Off Topic: Speed Queen Washing Machines
September 25th, 2016Yesterday, our 19 year old Fisher & Paykel washing machine blew up. Before anyone suggests fixing it, know this: SmartDrive motor melted (several coils fused into a single black blob), the boards up on the console fried and the drum was punctured—not necessarily in that order. It looks like someone fired a .22 from the inside out near the top right on the front. Don’t worry, nobody died!
For my purposes, it’s GAME OVER on that one.
Since Fisher & Paykel stopped making appliances in New Zealand, we don’t see any reason to stick with the brand. By all accounts, Fisher & Paykel isn’t as good now. The Consumer writeup on the Fisher & Paykel models we’re interested in are not at all compelling.
Since my early 20s, I’ve wanted to own a Speed Queen. I did my laundry in those machines in various laundromats and apartment complexes until I got married and moved to New Zealand.
In NZ, though, people seem resigned to buying junk washing machines. We can’t afford to buy junk. We need the thing to last. The problem is, Speed Queen machines are extremely (absurdly) expensive in NZ.
Here’s my question to Speed Queen owners out there: Has your top load Speed Queen washing machine lived up to the legendary reputation? Has anyone used one past ten years? Fifteen years? Longer? How much service has it needed?
We’re looking at NZ$2300 for this thing, and that’s actually a great deal because there are no dealers in our area. They are even more expensive at stores. That’s hair on fire insane, but we’re prepared to do it if that’s the most reliable option in NZ.
You might be wondering: Why?
Why consider a machine like this?
We live in a rainy, rural area with three very active small children. Crap from the Warehouse isn’t up to this.
Been very happy with my mondo-large Whirlpool topload washer (“Made in USA”), which, yes, was insanely expensive when I bought it in 2007 and which made my neighbour’s eyes bug out when she first clapped eyes on it. The matching dryer, however, was crap and has since been replaced by, yes, an insanely expensive, mondo-large, commercial Maytag dryer, which required a 20 amp power connection. har.
My wife and I have been using a Sears Kenmore 80 series model 23832100 topload washer for 14 years, and it’s still working like new. We have no kids, so not used as much as you would.
As of 2014, Viewpoints rates the Kenmore 80 series model 110.23832100 washer just above average with 80 overall points. It is a top-loading washer with a dry-clothing capacity of up to 10 pounds. This model has been discontinued by Kenmore, but parts, manuals and installation guides are available on the Sears PartsDirect website. When this model was new, the 3.2-cubic-feet capacity was one of the largest available.
Why not get a front loader. Sure, probably made in Thailand, but Bosch make a pretty good one, you are protected for a few years with the “consumer guarantees act” and you can get them less than 1/2 price of a SQ. Advantages are: use much less water, gentler on your clothes so they last longer & use less detergent (if you make your own like us then this doesn’t count). We currently use a 2005 F&P Gentle Annie & it shows no sign of crapping out so can’t justify getting a front loader.
I know about claims that front loaders get clothes as clean as top loaders, but that has never been my experience, nor my wife’s experience. In our experience, and lots of other people’s, top loaders get clothes cleaner, especially with cold water, which is mainly what we use.
Also, with regard to warranties on cheap machines, I think of it as warranties on cheap solar panels: I don’t want to deal with dead washing machines, just like I don’t want to deal with dead solar panels. It’s a huge pain in the ass.
We have a loaner Fisher & Paykel front loader and the amount of plastic in that thing is ridiculous. The machine feels really heavy, but when I looked inside to see where all the weight was from, it’s a bunch of cement blocks! Plastic and cement!
I have had a couple of responses from people in email who suggest going the cheap route and buying multiple cheap machines. That way, you can use parts off one to fix the one that breaks… *sigh*
It’s true that one can buy about four Warehouse Chinese dungeon models for the cost of one Speed Queen. But we hear nothing but nightmares from people who have bought these things. When we talk to people we know in NZ, there’s a sort of grim resignation to getting crap no matter what. Choose cheap or expensive, but it’s all pretty much crap.
All the responses I’ve had from Speed Queen owners have been positive, though. No regrets. That said, the price is VERY high here and we’re still not sure what to do.
Highly recommend Maytag Commercial Washers. Pre 2000’s models are more reliable and easier to fix.
Starting bid NZ$150…
http://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/laundry/washing-machines/top-loader-65kg-over/auction-1166337959.htm
Ditto on the big pre-2000 Maytags.
When living in the US, used one daily to wash workclothes and shoes. Stayed put, i.e. minimal vibration, and just worked.
Oh, and I fell for the sales pitch and bought a front-loader Miele washer for the cottage. What an ultra-high-tech, 50 million worthless electronic options Piece o’ Crap. It was THE most costly mistake I ever made, other than marrying my first husband.
I showed that Maytag to Becky and she recognized it from her University of Auckland residence hall days.
Hmm.
Definitely something to consider.
Is there a way to tell if one is pre 2000 model? The auction above says it’s 6-7 years old.
I really appreciate you telling me about your Miele, because I was looking in a store and the guy was talking them up to me too. Shiniest brochure ever! That Made in Germany sticker sucks you in!
They don’t make any top loaders. I think they’re not used in Europe much, or at all.
I gotta agree. Stick to top loader. We are a commercial serivced apartments business and top loaders rule in this world. I strongly recommend Maytags…. worth their price.
Becky has been speaking to both Speed Queen and Maytag commercial dealers today. The Speed Queen requires 20PSI water input. The salesguy said people in NZ frequently need to add a pump to bring their water pressure up to 20PSI. That would definitely be us. The Maytag commercial specs also say 20PSI is required, but the dealer says they can “modify” it to work with less???
Speed Queen warranty is 5 years parts and labor. Maytag is 2 years parts and labor.
Getting that Maytag used in Auckland would mean, 5 hour drive down, pick it up, and either banzai back up for five hours more or one night accommodation… Plus hundred something bucks on petrol… I don’t know.
I got our loaner Fisher & Paykel front loader hooked up. I was going to put a load of wash on when I noticed a disgusting bloom of mold on the floppy rubber gasket parts near the door. Thick. Chunks. Black. Brown. Green.
And it reeked bad.
I tried to get out as much as I could with a rag. Then I went to town to buy some bleach. (We never use bleach.) I ran two cups through the thing on 60C and that seemed to help a lot.
I didn’t know front loaders were prone to mold issues.
Woh.
http://www.todayshomeowner.com/how-to-remove-mold-and-mildew-from-front-load-washing-machines/
Class action suit won:
http://www.lieffcabraser.com/defect/front-load-washers/
Well, the Cryptogon laundry saga continues…..
Interesting topic…
I recently offed a 2000 Euro Miele machine. Nice timing as we all had contracted scabies and needed to clean, clean, clean our clothes and bedding every day.
What an eye opener it was for grid-down living. The hours I spent in the bath hand-washing clothes was demoralising and then squeezing the water out by hand left me with sores all over my tender desk jockey hands. Pathetic, I know.
Anyway, after a few days week of that caper, I went and bought a cheap LG front-loader which I hope will last us at least until we leave our current home next year.
But now that I have read this thread, I think I want to buy one of these fancy Speed Queen machines in the future too.
Oh, and whatever you do, try to avoid ever catching scabies. Getting it to go is like getting rid of AIDS.
I’ve heard of the word “scabies” before, but I didn’t really know what the condition was like until I just went a read about it.
It’s like something out of a sci-fi/horror novel.
I wish all of you the best in dealing with this.
On the subject of LG front loaders: They are apparently very good, according to Consumer NZ, for whatever that’s worth. They’re at the top of the “Recommended” list. Consumer NZ only deals with products that would appeal to the widest possible number of buyers. They don’t deal with commercial grade anything as far as I know.
Re: tender desk jockey hands
A decade ago, Becky and I did laundry with an old style laundry plunger in a tub. There’s a Farmlet post about it somewhere. It was all fun and games until the soiled cloth nappies started the pile up. I did exactly one “load” (no pun intended) of Owen’s cloth nappies via the plunger and tub method before I accepted the kind offer of a spare top loader from my inlaws. My hands were sore and shaking after that one load of nappies. (My right hand been done in from decades of mouse use. I use the mouse left handed now.)
And nobody had even barfed or shat the bed, bypassing fluid barriers, at that point—situations which would eventually and repeatedly come to pass.
Before having children, I never thought of the the incredible variety of bodily fluids and other excretions that I would eventually have to wash out from under my wedding ring.
Before Owen was born, I was planning on buying boxes of artificial insemination (shoulder length disposable) gloves for dealing with poo, vomit, etc. But I just got over it. No AI gloves necessary. haha
My wife and mother in law are impressed with my transformation.
Watching parents eat things their kids have spit out used to cause me to throw up a bit. Now any leftovers (there usually aren’t many) slide down the table to me and I clean up any remains.
Becky says I should write a book for men who have moved through the spectacular learning curve of going from zero to three children. Proposed title: Eating and Excreting. Other topics to include, smuggling chocolate, alcohol and other contraband, conjugal visits, hiding video game boxes, losing 20 IQ points (aka baby brain), etc.
But my experience is not in any way unique and this type of book probably represents an entire genre of literature already. And who really would want to read such a thing??? Young, single men would think, “That’s never going to happen to me. That guy is just incompetent.” Men in the midst of it will think, “Thanks, I know all of this.” Older men might think, “I have a vague sense of doom and happiness mixed up together. I think I’ll go for a walk instead of reading that.”
Anyway, the forth load of laundry for today just finished.
Bought a Staber http://www.staber.com/washingmachines machine several years ago. It is a top loading machine but has a drum that is similar to a front loader. Can operate on a 75 watt solar panel and is water efficient as well. Had to fix something on it a while ago and got the parts. These people have made a machine to last a lifetime. Hope they will send one to you in NZ.
Kevin, for the scabies we initially took permethrin, a topical insecticide favoured by dermatologists but increasingly reviled by scabies sufferers as an impotent remedy.
Since July (when we were diagnosed), we have tried a host of mainstream and alternative medical treatments, but so far it persists. I think we shook it off at least once, only to be reinfected.
Apparently, it can get back at you through your socks if you don’t sanitise your shoes. We have been very strict about cleaning bedclothes every day, as well as PJs, etc. Everything becomes a wear-once-then-put-in-the-wash item and paper towels have replaced cloth ones.
Today, we took Ivermectin tablets called Scabioral we had imported from Germany via an exclusive pharmacy in Riga, near where we live. We combined that with a French topical spray called Spregal which, like the tablets, was ridiculously expensive, so let’s hope that combination finally shakes it off.
It is, indeed, like something from a horror film. Belligerent would be understating it, and the insatiable, burning itch it brings… My wife has the worst symptoms and can’t sleep with it. And conjugal activities have been out for months as scabies mites like it when you do that…
As for the lowering of standards when babies come along… I went from being fussy eater to once literally lifting a fallen sausage off the dirty floor and eating it. And as for conjugals, even before the scabies came along I was drifting into twice a year territory. We just can’t get a breather although we have only 2 kids, but zero, absolutely zero, help from family.
I think your Eating and Excreting concept might do well as a cautionary tale… Nobody ever warned me it would be so difficult!
@Kevin
Re. your question about pre-2000 Maytags (8, above), please see:
http://www.appliancefactoryparts.com/blog/2010/02/how-to-find-the-age-of-your-appliance/#Maytag
http://www.appliance411.com/service/date-code.php
http://www.oldewash.com/cf/wash_report_maytag_line.cfm?StartRow=71&Brand=Maytag
Other than the information at the link, I don’t know exactly how you identify them. My agreement with RBNZ’s comment was because my positive experiences with large top-loader Maytags were all pre-2000. During this period, I also helped manage a UCLA-neighbourhood apartment complex whose laundry room had about 10 Maytags. We had a lot of work to do in that place, but the washing machines were rock-solid except when some idiot would jam the coin feed.
From what I’ve read, in later years Maytag had a few problems due to smelly front-loaders, competition with cheaper models, incorporation of planned obsolescence, and later the GFC.
This might also be of interest:
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?16127
http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?18030 (See comments)
http://www.appliancerepair.net/washing-machine-repair-7.html
For what it’s worth, I’ve had a Maytag top loader for 29 years (crap, am I that old?!?). Bought it new in 1987, still works perfectly. The reason I’m writing is because I still remember something that the salesman said when we were selecting the model: he told us to get the basic model without the fancy gentle cycle; it was his opinion/experience that the multi-speed transmission was not as robust as the single-speed transmission. So our model has a gentle cycle listed on it, but the way it works is that it runs at standard speed for short periods, with a couple minutes of soak in between. Good luck!