Thread Number: 37131
Haier Full Size Agitator Top Loader Washer Gaining Popularity
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Post# 552325   10/27/2011 at 19:45 (4,535 days old) by 300C (Jonesboro, GA)        

I noticed Home Depot now carries the Haier RWT350AW washer. It's an agitator 3 cubic foot top loader. Lowes has carried it since earlier this year, as has Brand Smart.

I've noticed a difference in prices: Lowes wants $560.00; Home Depot wants $449.00; Brand smart wants $289.88.

It seems to have all the features: bleach and fabric softener dispensers plus a hollow, orificed agitator column that can be used as a detergent dispenser. It also has a stainless steel tub and multi-speeds. The manual says it'll fill with water with the lid up.

Is this machine gaining a foothold? Is it any good?



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Post# 552341 , Reply# 1   10/27/2011 at 21:52 (4,535 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
They carried these at our local Nebraska Furniture Mart a couple of years ago and they've been there on and off since. I've seen a couple sets and a dryer on Craigslist but haven't bitten, yet. I'm very curious about them, the dryer is a knock-off of the Whirlpool 27" design, like most Asian brands. Haier is making (or was) a version of the Maytag Neptune TL with the paddles in the tub but I've not seen one of those in person.

I didn't see Haier at Home Depot last Saturday, but our local HDs don't have much of an appliance department to speak of.


Post# 552348 , Reply# 2   10/27/2011 at 23:41 (4,535 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))        
I'd be cautious!

whirlykenmore78's profile picture
I have a hard time beliveing a Haier washer would be anything but trouble. Knowing of Haier's quality record from people who have owned their junk it will probably be broke in 2 months with no service or parts to be had. But who knows? Maybe they built somthing good, time will tell and I won't rule it out.

Post# 552358 , Reply# 3   10/28/2011 at 01:04 (4,535 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

dadoes's profile picture
 
The people from whom my Catalyst pair came had replaced them with a Haier TL pair ... but of course I don't have any info about their experience with the set.


Post# 552361 , Reply# 4   10/28/2011 at 01:27 (4,535 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        

arbilab's profile picture
That's a whale of a price difference, just short of 2 : 1.

Haier is Chinese. Not 'made in China' from someone else's design, but C-H-I-N-E-S-E. Sounds kinda European. I thought it was. But no. Might scan this wiki about the company.


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Post# 552533 , Reply# 5   10/29/2011 at 01:33 (4,534 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Haier

pdub's profile picture
I saw these machines at our local Fry's Electronics back in July. I snapped a few pics and now I have a reason to post them. I don't know if these are the exact same models but as you can see the prices are pretty low. They do look like they'd be fun to play with.

Post# 552534 , Reply# 6   10/29/2011 at 01:35 (4,534 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
money shot

pdub's profile picture
inside the tub. Kinda looks like an F&P agitator.

Post# 552536 , Reply# 7   10/29/2011 at 01:36 (4,534 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Washer

pdub's profile picture
control panel

Post# 552538 , Reply# 8   10/29/2011 at 01:38 (4,534 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Dryer

pdub's profile picture
drop down door. Door opening and lint filter look exactly like Frigidaire.

Post# 552539 , Reply# 9   10/29/2011 at 01:42 (4,534 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Dryer

pdub's profile picture
door closed. Comes with the Good Housekeeping seal!

Post# 552540 , Reply# 10   10/29/2011 at 01:44 (4,534 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Dryer

pdub's profile picture
control panel up close.

Post# 552632 , Reply# 11   10/29/2011 at 13:29 (4,534 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)        
299

mrb627's profile picture
It would be worth it for a toy/rag washer.

Malcolm


Post# 552728 , Reply# 12   10/29/2011 at 22:13 (4,533 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
HAIER DRYER

combo52's profile picture

Is built by Frigidare and I will bet that the washer is a piece of crap also.


Post# 553015 , Reply# 13   10/31/2011 at 08:57 (4,532 days old) by gowest84 (Phoenix, AZ)        
My Haier set..

was trouble from the first day I had it. RUN! RUN FAR AWAY!

Post# 553023 , Reply# 14   10/31/2011 at 09:53 (4,532 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)        
Turbo Wash

mrb627's profile picture
I was wondering whatever happened to your machine. Do you still have it? What problems did you experience?

Malcolm


Post# 553389 , Reply# 15   11/1/2011 at 15:16 (4,531 days old) by Jsneaker ()        
Thoughtless Designs


I am most certainly NOT a fan of most large items made in the "US of China"(as I call it). I simply cannot justify our paying "haier" prices for built-in obsolescence. For example, who thinks drop-down dryer doors are convenient? Let me tell you, I still have my 1989 Lady Kenmore dryer with that kind of door. It is the MOST INCONVENIENT design ever! I have to get on my knees to reach into the drum! Imagine all the short Chinese people trying to use that? The plastic washer tub bottom and agitator sure do look like a ripoff of F&P's!



Post# 553393 , Reply# 16   11/1/2011 at 15:30 (4,531 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City)        
What???

ultramatic's profile picture

The Chinese ripping off other manufacturers designs? What else is new? You makey, we fakey.


Post# 553394 , Reply# 17   11/1/2011 at 15:49 (4,531 days old) by MaytagA710 ()        

I know it sounds silly, but I don't like the sound of the name, it doesn't sound strong. Maytag, Whirlpool, Kenmore, Electrolux, Frigidaire, General Electric etc... all have strong sounding names (I know a name really has nothing to do with the quality). Haier sounds like a a sneeze, not a name for an appliance manufacturer.


Post# 553517 , Reply# 18   11/1/2011 at 23:24 (4,530 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        
海尔

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Haier - pronounced "high-r" two syllables, emphasis on the first.  The two chinese characters together are a proper name so have no actual meaning but the first character is hai - or sea/lake. Same as Shanghai 上海。

The appliance trade mags & sites have been buzzing for years about the Asian companies and in less than 10 years some of these brands have rocketed to the top of the ratings in numerous categories. Haier is a giant player in the global appliance biz and it's products and component parts are sourced by many brands.

From Wikipedia:

Haier is the largest white goods manufacturer in the world with 6.1% of the market (2010). (You may remember Haier making a bid for Maytag in 2005, backed in part by Bain Capital who is now running for the GOP nomination Money mouth)

"Haier had been founded as Qingdao Refrigerator Co. in 1984. With China opening up to world markets, foreign corporations began searching for partnerships in China. One of these, Germany's Liebherr Group (Liebherr is the worldwide leader in premium refrigeration), entered into an joint-venture contract with Qingdao Refrigerator Co., offering technology and equipment to its Chinese counterpart. Refrigerators were to be manufactured under the name of Qingdao-Liebherr (simplified Chinese: 青岛—利勃海尔; traditional Chinese: 青島-利勃海爾; pinyin: Qingdao-Libohaier)."

"By 1986, Qingdao Refrigerator had returned to profitability and sales growth averaged 83 percent per year. With sales of just CNY ¥3.5 million in 1984, sales rocketed to CNY ¥40.5 billion by 2000; a growth of more than 11,500 percent."

"Having diversified its product line beyond refrigerators, the company adopted a new name in 1991. Borrowing from the German name of its partner, "Haier" came from the last two syllables of the Chinese transliteration of Liebherr (pronounced "Li-bo-hai-er"). Qingdao Haier Group was further simplified in 1992 to Haier Group, the company's current name."


Post# 553518 , Reply# 19   11/1/2011 at 23:45 (4,530 days old) by alr2903 (TN)        

I like it with the lid open, because i see "hoses included",   I was helping a friend out and  discovered whirltag no longer provides a new set of hoses with a toploader  you, "buy them separate".   I was truly weak  for about 10 seconds.  When did this start? how did i miss it?   alr


Post# 553530 , Reply# 20   11/2/2011 at 00:25 (4,530 days old) by pdub (Portland, Oregon)        
Thanks Greg!

pdub's profile picture
Wikipedia has some great info. It is scary that Haier has the largest world market share at 6.1%. Guess we better get used to them being around.

Post# 553551 , Reply# 21   11/2/2011 at 06:20 (4,530 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        
Thanks for the news and pics

Even though it is pronounced higher, looking at it makes me think of haywire. I wonder if the washer mechanism is like a world washer.

Post# 553555 , Reply# 22   11/2/2011 at 07:08 (4,530 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
HAIER APPLIANCES

combo52's profile picture

Thanks for the information about Haier Greg, as the old song says [ The Times Are A Changing ]. 

 

I love dryer doors that open down I wish that FL washers would go back to these also.

 

If Liebber is a world leader in refrigeration why can't even get an ice-maker to work? they also had the most uneven cooling performance in a recent CRs test.


Post# 553589 , Reply# 23   11/2/2011 at 10:29 (4,530 days old) by spookiness (Alexandria VA)        

Years ago when I first heard of Haier the first thing that came to mind was "german".

I disagree with a previous comment about drop-down doors. I love my 27" Whirlpool, and if I can help it, I will never own anything but a dryer like it.


Post# 553741 , Reply# 24   11/2/2011 at 23:45 (4,529 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

gansky1's profile picture
Though the quality may be sub-par compared to a 10 year old MOL Kenmore DD, it is pretty much the new reality of the washing machine those with less than $400 to spend will buy.  I would expect that quality will improve somewhat over time.  For a Chinese company to have the largest market share of white goods sales on the planet in 25-odd years is nothing short of stunning.  At an equal pace, Midea appliance group is also one to watch.  Midea owns a majority share of Little Swan Washing Machine Co. in Wuxi (woo-shee) just up the Yangze River from Shanghai where most Danby twin-tubs and the General Electric front loading washer are made.  IIRC the GE's were among the top in CR's ratings in last couple of years. If you have a small refrigeration appliance, dorm fridge, wine fridge, window air conditioner, dehumidifier, etc. in your home that says "Made in China" it likely came from one of these two appliance giants.




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Post# 554385 , Reply# 25   11/5/2011 at 21:39 (4,526 days old) by A440 ()        

A Big Lot's here in the Atlanta area had these on the sales floor for $179 something back in June. I quickly called a couple that I know that just bought their first home. They bought a pair and actually love it. I have heard them running. I don't find they sound cheap at all. The motor in the washer sounds very strong. Very good turn over. Ramp up speed for the spin on a heavy load is very quick.
They dryer sounds like a typical WCI dryer today.


Post# 554425 , Reply# 26   11/6/2011 at 00:00 (4,526 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD)        
haier dryer

so the dryer at least is made for haier by frigidaire?(in the USA i presume)
I have heard haier's large fridges are made in the USA...(no doubt with some asian
parts-last GE fridge i looked at was assembled in mexico with asian parts...)


Post# 554529 , Reply# 27   11/6/2011 at 11:58 (4,526 days old) by 300C (Jonesboro, GA)        
Sales are picking up

I was at the Brandsmart yesterday and asked one of the reps about these machines, and he stated that sales are slowly increasing. I asked him about the quality, and he stated that he hoped that as sales increased, the availability of parts would improve.

His next remark, however, was so hilarious I almost laughed out loud; he stated that what I should consider instead of the Haier was the Amana front loader we were standing in front of because it was made by the Amish and that the quality was therefore much better!!! I didn't have the heart to tell him that Amana was a division of Whirlpool and that the Amish probably didn't even use let alone manufacture automatic washers.




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