Hello - I just purchased a Speed Queen Set, which was delivered yesterday. Completed several loads of laundry today and so far am pleased with their performance. I do have one question. I was surprised to see the tub index during agitation. Is that normal for my machine?
TIA James

Here's a photo of my new SQ's.

A beautiful new Speed Queen pair! Congratulations! I don't recall SQ's having indexing tubs, but I'll let one of the members who has more experience with them weigh in on the subject.

Beautiful set! Congratulations!! I would love to see a picture of the washer doing a load of laundry.

I have a new Speed Queen washer and the tub does NOT index. That should not be happening. Which model washer do you have?

angus - my model number is AWS75NW. I guess I'll place a service call. I didn't think it should be indexing.

foraloysius - i'll take a few photos of my next wash load and post them.

If the tub is indexing the brake is not properly engaging.
Kelly

Are these cousins to those AWFUL Amana's we had? alr2903

From what I gathered, they are simlar to Amana's, just built how they should :-).

Jon

Have long been divourced from each other in the Untited States.

Maytag (now owned by Whirlpool) had Amana domestic laundry. SQ is owned by Alliance Laundry Systems for commercial laundry. Both were part of Raytheon Appliance Group, which was sold off back in the late 1990's.

Do not know how much Amana washing machines had reatined since the break up of their former heritage.

Extra Credit Question:

Where does the name "Amana" come from?

(no open books please)

L.

It comes from Amana Iowa!!

Amana Iowa,home of the Amana Colonies. Drove through there a few years ago,basically a tourist trap these days.

What do we win?

kennyGF

You win the satisfaction of having answered a query correctly. The satisfaction of education! *LOL*

In other words, you gets nothing! *LOL*

L.

Do you remember when Barbara Hale did all the Amana Commericals on Perry Mason Esp the Famous Amana Radar Range ! What fun memories...

Here are some additional pictures.

Empty Tub

Filling for wash. Towel load with Charlie's Soap.

Washing 1

Washing 2

Love that stainless steel tub and the agitator. Wish I could see the tub indexing! How much does it index? Mine, which is supposed to, indexes about a quarter-turn on a full load, sometimes a bit more.

My grandmother had an Amana window unit in her kitchen, three units back. History of Whirlpool, Amana, Fedders (with heat), and now Friedrich (with heat).

James,
Oh they are nice. I am envious, I've been thinking about replacing my '97 Maytag dependable care washer with a new set of SQ's but want to get a water softening system for the house first.
Are they quiet? Wanted to ask you how long does the rinse cycle lasts and if there is a second rinse option. Hope to hear from you. Enjoy them.
Barry

Barry, that's their TOL model. 4 wash temp combos, 4 speed combos, variable water level and auto 2nd rinse (that's the rocker switch on the panel). You can look at them in more detail by going to the SQ web site and pulling up the model #.

If I remember right that my Amana washer did index the tub but not by much. It would only index when the washer was full. I was told this was normal when I called Amana. On my Amana which was made when they were owned by Raytheon...it had the switch in the back that would be activated only when the lid was down. I would never have known about the indexing if I hadnt made it wash with the lid open. That agitator does do a great job moving the load and it has great rollover. But fair warning with new towels that machine loves to lint up a load. I had to rewash a new towel load 4 times just to get most of the lint out and then when I ran it thru the dryer the filter was very full.
The dryer ..at least on mine when I had it did heat up very high..more so than any dryer I ever had. I ended up using the delicate temp alot so my clothes wouldnt shrink..yet it does dry fast.
Nice machines I have to say.

I did not even know speed queen was still in existance...

The brand was revived fairly recently. Along with Frigidaire and Fisher/Paykel, it has a traditional longer/slower agitation stroke.

When Raytheon sold off it's appliance division, as previously stated Alliance got commercial, and Maytag the domestic. At the time of the "break-up", Alliance by contractual agreement could not enter the domestic laundry appliance market for a period of years, that period expired about two years ago now and is the reason why one sees SQ home laundry appliances.

IIRC Maytag was NOT happy and tried by legal action to stop or at least delay Alliance's re-entry, but to no avail. Alliance had already been producing a "Homestyle" line of washers and dryers (including front loaders), for light commercial use (beauty salons, small gyms, and so forth); and merely adapted that line for their home market. Some have complained that the initial SQ line up, at least the front loader left much to be desired, and word on the street is new models are due in response to the bad press.

However, being as the above may, SQ home front loaders are probably one of the best built units out there, especially for an 18lb washer. No frills, or frippery, just machines built for the duration.

Alliance sells SQ under the brand name "Hubesch" (sp?) in Canada and the US as well.

L.

Nice pictures, thank you very much! What fabric softener did you use?

After looking over there site, i have to agree, they are simple machienes, and look fairly durable.. Would love to see a video of them..We don't even have a Speed queen dealer within 50 miles

I've had two SQ washers and neither one of them indexed. They are great washers and I plan to keep mines for a long long time.

What I cannot understand is, why do they not promote their products more aggressively?

It would seem that they would have a ready-made market, with folks being so frustrated over build quality....

I, too, would be most interested in a video of them since they are the last of the long stroke agitation system. It would only be fitting.
James, do you think you could hook us up?

Hi Guys,

Here in Oz....Speed Queen domestic are badged as Kleenmaid...see the attached link. I have seen a promotional video here in Oz and from memory: the tub DID index slightly.

Leon

SQ must have one of the worst distributon systems for their domestic line. Goodman Appliances, has the contract and one can only see the entire line at either their showrooms or a very small select group of appliance stores.

When SQ finally launched, went down to Gringer's Appliances, one of the last huge NYC appliance stores, and they had nothing but a few sales brochures. I knew more about the machines than the salesman. When I contacted Goodman's showroom in NYC to inquire about models, was told to come to their showroom, and look at the SQ line there, though they only had a few models on the floor. However one could not place orders from Goodman, you would have to go back to a SQ appliance dealer to make the purchase. Told Goodman,that had to be the most dumb way to shop for appliances, and that I did not have time to go galavanting up and down Manhattan just to order a washing machine. So in short order gave up on SQ.

So that is the reason why one doesn't find these machines anywhere in the shops in the states....!
I'm glad to have one at home here in Germany! It's from the american forces when they left Germany step by step during the last years!
American TLs are hardly available here and mostly unknown - there's one dealer at Ebay's, I found, but he only sells Whirlpool and Kenmore as far as I know!
Ralf

alr2903, this new pair that James bought looks dangerously similar to the horrendous Amanas that you and I ended up with. Mine are 1997 models and what I find really scary is that nearly 10 years later the SQ's look so similar, I have to believe they are equally unrealiable. I hope James has his machines placed where he doesn't have to wear earplugs while they're running, has purchased a repair manual and is prepared to replace the belt on his washer every couple of years, which is not a simple task. If not, then I hope he bought an extended warranty. My extended maintenance agreement has paid for itself nearly every year I've renewed it on these two (washer and matching dryer) pieces of junk.

Hi All and Thank you for all the replies.

frigilux - I like the stainless tub as well. That is one of the things that drew me to the SQ's. That and their simplicity. The tub only slightly indexes counterclockwise.

mrsalvo - They are both quieter than I anticipated for a standard TL and dryer. I'll time the rinse this weekend and post my findings.

foraloysius - softener is original fresh scent Cuddle Soft from Wal Mart. It does a nice job and is not concentrated. It has a more watery consistency so it does not gum up the dispenser.

I'll see if I can borrow a recorder and post a video of it washing.

I have owned the virtually identical w/d pair as Easyspindrier for over a year. However my washer is an AWS52NW.
I just threw in a load of clothes to check the indexing. The tub does not index and is virtually locked into place. It oscillates a small bit (about 1/4 inch) but that is about it.
My Speed Queen washer and drier pair has been terrific for the last year. They work perfectly and the washer never spins off-balance. The washer is NOT whisper-quiet. In my case, reliability and load-balancing were more important than noise.
At my old home I did own a Maytag Performa which is very similar to those unpleasant Amanas you speak of. This Speed Queen washer bears absolutely no resemblance to those machines and its performance is entirely different - and tremendously better. I am convinced that the ALLIANCE Speed-Queen washers of today are completely of different design than the Maytag family of yesteryear. Thank goodness.
I bet a quick service call from your friendly Speed-Queen dealer will fine-tune your baby quick as a wink. You can look forward to decades of ultra-clean laundry to enhance your gracious living... The SPEED-QUEEN way....

I must comment on a set of Amana's I had a few years back. My set was probably 99 or so. They were the TOL at the time, with the exception of the Electronic version. That was absolutely the best washer I have ever had (pre 1995 vintage not included). As far are TL's go, and since the demise of Maytag and GE, they were the way to go. I used the hell out of that washer. It ran about 20 loads and week, plus cloth diapers every other day. I admittedly overloaded sometimes, and I could hear it struggle, but I still never had one moments trouble out of it. Once I got a wild hair to get my Bosch set, I sold the washer to my old boss, who still has it to this day. The dryer I gave away to a co-worker who was a single mom. She found herself right at Christmas time with no dryer. She put it thru a good 10 loads a week too, and it up and died last year. So, I think it did its time. But when all is said and done, my Amana came recommended from a another co-worker who washed constantly...15-20 loads a week....and her machine was pushing 20 years old with no repairs. So, if Speed Queen has that similar design, I would not hesitate for one second to go back to that TL over my FL. Just my 2 cents, ya'll.

Oh, and it didnt index enough write home about. No more than an inch....probably more as in a sypmathetic index......

I recorded some wash and spin action with my cellphone; however, I can't seem to get them to play on the computer. If anyone has any suggestions to help solve this problem, I will post them asap.

I can't remember seeing the Heubsch name (Canadian version) of these for sale anywhere. Which gets me to wondering why they are just called Speed Queen here as well. But my guess is that in all this corporate breakups blah blah that someone else, not Alliance, might still own the SQ name rights in Canada and just hasn't used it.

i thought speed queens were only for laundromats OBVIOUSLY i am wrong had no idea they sold them as domestic models wow.

alr - while they do look like the dreaded Amana set I had, they are built by completely different companies. As I remember, when Raytheon sold Amana, it was Alliance that ended up with Speed Queen commercial and Goodman Industries that got Amana - Maytag ultimately purchased them from Goodman only two or three years later. You and I probably got Goodman machines.

Laundress, I too feel SQ has a terrible distribution system and one that allows for some very wide pricing swings. I too have the AWS75 model and at the few independents in my area, I was quoted prices of $799, $699, $679, $649. One also went as far as to tell me that unless I purchased from him, he would not repair the unit should it be needed.

I ended up at Siebert's Royal Green Appliances in White Plains for $549. They couldn't have been nicer. And they had a few models on the floor to see.

You can find SQ laundry appliances on fleaBay (surprise, surprise)from various dealers. There are several up now from an appliance dealer in New Jersey.

Honestly think SQ really does not really want to go toe to toe with the big guns, despite all their PR about the legendary SQ line returning to the domestic market. To be fair, perhaps they do not want to play the sort of games vendors have to play to sell at the big stores like Best Buy or Home Depot.

Again, while SQ's front loaders may leave something to be desired, their top loaders are streets ahead of what else is being offered. Using the logic that unhappy customers complain the loudest, it just could be non-laundry buffs, those that want appliances that do their jobs and get on with their day, love the machines but don't sit around crowing from the house tops.


L.

L.

Bosch & Paul, your stories are great and I just wish I could say the same for my Raytheon-made Amanas. I do like the dryer's "automatic wrinkle-out" setting and it really does work, but this morning I had to close the door from the kitchen to the garage because of the racket the dryer made and I didn't want to wake up my partner, who was sleeping--past the kitchen, past the living room and down the hall . . .

No disrespect meant to you or your purchase, I wish you the very best with them. My Amana had the center seal leaking, it went to the curb after almost 7 years to the day of purchase. The repair cost was estimated by members here at approx $350. which i was inclined to agree with. Although noisy, it washed very well. We just do not have a lot of repair people right now in our post katrina community.so opted to get a frigidaire to get by with. of course it was less than the estimated cost of repair for the Amana. Just too many things to deal with at one time. Wish U the best of luck with that shiney New SQ. alr2903

The rinse cycle last about 2 minutes. Not very long but very effective. The TOL models have the Extra Rinse Option. I have model ASW52 which has the Extra Rinse option. I love my machine.

Have to say, if I had to buy a new set, I would no doubt go with Speed Queen. I think they are as close to good old Maytag quality as one can get nowdays. With the energy use regulations tightening again, I wonder if SQ will discontinue the top loaders soon?
Bobby in Boston

I think the old Speed Queen Marathon dryers were cool. I took one as a tradein/haul off from a lady a year ago. It would run for 20-30 minutes and then shut down. Just long enough to dry an average load. After sitting for 20 minutes, you could run it another 20 mins then another shut down. 20 on/20 off I called it when I sold it to guy that was on a tight budget ($20.00). He was a single guy who only washed work clothes nightly and had small loads to do only. I see him from time to time and he says it's still 20/20 a year later. But he likes it, says it has paid for itself many times over in washateria bills. If I remember correctly on this machine, the motor was pulling too many amps but a year later seems to me it should have been scrap yard bound by now. When he bought it, I said " heck, the pig tail runs 13.00 itself, so you just got you a dryer for $7.00!" haha.

And if all else fails, the scrap yards are paying $3.00 per hundred pounds on old washers and dryers and $1.25 per pound on old insulated wire. Go do the math. haha.