quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Speed Queen ... their very small capacity made them a no-go for me.

Capacity is why my wife shot SQ down.

How much capacity do you want? I can fit a queen sized comforter in mine. Plenty big for me.

Oddball - that's the same model I have. Ten years and still going strong like new. Never had a problem with it.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

A zip tie would probably work if I could get back there.

I use a bungee cord and run it from the switch to the bottom of the machine. Works like a charm.

Yeah, bungee would probably work too, but the problem is, I can't get to the back of the machine. Small laundry room, no room to maneuver, and I am mobility limited due to age and medical situation.

Maybe if we get a handy-man in to do some other things, I could add this to the list.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Speed Queen ... their very small capacity made them a no-go for me.

Capacity is why my wife shot SQ down.

How much capacity do you want? I can fit a queen sized comforter in mine. Plenty big for me.

For us it was 4.5 or larger. The low marks on the SQ for stain removal was another big consideration.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Speed Queen ... their very small capacity made them a no-go for me.

Capacity is why my wife shot SQ down.

How much capacity do you want?

Big enough to hold the winter-weight duvet for our California King bed, I suppose.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
The low marks on the SQ for stain removal was another big consideration.

The only Speed Queen reviews I could find on that USA Today site you linked were for the TR5 and for an older model that was discontinued over 5 years ago, neither of which are the same as their Classic model TC5 that's been repeatedly mentioned. There isn't a review of the TC5 on there.

In addition, it comes down to personal priorities. If your priorities are huge capacity and water/energy efficiency, Speed Queen isn't for you. If your priorities are longevity and reliability, they can't be beat. As for cleaning capability, I find my TC5 gets clothes noticeably cleaner than the more modern design of my previous high efficiency front load washer.

But I definitely understand how a guy who deals with grass clippings, small engines, and lawn chemicals all day would have stain removal as a #1 priority.

We make a lot of steel for GE dryers, yes their owned by Haier, a Chinese company, but most/all of the parts, that I am aware of, are domestic, including assembly. If your from Northern WV a lot of the work takes place not too far from you. Monthly we produce about 75,000 meters of strip just for the drums, that's a lot of dryers. There QA department is very strict and demanding.

When we moved into the house 30 years ago I got took the Harvest Gold 1970's Maytags my parent had and had them painted white, they were still running when the wife wanted new front loaders, which was the thing at the time.

Sold them off to an older gentleman for a few hundred, I'd bet they are still running today.

Should have left them Harvest gold too...

Good information guys, thank you. As far as GE I wonder how they are now as far as quality and longevity compared to my old GE? For the most part when we look at long term reliability on units say 5-10 years old, the results generally don't translate to what's available now as those old units are discontinued and the new ones can be completely different build.

I priced three sets all top load; LG, Speed Queen, and Maytag commercial. Prices all include delivery haul away, new hoses, and 6% sales tax.

Lower/mid range LG. I could not see that their higher priced models have any higher quality parts or are built any better. $1,291.
Speed Queen TC5 and DC5. $2,785.
Maytag commercial prices just about exactly in between at $1,958.

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Originally posted by ridewv:
Speed Queen TC5 and DC5. $2,785.

Dang. I paid $2044 OTD for the pair, delivered and installed, back in July 2020. About 25% less. And that was at the height of the pandemic shortages and resulting higher demand.

Salesman said it's crazy that SQ has been increasing prices every 6 months since the pandemic started.

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Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:
Speed Queen TC5 and DC5. $2,785.

Dang. I paid $2044 OTD for the pair, .

Yowza! I paid $1400 OTD for my pair.

Ain't inflation great?

When we bought our place five or so years ago, it came with a Whirlpool Duet washer & dryer set that were less than two years old. High Efficiency front loaders for both of them.
These were the top of the line Whirlpool machines at the time of purchase. They even came with a fancy stand/base/drawer unit under both of them.
We bought the house from the better half's parents so we knew the real story and purchase date for the two machines.
They were moving to a new house on the lake and wanted a complete house full of brand new appliances.

Shortly after the warranty expired, the washer started puking up an error code. Just like a check engine light on your car/truck.

I located the digital equivalent to a shop manual for the washer.
The diagnosis/repair for that particular error code stated:
A. Replace circuit board # 1.
B. If replacing circuit board # 1 did not fix the error code, then replace circuit board # 2.

If I recall correctly, $500 to $600 for EACH circuit board.

I fixed the problem without buying any circuit boards.

When the local appliance dealer installed the Speed Queen commercial top loading washer, they took the Whirlpool Duet front loading high efficiency washer with them when they departed.
We haven't done anything with the Speed Queen other than add detergent, softener, and dirty laundry since it was installed.

The Speed Queen is commercial, not high efficiency, totally analog, rotary clock timer for the dial, and completely devoid of any electronic circuit boards.
I recall the Speed Queen as having one wash setting that is considered high efficiency, but it has never been used as such by us. We have a well.
I do expect it to continue doing it's job for at least another twenty years.
It came with a five year warranty, and the appliance dealer added another two year store warranty on top of the factory five at no additional cost.

The Whirlpool Duet dryer? It is propane and continues operating. Will I ever buy an expensive repair part for it? Highly unlikely. It will get kicked to the curb.

Yeah SQ's high prices as well their limit over what dealers can discount is what led me to look at other options in the first place.

Funny this topic came up. I was talking with a colleague at work a day or so ago about this very subject.

I have a early 80's Speed Queen that I got when a laundry replaced them with new ones sometime in 1986-1988. Still have it. Had to replace a belt or two, and I mean two at most I replaced the water pump once, sometime in the 90's. I have an extra pump and motor, not sure if I will ever need them. Needless to say, it is still going strong. I think it will out last time.

Vince

I bought a Maytag HE top loader that was recommended on the forum. The machine decided how much water it was going to use. It had a glass lid and I could see sections of clothes that never went under water. Ending up selling this one online and bought a dumb $500 GE machine from a local store. I wanted a machine where I select the water level and no sensors. This machine made a bunch of noise and after 3 repair visits and replacing about every part inside this one was a lemon and we were given an identical replacement. Repair tech said this machine is known to leak oil onto the belt causing it to slip.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I bought a Maytag HE top loader that was recommended on the forum. The machine decided how much water it was going to use. It had a glass lid and I could see sections of clothes that never went under water.

That's not how HE machines work. You have to do away with the notion that clothes are fully immersed in a large amount of water and basically stirred or beaten by an agitator. HE machines basically "moisten" clothing with the detergent/water mix and they somehow come out clean, I don't know how it works, but it works.

These work pretty well:

Sure, but who can afford to house and feed a washerwoman these days?

I honestly don't know what is best, but this is my experience.
When my 30 year old Kenmore broke down I decided to get a new one.
1st a Maytag broke in 2 years, 2 GE broke in 2 years
3 LG HE been working fine no issues going on 7 years, uses less water and detergent.

Well something came up that I couldn't get away yesterday and LG's sale ended yesterday. So now I have to wait until MLK, Presidents Day, or whenever the next sale is. LOL that gives me more time to procrastinate!
I do like Speed Queen and would pay 30% even 50% more for less features and better quality, but I just don't think I want to pay 115% more. I mean why buy expensive, long lasting shit, that is going to last way longer than I am?