Thread Number: 3399
Kitchenaid FL Washing Machine |
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Post# 84585 , Reply# 1   9/22/2005 at 21:04 (6,782 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Interesting that you couldn't find a local store stocking the machine. There's a furniture/appliance store in this little Texas town that has an Ensemble pair on display, in Meteorite. The local store isn't particularly large, but I just checked the parent company's web site. I'm familiar with them, they've been around for many years, but it's a larger company than I realized. They have 37 locations across TX and one in Oklahoma.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO dadoes's LINK |
Post# 84628 , Reply# 2   9/22/2005 at 22:12 (6,782 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 84636 , Reply# 3   9/22/2005 at 23:00 (6,782 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 84990 , Reply# 5   9/24/2005 at 14:31 (6,781 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill *Home of the RailwayTrials* Merseyside,UK)   |   | |
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These are the ones I took a pic of in a local store in Nebraska whilst attending the convention, are these yours?? For the whitest whites I would use the 122 temp for light / normal soil with a biological powder.For heavy soil I would use the higher max temp. The FAB part of a new machine is learning how it all works and hangs together, enjoy... |
Post# 84991 , Reply# 6   9/24/2005 at 14:32 (6,781 days old) by peteski50 (New York)   |   | |
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Frontloadfan, I realy have to agree with you on the WP FL washer series. It seems to be a better built door boot than the rest in that it doesn't retain water. Their are things good and bad about all these machines. On my LG combo their is always a puddle in the door boot but not very big. The new Frigmores has a bigger issue with the door boot in that it retains a lot of water. I wish we the appliance fans could design these machines! We would come up with awsome appliances. Peter |
Post# 86952 , Reply# 12   10/4/2005 at 11:22 (6,771 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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The flexibility of my Duet has been my only complaint since getting them 16 months ago. There is too much "pre-programming" done for the user, for some this may be fine but I would actually prefer to have a broader range of choices of temp, wash time, etc. One the most annoying things is that you have reset the machine after soaking to get a spin. It defaults to "no spin" but you cannot change this setting. The same is true for water temps, sometimes I would like to have the option of a hot water wash AND the delicate/handwash programming. I realize that these choices are built in to prevent user errors and poor performance and/or damage to garments but they have limited the use of the machine to their own parameters with no options for change. Even on the TOL models, the cycle modifiers are still limited by the programming at the factory. A programming sequence like the GE Harmony's for favorite, custom cycles would be a nice addition. Perhaps with the coming advances in connectivity from home computers to appliances, this will be easier.
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Post# 91273 , Reply# 15   10/29/2005 at 20:53 (6,745 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Thanks for the update; The Ensembles are truly beautiful machines. I'm impressed they're increasing the spin speed to 1300 rpm. That's DAMN fast for a tub that big. I really don't like their Rinse Hold idea; Who would want to leave their clothes soaking in rinse water all day? Yuck. A simple Delay Wash feature would have been much better. Of course, I probably wouldn't use that feature often, anyway. I tend to do the wash when I'm home. |
Post# 91330 , Reply# 16   10/30/2005 at 04:35 (6,745 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 97647 , Reply# 18   12/9/2005 at 23:54 (6,704 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 97682 , Reply# 20   12/10/2005 at 12:33 (6,704 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 97755 , Reply# 22   12/10/2005 at 21:46 (6,703 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 99062 , Reply# 23   12/20/2005 at 01:36 (6,694 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)   |   | |
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I have seen the KA FL machines at the Western Appliance in San Leandro. The first time I saw one was a couple of years ago. If I'm not mistaken, that one had a darker gray cabinet, and it was stunning. The most recent versions appear to be a bit lighter, and not as dramatic, but still very nice. Wet washing fabric depends upon three energy inputs: thermal, mechanical, and chemical. All three are intensified by time. So, for the very whitest whites, the Sanitary option could be used. Me, I get very white whites with my 130F Neptune 7500. I use every trick to extend the time of the wash cycle, so that the total cycle time is 109 minutes. I also use a phosphated detergent, and the results speak for themselves. If I had a machine that went to a higher temp, I would wash the whites up to 160F. Above that, I'd probably only wash stuff without elastic. I sometimes use the 109 minute 130F cycle for work clothes that are especially dirty. I work in a metal shop and when I have to service one of the big machines, my shop/lab coat can get pretty grimy. I can also muck up jeans and shirts pretty good when working at home on one of my vintage cars or in the garden. |
Post# 99070 , Reply# 24   12/20/2005 at 03:36 (6,694 days old) by newwave1 (Lincoln, United Kingdom)   |   | |
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hey guys! your all really lucky to have these huge machines. they sound very fun! there starting to filter through here in the uk. but the main problem being space as we have standard counter top height & width. alot of people having seperate laundry rooms now helps the situation though. i work for an electrical retailer here in the uk. & we've started to see some "BIG" washers coming into the market. theres the bosch nexxt which is called "logixx9" over here. the ariston "extendia" which is sold under the hotpoint brand here. which has a 8.5Kg load & 1400rpm!...the whirlpool "dreamspace" as its known here. better known as the "duet" to you guys. i did consider one of these monsterous machines...which would be fine while i'm living at home but i plan on getting my own place next year & space would be a problem again. i wanted to say something about the "soaking" option. my AEG oko_Lavamat 74640 has that with the option to make it last 1-23 hours!! it fills up to the lip of the seal & tumbles every few minutes...also it heats to 30degrees. jon has the same option on his aeg too. i find it more effective than prewashing! can anyone explain how the bulky cycle works on these Kitchenaid FL's? we've similar options on some machines giving the option to utalise the full load. Also,do the waterlevels ever become visable? my samsung fills right up to the curve of the glass but once it starts tumbling its not visable again. thanks Darren |
Post# 99212 , Reply# 26   12/21/2005 at 05:46 (6,693 days old) by newwave1 (Lincoln, United Kingdom)   |   | |
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Hey Frontloadfan, thanks for replyin! to answer your question.there isnt a machine bigger than the duet here yet! i doubt that there will be that things huuuuuge! lol. actually maybe there is the LG Tromm which is 10Kg which im not sure wot it is in cu.ft i lost my converter lol. i think its bigger than the duet. i have to admit the kitchenaid does look much nicer than the duet. u must use the soak option alot? i think its very effective! even on just a typical full load of clothes. helps to get everything saturated! :) i didn't think there'd be much visable water on a machine so big & modern but i bet its fun to watch:) although i think this water efficiency thing is getting ridiculous. its great if to conserve but not at the expense of rinsing results. especially when alot of people are getting skin allergys now. theres an article on www.asko.se/... about the whole not many machines are rinsing properly. thats why i'm very happy to have a machine which will let me do 5 rinses! which are fairly deep for a modern machine. but i've been spoilt with machines that take a heck of an amount of water! and that don't have any option for extra rinsing because they didnt need it!! lol. how does the kitchenaid "wet rinse" work? does it jst keep refilling once the movement begins to keep the clothes really saturated? & to answer your final question i've had my samsung a couple of weeks and i think its a really great machine! the brand is gettin alot of strength behind it & given time like any manufacturer they will be a big name! Darren |
Post# 99226 , Reply# 27   12/21/2005 at 08:20 (6,693 days old) by newwave1 (Lincoln, United Kingdom)   |   | |
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Hey again Frontloadfan! just lookin through the thread again & noticed you had a samsung made neptune! & you said about it had trouble balancing a load & didnt like small loads. thats very remenisant of my samsung sometimes it gets really fussy & wont spin for ages. constantly trying to balance the load. hmmm. its really annoying especially when 2 of my older machines have no out of balance sensor at all & jst dance a little or alot lol. though i can see how out of balance sensors are good because i ran a towel load through my 18year old hoover logic frontloader & too many wet towels got on oneside of the drum & it fired up to 800rpm thankfully i didnt let it get to 1300 lol & it jumped one side of the room to the other & would'v continued to had i not jumped on it & killed the power lol. it scared the life outta me! lol. Darren |