Thread: Washing Machines - An interesting read

ive had a whirlpool 9kg commercial top loader(made in same factory as maytag) and a speed queen dryer (20 amp) in the shed for 9 years, never touched them.

Oh, and the Whirlpool has never gone out of balance, not once......

unfortunately some of the new maytags etc. have become too domestic, lots of electronics, leds etc, you need the basic commercial ones with the basic rotary dial.

cost $2k for the pair.

recently bought an asko front loader and condenser dryer for the house, no problems with them either...

cost $2.5k for the pair...

i would never buy any cheap brand of whitegood, just not worth it...

There's a reason laundromats/mine sites only use speed queen or maytag. If they ever do break down parts are readily available.
I only went with asko for the house for space reasons.

Yeah, the pair of Speed Queens i pulled out of a holiday home are built like an old school F100, and were hardly ever used.
Rotary Dial, heavy, simple, no fuss work horses.... But there big and rather Eastern Block in appearance

My Miele front loader just died, got 14 years out of it and cost me $1800. Just bought a new one (not the entry level like the last one) cost me $2400 I think. Could of got the old one fixed, it needed the shock absorbers replaced but couldn't be bothered ordering the parts from Germany. A local repair was more than the unit was worth.

What are the industrial ones like on consumables? Water consumption? Energy?

The Speed Queens i have are just stored in the workshop (with everything else) i have a F&P 6.5Kg Top Loader in my house GW612, think it was $1100, something like that. I also have the previous F&P that fried a logic board stored under the house too. Really should try and find a new logic board for that.

Yeah, i doubt the Speed Queens are very refined when is comes to noise, consumables and energy.... I guess i'm about to find out, been storing them for 2 years, might as well install it the missus's house, she can pay the running costs

We have had a good run out of Topload F&P's, last one stopped after 12 years, bought new F&P TL, larger size, it's now done 6 years.
The 12 year old one I managed to fix (just corroded connections on pump) & is still in the shed for emergency if the new 6 year old one breaks down.

Whoa...there's a Mrs Weirdo?

we have 2 whirlpools both top loaders ,
1: one is inside for the good stuff 7 yrs old not a problem

2; the other is in the garage and does all my work gear and mops
etc its 15 yrs old and has rust on some of the side and a piece of timber
screwed onto the bottom keeping it together and level but just keeps on going.

Ok.... so when everyones Washing Machines died

Did anyone bother to repair them? (Miele excluded, no one can afford to repair them)
My old F&P Top Loader (Excellence 6.5) is in Mint condition, but it did a logic board.
No probs i thought, buy another board (2 weeks later, and 20 hours wasted trying to get the new board to work, i bought another machine, but still kept the old F&P)

Board was the right board, machine lit up but would not go, apparently you have to tell the logic board what size machine you put it in.
I believe i did that (long time ago), but it just wouldn't go, i tested the resistance of every part, the motor, you name it...
Even took it to a F&P specialist whom told me i'd been given a faulty logic board. So i returned the logic board in frustration and turned my back on the machine.
Those guys kept my blown OEM logic board to... i bet they fixed it and sold it on for $150!
I am looking at buying a logic board off eBay now $38.

Point is, i wasted hours of time, and money and got no where with a Machine that looked brand new.
And i couldn't bring myself to toss it out, as visually it was mint, including under the covers.
This is where i wonder if any of you bothered to fix your old machine or just thought, stuff it, we got 10 years..... time for a new one.

Don't discount Miele! There was a full block and circuit diagram folded into a special sleeve behind the front hinged panel. It was a dream to work on and all the information for the particular model was found on forums on how to fix it. There is a guy from Germany on Ebay who will do boards on an exchange basis (if you don't want to fix your own) and he will get any genuine Meile part and send it out for a fraction of what the rapists here do.

I should of fixed it and gave it to a friend or family but I wanted a bigger drum to fit whole doonas in, so I took the opportunity.

Originally Posted by oceanboy

Ok.... so when everyones Washing Machines died

Did anyone bother to repair them? (Miele excluded, no one can afford to repair them)
My old F&P Top Loader (Excellence 6.5) is in Mint condition, but it did a logic board.
....snip

Yep as per post#8, the 12 year old F&P, would turn on then blink a couple of times & shut down, so I thought it was a fuse or something, pulled the top off, no fuse, checked every connection, all good. Went to the pump & it was corroded at the terminals so I gave clean up & WD40 spray, still no go. Thought it must be motor or board failure. 12 years is a good run.
Went out bought new machine, mate of mine said he reckons it's just those pump connections, then a week or so later when I had time I pulled the pump out, pulled it apart, cleaned it up & filed the connections, then WD40. put it back in, bingo it's a goer.
Apparently, F&P's do a self check when you start them up, if no pump it wont go. No fill, no run. Just shut down.

Another machine was the Mother In-law's 3year old Simpson, did the dead as a doornail thing, pulled the top off, had an internal fuse blown, replace fuse, kept going for years. Sold it with her house when she passed away.