (despite how much I dislike Samsung). The 800 RPM VMW Whirlpools never had issues with exploding, so I don’t think that was the reason. I think it was so Whirlpool can promote customers to buy their top-of-the-line $1000 VMAX unit for them to get less drying time.
VMWs used to consistently be 800 RPM for the stainless steel tub units (as long as it wasn’t the 4.2 to 4.3 cu. ft. model) and 700 RPM for models that use the porcelain tub. Some sites misclassified the rating (like the Amana NTW4755EW being classified as 700 RPM when it clearly spun at 800 RPM in the video of the normal cycle I watched). For the newer VMWs, this doesn’t seem to be a misclassification, it seems to actually be true.
Whirlpool also now seemed to have removed that spec to make people not know this. Apparently now the NTW4516FW is now listed as 680 RPM, when it used to be 700.
They also seem to now use 1/4 housepower motors for the stainless VMW units. So, the newest Whirlpool VMWs (at least the stainless ones) aren’t even as powerful as the oldest ones when it comes to spin cycle.
My 2014 Whirlpool WTW4900BW0 has the full 800 RPM spin speed. 680 RPM is closer to the low spin speed on my washer than the full spin speed. Even the extra big VMWs have RPMs that claim to be 750-770 RPM, which is lower the 800 RPM for the narrow drum VMWs, but I guess it is close enough. A new narrow tub VMW spins 120 RPMs slower than an older one.
The older floating tub units had 1100 RPM (which is excellent for a top loader), I believe all the VMAX’s are 850 RPM which is still decent. But, many people cannot afford a VMAX (which is usually around $1000). You used to be able to buy a stainless drum VMW with 800 RPM for $599 I think. Not quite like 850 RPM, but that's still a good spin speed for a top loader.
I think a lot of the newest GE VMW styles are 800 RPM but some I think are 700. Samsungs are 700-750 RPM. LG top loaders seem to have the highest RPM of all modern washers. It seems like as time went on, Whirlpool VMWs just kept getting worse and worse. It seems that the older the VMW is, the better it is. I think all the commercial units are 700 RPM and always have been.
Also, I think Whirlpool should go back to the older balance ring designs on their narrow basket VMW’s, the new narrow drums make this horrible popping type of noise when it spins and they sometimes even like shake like crazy and put a hole in the wall. The small balance ring design has been proven to not do a good job in balancing, and Whirlpool keeps putting it on more of their machines. GE seems to actually be getting better (as long as you’re not buying the Profile unit). They don’t need to necessarily bring back the older tub designs but they should go back to the bigger balance ring. I think they should do that for the big drum VMW and VMAX units also.
Whirlpool VMW’s also seem to be slowly looking more like Samsungs or Mideas than Whirlpools. The Maytag font and their metal (may be just plastic that looks like metal) control panel is gone, now they just use the generic font and slap a Maytag logo on it. The MVW4005SW is essentially just the WTW4855HW with a Maytag branding on it.
There is no wonder why Whirlpool VMW washers are not labeled as high efficiency anymore, it’s because they are making their washers less efficient in a bad way. Samsung also has been reducing RPM’s on their units. The newer Whirlpool narrow basket VMWs don’t even spin much faster than the older direct drives (640 RPM for a direct drive vs 680 RPM for a VMW with narrow basket). I’m pretty sure when H.E. washers first came out, higher spin speeds were an advantage. Nowadays, Whirlpool keeps reducing the spinning speed. Someday, I might see VMWs with only a 600 RPM spin speed and VMAX’s with 750 RPM. This is getting ridiculous!
Samsung seems to be doing the same thing, their older stator driven units were 800 RPM and 1100 RPM consistently, now they are all 750 RPM.
GE seems to actually be increasing the spin speed on their units, with all being at least 700 RPM now. Their HydroWaves had spin speeds of 630 to 700. Now, the newer units from 2015 and onward are now all 700 to 800 RPM.
I hope the newest style that just came out (like the WTW4100SW) has a higher RPM than the six light units from 2021 and onward did, but I can’t find RPM specs for it.
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