First the TV, now the Washing Machine

[MiniDave]

We bought it in '98 so I really can't complain......the exact same machine is on sale at Sears for about what we paid for the old one, but of course, time and technology move on so we're looking at an upgraded one with steam and all sorts of other fancy options.

I've had to do very little maintenance to it over the years, we came home from a 4 day weekend one year and just as I opened the garage door I heard the water supply hose pop and ran into the laundry room and shut it off, a little water got sprayed around but not much...however, shortly after that the bearing in the drive motor started singing. I let it go for a while but eventually pulled the motor and put a new bearing in it, since then it's been trouble free for ten years or more. Of course I also replaced the original rubber hoses with the stainless wrapped ones....

This time it started banging on the spin cycle....it's not uncommon for these to break the shocks that keep the drum from hitting the sides of the cabinet, and I figured that's what had happened, but when I pulled the back off they were fine. I bought a new set and put them in but it still did it. Yesterday I took it apart again, the shocks are fine but on studying the parts breakdown I found there's an "inner spyder" bracket that bolts the drum to the outer drive spyder bracket - there is no way to replace it without tearing the machine completely apart and buying a new drum, which costs more than a new washing machine!

So, she's narrowing her choices and zeroing in on her new machine....I was concerned that it wouldn't fit thru the narrow opening to the garage door and as the car that is on the rack isn't drivable I wasn't sure we could get the old one out or the new one in again - so today I did some careful measuring and it should just fit with inches to spare.

The old one is a Kenmore/Frigidaire/Whirlpool....same washer sold under a number of brand names but she's leaning to a Samsung this time - which I have all sorts of trepidations about, as our expensive Samsung refrigerator has NOT been a paragon of reliability....I've fixed it more times than I care to think about, and it was a top of the line unit.

We'll see what happens. Interestingly, the current generation Kenmore/Sears brands do not have very good reliability based on consumer reviews, and compared to LG and Samsung. don't know what to believe anymore......

I know I have a new water heater on the short term horizon too.....and Rose's car is still down on it's suspension too.

You know what they say, a man's home is his hassle

[BruceK]

We bought a Samsung dishwasher about 3 years ago.   I decided to go with the Korean brand since they seem to make some pretty good phones and televisions so I thought perhaps their appliances were good too.   Six months ago I noticed some water on the floor in front of it.   Seems the lower door seal had folded up on itself and the rubber fatigued, so it needed to be replaced.   A search online and calls to different suppliers brought the news that Samsung no longer sold just the rubber seal for a 3 year old model.  The only way to get a new seal was to buy a new dishwasher door with the new seal attached.  The door was only about $400  50.gif    Obviously, when you consider spending that much money on a repair it's worth it to go a little bit more and just get a brand new dishwasher. So a trip to Lowe's and we found a very nice Frigidaire dishwasher that not only is quieter than the Samsung and cleans better but I hope will be cheaper to run and repair too.

[ADRay]

I'm a Maytag owner myself. Gear (not belt) driven. Also, in my experience, the "dumbest" (non or minimally computerized) ones you can find are the most reliable.

[MiniDave]

Maytag, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Sears, Electrolux and Amana are all made by the same company now.

Maytag is one of the ones she's zeroing in on....I think the Samsung is now out of the running.

I agree with simpler is better, but the funny thing is the lower end models all have much poorer reliability ratings than the more expensive and complicated versions - with steam, pre-soak and so on. She wants a few of the special features, and to get those you seem to get them all. She's pretty good at her research and since it's her "tool" I'm leaving it to her.....I do use it as well, but she probably uses it 3 -1 as much as I do.

We'll see where she lands this weekend, most of the big box retailers will deliver, and haul off the old one - although no one has one in stock - they all order from a warehouse somewhere and deliver, usually in a week.. One interesting note, they are all bigger than our old one, and I have both washer and dryer setting on pedestals - the new one won't fit the old pedestal dammit.....and those things are another $200!

[MiniDave]

Out with the old, in with the new....Whirlpool this time....

[94touring]

Looks like some serious cleaning power.

[MiniDave]

1 1/2 times bigger tub than the old one, which did just fine for just the two of us.....according to the dimensions listed on the website it wasn't supposed to fit the pedestal, but as you can see it fits perfectly. The feet even lined up with the sockets.

[94touring]

I also appreciate they're made in the U.S.  Tulsa has a factory.

[MiniDave]

Yep, glad I talked her out of the Samsung.......delivery on Sunday was a surprise....no extra charge either. I did tip the guys $20 for not hitting Stan's car as they carried the old one out and the new one in.

[94touring]

Ha, yeah I don't have time to do panel repairs on it!

[MiniDave]

Well, she's had her new tool box for a couple of days and has done about 6 loads of wash in it, trying all the various and sundry custom settings - it seems to take a lot longer to do a wash cycle than the old one, but maybe that's just because it has a digital timer that tells you how long till its done.

I did a huge load of jeans and it handled it easily, so all in all I think she's gonna be happy with it.

Now I need to get her car back on the road again.

[BruceK]

Is it one of those HE (High Efficiency) ones that uses very little water and special HE detergent?  I'm still getting used to our recent HE washer - it just seems to move damp clothes back and forth to clean them.  Very different from the old kind that had clothes floating around in a big tub of water.

[MiniDave]

Yes, it is an HE. You do have to use a certain kind of detergent, but Tide (which is what she uses) makes one.....

[jedduh01]

Solid Choice.. US made and that US Company does want to keep your brand loyalty. MANY reviews will lead to the Samsungs and LG's poorer service life and repair ability time and time again . They really draw you in on snazzy designs and features that arent REALLY necessary...

Help clarify Branding and the corporate Umbrella.  As i work in this business directly. I can speak for my Company and brands... but it is a "wash" as MANY MANY of the parts and components come from Overseas regardless and are assembled in the "US" factories.. Everyone still has their specs and specifications designs and engineering.


GE = Owned by Haier (Chinese) makes GE, Amana , Hotpoint and Manufactures items specifically for Sears / Kenmore

Electrolux = Owns , Frigidaire . White-Westinghouse,  Gibson and a few others not used in the USA - Frigidaire is King household brand  Electrolux is High end  and also Manufactures products for Sears /Kenmore . Factories in USA Include - Freezers = Minnesota , Dishwashers - NC, Cookers - Tennessee, Laundry - Elpaso Tx. Refrigeration Anderson SC.   with Distribution across the country too.

Whirlpool - Maytag, Daycor, Danby Roper and so also make manufactures products for Sears Kenmore..

Sears Kenmore is really a License to build and sell to arrangement with all appliances. Sears makes nothing.. simply offers the supplier rights exclusively.

[Lone Star Mini]

Our Washer and Dryer is Maytag purchased near 1991 and they are still running strong.  Over Christmas I had to fix my parents (can't remember brand) fancy washer which they just bought 3 years ago and it's all rusted out.  Our old no bells & whistles Maytag will last us forever I hope.. just put in a new water heater too last month after 20 years on the other.  Had never replaced a water heater, but wasn't bad at all..  learned of the existence of "Shark Bites" for cooper tubing.. way cool...