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Thread Number: 58330
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
New SQ vs. Maytag DC vs. Whirlpool DD |
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Post# 808445 , Reply# 1 2/9/2015 at 12:48 (3,353 days old) by Frigilux  (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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There's also a certain amount of revisionist history with some of these machines. I remember a LOT of very loud negative opinions about the rapid, short-stroke agitation of Whirlpool/Kenmore/KitchenAid direct drives the first few years of their existence. Remember how often the term 'Shredmore' was bandied about back in the day?
A lot of venim was also aimed at the Whirpool/Kenmore Calypsos during their relatively brief run. Nowadays, they're looked upon as pretty decent machines---albeit with a few mechanical issues that affected their reliability. Personally, I'd take a Calypso over a new impeller-based top-loader in a heartbeat. To answer your query: Of the three you mentioned (SQ, Maytag, Whirlpool DD), Whirlpool DD gets my vote. | ||
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Post# 808465 , Reply# 2 2/9/2015 at 15:26 (3,353 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.)) |
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It's quite simple really: | ||
| Post# 808467 , Reply# 3 2/9/2015 at 15:36 (3,353 days old) by murando531 (Augusta, Georgia - US) | ||
Try to find a nice condition KitchenAid Superba TL. While they were identical to their Whirlpool/Kenmore sisters in the mechanical sense, they used an agitator with a wider base and wider vanes, and used a slower 120 strokes-per-minute agitation that was much gentler, quieter, and rolled large loads over effortlessly. The KA's also had a higher grade motor, a 1/2 HP "GoldSeal", most with 2-speeds, some with 3. Should you find a KA machine, just make sure that you -CANNOT- see holes at the very bottom of the tub. If you do see holes, it is one of the BOL versions of the machine with the standard WP agitator at 180 strokes a minute.
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| Post# 808474 , Reply# 4 2/9/2015 at 15:56 (3,353 days old) by Stricklybojack (South Hams Devon UK) | ||
Faced this very question last week..
I wrote about it in another thread but since it had to be new we went with a SQ but got the FL machine.
On a lower budget we would opted for the just phased out agitator, 5 button mechano-electric WP model. That was for my mother, for me i would have just patiently watched Craig's for maybe the best Atlantis model, or a KA as mentioned above, or gone for vintage gold some steel and chrome monstrosity from days gone by that felt like a new member of the family. | ||
| Post# 808486 , Reply# 5 2/9/2015 at 17:11 (3,353 days old) by Mr_B () | ||
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Check the Warranties The best way to sum up this debate is Speed Queen gives you a 5 year warranty on everything and everyone else gives you a year. | ||
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Post# 808489 , Reply# 6 2/9/2015 at 17:31 (3,353 days old) by kb0nes (Burnsville, MN) |
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Warranties don't really apply to this comparison of machines since two of the machines are vintage, and very few will still have an active warranty ;)
A longer warranty is often used as a sales tool and a shorter warranty may just be a cost cut. A longer warranty length doesn't directly mean a machine is superior in quality or reliability, it only means the warranty period is longer! Of course that does give a certain piece of mind and at least some indication in the manufacturers trust in the machine. With these older vintage machines, parts availability and ease of repair are far more important. I'd take the DD over the others too if I had to have a top loader. | ||
| Post# 808495 , Reply# 7 2/9/2015 at 18:09 (3,353 days old) by Stricklybojack (South Hams Devon UK) | ||
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Extension warranties..
are easy to buy these days, Square Trade etc. They even go on sale from time to time.
With the SQ it wasn't worth it to go for the 5 year warranty electronic control model because my mother understands knobs well and i hate the idea of needing a controller board someday in the distant future. Although i felt better about SQ's electronics than any other given their extensive experience in the commercial space. I saw a video that says they source the board from the same supplier, but it didn't say the same rigorous use and wear potential could be expected from the design in the new consumer electronic control machines, as that of the commercial SQ's. I want to be covered out of the box, and through break in. They maybe past the 10 yr mark which of course is not a consideration. So 3yrs is nearly as good as 5yrs for my situation. | ||
| Post# 808500 , Reply# 8 2/9/2015 at 18:27 (3,353 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
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Post# 808502 , Reply# 9 2/9/2015 at 18:32 (3,353 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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| Post# 808516 , Reply# 10 2/9/2015 at 19:17 (3,353 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
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URL in Manual | ||
| Post# 808517 , Reply# 11 2/9/2015 at 19:20 (3,353 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
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Link | ||
| Post# 808562 , Reply# 14 2/9/2015 at 23:34 (3,353 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
O.K.
First off, nothing personal,please. The Speed Queens I.M.H.O. are the only current top loading AGITATOR washers I would even consider buying new models of but,only if they were reasonably priced. However, the Maytags would be my first choice and I am not at all fond of the DD Whirlpools. They may wash well but too well. They tore my towels and dress shirts to shreds and the fast spin was not at all impressive. The newer ones being worse and I see more of their newer models at the dump then the DDS OR BDS. Lots of lint,lots of scum build up on their plastic outer tubs. The local used appliance dealers hate them and don't even look at them. They prefer the old DDs over the newer machines and rebuild them and sell them for $299 to$499 depending on their age and condition of the cabinet. They sand and repaint the rust and grime. | ||
| Post# 808574 , Reply# 15 2/10/2015 at 04:03 (3,353 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
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Agreed | ||
| Post# 808590 , Reply# 16 2/10/2015 at 07:15 (3,353 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c ) | ||
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I have to say it.. If im to be honest...A Speed Queen is the ONLY choice for a new washer, I would rather have a ingrown toenail than a DD or a Maytag...But then I hate all Maytags and my daily driver is a belt drive Kenmore..if I could get it new, I wouldn't trade it for 100 of the others listed new. | ||
| Post# 808595 , Reply# 17 2/10/2015 at 07:43 (3,353 days old) by stricklybojack (South Hams Devon UK) | ||
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Oops i said...
Atlantis, i meant to say Neptune. A later model with the bugs sorted out Neptune.
Isn't there member here who has a room full of these? Yogitunes i think? I was reading a member extolling their virtues then my wife said her favorite machine she could recall using was the one our friend has at her beach house--which we stay at a couple of times a year--and that pair are Neptunes. The Whirlpools seem hit and miss. I just went over to the appliance store and liked the best of their basic white stuff,(not Cabrio). And being so ubquitious they had a closeout agitator model for $350 delivered...just not delivered to California where my mother lives! | ||
| Post# 810084 , Reply# 18 2/19/2015 at 13:04 (3,343 days old) by speedqueen (Metro-Detroit) | ||
DD vs SQ
Although I signed up here a few years ago this is my first post...
At my house we have a Roper (WP Economy line) DD washer from a few years ago. Shredmore is the best term to describe the way it treats the clothes. Holes in the middle of towels and frayed edges are the norm around my house. If you use it with a low water level and it gets a suds lock. The amount of noise it makes is ridiculous. While easy to fix, in four years the fill meter went causing the bathroom adjacent to the laundry room to be flooded. Another thing that had broken was the one piece fill valve and spout assembly. I have had enough of this machine so much as to be trying to locate a cheap Raytheon built Speed Queen washer from the late eighties and maybe a matching dryer. Slow, long stroke, agitation that will clean better without putting clothes through a paper shredder. I had a SQ wringer and it worked well with its long stroke agitation. Anyone agree? | ||
| Post# 810168 , Reply# 19 2/20/2015 at 01:12 (3,343 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA) | ||
Martin has quite a few Neppies and I'm fond of them, too. While I am very much pro Maytag Dependable Care, my daily drivers are Newton built Neptunes. My MAH7500, IMHO, is one of the best front loaders out there. The capacity may not be the largest in comparison to the new ones but it washes well, is relatively easy to service and will get down to the business of spinning with minimal fussing over the balance of the load where the new ones will play around with themselves for upto 20 or so minutes before spinning out as they are over sensitive to load balancing.
Maytag Dependable Care laundry are what I call 'generational machines'. Frequently, I'll see a 70's set in the laundry room of a young couple who will tell me that they were Grandma's who gave them to Mom when she bought a new set of them who gave them to her children when she bought her new set as well. Speed Queens and Kenmores are nice enough but I can't help but notice that there seems to be far more vintage Maytags in current service than the others... RCD | ||
| Post# 810200 , Reply# 20 2/20/2015 at 07:09 (3,343 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA) | ||
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seems to be far more vintage Maytags in current service than | ||
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Post# 810217 , Reply# 21 2/20/2015 at 08:40 (3,343 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey) |
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yeah, I admit it, I seem to have a bit obsessive liking for the Neptunes, all I can say, is they are reliable, even when I get some abused ones in, a little care and cleaning, and they run top dollar, with up to ten kids at a time, mine get a workout....
with only a solenoid replacement in one dryer, and cleaning screens of the water valves, outside of bearing replacements, these haven't cost me a cent.... people talk about capacity, I have two king size beds, and will wash the comforter, sheets and pillow cases in one load, how much bigger does someone need?.... as far as the Maytag DC, with a little adaptation of washing techniques, and slight under loading, you will get great results, and a machine to last a lifetime... to the DirectDrive versions....yeah, they get a bad rap for Shredding clothing, but this is a wash, for everyone who complains, there is one who has never had an issue, I am one of them....and I use the larger KA agitator at full speed!...how many thousand DD machines built and sold, they can't be wrong!.... with anything, you have to account for user error.... plus I just added two more Neptune washers to the collection....
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Post# 810218 , Reply# 22 2/20/2015 at 08:42 (3,343 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey) |
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I picked up these two sets from a staged home that got sold....never plugged in, and only paid roughly 100.00 for each set...
kudos to Drew for the windowed dryer door....
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| Post# 810284 , Reply# 23 2/20/2015 at 17:31 (3,342 days old) by DigAPony () | ||
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Maytag DC, with a little adaptation of washing techniques, What kind of washing techniques?? | ||
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Post# 810293 , Reply# 24 2/20/2015 at 18:05 (3,342 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey) |
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not to point out just Maytags, every washer has its own personalities that work best, there are pros and cons to making it work for you.....
for some you have to load by quadrants...sometimes in a Z formation others work best with a mixed load.....not a load full of jeans at one time, yet others work with items of similar construction, like an all jean load... because of the motor/belt slippage of a Maytag, you have to underload slightly for best washing results....yet a SQ has a belt tensioner, and it doesn't seem to be an issue.... for a 1-18, we learned by using a lower water level than the load size, gives superb rollover... interesting thoughts to make any given machine adapt to your situation... filterflos, uses a bit more water, handles loads with ease, great rinsing.... pre HE detergents could suds lock a machine quickly....presoaking can aide stain removal, and help by using cooler temps.... its not a matter of finding the best machine, its finding what your machine can do/handle to give you the best results... | ||
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