Speed Queen washer redesign/discontiued

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The Maytag 610 in the basement was 34 years old. The fellows who delivered the new FRONT LOADER said it was the oldest they've heard of.

I have no complaints with the FL but I've heard the complaints.
You MUST empty them as soon as the cycle ends.
It helps to leave the door open and point a wee fan into the drum.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
I bought a Speed Queen top loader in late 2016. I really, really hate the small capacity of it. It doesn't fit our king size comforter. The house I had custom built is set up to have two washers and two dryers in the laundry room.


GE makes a large capacity top loader with a deep fill option which means it should clean clothes well.
I'm going to look at this model today:
http://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-specs/GTW460ASJWW

Unrelated thread with my washer in the pic:
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4320831/1


The problem is for some reason the GE locks the lid. Safety? What goods a washer without a seat belt and an airbag? I have one its a pain in the arse. The large tub is nice but it seems to have a mind of its own when it comes to doing what you've requested like fill. It has the regular old style real agitator one of the reasons I bought it. It does clean the clothes well. My daughter has had three different machines with the speed bumps in them none of them cleaned worth a C R A P. After three POS she switched to a washer with a real agitator.

By the way my GE with the real agitator and high capacity tub was $200 less than the high end washers with the speed bump agitators that don't clean the clothes.
 
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Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I've got a Kenmore washer from 2003, the lid switch went out and the agitator didn't work anymore. I was about to get a new washer and was not looking forward to it, I've seen some bad new ones in the family.

I ordered a switch and agitator dogs for a total of $15 and fixed it in 20 minutes. Like new.


As much as I like the Speed Queen top load, I agree with you on the Kenmore/Whirlpool. Parts are cheap for them and they're easily serviceable. I've done washer pumps and dryer relays on a few.

I have a local guy that does repairs or refurbishes and sells used washers and dryers. He'll repair anything, but his refurb business is almost entirely Whirlpool/Kenmore products because of their ease of bringing them back to 100%.
 
We have a Speed Queen that we bought in 1995 for a steal of a price.
It's still working just fine and I've done nothing to it over the years.
The idea of a new machine scares me since I read so many stories of short life and frequent repairs.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
I have a local guy that does repairs or refurbishes and sells used washers and dryers. He'll repair anything, but his refurb business is almost entirely Whirlpool/Kenmore products because of their ease of bringing them back to 100%.


I can fully believe it. The direct design was excellent and worked well. I hated to see ours go, but it was coming apart structurally (besides the timer, brake and coupler that needed replaced).
 
My Speed Queen is coming up on 2 yrs old. So far, I’m very pleased with it, to hear it run so quietly you know it’s built like a tank. It’s true it has a smaller drum than many other “high efficiency” washers on the market but it has tackled any job I’ve put before it. We run it all: heavy king size comforters, all the bedding stuff and pack it with as much normal laundry as it can hold, never a problem. An added plus is that it uses roughly half the soap that my other high efficiency paper weights needed to call themselves cleaning something. If i get 20 years out of it the soap savings alone will pay for the washer.
 
We bought a FL LG 5 years ago to replace a non HE GE after birth of my child since we were going thru water while doing wash at an alarming rate. Now water is in abundance here in Indiana Most of the time, but those on a septic will feel my pain.

I was not having any septic issues, but at 35 years old I wasn't wanting to push it.

A extra large load on the GE took 75 gallons with the extra rinse feature, on the LG set it takes roughly 30 with all of the extra water consuming features turned on. It also had a clothes sanitize mode (first child, paranoid about everything)which I was interested in since we do not use bleach as we are on a septic.

So far the LG has been dead reliable and it cleans the clothes best of any washer I have had IMHO. I do not see how a top load HE can possibly clean the clothes effectively, but I have never had one and I know some do, and I know of at least one model that does not.

Now we will see if this heavily used LG can make it 5 more years, hopefully thru another set of baby laundry, and come out ok. Time will tell.

If I can get 10 years of hard use out of it I am happy. We use our washer and dryer hard and our dishwasher harder. We live like rock stars.

Now that specific LG model had great ratings at the time, and you really have to do your research because there are some washers out there now that are junk and can barely clean clothes.

Did we lose a war or something? What the heck happened?
I think we have taken the HE thing farther than the technology will allow. But I am happy with our LG. It cleans great.
 
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On black friday 2016 I bought a new washer/dryer to install once our home was ready from the flood damage this area suffered 8/16. I finished the laundry room 4/17 and began to use it. Within a few weeks it wouldnt agitate and we notice clothes were not looking and smelling clean. We called maytag they sent a repairman who told us the "splutch" wasn't installed correctly. He re-installed it and it worked great for a while. Three weeks ago it began clicking when the cycles change and wouldnt procede to spin or drain the tub. Of course it's out of warranty now.
I no longer call repairmen unless its within warranty. A "trip charge" is usually $100 or better only to find out your $150 motherboard is fried.
I looked at speed queens also, no one stocks them around here but they'll order them at inflated prices. I found many poor reviews on speed queens own site and changed my mind.
My new policy is "if its going to burn out like a light bulb within 8 months of use, i'll buy the cheapest moley foley I can".
 
I bought a Speed Queen washer about 1 1/2 years ago. We had a Kenmore top loader that had only been in service since 2009, so about 7 years of service. I drove about 100 miles roundtrip and picked it up myself as it saved me about $100. Taking out the old machine was a breeze, but installing the Speed Queen was a bear. I didn't realize how much heavier the Speed Queen was until I compared it side by side to my old machine. It was about like moving a fridge. All metal, full cabinet with floor, steel outer and inner tub, metal transmission, etc. So far so good with durability. Hopefully the new one will not abandon Speed Queens previous quality levels. As long as parts can be had I'm not letting it out of the house as there's very little choice in new machines that actually wash with water.
 
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I bought a Speed Queen in August 2016 from a local dealer that was retiring from sales and only doing repairs going forwards, it’s been decent, think I paid $719 for the digital control one.

Hilariously I buy this and drive to Sears afterwards because they had a top of the line Samsung addwash with a dented top so they marked that down to $450 so I bought that too.

They both work well, but I think the largest problem with ones like the Samsung is it’s a lot of gimmick, styling and flashy features but they’re not as good as what they normally cost.

Clutch design speed queens will still be available with coin acceptors. Saif you really want one I’d get it sooner rather than later.
 
Originally Posted By: CorvairGeek
Originally Posted By: JTK
I have a local guy that does repairs or refurbishes and sells used washers and dryers. He'll repair anything, but his refurb business is almost entirely Whirlpool/Kenmore products because of their ease of bringing them back to 100%.


I can fully believe it. The direct design was excellent and worked well. I hated to see ours go, but it was coming apart structurally (besides the timer, brake and coupler that needed replaced).


+1 Very durable washers. Loud and clunky, but consistent. 2 sets of agitator dogs, 1 rubber motor coupling, various foreign object extractions from the pump, semi-regular tub decrusting and 2 gear oil changes later and she's still going good coming up on 21 years now. Thing's got major hours, frame is rusty, some heat shield is buzzing and the case is not quite as attached to the frame as it should be, but we're still waiting for it to leak or conk out. Really good machines.
 
Originally Posted By: CorvairGeek
The washing action / roll over is the problem with large loads. Just won't work for us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClhWH_lT6_w

That guy clearly over-loaded the tub. Further flannel-lined jeans/overalls are not only bulky, but stiff.

May be the camera lens, but the tub looked small. If true, then you can't wash a large load. That dog won't hunt...

I'm still using a 1990 Kenmore(Whirlpool)W/D..fortunately. Pretty big tub and fast cycle.

Amazing what the water/electricity radicals have done to once great appliances, shower heads & shower valves: They've made them disposable...like everything else.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
That guy clearly over-loaded the tub. Further flannel-lined jeans/overalls are not only bulky, but stiff.

Amazing what the water/electricity radicals have done to once great appliances, shower heads & shower valves: They've made them disposable...like everything else.


Defiantly agree. However, this gentleman made a number of videos and load levels showing the performance, or lack of.
 
Originally Posted By: PeterPolyol
Originally Posted By: CorvairGeek
Originally Posted By: JTK
I have a local guy that does repairs or refurbishes and sells used washers and dryers. He'll repair anything, but his refurb business is almost entirely Whirlpool/Kenmore products because of their ease of bringing them back to 100%.


I can fully believe it. The direct design was excellent and worked well. I hated to see ours go, but it was coming apart structurally (besides the timer, brake and coupler that needed replaced).


+1 Very durable washers. Loud and clunky, but consistent. 2 sets of agitator dogs, 1 rubber motor coupling, various foreign object extractions from the pump, semi-regular tub decrusting and 2 gear oil changes later and she's still going good coming up on 21 years now. Thing's got major hours, frame is rusty, some heat shield is buzzing and the case is not quite as attached to the frame as it should be, but we're still waiting for it to leak or conk out. Really good machines.





I’ve never had any washing machine with that kind of history. I would call that a poor machine.
 
Because of the agitator dogs and rubber motor coupling? Really inexpensive and easy job to replace- the sum of all those parts would fit into the palm of your hand. The gear oil is just BITOG neurosis. Factory fill was like Lucas Stabilizer and was black-coloured. Replacement was GL-5 85W140. Couldn't tell you if it made any difference but I'm very happy with no leaks, motor, suspension or transmission issues. Even the timer puts up with being wound back on almost every load "for extra cycles"
laugh.gif
. The machine has put up with a lot.
 
I don't see anything in the redesign that necessarily means a shorter-life...

When looking for a new washer a consensus from many dealers and techs was that Speed Queens were a solid choice (mostly top loaders sold due to price and familiarity). We got "lucky" on a floor model front loader, that normally sold for $1600 but paid around $800. The machine is SOLID, quiet, uses little water and soap, clothes come out clean and very "de-watered"/spun.

The only issue we had was a leaking front door seal, which turned out there was a redesigned door assembly with a tighter seal fit. Tech came and replaced it under warranty. Very good experience.
 
We sold the Maytag Neptune washer and dryer set when we recently sold our house...hated the frontloader washer and will definitely go back to a top loader of some sort. I have always preferred Whirlpool appliances but I'm intrigued by the concept of SQ. My concern is a visual...the laundry room in the new house will be part of the traffic pattern so my bride will likely want something "spiffy looking" and not just functional.
 
Originally Posted By: CincyDavid
We sold the Maytag Neptune washer and dryer set when we recently sold our house...hated the frontloader washer and will definitely go back to a top loader of some sort. I have always preferred Whirlpool appliances but I'm intrigued by the concept of SQ. My concern is a visual...the laundry room in the new house will be part of the traffic pattern so my bride will likely want something "spiffy looking" and not just functional.


LG and Samsung will be right up her ally...

It's funny, the dealer said he couldn't sell enough of the SQ front loaders due its plain looks vs. the LGs, Samsungs for the same money.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Get a top loader with a real agitator not bumps in the bottom of the tub.


Or get a front loader, and wash clothes with half the water and one-eighth the detergent.
 
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