Did some searching here , but most threads are for HE washers, I am looking of a basic no frills, washer that has decent capacity , or better yet, which ones to avoid !

I have the Maytag 3.5-cu ft Commercial-Grade Residential. Analog dials, full tub of water, gets things clean, and it sounds like a washing machine should. The only downside is the capacity. You won't be washing any king sized comforter in it and a queen would be just barely doable. For clothes though it's outstanding.

The traditional SigForum rec for non-HE, non-computer-gizmo laundry machines is Speed Queen.

They are made in Wisconsin and most of their machines are the old school dumb (in the not-computery sense) ones with big knobs and physical push buttons (they do now make one with a screen and soft buttons).

My mom bought a set and has been very pleased.

We replaced the annoying HE washer about a year ago. It was a toss-up between the type that Skins chose, and the traditional type Speed Queen.

The Speed Queen was just a bit more, but there were no Maytags in stock locally at the time, so we went with the Speed Queen.

It works just fine, and based on its reputation, I really don't expect any repairs for a long time, if at all.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
The traditional SigForum rec for non-HE, non-computer-gizmo laundry machines is Speed Queen.

They are made in Wisconsin and most of their machines are the old school dumb (in the not-computery sense) ones with big knobs and physical push buttons (they do now make one with a screen and soft buttons).

My mom bought a set and has been very pleased.

Alliance Laundry, the parent company of Speed Queen used to be located about 50 miles down the road from me in Marianna, FL, and I did a LOT of work at that plant. I don't remember which politician, but a few years back a politician running for office in WI promised to bring a bunch of jobs to the area. Not sure how the affiliation worked out (he was associated with Alliance somehow), but Alliance shut down their nearby plant, and moved it in its entirety to WI. 28 flatbeds and trailer loads of equipment... Lost all those jobs locally to the yanks.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
The traditional SigForum rec for non-HE, non-computer-gizmo laundry machines is Speed Queen.

This.

The wife does not like the high-efficiency washers. Got her a Speed Queen a couple of years ago. It is no frills, but works like a champ.

Happy wife. Happy life.

not funny lol

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
The traditional SigForum rec for non-HE, non-computer-gizmo laundry machines is Speed Queen.

They are made in Wisconsin and most of their machines are the old school dumb (in the not-computery sense) ones with big knobs and physical push buttons (they do now make one with a screen and soft buttons).

My mom bought a set and has been very pleased.

Alliance Laundry, the parent company of Speed Queen used to be located about 50 miles down the road from me in Marianna, FL, and I did a LOT of work at that plant. I don't remember which politician, but a few years back a politician running for office in WI promised to bring a bunch of jobs to the area. Not sure how the affiliation worked out (he was associated with Alliance somehow), but Alliance shut down their nearby plant, and moved it in its entirety to WI. 28 flatbeds and trailer loads of equipment... Lost all those jobs locally to the yanks.

I don't know about parent company shenanigans, but Speed Queen claims to have been in Ripon, Wisconsin since 1908.

https://speedqueen.com/the-spe...ce/american-quality/

Serious question, Texas isn't particularly southern. Does Wisconsin count as Yanks?

We have one of these with the stupid disk agitator and it suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

My wife got it because the reviews were "great", but I'll tell you that half the shit we put in it doesn't even get wet.

What a pile of unmitigated crap.

quote:

Originally posted by Veeper:
We have one of these with the stupid disk agitator and it suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucks.

My wife got it because the reviews were "great", but I'll tell you that half the shit we put in it doesn't even get wet.

What a pile of unmitigated crap.

High efficiency top loaders take the worst features of both types of washing machines and combine them in creative new ways.

Years ago I had a really expensive Fisher and Paykel HE top loader and it was terrible.

we owned LG, Samsung, Ge top load.

This year I broke down and bought the classic speed queen series. There is an eco tab you can turn it too, but I don't bother.

I don't think anyone does. It is the same machine other than that stupid eco tab as it had been since the '80s.

We bought the dryer first, then our washer went tits up two weeks later. I picked up the washer, fixed the old one, and gifted it to a friend.

We picked up the TC5 and DC5 (washer and dryer respectively.)

https://speedqueen.com/products/all-products/

If I was buying today, I'd *look* at GE and as well as Speed Queen. In late '04 I needed new machines immediately, went to a big box, and got the brand name which would fit down the basement steps of this c.1926 row house. GE Heavy Duty Super Capacity Plus 15-cycle 3 Wash / Spin Speed Combinations washer & a GE 6 Clothes Care Cycles - Extra Large Capacity dryer.

They got me with all of the trigger words. It was a mechanical timer, and other than the washer hose leaking once, they've given me no issues. About $550 or $600 for the pair delivered, 17 years ago.

We purchased a Speed Queen TC5 about six months ago. It gets clothes clean and does so in a short time compared to the front load washer it replaced. I highly recommend it.

Maytag

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
I don't know about parent company shenanigans, but Speed Queen claims to have been in Ripon, Wisconsin since 1908.

https://speedqueen.com/the-spe...ce/american-quality/

Serious question, Texas isn't particularly southern. Does Wisconsin count as Yanks?

As far as I know, the the Speed Queen plant in Ripon manufactures residential equipment. The plant in Marianna was primarily medium/large commercial equipment (think hotels, cruise ships, prisons, on premise systems...) so it was the larger units. When I first stated working with them back in the 90's they were actually owned by UniMac, were subsequently purchased by Raytheon, and later by Alliance. Speed Queen stuff is pretty solid whether it's residential or commercial, if I was looking, that's what I'd buy. I've worked on a lot of the equipment they use to manufacture them.

As for WI counting as yanks, I live in AL and that's south of the Mason-Dixon, sooo... Regardless, I was actually born in MT, so what do I know.

Sigmonkey

I spent plenty of time watching my Grandma use an antique Maytag. She used lye soap and got my underwear super white. I can still remember the smell.

quote:

As far as I know, the the Speed Queen plant in Ripon manufactures residential equipment

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The town features Ripon College founded in 1851 and is the birthplace of the Republican Party.

We purchased this GE top-loader with traditional agitator with dial controls (and its matching dryer) to replace a ~25 year old Kenmore W/D set.

We have an active four-person household and it runs at least one load per day and often two.

It does a nice job of doing what it's supposed to do and has been trouble-free thus far (dang, I just jinxed myself).

We also looked at the S-Q’s with the ‘preferred’ HD transmissions, and at about twice the cost and smaller capacity of the GE we could not justify the price of getting the S-Q.

Note the TC is the classic version of the Speed Queen and you never use the Normal mode, just the others. The Normal mode is the eco one that gets it to meet some government regs. They wash great. They are loud like all the old ones.