Front loaders- tilted tub best or not?

The whole tilted drum vs. horizontal drum thing is somewhat of a red herring. Miele's literature used to rant about the evils of tilted drums, how it impaired "fall height" etc. But then last year Miele came out with its 4800 series 4.0 cu ft washers - with tilted drums.

I've had a Neptune 7500 for about six years now, and while there is slight tangling of things like long sleeve shirts and slacks, it's nothing major. I just acquired a couple of Miele washers and frankly the washing effectiveness of the Neptune is competitive with the Miele, at least at temps up to 140F. The 1918 Miele does seem to rinse better than the Neptune - small wonder, with all the spins it does between rinses. But in general rinsing is not an issue with Neptune anyway. And of course I cannot fit some items in the Miele that fit quite nicely in the Neptune. But that has nothing to do with tilt.

If you're looking for a big washer with a non-tilted drum, the GE and Frigidaire front loaders have perfectly horizontal drums. I tend to like the high end Frigidaire Affinity a bit better than the GE, esp the slate metallic blue ones. I like the Miele 4840 a lot, mostly because its door swing is more compatible with my laundry area setup - the only big front loader besides the Speed Queen with a right-hinged door - but also because it's a Miele. But it also costs more than twice as much as the GE or Frigidaire. The Whirlpool Duet Sport HT is also a nice horizontal model, but it can be hard to find (most of those I've seen on display for sale at the box stores are the ones without heaters).

More important than tilt, I think, is to get a front loader with an internal water heater. Unless you intend to do all your washing in cold water (not recommended), an internal heater will not only boost and assure proper wash temps, but can also, in many models, heat the water to 150F or more, which not only helps to kill germs but aids in washing effectiveness. Currently none of the big front loaders heats more than 170F, but IMHO that's plenty hot anyway. You may pay $100 or more for the heated model, but it's worth it.

Other good washers seem to be the Samsung "Silver Care" and of course the Kenmore/Whirlpool HE/Duet HT/Maytag EPIC line of heated washers. I hestitate to recommend LG because of the patchy customer service reportings here.

Of course, if you get tired of the whole tilt vs. non tilt issue, there's always a top loading horizontal axis washer (Staber), or one of the HE toploaders like the GE Harmony or Whirlpool Cabrio. However, none of these have internal water heaters, a real drawback in my opinion.


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Post# 242363 10/14/2007 at 14:38 (6,031 days old) by bamapanda ()
Checkrate/Likes 1 Just wanted an opinion or two. I am looking to get a front load washer. Tilted tub or straight? Why? Thanks for all replies. This is my second post.

Post# 242367 , Reply# 1 10/14/2007 at 15:48 (6,031 days old) by dj-gabriele ()
Checkrate/Likes IMHO that's just the same, I never had a machine with a tilted drum and always had good results, plus no commercial machine that I know of has a tilted one. If this is your second post then, welcome to the boards!

Post# 242370 , Reply# 2 10/14/2007 at 15:50 (6,031 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There�s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes Actually several commercial front loaders come with titled tubs of various degrees. Milnor, IIRC has them as do a few others. Benefit advertised as being easier for laundry workers to unload those vast drums. L.

Post# 242371 , Reply# 3 10/14/2007 at 15:59 (6,031 days old) by rolls_rapide (.)
Checkrate/Likes *Tilted drum* I have an Italian made Zanussi IZ16, with the tilted drum. I find the machine to be very stable during spinning, as the laundry has a tendency to gather at the rear of the drum, on the run up to spin. There have been other comments about bearings being subjected to excessive wear, due the inclination of the drum. There was another poster somewhere, who had a similar model to mine. Their drum bearing went, the water leaked down onto the motor: machine written off. Different machines will have different characteristics and weak points.

Post# 242383 , Reply# 4 10/14/2007 at 18:05 (6,031 days old) by thor (Buenos Aires)
Checkrate/Likes Sometime ago I remember reading a thread on this very same question at the GardenWeb-Laundry Room forum, and it was agreed by most everyone that tilted drums had the tendency to tangle clothing more than straight drums. Of course some collaborators told horrible tangling stories that could prevent you from sleeping right for nights on end!, LOL. I couldn't really say, I have used FL's several times, but I don't recall having ever used a tilted drum FL. Emilio

Post# 242392 , Reply# 5 10/14/2007 at 20:08 (6,031 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California)
Checkrate/Likes The whole tilted drum vs. horizontal drum thing is somewhat of a red herring. Miele's literature used to rant about the evils of tilted drums, how it impaired "fall height" etc. But then last year Miele came out with its 4800 series 4.0 cu ft washers - with tilted drums. I've had a Neptune 7500 for about six years now, and while there is slight tangling of things like long sleeve shirts and slacks, it's nothing major. I just acquired a couple of Miele washers and frankly the washing effectiveness of the Neptune is competitive with the Miele, at least at temps up to 140F. The 1918 Miele does seem to rinse better than the Neptune - small wonder, with all the spins it does between rinses. But in general rinsing is not an issue with Neptune anyway. And of course I cannot fit some items in the Miele that fit quite nicely in the Neptune. But that has nothing to do with tilt. If you're looking for a big washer with a non-tilted drum, the GE and Frigidaire front loaders have perfectly horizontal drums. I tend to like the high end Frigidaire Affinity a bit better than the GE, esp the slate metallic blue ones. I like the Miele 4840 a lot, mostly because its door swing is more compatible with my laundry area setup - the only big front loader besides the Speed Queen with a right-hinged door - but also because it's a Miele. But it also costs more than twice as much as the GE or Frigidaire. The Whirlpool Duet Sport HT is also a nice horizontal model, but it can be hard to find (most of those I've seen on display for sale at the box stores are the ones without heaters). More important than tilt, I think, is to get a front loader with an internal water heater. Unless you intend to do all your washing in cold water (not recommended), an internal heater will not only boost and assure proper wash temps, but can also, in many models, heat the water to 150F or more, which not only helps to kill germs but aids in washing effectiveness. Currently none of the big front loaders heats more than 170F, but IMHO that's plenty hot anyway. You may pay $100 or more for the heated model, but it's worth it. Other good washers seem to be the Samsung "Silver Care" and of course the Kenmore/Whirlpool HE/Duet HT/Maytag EPIC line of heated washers. I hestitate to recommend LG because of the patchy customer service reportings here. Of course, if you get tired of the whole tilt vs. non tilt issue, there's always a top loading horizontal axis washer (Staber), or one of the HE toploaders like the GE Harmony or Whirlpool Cabrio. However, none of these have internal water heaters, a real drawback in my opinion.

Post# 242436 , Reply# 6 10/15/2007 at 01:39 (6,031 days old) by hooverzodiac12 (Melbourne, Australia)
Checkrate/Likes TILTED DRUMS - good to get into. but they just roll clothes in the water. NORMAL DRUMS - acctually clean them cos they get the whole pick up and drop down action there for forcing the dirt out and cleaning better.

Post# 242487 , Reply# 7 10/15/2007 at 10:41 (6,030 days old) by the7 ()
Checkrate/Likes Sudmaster, thanks for sharing your experience on Neptune and Mieles. I have Huebsch FL with heater (sister FL of Speed Queen) which has an horizontal drum. My family likes our FL.