Thread Number: 72200  /  Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
How we feelin' bout Washer / Dryer Combo units?
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Post# 954734   8/26/2017 at 22:28 (2,405 days old) by amyofescobar (oregon)        

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Anyone care to report in?

I'm also curious on whether or not it's an ok idea to get used. I'm still using a DD toploader just because I HATE having to try to get stuff fixed. But maybe I need to get over that...





Post# 954753 , Reply# 1   8/27/2017 at 05:14 (2,404 days old) by Easyspindry (Winston-Salem, NC)        
I have a . . .

. . . 1959 Philco Bendix Duomatic which works just great. It does what it's supposed to do. But it takes probably 1.5 to 2 hours to wash and dry a load. Therefore, if you have more than one load to do, it would take the better part of a day to do laundry.

I wonder if the newer ones such as LG are able to extract the wash/rinse water enough to make the drying go quicker. I have never seen one in operation. One problem with spin speed high enough to extract the water is that sometimes items stick to the side of the tub after a fast spin therefore not getting dry or getting scorched in the drying process.

It's a good idea for a busy person that is organized enough to do laundry in small loads which, of course, means doing it more often.

Jerry Gay


Post# 954754 , Reply# 2   8/27/2017 at 05:32 (2,404 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        

Modern units are usually slower due to their low heating powers and the pretty terrible efficeny of their water cooled condensers.

Post# 954765 , Reply# 3   8/27/2017 at 06:56 (2,404 days old) by washdaddy (Baltimore)        

If you currently own a DD toploader and are happy with the way it's working and the cleaning performance you are getting from it.....KEEP IT!

If you go out and buy a new HE machine just to keep up with the Jones's you'll be kicking yourself later for doing so. The newer machines aren't built like the old ones. The HE features of the machine cycle times are much longer than what you are used to as well. And for the most part you can kiss washing in HOT water any longer because they "dumb down" the temp so far your lucky if the HOT setting gives you warm water.

The list could go on but I won't waste more space....Just keep the DD machine going you won't be sorry.


Post# 954770 , Reply# 4   8/27/2017 at 07:48 (2,404 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

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And on today's episode of 'Food For Thought': Remember that time it seemed like a good idea to buy one of those TV/VCR combos?


Post# 954788 , Reply# 5   8/27/2017 at 09:48 (2,404 days old) by warmsecondrinse (Fort Lee, NJ)        

Washer/dryer combo units are a godsend for people who have:
- Space for one machine
- Only 120v available
- No gas line
- No ability to vent

If you're in that category, go for it. Otherwise there're most likely better options.

I suppose if you had the space for 2 machines, COULD vent a dryer, had no gas and only 120v available you could clothes done a bit faster by washing the first load in in the combo, drying in a 120v vented dryer, and letting a second load in the combo do a full wash & dry cycle.

Personally, if I had a DD washer that was working fine, I'd keep it and get creative with drying options if that were the issue.


Post# 954848 , Reply# 6   8/27/2017 at 13:22 (2,404 days old) by amyofescobar (oregon)        

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I mean, they are SO common in Japan, SO common in Europe. I keep finding out about machines that I WISH they made in the states, but they don't because we don't seem to care about living small.
Now the fact that they're often ventless is a nono to me. But in theory, why wouldnt they be a good idea?


Post# 954856 , Reply# 7   8/27/2017 at 14:05 (2,404 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        

In general, it's the time issue.

They are fine if you wash one load a day, and set it in the morning before heading out to work.
Any other setup, and you would have to imagine the setup as follows: If that would be 2 seperate appliances, its as if you could ever only run either the washer or the dryer at one time, never both at once. Normal setups save huge amounts of time by basicly handeling 2 loads at once.

Further, space constraints. You could only ever wash half loads as you need space for the laundry to tumble during drying ( 1 to 2 ratio between washer and dryer).
Dryer drums never move side to side, thus, clearance between drum and cabinet can be as low as belt thickness plus 2mm.
Washers usually have clearances in the cm range due to suspension movement.
Further, there is basicly no way to fit a full size blower with well enough optimized air ducts and a proper sized heater.
Heating power has to be adapted to air movement capacitys of your blower.
Air intakes and outlets could ever only be placed above the water line.

And last but not least: Usually, wherever you have a 240V outlet which you need if you want anything more than 1.5kW of heating power, there is enough space to have seperate appliances.



On the situation in Europe: At least in Germany, they are verry rare.
You only find them in small condos or such, or holiday homes, barely as daily drivers.
Reason being that in most cases, we can just stack our compacts.
240V is standard anyway, so no power constraints.
Further, most use water condensing systems. Water here is beyond expensive, even more then electricity.
And, last but not least, even with our 240V standard, while drying, most only use 1.5kW anyway, simply because condensing systems can't handle more.
Temperatures have to be way higher to compensate for reduced condensing systems.
Oh, and venting is basicly obsolete around here. Heatpump dryers are so cheap now it really dosen't make any sense any more not to buy a heatpump dryer.


Post# 954857 , Reply# 8   8/27/2017 at 14:07 (2,404 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        
Oh, forgot Japan.

Japan is weired anyways in terms of appliances. They are technology wise usually 2-3 years ahead, with even lower quality, and even tighter space constraints then europe.

Post# 954909 , Reply# 9   8/27/2017 at 19:19 (2,404 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains)        
Generally speaking,

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These are only tolerable if one is washing half-loads (as Henrik noted) and has hours and hours and hours more time.

There is no doubt but what they work, I used one for six weeks in England to do the laundry for eleven of us. It ran the entire time (this was the Lake District, so it also rained the entire time, in case somebody is foolish enough to ask why I didn't 'line dry'.

Everything came out clean and nothing was scorched or horribly wrinkled. I did, however, follow Hoover's guidelines exactly. They, like all the other makers, insist on only drying half-loads. Because this machine could go from washing to drying automatically, I could load it at 5.30 in the morning when I got up, put the next load in at 9.00 when I had the kitchen clean, the next load in the middle of dinner, then sweet tea, then Abendbrot, then before the baths and then before bed.

It's doable. But, gosh - if one need not, why?


Post# 954911 , Reply# 10   8/27/2017 at 19:31 (2,404 days old) by peteski50 (New York)        
Marathon!

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I saw advertising well over a year ago - but seems nothing on the marker as of yet?
Anyone have additional information!


CLICK HERE TO GO TO peteski50's LINK


Post# 954962 , Reply# 11   8/28/2017 at 04:36 (2,403 days old) by speedqueen (Metro-Detroit)        
Just my opinion, but...

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"Silicon Valley is moving into your laundry room."

Bah! They'll have to push me kicking and screaming out of the laundry room for that invasion!

"We are rethinking laundry."


"Washers and dryers have advanced very little in the last 70 years. In particular, you still have a Washer and a Dryer. There is no good reason for that — it is an artifact of history. You don't have a dishwasher and a dishdryer, right? Why are there two machines to do one task? Exactly."

*And they want me to believe a combo is something new?


"It’s time for a change. Marathon Laundry machines are challenging all the assumptions: we're combining washing and drying into one machine; we're getting rid of all the dizzying controls you don't use, and the dumb alert sounds; we are introducing Apple-like simplicity, internet connectivity that actually does something useful, and energy savings through real Smart Grid technology."

*My Bendix fits the bill with regard to this for everything except internet connectivity and smart grid technology. They go on a tirade about fancy controls and yet are making a machine with internet conectivity. They can keep it! I'll take timers, solenoids, and relays any day over this hogwash!


Post# 955144 , Reply# 12   8/29/2017 at 07:03 (2,402 days old) by Laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)        

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If you're there when the washer stops to transfer from wash to dry then you save time. If not, then a combo will go right from spin to dry. Our Gas Lady Kenmore combo from 1963 took an average of 90 minutes with a wash, three rinses,a final high spin then a sensing dry cycle. The LG I had took two hours and fifteen minutes but had longer wash programs. The secret to a good condenser dry cycle begins with COLD water to be sure of real condensation.

Post# 955147 , Reply# 13   8/29/2017 at 07:18 (2,402 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

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The high-tech Marathon--should it actually make it to production--is certainly overhyped in giving the impression a combo is a new idea. Could be a very effective machine. Hard to tell when no one has one, LOL. And the hype is certainly nothing new. Companies advertised all sorts of outlandish claims about laundry equipment in the 1950s and 60s. Was Whirlpool's Suds-Miser system really like no other on the market? Many brands featured suds-savers and nearly all drained water into a storage tank then returned it to the tub for the next load.

Post# 955148 , Reply# 14   8/29/2017 at 07:31 (2,402 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        

It's a Marathon laundry product... You really think that will make it to the market?

Wasn't there a touchscreen combo with a GE base designed by an ex apple employee that was hyped and never made it to the market?


Post# 955149 , Reply# 15   8/29/2017 at 07:42 (2,402 days old) by brucelucenta ()        

I personally think that all in one units will probably never be really popular here because everyone is used to having separate units and have the room for them in most cases. Combo units hold significantly less than separate units too, which is a drawback for most people. For someone with limited space however, they are perfect.

Post# 955150 , Reply# 16   8/29/2017 at 07:49 (2,402 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))        
Hold significantly less

Not really. For drying, the hold half their max capacity for washing.

If you're just washing, you can still use full capacity. And both compact and full size combos (the LGs for example) have reasonable drum sizes (2.3cuft for the compacts and 4.3 for the full size one).


Post# 955160 , Reply# 17   8/29/2017 at 08:45 (2,402 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)        
Water...

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When the government finally removes water from the washing process, combo units will dry a lot faster... LOL

Malcolm


Post# 955163 , Reply# 18   8/29/2017 at 08:53 (2,402 days old) by mrboilwash (Munich,Germany)        

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Once had a "compact" combo for a short period of time and it was a disaster.
They may work better in soft water areas, but certainly not where I live. All it takes is just a little bit of limescale buildup in the condenser channel to attract lint, then the lint doesn`t get flushed out anymore and attracts even more lint and in no time at all the condensing unit is totally blocked.
I could help myself a few times until I got too annoyed and got rid of the combo, but for the average houskeeper it means expensive service calls.

It`s nice that combos still exist, but I consider them only as a last resort solution.


Post# 955189 , Reply# 19   8/29/2017 at 12:17 (2,402 days old) by warmsecondrinse (Fort Lee, NJ)        
"But, gosh - if one need not, why?"

Exactly. For those who're otherwise faced with going out to a laundromat these combos are like manna from heaven. 

 

[Bias alert: I seem to be the only person in the world who had an Equator 3600 that consistently performed to spec] 

 

YMMV, but I found that incoming water temps had MUCH more of an effect on drying times than load size. 

 

When I had mine I had one day per week when I was home all day. All I had to do was throw in the wash, set a timer for end of wash cycle to switch my sink hook-up to cold water, and otherwise let the machine to it all. for me it was SO much easier than going out. 



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