Thread Number: 8152
New Maytag Epic to replace Neptune
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Post# 155771   9/20/2006 at 13:55 (6,399 days old) by agiflow ()        

I was just reading on THS that Maytag will replace the Neptune FL with a new washer made by WP. Supposedly it is going to be their TOL brand. Anyone hear anything about this?




Post# 155841 , Reply# 1   9/20/2006 at 18:48 (6,399 days old) by dascot (Scotland)        

I can find various press releases about the new Maytag Epic washer and dryer, and it sounds like another rebadge of a Duet/HExt/Bauknecht/KA machine. Looks like the Bauknecht version most of all I think.

Post# 156124 , Reply# 2   9/21/2006 at 17:33 (6,398 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)        

johnb300m's profile picture
if whirlpool can use the Maytag brand to showcase their best engineering work and classic appliance genius, by all means more power to them. they apparently failed that attempt with KitchenAid. Let's give them another shot.

Post# 156128 , Reply# 3   9/21/2006 at 18:10 (6,398 days old) by arrrooohhh (Sydney Australia)        
Im dissappointed.

Yet another Duet clone.

Yawn.

The Duet is now on sale in Australia and does not look that impressive for nearly $3000 AUD.


Post# 156133 , Reply# 4   9/21/2006 at 18:56 (6,398 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
Yep, looked at the Maytag site last night and pulled up the manuals. Nuttin' more than the KitchenAids rebadged with Maytag on them.

Post# 156148 , Reply# 5   9/21/2006 at 19:50 (6,398 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Bob-- Where did you find them on the Maytag site? I looked but only saw the Samsung-made FL'ers.

Post# 156151 , Reply# 6   9/21/2006 at 20:01 (6,398 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
Eugene, I'll be hornswoggled. It's no llonger there, even the search for the word Epic yielded nuttin the the site. I wasn't halleucinating!!! I saw it.

Post# 156161 , Reply# 7   9/21/2006 at 20:37 (6,398 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Home Depot

pdub's profile picture
Has them in todays newspaper advertisement. Here's a picture.

Post# 156162 , Reply# 8   9/21/2006 at 20:48 (6,398 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Well, I had ragged hopes that Whirlpool would do something special/different for their Maytag line, but come to think of it, everything in the top-loading line from Estate/Roper to Whirlpool to KitchenAid to Kenmore is basically the same washer with different bells & whistles. And the differently branded FL'ers are all basically the same, too. Should have figured they'd just rebadge the same machine as a Maytag.

Just goes to show it doesn't pay to be optimistic, LOL! I'm going off to listen to my Cure albums and sulk, now.




Post# 156210 , Reply# 9   9/21/2006 at 23:14 (6,398 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
Eugene, I keep hoping that they'd take this beefedup version (yes door hinges sturdier controls) and add the Stain Treat option button like on the Kenmore HE4T. THAT would make it as perfect as this machines could get in my book.

Post# 156227 , Reply# 10   9/22/2006 at 00:29 (6,398 days old) by johnb300m (Chicago)        
Epic Article

johnb300m's profile picture
here's a great, nationalistic article about the maytag epics.
hopefully, this is the real way whirlpool views maytag.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO johnb300m's LINK


Post# 156236 , Reply# 11   9/22/2006 at 02:18 (6,398 days old) by tumbler ()        
repackaged Duets

Reading between the lines in the Interest Alert article on the new Epics, it would appear that the features mentioned on the Epics are identical with those of the Duet machines. Even the prices of the washers appear to be the same, though the dryers are a bit higher.

Post# 156256 , Reply# 12   9/22/2006 at 05:45 (6,398 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

launderess's profile picture
Well considering the baggage that came with the "Neptune" name from early disasters, and that the final incarnations were actually built by Samsung, it is not a total surprise Whirlpool dropped the line.

Look for more changes to come as Whirlpool tries to make Maytag pay off for all the money it costs. Whirlpool already has sold off the Amana microwave line.

L.


Post# 156278 , Reply# 13   9/22/2006 at 08:42 (6,397 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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I guess three months wasn't enough time to develop an entirely new product and get it to Home Depot? I would imagine one of the first priorities would be to reverse some of the decline in the Maytag-quality association. What better way to do this than with a proven product line?

I can't wait until the wringers are back in production again - I'm gettin' one!



Post# 156339 , Reply# 14   9/22/2006 at 12:37 (6,397 days old) by lavamat_jon (UK)        

Must say that they seem to the classiest looking incarnation of the Duet line so far... though perhaps not as classy as the Ensemble!

Jon


Post# 156341 , Reply# 15   9/22/2006 at 12:45 (6,397 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Quit being optimistic! Whirlpool will eventually swallow up every appliance line and we'll all be using the same damn washer...in different colors.

Still sulking,
Frigilux (appearing today as Eeyore)


Post# 156342 , Reply# 16   9/22/2006 at 12:54 (6,397 days old) by gadgetgary (Bristol,CT)        
I wasn't halleucinating!!! I saw it.

gadgetgary's profile picture
Did you also see a 'Bob-Load' at the same time???

Post# 156346 , Reply# 17   9/22/2006 at 13:20 (6,397 days old) by toggleswitch (New York City, NY)        
oh sweetie you are no jack-ass to me!

toggleswitch's profile picture
uhm Frigilux, baby, never forget cheap no-name third-world bad quality imports that WP won't be able to swallow for a while.

(G-d damned foreign foods give us indigestion, *LOL*)




Post# 156359 , Reply# 18   9/22/2006 at 15:05 (6,397 days old) by westytoploader ()        
Maytag Epic

Interesting to say the least...I will have to get used to seeing that Maytag name on a Bauknecht-made machine! However, I am looking forward to their introduction; hopefully they will have some quality to them.

I can't wait until the wringers are back in production again - I'm gettin' one!

I'll admit, a direct-drive wringer would be VERY fun! ;-)


Post# 156366 , Reply# 19   9/22/2006 at 15:27 (6,397 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Thanks Togs! And thank god for Indesit.

Post# 156369 , Reply# 20   9/22/2006 at 15:46 (6,397 days old) by westtexman (Lubbock, Texas)        
Just saw them today . . .

And I'm thinking of getting one. They look more refined than the Duet, yet it still retains the quality. I may have to splurge this weekend.

Bryan


Post# 156380 , Reply# 21   9/22/2006 at 16:22 (6,397 days old) by lavamat_jon (UK)        

Do the Epics have any exclusive cycles at all (like the HE4t's have extra ones over the Duets), or are they identical to the Duets in feature sets?

Jon


Post# 156389 , Reply# 22   9/22/2006 at 16:45 (6,397 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Bryan-- And a big splurge it would be! If you get them, we want pics.

Post# 156420 , Reply# 23   9/22/2006 at 18:18 (6,397 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
Jon, nothing unusual in the cycle dept. It's pretty much the KA Ensemble with the Maytag Epic name on it.

Post# 156422 , Reply# 24   9/22/2006 at 18:32 (6,397 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
It's back on the Maytag Washer page. But it's not at the top of the page naymore. It's buried between the Atlantis line and the other Maytag top loaders.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO appnut's LINK


Post# 156480 , Reply# 25   9/23/2006 at 06:30 (6,397 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie)        

frigilux's profile picture
Thanks, Bob! It is a handsome machine. Does the whole Duet/Hettie line also have a tilted tub? I didn't know that.

Post# 156527 , Reply# 26   9/23/2006 at 12:49 (6,396 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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Eugene, yes they have tilted tubs. Now the new Duet Sport and Kenmore HE2 have tubs that aren't tilted (I don't knopw if that applies to the newest models with the heaters or includes thenon-heater ones too).

Post# 156542 , Reply# 27   9/23/2006 at 13:43 (6,396 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

It would seem to me that building the whole line in Germany and shipping them over here would be a very expensive way to make washers and money. I wonder what will happen to the Samtags? That's an awful small population of machines to keep servicing. I heard nothing about their reliability. I sure hope that WP Global Engulf & Devour has made improvements to the DuHeKa machines, because if 3 major badges are made by the same conglomerate, that leaves only the Chinese & Korean machines for competition and we have seen how most of their "engineering" consists of "borrowing" from other manufacturers. With GE being a major customer, they are only going to want it made as cheaply as possible; profits having replaced progress as their most important product. I also wonder if the Hecho en Mexico Duet Sport is a "testing the waters" venture that might result in the manufacture of the larger machines south of the border.

Post# 156571 , Reply# 28   9/23/2006 at 16:53 (6,396 days old) by jasonmarc52 ()        
Looks like I'm STILL not

Nice-looking the Epic pair is, however cannot ANY OTHER AMERICAN manufacturer besides GE make a dryer with a stainless-steel drum? Also, when the heck are we going to be able to buy a "reverse-tumble" American-made dryer? I am considering the Fisher & Paykel Smartload topload gas dryer when my Kenmore goes(it's 17 years old with never a repair!) We'll probably have sold the house here before I buy a new dryer. I'll save thatpurchase for my OWN place! Jas

Post# 156598 , Reply# 29   9/23/2006 at 20:43 (6,396 days old) by frontloadfan (Wellfleet, Ma.)        
Viewed Epic at Home Depot

Hi,

I stopped by my local Home Depot today to check out the Maytag Epic. I have owned my Kitchenaid Ensemble for a year now. I was prepared to take notes of differences between the two machines. My work was easy. There are only three differences! Other than these three differences, I would say it is 100% the same machine.

Those difference: Color availability (white and black rather than white and the stainless steel like paint); RPM (Epic 1200 rpm and Kitchenaid 1300) and - I am not certain on this one - perhaps sound insulation.

The Kitchenaid Ensemble has a superior sound insulation compared to the Duet. Since the Epic has the slightly slower motor of the Duet, I am wondering if the sound insulation level is compable to the Duet too. My Ensemble has "whisper quiet" labelled on the front. The Epic I viewed at Home Depot does not.

I have heard that there are to be two levels of Epic. I am assuming the one I viewed is the lower level. I am assuming that the higher level would have the higher spin speed, the stainless steel like paint and the increased sound insulation.

I believe that the Ensemble is a fine machine. I would recommend the two following upgrades: addition of the "bulky cycle" and the time delay wash feature. The ensemble has a rinse delay function that functions somewhat like the wash delay feature, but I think the wash delay would be more useful.

It will be interesting to see how Whirlpool shakes out its front load line up. I can't believe that they are going to stop making the Duet and replace it with the Sport at the lower end and the Epic for the high end. I mean I can see why they would want to bury the Neptune label, but the Duet seems to have an impressive reputation for front loaders.

In any case, it will be an interesting situation to see how Whirlpool spins the brand names. Are they going to give up on Kitchenaid all together? Right now, probably based on the time factor, they are pretty well taking the Duet clone formerly known as Kitchenaid Ensemble and slapping the Maytag/Epic label on it. Who knows maybe a year or two from now they will come out with a new and improved model for the Maytag/Epic label.

It will be interesting to see.


Post# 156600 , Reply# 30   9/23/2006 at 21:02 (6,396 days old) by appnut (TX)        

appnut's profile picture
Jas, there are supposedly sme of the new Whirlpool line dryers that will have SS tubs.


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