Speed Queens experts question

Sorry Jason for delay on reply, here in Italy american agitators toploaders ang gas dryers are becoming really famous in this periods, in fact their price is about 1700 each and many wants them but just who have the funds manage to have one.
There're many dealers of Speed Queens, Maytag and Whirlpool and are opening places all over the country and growing like mushrooms, as people here who always knew FL washers is totally amazed by the clean that these machines provides and also they're way more energy efficient and you can save at least the 40% on the electric bill!
Here electricity cost ALOT!
My filter-flo was purchased and shipped from the USA in 1994 when I was just a little boy, 5 years old exactly, sent by my maternal granma who lived in KS,my mother was half american and half italian and she growth in KS, the washer was bought and shipped via sea from a dealer of Miami where my granma used to go on vacation and arrived here in Genova.
Paid everything about 2000$USD.
My mother of course never liked the front loaders washers they were selling here as they didn't get clothes clean and wanted to have a toploader at all costs, after this in the 1996 my italian paternal granmother's washer that was an AEG got broken and wanted a toploader too, so my mother asked to my granma to order one for her but this time she got a Maytag that is still in regular use as well and NEVER got broken! Finger crossed!
The filter-flo washer run well till last year when the pulley oil seal went and with the help of a member I got the replacing oil seal and I managed to save it with this surgery, then this year I noticed an oil leak into the tub and got that her tranny needed to be replaced, not sure if I managed to find a spare tranny somewhere I thought was time to change the washer, and googling Speed Queen washer to see if there were any offer or the cheapest dealer around I luckily found an ad on a site like american craiglist of a guy who was selling his these 2,5 years old machines for only 200 euros for washer and 300 for the gas dryer! First time I thought: "no he is kidding, or no they does not work they are broken!"
They were in Sicily, very far from where I am.
Then still incredulous to get these for this price I contacted the seller and sounded like a seroius guy and he was also sending them to me with bill at delivery so I trusted in him and got ahead.
Probably he didn't know their value and sold them for this price.

Later I found out that they were property of U.S government,the guy probably have been charged by US government to empty and sell stuff from an house maybe gived to some marine's family who finally went at home or from the NAS base, as there in Catania (Sicily) there's an American Naval Air Station named "Sigonella".....
In fact I found a sticker on the washer that say:"property of U.S government"...
Love them and still not believing to have got them for this price, they works wonderfully!
Now I'm still looking for a spare tranny for my poor filter-flo that is still in good working order if wasn't for the clutch that makes her run on normal speed only and for the tranny. I want to keep the filter-flo till I can!
Always looking for a transmission on the web I found an ad for very vintage GE filter-flo in Italy in Bari!!! Maybe similar story of the mine I guess!
Asked if he was available to ship the washer but he wasn't, I was thinking to take the tranny out of that washer and replace the mine, but then I realized also that would have been a pity and was not even sure of it's condition being anyway a vintage machine!
Now I can see the seller removed the ad so guess he sold that, but looked like he was too stupid to save this and probably sent it to the scrapper, he was asking euros 150, if only was available for shipping I'd have take this as well!

Also I've a question for my Speed queen washer: How can I remove the top panel and bypass the lid switch? This is an internal switch that is connected directly to the lid to inside by a mettalic arm and you cannot do anything from outside if not by bypassing it from inside!
Thanks to everyone who can help me!

This post was last edited 01/03/2012 at 20:15


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Post# 562870 12/12/2011 at 18:29 (4,682 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes Hi, I'm just grabbing a Speed Queen set and noticed a difference in the dryer door. Why speed queen made 2 kinds of doors and lint filters in their dryers? Some does have a grating on the door and some not....why? Here some examples With grating:

Post# 562872 , Reply# 1 12/12/2011 at 18:33 (4,682 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes No Grating:

Post# 562874 , Reply# 2 12/12/2011 at 18:37 (4,682 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes This would be it's inner panel, in fact the lint trap is shaped in different way, and would fit the door perfectly, or not? Why these differences? Both dryers are gas dryers......

Post# 562907 , Reply# 3 12/12/2011 at 20:49 (4,682 days old) by PeterH770 (Marietta, GA)
Checkrate/Likes One sucked thru the door grating and the other sucked thru the front of the drum. The thru-the-door was fixed in place and you scoop out the lint with your fingers. The other has a lift-out screen.

Post# 563035 , Reply# 4 12/13/2011 at 16:10 (4,681 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes Oh okay got it, thanks. Wished the one I'm buying came with the grating too, I used a GE profile dryer that had this kind of fixed in filter and found it much easier to clean, my other whirlpool dryer (wich is still working fine, just wanted a gas dryer) have a lift out screen, when drying wool it gets very full with very puffy woolen lints and I've to be careful when lifting it out as some wool would drop into the fan...but maybe Speed Queen designed it better. Anyway I'm so happy for it as I've been finally able to get a gas dryer for a very very cheap price!

Post# 563557 , Reply# 5 12/16/2011 at 12:40 (4,678 days old) by Jsneaker ()
Checkrate/Likes *Freddy, How did you get those appliances?* I am quite surprised that you'd find BIG US appliances there in Italy! A gas dryer is quite unusual for over there, no? I never saw the Speed Queen dryer with the door-grating, ever! I like the "deep-well" lint filter much better.

Post# 564963 , Reply# 6 12/24/2011 at 01:06 (4,671 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes Me thinks that the first dryer is the same model or design as the SQ commercial ones. If you look closer at both filters, one is screwed in to stay put (some SQ laundromats are open 24/7 with little management to save money and make a profit) so nobody can steal it too easily.The second one has a removeable screan that could easily be either stolen or used as a toy or weapon.Some dorms and/or bed and breakfast places that have the models made for such places have this exact model that is not coin operated. I had the stacked models that had the same set up but were far from true commercial machines.The top loading washers were problemaqtic and the dryers were not that large in capacity. It would take a king size bedspread but you had to put four times the money in to make sure it was going to be thoroughly dry. You also have to stop the machine every 30 minutes to reverse the billowed up,tangled bedspread.Otherwise, it would stay wet in the center.

Post# 566751 , Reply# 7 1/3/2012 at 18:52 (4,660 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes *No nothing so unusual now...but why BIG ???Normal size!!! a* Sorry Jason for delay on reply, here in Italy american agitators toploaders ang gas dryers are becoming really famous in this periods, in fact their price is about 1700 each and many wants them but just who have the funds manage to have one. There're many dealers of Speed Queens, Maytag and Whirlpool and are opening places all over the country and growing like mushrooms, as people here who always knew FL washers is totally amazed by the clean that these machines provides and also they're way more energy efficient and you can save at least the 40% on the electric bill! Here electricity cost ALOT! My filter-flo was purchased and shipped from the USA in 1994 when I was just a little boy, 5 years old exactly, sent by my maternal granma who lived in KS,my mother was half american and half italian and she growth in KS, the washer was bought and shipped via sea from a dealer of Miami where my granma used to go on vacation and arrived here in Genova. Paid everything about 2000$USD. My mother of course never liked the front loaders washers they were selling here as they didn't get clothes clean and wanted to have a toploader at all costs, after this in the 1996 my italian paternal granmother's washer that was an AEG got broken and wanted a toploader too, so my mother asked to my granma to order one for her but this time she got a Maytag that is still in regular use as well and NEVER got broken! Finger crossed! The filter-flo washer run well till last year when the pulley oil seal went and with the help of a member I got the replacing oil seal and I managed to save it with this surgery, then this year I noticed an oil leak into the tub and got that her tranny needed to be replaced, not sure if I managed to find a spare tranny somewhere I thought was time to change the washer, and googling Speed Queen washer to see if there were any offer or the cheapest dealer around I luckily found an ad on a site like american craiglist of a guy who was selling his these 2,5 years old machines for only 200 euros for washer and 300 for the gas dryer! First time I thought: "no he is kidding, or no they does not work they are broken!" They were in Sicily, very far from where I am. Then still incredulous to get these for this price I contacted the seller and sounded like a seroius guy and he was also sending them to me with bill at delivery so I trusted in him and got ahead. Probably he didn't know their value and sold them for this price. Later I found out that they were property of U.S government,the guy probably have been charged by US government to empty and sell stuff from an house maybe gived to some marine's family who finally went at home or from the NAS base, as there in Catania (Sicily) there's an American Naval Air Station named "Sigonella"..... In fact I found a sticker on the washer that say:"property of U.S government"... Love them and still not believing to have got them for this price, they works wonderfully! Now I'm still looking for a spare tranny for my poor filter-flo that is still in good working order if wasn't for the clutch that makes her run on normal speed only and for the tranny. I want to keep the filter-flo till I can! Always looking for a transmission on the web I found an ad for very vintage GE filter-flo in Italy in Bari!!! Maybe similar story of the mine I guess! Asked if he was available to ship the washer but he wasn't, I was thinking to take the tranny out of that washer and replace the mine, but then I realized also that would have been a pity and was not even sure of it's condition being anyway a vintage machine! Now I can see the seller removed the ad so guess he sold that, but looked like he was too stupid to save this and probably sent it to the scrapper, he was asking euros 150, if only was available for shipping I'd have take this as well! Also I've a question for my Speed queen washer: How can I remove the top panel and bypass the lid switch? This is an internal switch that is connected directly to the lid to inside by a mettalic arm and you cannot do anything from outside if not by bypassing it from inside! Thanks to everyone who can help me! This post was last edited 01/03/2012 at 20:15

Post# 566754 , Reply# 8 1/3/2012 at 19:03 (4,660 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes @Laundromat: It's probably so but they are all home style machines, maybe now they makes all machines with the grating commercial or not. I looked at some Unimac and speed queen comerrcial machines in laundromats and looked identical to home style washers on everything! Sorry but why you say that toploader were problematic? First time I hear that, I always known Speed Queens as strong and good machines.......

Post# 566756 , Reply# 9 1/3/2012 at 19:06 (4,660 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)
Checkrate/Likes if yours is one of the newer SQ's......the lid switch can be by-passed with a simple bungee cord, on the rear of the machine above the drain hose port is where the lid switch flapper is located, and must be pulled down to operate.....hook the bungee over this, and stretch down and clip under the base of the machine....now your machine should work with the lid open.... others have used a wedge of wood in this overhang area to keep the flapper down.....a rubber door stop will work as well.......simple solutions.... there should be a thread here somewhere with pics of how to do this.... hope this helps

Post# 566758 , Reply# 10 1/3/2012 at 19:17 (4,660 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)
Checkrate/Likes this link/thread with pics will help you with the lid switch override.....easy as pie CLICK HERE TO GO TO Yogitunes's LINK

Post# 566934 , Reply# 14 1/4/2012 at 13:42 (4,659 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)
Checkrate/Likes Not a problem........post some pics of yours when you can....seen one, seen them all...but just the same, we like to see the new toys...... you can twist the wires together.....but the method the guys recommend don't interfere with your warranty.....you can do it, and un-do it in seconds! you must remove the front panel first, 2 screws in the lower area, and then from inside theres 2 more screws that hold the top down, remove these, pull forward slightly, and lift.....now you have access to almost everything on that machine... the only thing with SQ like yours, is during agitation, the torque of the motor and tranny cause the unit to lean forward during agitation, and return to center during spin..........I glued a piece of foam to the inside front panel to keep it centered during agitation....

Post# 566767 , Reply# 11 1/3/2012 at 19:53 (4,660 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes Thank you so much!! But I cannot understand very much from the pics, I think I will have to look myself once removed the top panel but at least I got an Idea about where to look for, Thanks again! Does it have clips on the front like the filter-flo for the top panel? I tried to look for them with a knife but I did not found them....I cannot take a pic of my model right now but I will attach the link of the ad that is still there, it has some photos on it but not of the lid... I can see there's also a lid switch within the control panel.....what is that for? How it works? Just guessing, if I would connect those 2 wires togheter I would have my washer running opened anyway? CLICK HERE TO GO TO Kenmoreguy89's LINK

Post# 566770 , Reply# 12 1/3/2012 at 20:06 (4,660 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes Just looked at the ad and he changed the description, so he should have others to sell, and he was aware of their cost by new also! Amazing! Probably he does not care to make money, just get them away! This post was last edited 01/03/2012 at 20:59

Post# 566800 , Reply# 13 1/3/2012 at 21:11 (4,660 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes *Oh That's okay everything clear now!* Oh okay I moved washer and took a look on the control panel and I realized that it comes off toward the tub and not toward the back, I thought that there was another strange mechanism that was inside the control panel attached on the rear wall back of it that's why was so strange to se another thing called switch there, stupid me not realizing this was the top panel before! What an idiot! Ahahahahah It's pretty late here, I feel sleepy a and obvoiusly stoned but cannot really sleep this night...... Thank you so much Martin for the help!!!

Post# 566962 , Reply# 15 1/4/2012 at 17:14 (4,659 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes Thank you alot for everything! Since mine are used and no more warrantied I think I will twist the wires thogheter. Yes also the Granma's Maytag used to do that sometimes and toward the left or right also, thanks for the tips! Yes I will surely post some pics soon!* Thanks again!

Post# 566967 , Reply# 16 1/4/2012 at 17:30 (4,659 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes I contacted the seller and asked if he has some more of these and said just another set left, so I'm thinking to buy this other set, keeping the less weared ones and selling the others as I think I have more chanche to sell them here in the North for a little more cost and make a little money with them ......

Post# 567085 , Reply# 17 1/5/2012 at 07:36 (4,658 days old) by Kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)
Checkrate/Likes BTW every friend and acquaintance here who has seen and known my washers ask where to buy one, some neighbors knew them by me and my mother and who could bought some new speed queens from dealers .....so I will surely find a buyer for them here in my town without going too far.