Washing Machine

[Gomez]

Our washing machine is ready to be replaced. I'm doing some research before we need to replace it at the last minute. I've heard the new Neptune has some problems. At over $1000, is it worth it? Or is this similar to buying a compact diesel for the price of three MTD's?
Thanks for any feedback.

 

[DocHeb]

We purchased the Frigidare Gallery Washer and Dryer and my wife is very happy. If she's happy - I'm happy. They are both front loaders, and I made a wide counter for them to go under. They work very well, and the front load washer uses less water - so much less I can see a ~20% decrease on my water bill. We had a GE front loader before, and it made an incredible amount of noise and vibration, and despite levelling it multiple times, it would still vibrate and "walk" across the floor. The Frigidare is very quiet. The set cost $1150 - make sure you get the panels to let them go under the counter if you're installing them in that fashion.

 

[MossRoad]

THAT is a beautiful laundry area.

 

[RJohnson]

We too bought the Frigidare washer and are extremely happy with it. Not only does it use less water but the first time we used it the instructions said not to use any soap as the conventional agitator washers do not get all of the soap out of the clothes. I didn't believe it but when we tried it, sure enough the washer foamed up just like we had put soap in it. Now we use less soap, less water and the clothes are spun drier and it has been a win-win situation all around.

Randy

 

[blurrybill]

We will receive the Sears Elite washer/dryer tomorrow. I'm a big researcher and we compared everything. I was impressed with Maytag, but the new Sears had better stats and will allow huge loads (rugs, King Sized comforters, etc.) with the best energy efficiency. Our power co. will rebate $100 because it meets the Energy Star classification.

Be careful with the Whirlpool Duet -- Whirlpool makes the Sears models, but we learned that Sears maintains patents on the exterior, hinges, etc. The Sears (I was surprised) is made better than the Whirlpool, even though the guts are exactly the same. Water use and energy use are around 68% less than traditional machines.

Read my bio, I don't sell them. Our old Whirlpool died and we decided to spring for these for the new house. Knew that in the country we'll be washing lots of heavy stuff (hopefully my workclothes associated with tractor operation --still dreaming).

They are pricey, but we calculated that they will pay for themselves in savings over about 5 years. Let me know if you need other info. We'll be testing this weekend.

Bill

 

[Thomas]

My better half Whirlpool die a couple years ago and she went out and bought a Maytag $$ /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif
You ought to see this thing /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif for I thought I might have to go to night school to learn the basic. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif
This model Maytag has a tools,screws etc..indacator built in..yep..that heavy duty stainless steel barrel makes a heck of a noise if anything left in your pockets during the wash.
Okay..whats a wool cycle..must be for a women..not for hunting clothes. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[PhilNH5]

We have a Neptune we purchased in January of 1999. I brought it to save water. Glad about that feature as we are in a drought now and the pond out front is all dried up.
We paid $1,000 minus $100 rebate from electric company = $900 out of pocket. It does an OK job. My wife doesn't like it though. Two major points. One is the seal around the front loading door holds water. We used to get a terrible musty/moldy smell from the washer. Now my wife tugs at the seal to drain the water back into the tub and leaves the door open till next wash day. Light burnt out long time ago. I hear the newer models have a hole in the seal to combat this problem. Sounds like an oxymoron - a drain in the seal. Second is a microprocessor to control an unbalanced tub during spin cycles. The tub will reverse direction repeatedly as it tries to balance a load. My wife says that similar size loads can have up to 20 minutes difference in time to finish. She hates walking downstairs to find the washer still running.
Another problem was sometimes water was left in the tub and clothes. Eventually it stopped pumping out the water at all. Still under warranty. They replaced the water pump with a bigger one. I asked the service guy about this. He said Maytag was "upgrading" all the Neptunes "as needed". Sounds like they knew there was an undersized pump in there.

Payback on the premium price over a conventional washer is supposed to be 5 years. But maytag calculated that at 9 loads a week. We only do 3. So I don't think I will ever recoup my money. Though as I said in the beginning I am really grateful for the low water consumption. If I had it to do over I would buy another FL but not a neptune. I think kenmores are nice and less expensive.

PS. If you want more opinions on FL washers than you can possibly digest go to www.thathomesite.com and visit the appliance forum. Thousands of threads.

Phil

 

[blurrybill]

Phil,

In doing our research, we heard that Maytag was willing to upgrade any of the problems on the originals -- they should still be willing to do this; check it out.

Bill

 

[Boondox]

Bill -- How did the Frigidaire stack up in your comparison? Our water-guzzling Kenmore is on its last leg and we're looking for something that takes less water. Also, as unreliable as our power supply is, are all those bells and whistles on the Neptune immune to power surges, etc?

Pete

 

[blurrybill]

Peter,

We heard that the Frigidaire had a good energy star model that was a good value for the money. The thing that steered us away from it was the small capacity. We really liked the Bosch -- European design and very clean, but too small.

Don't know about energy surges, but would guess that they all are comparable in that regard. Weird if we had to treat these new expensive monsters like our computers!

Bill

 

[Boondox]

Do they make a battery backup big enough for a front load washer..? /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Pete

 

[blurrybill]

My wife called and said they arrived and are installed -- we had to wait several weeks for the Sears Elite. Bought the stands for them that have built-in drawers and raise the machines to a height that is functional. One can install them under a counter. We may do that later, should a wheelchair be in the picture. Anyway, will share results from the "rug" tests this weekend.

Bill

 

[BobinCols]

We purchased our Neptune washer and dryer 12-98 with good results and no problems other than the issue with the front washer door holding water and mold. My wife called customer service after the 1st year and Maytag made arrangements for the Maytag dealer to come out and install the washer front door update kit which alleviated the water-mold problem. It was not a recall-just a fix for people who complained about the problem. We have not looked at washers since 12-98 and at the time Maytag seemed to have the best but that may or may not be the case now as competition is good in hopefully bringing about better products.

 

[blurrybill]

So far, so good on the new machines. We've washed all the throw rugs, king spread, sheets, blankets plus regular clothes. Uses VERY little detergent and things come out of that high speed spin almost dry. They are extremely quiet compared with the old whirlpool machines we desposed of. My wife loves them so far. They are large machines and I'll have to allow some room in the new house design. Let me know if you want more info on these Sears Elite machines. They use amazingly little water, too.

Bill

 

[Gomez]

Well, I did end up buying the Neptune back in 2002.

The motor control board just fried last night. Replacement motor and controller pair is about $225 shipped to me. So we got about 5 years use, not what I'd call great.

A friend of mine just replaced his Neptune last month with an LG unit. He was having issues with the door latch and controls. After putting over $400 in parts, he cut his losses. I see the Class Action suit names both the motor control and dock latching components.

 

[shaley]

Thanks for the follow-up we are thinking about a front loader as well.

 

[hockeypuck]

I ran into an appliance repair man on a job when I was looking to buy a machine so I asked him what brand. He does work for my parents and others I know. He seems to be a very honest guy. The first thing he said is do not buy a Neptune. We bought a $650 whirlpool front load three years ago, and no problems to date and we have 2 small children.

 

[Bird]

We bought a Maytag front loader washer and dryer from Sears about two and a half years ago, but they're the small (apartment?) size. We were in a single wide mobile home at the time and I thought I wanted something small and light in case I had to move it or work on it. But with all the fancy lights and tunes they play, I decided to go ahead and pay for the 3 year extended warranty that includes an annual preventive maintenance checkup. Of course when we moved, I discovered that, in spite of the small size, this is the heaviest washing machine I ever saw. Supposedly they fill the bottom with concrete to prevent any vibration.

But I've since talked to two washing machine repairment and both said that Whirlpool and the Kenmore made by Whirlpool are the most reliable, most trouble free machines, and if they do need repairs, they're the easiest to work on.

A daughter's Kenmore dryer quit heating last week, but son-in-law was able to replace a few parts and fix it himself. It's only 11 years old.

 

[BTDT]

Here's an interesting link, might be something to check into, when they get some in stock.

Lehman's - Products for Simple, Self-sufficient Living

 

[Phils]

For those with Neptunes, like Gomez and me, I learned on an appliance repair forum that the problem that causes the board to fail is actually the wax motor used to lock the door. The wax motor will test fine when checked with an ohmmeter but during use it heats up, changing the internal resistance, which blows the R11 resistor and Q6 transistor on the control board. Usually this means the washer will wash but not spin, and the door won't lock.

Mine lasted 5 years just like Gomez's but I blame myself because I KNEW that the wax motor would eventually cause the board failure. I had planned a "pre-emptive" motor replacement for almost a year and SHOULD have done it when I first planned it.... DANG! The $20 part takes out the $125 part.

And they are both very easy to replace.

Phil