Hi,
I presently own a 1997 Kenmore 80 series 2 speed DD washer. 3.0cf. Holds quite a bit of towels (16 regular size) and can even hold a full size comforter. It runs great, spins steady and is fairly quiet. The ATC is very effective at providing correct water temp. The draw back is that on fast speed agitate the lights in the house pulsate with the agitation (from day one) Never did anything about it. But this is off track from the subject.

So I read all the threads. Here how FriGEmores throw the bearing in about 5 years. I hear how unreliable the neptunes are. How disasterous the Calypso is. I contacted Speed queen and they are not available in my area (MA) for a while longer; can't buy from the Distributor in CT.

The present washer is a pig on water and energy as well and I can see clothing wear that my 1985/86 Whirlpool belt drive Imperial 70 didn't give me. I should have held on to that machine for dear life. So do us unsatisfied Top loader owners trade in ahead of schedule to something that could be more disasterous or do we wait for the market to shake out a bit?

what a situation. :-)

Well---there is always the F & P top-loader---with a 1000 RPM spin available. Better yet, you could post a "wanted" thread and see who in the club might have one of those belt-driven Whirly's you really like-- for sale! I have had my FriGEmore since 1997--knock wood -no problem. BUT, it will not clean a queen size comforter (oh yeah, you can get the door shut but the machine is packed), and if you get some clothes really dirty (I like to work out in the yard) you risk suds-lock by adding extra detergent AND the extra rinse option rarely rinses out the extra suds. I have decided that I pay a lot less for water then I do for drying my clothes so given an option I will go with a top-loader with the ability to spin fast-----the '56 "Unimatic" is my favorite! Good luck!

If you have your heart set on a SQ top loader, there is someone selling the LWS45AW's on eBay without reserve. The seller is located on the East coast and will ship or you can pick up the washer.

Don't know where he is getting is "clearance" merchandise from, but this is the second unit being auctioned.

Launderess

I also considered a fl until I found the f&p gwl11 and I knew that it was the machine for me. I'm very happy with it and the wash options it provides me. Using auto water level it uses much less water than my maytag atlantis and I appreciate the 1k rpm spin which wrings most of the water out of them before they hit the dryer. Now the dryer is another matter as I'm not very happy with my maytag atlantis. It takes way too long to dry stuff. Last night I timed it for several pairs of jeans and some shirts and at 80 minutes the clothes were still a little damp. I'm going to replace it soon with something that can stay with the washer but I haven't decided on what to get.

Wow-that is a long cycle time! Is your dryer breathing OK? The Maytag dryers aren't usually so slow. It sounds like you have a plugged up vent

Wow! What a long dry time. I'll stick with my 87 Whirlpool Imperial Dryer. Only had one repair about 2 years ago. The repair man said it will give me at least 20. Don't get rid of it (not that I planned on doing that). I like the hamper door.
It's a gas model and seems very efficient.

By the way: Thanks all for the replies.

Have you looked at a Whirlpool Duet/ Kenmore HE3T ? I love my Whirlpool, it uses very little water, gets everything clean, is very gentle on clothes, and spins at 1150 rpm. I have had no problems so far. LG also has some interesting new front loaders as well as Bosch. Jeff

Well my long drying times were because of a clog in the 13'long vent exiting my home and not from the dryer. I cleaned it out today and now my atlantis dries like new with good flow and short dry times. It dries like you would expect something with a 5600 watt heating element to.