Thread Number: 71119
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
Miele W4840 |
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Post# 941445 , Reply# 1   6/2/2017 at 14:35 (2,491 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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Ask #1 about the condition of it. #2 any problems with it. #3 why they are selling it. Also confirm the power requirements. I'm pretty sure all Mieles require 240V power, even for the washer.
If you go look at it, make sure it's in an area you can plug it in and test it. Put it into drain, then spin, make sure the drain pump works and it's quite while spinning (bearings). Test the various controls to make sure everything seems to function.
I recently bought an 18 year old 7kg Miele washer & vented dryer from a local yard sale ($45!). At first the pump didn't work, but it was only a bad connection at the pump. It also desperately needed shocks. Otherwise they works great!
If this washer doesn't have the owners manual, they are easily found online and downloadable as a PDF.
I hope this helps! Kevin
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Post# 941449 , Reply# 3   6/2/2017 at 15:21 (2,491 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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The Miele W4840 is the American sized machine that runs on 120V. It was especially designed for the American market to compete with the bigger American frontloaders. Miele had quite a few problems with them, so be careful with buying one.
Here's a thread with a picture of the ubersized Mieles. www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/T... |
Post# 941464 , Reply# 4   6/2/2017 at 16:54 (2,491 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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Thanks for the info Louis! I may have heard these large capacity Miele's were 120V, but paid little attention due to their high cost. I guess their larger capacity machines didn't sell well as I believe they were only on the market a few years. It looks like they (Miele) only offers one washer & one dryer in the US market and they appear to be the Euro size capacity.
WW: Yes testing it empty is fine. The main point is to make sure it functions as it's supposed to and the bearings are quiet during spin. If it's still connected to water, perhaps start a cycle and let it fill, tumble a minute or so, stop, then drain and spin. Let it spin long enough to reach max rpm (3-5 minutes).
Kevin
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Post# 941466 , Reply# 5   6/2/2017 at 17:06 (2,491 days old) by appnut (TX)   |   | |
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Post# 941491 , Reply# 6   6/2/2017 at 20:26 (2,491 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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I have a set of these. Mine are the 4800 washer and the 9800 electric dryer. The washer I have is not much different than the 4840 except that the 4800 does not have the screen to show how much time is left and the it doesn't have the MasterCare cycles that the 4840 has. The washer capacity is ok, on par with a Whirlpool direct drive top loader I would say. If you have pets, beware, the washer does not handle pet hair well at all. I used to find cat hair matted up on occasion. Washing is good as it uses Miele' Hydromatic wash action. This washer does run on 120 volts yet it's no slouch at heating it's own water. The water temps in this washer are not dumbed down. It does run quietly during wash, spin is a tad louder but not excessive in sound. This washer is gawd awful heavy though, comes in at near 300 pounds because of the cast iron counter weights in the front and the cast iron bearing cross in the back. The outer drum is a fiberglass hybrid called Glaron K that causes the water to glide over its surface.
I sold my condo in Maine after my mom passed away this past February and they are going with the condo. I will say this though about the Miele, they are built like tanks and they do perform, but, having used my LG's I find that they have more flexibility and they perform better over all. And not just those two points but the fact that the capacity is greater in the LG. If you think you are going to wash a king sized comforter in the Miele, you will be disappointed. Would I buy them again? No. |
Post# 941518 , Reply# 7   6/2/2017 at 23:37 (2,491 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Varies by who you speak with regarding the matter.
Miele claims the units were built to near commercial standards and that low sales were causing them to lose money. It didn't help that units were assembled in Europe and had to shipped to North America. Many consumers claim both the 4800 and 4840 washers were nothing but trouble from nearly day one, and certainly weren't up to Miele standards of old. Dispenser drawers popping open and or refusing to remain closed. Bits of plastic breaking or falling off. Internal leaks triggering the water protection system causing machine to shut itself down. One woman wrote on some review site that when she contacted MieleUSA about that recurring issue the was advised to "tip the washer forward so the water could drain". Seem to recall one member had a 4XXX series washer where the rear bearings went after barely one or two years of use. Miele offered to repair but the same member stood his ground and got a new machine. No, capacity wise those large Miele washers weren't what they seemed. Clue was that owner's manual directed to load the tub only three-quarters full on "normal/cottons", and even less for various special cycles. What is the good of having an "18lb" capacity washer if you can only wash 12 to 15 pounds? Was considering going after a 4840 while there were still many NIB units to be found. Amex would have doubled the manufactures warranty which would have taken some of the apprehension off the purchase. But in the end just didn't feel it worth the bother. MieleUSA had already done it to me over "Big Bertha" and wasn't looking forward to having more rounds over another washer. As for buying a used 4XXX series washer; by all means follow the advice above. Look over the thing carefully and if possible run a test load. You want to check the bearings/suspension system are in good condition. |
Post# 941550 , Reply# 8   6/3/2017 at 05:23 (2,491 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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Good Memory Laundress.
That would be me. I have the 4842. Yes, after 2 months the Main Bearing was bad. Miele replaced the machine. Also true, the dispenser drawer did pop open/ Since the replacement, I did take out the non renewable 3 year warranty and have not any issues since. Perhaps just mentioning that, I've given myself the "Kiss of Death". LOL |
Post# 941573 , Reply# 11   6/3/2017 at 10:40 (2,490 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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If you are still looking for a washer and gawd I hate to say this, but, I would go wth the LG washer. I think you would be happier with it than the Miele. Why I say that is because the LG handles loads better in my experience and washes better as well. I have the 3570 series with TurboWash and it works quite well at shaving time off a cycle. I like that it recirculates the water in the drum so the detergent doesn't just sit in the outer drum. The washer capacity is awesome and holds more than the Miele does.
One thing wth the Miele is that if you select the Heavy Soil function, it will give you a prewash and then extend the main wash cycle, and its long to begin with, even longer with that and if you select Extended, sweet jeezus that washer will wash for an hour + and that's just the main wash part. The clothes look worn out after that. So I used it once and that was it. The Honeycomb drum is nice but the smaller holes don't help in sand removal or lint removal. If you were looking at the dryer, it isn't quiet by any means and the drum size is only 6.4 cu ft. It does match the Miele washer load for load. But one cannot use dryer sheets in the dryer since the wax from the sheets will plug up the fine pored filter. It's a bitch to clean I might add. Also the dryer is prone to belt breakage. Had one break and I can tell you the repair guy from Miele was dreading replacing it. He had to take the whole dryer apart and it was no quick change out either. When I bought these two back in 08 they were not cheap. The washer arrived at my home DOA. The motor klixon switch was defective and Miele brought a new motor the next day. The washer has been running since. I did not use the washer for a few years as I was rotating washers out from time to time. But that said the washer seen little use on my end. I have a Miele dishwasher that I do love, but the racks are rusting badly and I called Miele since my vac dealer told me that Miele will replace the racks for free. I called and they said no and suggested that I go to Home Depot or Lowes and get a rack repair kit. I wasn't amused. So when I saw my vac dealer again I told her what I was told. Still waiting on the Miele rep to get back to me. My dishwasher is closing in on 10 years old now and I had one issue with it where the wash pump failed and Miele replaced it for free at the time. I had an error code pop up recently. I just finished putting a load of dishes away and I turned the dishwasher power button to off. The dishwasher restarted itself and gave An error code, I looked it up and the Electronic control computer got blasted with a power surge and was failing. I called and they said the control is a whopping $600 just to replace. Nope not going to happen. So I unplugged it, waited 10 mins and plugged it back in, been working since. |
Post# 941575 , Reply# 12   6/3/2017 at 11:18 (2,490 days old) by Revvinkevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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If you've spent a lot of time on this site, I would assume you've read about Speed Queen machines also. I was going to suggest taking a look at their front loaders as they have good build quality as well. However if you are dead set on an internal heater, Speed Queen doesn't offer one as of yet, but otherwise they are very well build, high quality machines.
Back to the Miele set I bought. So far I like almost everything about them. The only thing that does bother me, when I let the 1 hr 40 min cycle run its course, the 45 minute main wash seems really excessive to me. The "rapid wash" option does cut the main wash down to around 25 minutes and eliminates 2 of the 4 rinses, but it does fill 1/3 of the way up the door glass for those two rinses.
Pet hair. I have a dog too and it seems that regardless of which washer are use (I have many) the majority of the pet hair is always makes it into the dryer lint filter. I have never really noticed pet hair remaining in the tub however, I usually find it in the door boot once the cycle is complete. Granted I have not washed many pet hair laden items in the little Miele yet, but it's also old enough that it does not have the "honeycomb" wash tub. With many more, larger holes in this tub then the "honeycomb" tub, I don't think there would be as much of a "pet hair" issue in this machine.
I have to agree about the LG with turbo wash! While I don't have one of those, a friend of mine does and I've used it and I really do like that turbo wash feature. The recirculating water really helps to make sure all garments are thoroughly saturated, which is one complaint about the 2005 LG washer I have. If you wash a pretty large load of anything, or bulky items like a comforter, it can take 10+ minutes of the wash time for the entire load to get completely saturated with water. If I was in the market for a new washer, I would seriously consider one of these!
Kevin |
Post# 941613 , Reply# 14   6/3/2017 at 18:02 (2,490 days old) by toploader55 (Massachusetts Sand Bar, Cape Cod)   |   | |
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Post# 941651 , Reply# 15   6/3/2017 at 22:16 (2,490 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN)   |   | |
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Post# 941672 , Reply# 16   6/4/2017 at 01:07 (2,490 days old) by RevvinKevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)   |   | |
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After my earlier post and comments about pet hair this morning, I decided to do a little test. So... I took the blanket that's on my dog's (Westy's) outside (but covered) doggy bed and washed it in the little Miele without shaking off any of the dirt or hair.
I rant a 140 degree cycle with pre-wash = 1hr 50 min. The pre-wash added 10 minutes to the cycle, but the actual "pre-wash" lasted 14 mins.
Photos: #1 The blanket before the wash.
#2 The control panel at start of cycle.
#3 During the main wash, some fur collecting on the glass. By the end of the cycle however none was on the glass and only a little fur remained on the door boot.
#4 & 5 I set a colander in the sink to capture anything (fur) that came out of the drain. #5 the fur expelled by the end of the cycle.
#6 The majority of the hair was, of course, captured in the dryers lint filter.
#7 Westy was laying on his bed when the blanket came out of the dryer, so my honey just covered him with it. Too cute of a shot to pass up.
Eddie, Westy is doing great as you can see!
Kevin |
Post# 941734 , Reply# 17   6/4/2017 at 13:10 (2,489 days old) by suburbanmd (Maryland, USA)   |   | |
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FWIW, we use the Extended option on almost every wash in our W4840, and never noticed any wear. Maybe I wouldn't notice it, but my wife would. And it gets our stuff really clean. Yes, it does take a long time. No pets. |
Post# 941869 , Reply# 20   6/5/2017 at 09:44 (2,488 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Here's a link to the UK Miele website. Except the WDA models, all models are of the new generation. The new models on the American market will have about the same design.
www.miele.co.uk/domestic/... |
Post# 941878 , Reply# 22   6/5/2017 at 11:50 (2,488 days old) by AquaCycle (West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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Absolutely true, but that's purely because we're used to them. Front loaders have always dominated our market, so it's not even thought of by the general consumer that any other type of washer would be better or worse.
There's pro's & con's to both European FL's and US TL's/large capacity FL's, but ultimately there's very little difference in the results. Front loaders use less water & spin faster, so usually means quicker drying and better for the environmentally concious consumer. Top loaders use a lot more water & a lot more detergent but are considerably quicker. Not sure what it's like on the US market, but over here, detergents are all formulated for front loaders. The biological detergents especially work far better when the machine fills with cold water & heats up. It pretty much removes the need for in-wash additives and bleaches. |
Post# 941909 , Reply# 23   6/5/2017 at 15:19 (2,488 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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There are other European machines one would love to get one's mitts upon. Especially the older incarnations of some German washers.
Large capacity vs. small for front loaders. Five kilo or about capacity H-axis washing machines have served most European homes since post WWII rather well. But then again households long adapted to doing wash every day or other instead of holding to the old "blue Monday". By that one means saving the laundry up for one day of the week. Across the pond where top loading washing machines (semi and fully automatic) dominated things were different. American housewives and others were used to saving laundry for one day, but because of speed offered by such washers could plow through tons of washing rather quickly. The other reason for uber sized front loaders in USA is the *thing* many Americans have about washing duvets and other large/bulky items at home, and also doing so frequently. In Europe by and large IIRC such things are normally aired (outdoors if one can swing it by draping over a balcony railing or whatever), each morning when the beds are done, or maybe every week or so. It is the covers that are washed frequently. When large bulky things do need washing it is sent out to a commercial laundry. |
Post# 941916 , Reply# 24   6/5/2017 at 16:04 (2,488 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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I guess there is also a difference in what there is on the bed. In Europe a double bed is often two single mattresses in one bed. The duvets are often single ones too. The duvet covers are washed weekly, the duvets not so often. I was them every season. The single duvets fit easily in a regular European frontloader, there is less need for an ubersized washing machine.
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Post# 941933 , Reply# 25   6/5/2017 at 17:24 (2,488 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Post# 942050 , Reply# 26   6/6/2017 at 11:37 (2,487 days old) by jkbff (Happy Rock, ND)   |   | |
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I am gonna chime in on this.
I had a Miele Euro-sized pair, W 3038 and T 8023C. I loved that pair. A customer needed something ASAP for his camper so I sold them to him. I have a LG WM3997HWA. It is alright but it doesn't clean like my Miele did. I do the same exact loads in the LG, my white shirts aren't as white, and stuff just doesn't feel as clean as when I used my Miele's. I have my eye on the stainless little giants, but am hoping to hold out and see if the W1 models come to the US. I will probably get the Electrolux EFLS617STT pair before I get the Mieles because I sell a ton of the Luxs. I bought my mom the 617's in white to replace her neptunes and she has started washing things in the luxs that she never washed in the neptune. I'm not sure if it is because there is a window in the washer and she can see what it is doing or if she is more confident in the tub size. Anyways, she seems to enjoy them. The one quark I had with my Miele washer was sometimes the load wouldn't balance properly for a spin and the tub would lunge. When it did that, it would pop the hose off to the pressure switch and the machine would fill and fill then indicate a no fill and drain everything. I'd have to take the lid off, pop the hose back on and away we went. About the third time it did that, I pulled the hose through a different direction and used a zip tie as a clamp to keep it on. Didn't have issues with it after that. I absolutely miss my Miele dryer. I miss the reverse tumbling, and it seemed to be quicker than the maytag Dependable care I am using right now. Anyways, good luck on your search! |
Post# 942129 , Reply# 29   6/6/2017 at 19:57 (2,487 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)   |   | |
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Was another turn off for many regarding the 4XXX series washers and matching dryers.
I mean you read about those Miele machines having all sorts of issues in their first year or so, but the warranty expires after only one. This coupled with the face Miele wasn't giving those machines away, and their call out charges are dear. Imagine if the member above had his washer problem (rear bearing failure) after the warranty expired? That is *NOT* a repair job MieleUSA normally does on location. Rather the machine must be packed up and shipped to Princeton, NJ, repaired, then packed and shipped back to customer. Guess who pays for all that transport, repair work, parts and so forth? When Miele laundry appliances are working properly they are a dream to own. But heaven help you should this not prove the case. More so if you do not live anywhere near acess to a Miele authorized repair service. Thank God we live in NYC, but even then dealing with Miele in New Jersey often has been a maddening experience. Don't know how Miele did it, but they have managed to export (pardon my saying) German stubbornness to American employees. When you call MieleUSA for service you'll be told "no, the machine cannot be doing that....". If you insist it is not working properly you'll be further told "what did *YOU* do to the machine"? You'll further be treated to a lecture about how Americans do not understand German laundry equipment or whatever. Miele will insist for instance the washer is kaput because *YOU* used too much of an inferior detergent. This is not universal, and sometimes you'll get a really good old school tech on the phone who is happy to help no matter how long it takes. But it happens often enough to turn people off Miele appliances. |
Post# 942248 , Reply# 31   6/7/2017 at 11:29 (2,486 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands)   |   | |
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Post# 942259 , Reply# 32   6/7/2017 at 12:32 (2,486 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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This is the set of Miele's that i have
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Post# 942530 , Reply# 33   6/8/2017 at 19:23 (2,485 days old) by Rolls_rapide (.)   |   | |
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Not exactly glowing reports in a good many cases...! CLICK HERE TO GO TO Rolls_rapide's LINK |
Post# 942549 , Reply# 34   6/8/2017 at 20:34 (2,485 days old) by UncleDave (California)   |   | |
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