Thread Number: 73168
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
Exploding Whirlpool Washer in MN. |
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Post# 966414   11/6/2017 at 13:58 (2,356 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas)   |   | |
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I have seen this story I several places today.
Three year old Whirlpool Duet involved. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Iheartmaytag's LINK |
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Post# 966427 , Reply# 2   11/6/2017 at 14:59 (2,356 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))   |   | |
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Given that she didn't load it with something waterthight, and that she heared a high whisteling sound, this could verry well be a bearing issue. Or, thinking about it, maybe its the balancing ring? However with these stories I am always somewhat hesitant. Such dramatic failures are extremly uncommon for bearings. |
Post# 966441 , Reply# 4   11/6/2017 at 16:22 (2,356 days old) by cuffs054 (MONTICELLO, GA)   |   | |
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Refresh my memory; how many water gussling, earth killing top loaders have blown up. |
Post# 966442 , Reply# 5   11/6/2017 at 16:31 (2,356 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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but did Whirlpool respond because of the issue, and will start a recall?...
or did they step up because of KARE-TV 11 News?.... note they didn't respond to KARE-TV right away....as mentioned, they had issues trying to get a response from Whirlpool.... I think Whirlpool should have responded way before KARE-TV even called.... |
Post# 966449 , Reply# 6   11/6/2017 at 17:30 (2,356 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)   |   | |
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The above comment has aroused my curiosity: are there any recent episodes of top loading washers exploding? Not counting the top and front loading Samsungs... |
Post# 966460 , Reply# 8   11/6/2017 at 19:12 (2,355 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)   |   | |
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Post# 966532 , Reply# 10   11/7/2017 at 06:01 (2,355 days old) by logixx (Germany)   |   | |
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Post# 966537 , Reply# 11   11/7/2017 at 06:24 (2,355 days old) by earthling177 (Boston, MA)   |   | |
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I believe there were also two cases in Texas and another one in Arizona and at least one Maytag Maxima (Duet sibling) that exploded. But I don't have enough details about them, just news like the above case. |
Post# 966544 , Reply# 12   11/7/2017 at 07:42 (2,355 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)   |   | |
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I have a cartoon of a service tech in front of a dishwasher telling a woman that the machine came with a Do Not Resuscitate order. |
Post# 966546 , Reply# 13   11/7/2017 at 07:57 (2,355 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)   |   | |
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Post# 966624 , Reply# 15   11/7/2017 at 15:45 (2,355 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)   |   | |
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I'd still like to have another BMW Isetta 300 - even though the airbags would be my legs... |
Post# 966642 , Reply# 16   11/7/2017 at 16:42 (2,355 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia, MO)   |   | |
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Our vintage machines don’t explode.They usually shut off if improperly loaded. Our old front loaders were often bolted to the ground or were so heavy it didn’t matter. Facts are facts. I don’t know what German machines do. If they don’t explode, good for you. I’m done with this stupid argument. If you all want to carry on about it, fine. I don’t care!
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Post# 966802 , Reply# 18   11/8/2017 at 10:31 (2,354 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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Looks like manufacturers feel they crossed a line allowing these giant-capacity machines and their huge drums spin at 1400 rpm. I loved spinning huge loads of bath linens at 1400 in the Maytag 8100, but often wondered if the stress of spinning a BobLoad at that speed was putting an undue amount of stress on the suspension, etc.
My top-loading Speed Queen spins at a leisurely 720 rpm, but since the dryer reaches temperatures rivaling the surface of the sun, loads of towels dry surprisingly quickly, LOL. |
Post# 966891 , Reply# 21   11/8/2017 at 18:31 (2,354 days old) by Norgeway (mocksville n c )   |   | |
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A unimatic spins at 1140 rpm and even though they are sixty plus years old I never heard of one flying apart. |
Post# 966898 , Reply# 22   11/8/2017 at 19:10 (2,353 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)   |   | |
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Post# 966904 , Reply# 23   11/8/2017 at 19:42 (2,353 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)   |   | |
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Just pondering how many machines self-disassemble that aren't reported and don't make the evening news. There must be others, statistically, not a global catastrophe of course, maybe handfuls more? Without injury or property damage, it would have no "hook" for the news coverage and thus hardly worth a mention in the trivia section of a neighborhood chat board.
Those owners might not report them for various reasons and just replace the machines. Out of warranty, self-blame, etc. I had a friend with a Samsung that flew apart while the service tech was standing in front of it diagnosing a strange noise. It was replaced under extended warranty at just under three years old so it quite likely never made the Destruct-o-Matic stats at Samsung directly. |
Post# 966907 , Reply# 24   11/8/2017 at 19:46 (2,353 days old) by henene4 (Heidenheim a.d. Brenz (Germany))   |   | |
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Can be said for the previous 70 years of automatics. |
Post# 966915 , Reply# 25   11/8/2017 at 20:14 (2,353 days old) by brucelucenta ()   |   | |
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Sure makes you wanna run right out and buy AMERICAN MADE, don't it? |
Post# 966922 , Reply# 26   11/8/2017 at 20:43 (2,353 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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first of all.....you know the media HYPED up the hell out of what really happened....
look at the size of those ball bearings..... I have changed my fair share of bearings, yet have not worked on a DUET, plus have just viewed a bunch of youtube vids for the Duets bearing replacement, those bearings didn't look any more larger than any other washer bearing.... does this model that apparently 'blew up' have super size bearings compared to any other machine? I have seen machines break off from their suspension springs and struts, being able to bounce the whole mechanism and bust into the cabinet...... but in all seriousness, if the bearings broke apart, or the spider snapped, a great portion of the damage would have been to the outter drum, and by dropping out of place, the inner drum would have dragged quickly to a stop.... something doesn't quite add up.... |
Post# 966939 , Reply# 28   11/8/2017 at 22:13 (2,353 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)   |   | |
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Post# 966947 , Reply# 29   11/8/2017 at 22:52 (2,353 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)   |   | |
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Post# 966965 , Reply# 31   11/9/2017 at 01:12 (2,353 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)   |   | |
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Post# 966966 , Reply# 32   11/9/2017 at 01:15 (2,353 days old) by earthling177 (Boston, MA)   |   | |
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"One of the many reasons why vintage washing machines are better." Why is that, or how is that true? Balancing rings are nothing new, apparently the first patent on them was for a Thor washer that wasn't even fully automatic. |
Post# 966981 , Reply# 33   11/9/2017 at 08:25 (2,353 days old) by logixx (Germany)   |   | |
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With the demand for ever increasing drum capacities, fast spin speeds and people placing these machines in their "built the American way" houses - sometimes even on the second floor - there seems little left for manufacturers to do but to add balancing rings. I think off-balance controls are already sensitive enough and the suspension struts on US front loaders are pretty soft also.
Very, very few Euroean front loaders have balancing rings (I can only think of maybe a handful of LG and Samsung models), yet the smaller capacity and soild construction of our houses makes vibration basically a non-issue. |
Post# 966982 , Reply# 34   11/9/2017 at 08:28 (2,353 days old) by logixx (Germany)   |   | |
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Post# 966993 , Reply# 35   11/9/2017 at 09:26 (2,353 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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THAT is something that has been missing for quite a while with these new FL machines, being able to handle a single item....
when I had the Frigidaire Tall Tumbler, versatility was from washing a pair of single pair of pants or shirt, up to a full load with ease..... even the Fridgemore didn't have issues.... minimal water use, one way direction washing, could balance the load and take off into a full speed spin with minimal issues..... compared to todays machines and the playing around they do.... |
Post# 967035 , Reply# 37   11/9/2017 at 14:05 (2,353 days old) by logixx (Germany)   |   | |
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My Duet took eight attempts to balance a single large towel.
There is currently a full playlist of YouTubers who are challenging their washers to spin a towel on the highest speed. I think the least attempts were done by Miele (vintage and brand new) with three tries and the highest number must have been around 15 attempts. www.youtube.com/playlistQUESTIONM... |
Post# 967036 , Reply# 38   11/9/2017 at 14:07 (2,353 days old) by johnrk (BP TX)   |   | |
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Again--are you using Korean appliances, or American made? |
Post# 967141 , Reply# 40   11/10/2017 at 09:29 (2,352 days old) by Unimatic1140 (Minneapolis)   |   | |
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Is it not funny... A unimatic spins at 1140 rpm and even though they are sixty plus years old I never heard of one flying apart.
Neither have I for that matter or an early 1140rpm GE or any Rapidry Frigidaire through the 60's. IIRC, Combo52 has mentioned someone's Unimatic destructing during spin I know that story and I just reconfirmed with it with the person who witnessed it. The machine did not self-destruct, it was a new vintage find and it was put into the spin for the first time in many years. The rubber mechanism support had dried out to the point that the braking forces (once the machine's power was cut) had ripped it sending the tub into the side of the cabinet during the 20 second break period. This made for a very loud screeching noise, but the machine stayed completely intact and did not break apart in any way like we've have be seeing with a some of the recently made machines. This isn't even a remote comparison of what we are seeing in the news. |
Post# 967146 , Reply# 41   11/10/2017 at 10:04 (2,352 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)   |   | |
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It is curious how when the Alpha platform of WP MT washers came out, they were 1400 rpm max spin.
Of which one I got; an MHW5100. And a mere few years later, they changed all of them to a max of 1200 rpm. Maybe 1400 was just too extreme for the platform? In all reality, I'm quite sure the engineering team at WP is aware of any issues, no matter how remote. It's just whether the accountants or management will let them deep dive into it. And they of course would NEVER say, for mostly legal reasons. It's the same thing at every company I've been at. Engineering is almost always aware of field issues. Maybe not right away. But if it's more than a dozen that pile up in a short period of time, we all find out some way via customer support. I'm only guessing, and not speaking for WP, but their component Factor of Safety limits might have been too narrow for the piece part price they're allowed to use. So the simple thing was to limit down to 1200rpm, while not losing extraction performance too much. Only thing they lose is maybe a black eye in marketing for not having such a high comparable spin rate. Anyways, their drums are fairly large in diameter, so I'm sure the g-force is good enough. My clothes are pretty decently spin-dried on Medium spin anyway, which I think is around 1000rpm on my machine. |
Post# 967159 , Reply# 42   11/10/2017 at 12:28 (2,352 days old) by brucelucenta ()   |   | |
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I am using a Kenmore, LG built washer and dryer. This set had all the features and was the largest capacity built at the time I purchased it. It has been fine in the last 4+ years with no problems. |
Post# 967167 , Reply# 43   11/10/2017 at 13:19 (2,352 days old) by Maytag85 (Sean A806)   |   | |
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Unimatic1140, one of the reasons why I prefer traditional top load washers is they plain work, and do what they are supposed to do. My Maytag A810 washer and Maytag DG810 gas dryer has given me little trouble at all, and the only repairs that I need to do is replace the belts on the washer, and replace the drum belt on the dryer, and those are the only repairs that my Maytag washer and dryer needs.
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Post# 967179 , Reply# 44   11/10/2017 at 14:59 (2,352 days old) by speedqueen (Metro-Detroit)   |   | |
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Well that proves it! Today's machines are under-built and that is undeniable. Unimatics held together just fine while sending a load to 1140 in 10 SECONDS and models today with 50+ years of "technology" and "progress" are so figity in balancing a large bath towel but somehow come apart violently after taking 10 MINUTES to distribute and initiate a final spin and still end up on the low speed spin instead of 1200. What happens if the out of balance sensor fails. Lets hope models are fail safe and don't let the machine operate at all, lest this could happen.
Also w/ the Unimatic, everything stayed together with it's minor incident and didn't send 25+ parts flying everywhere. Manufacturers could do better but choose not to on rational of cost and consumers are unfortunately willing to settle for unreliability. I won't however knock FL wash-ability. HE TL has the worst of both, poor washing and terrible build quality. |
Post# 967183 , Reply# 45   11/10/2017 at 15:37 (2,352 days old) by logixx (Germany)   |   | |
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Speaking of spin speed: after the 1200 rpm spin, I put that towel into my spin dryer and spun it at 2800 rpm. Almost no extra water was extracted. Even a full basket of heavy times like sweaters or towels only releases about a cup of water after five minutes in the spin dryer.
So no have to agree with John: 1200 rpm seems plenty fast. |
Post# 967443 , Reply# 46   11/12/2017 at 05:52 (2,350 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)   |   | |
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John-- I'm late to the game with this post, but here's the information I found concerning the operating temps of SQ dryers.
Reviewed.com's tests noted that both the Delicate and Regular/Normal cycles ran quite hot. The ideal temps are no higher than 140 for Delicate and 151 for Regular/Normal. Both exceeded those temps in their tests. Unfortunately, they did not list the actual temps reached by the SQ. They also noted that the dryer continued running long after the load was dry, which aligns with my experience. It's the trait I find most annoying about the dryer. Consumer Reports noted that the Delicate temp ran higher than the preferred 140 degrees. |
Post# 967454 , Reply# 47   11/12/2017 at 08:05 (2,350 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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I am all game for the higher spin speeds.....
what I noticed with a lot of them, is TIME!....I found it odd for a spin to hover around 800rpm, then burst up to higher speeds, for 60seconds or so, and then return or back down to a lower speed for the remainder of the spin time... my Neptune 5500's ramp up to 800rpm, and stayed there for the entire spin time.... the first Fridgemore I got did the same.......several generations later, they started with the stepped spin, highest speed was for 60 seconds.... curious, what do your machines do? |
Post# 967466 , Reply# 48   11/12/2017 at 09:58 (2,350 days old) by Whatsername (Denver, CO)   |   | |
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