Thread Number: 38117
2012 - End of toploaders
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Post# 566190   12/31/2011 at 22:54 (4,720 days old) by supersurgilator (Indiana)        

Does anybody know the truth behind this? I can't seem to find anything online, despite several people saying that the federal regulations are going to ban them this year.




Post# 566192 , Reply# 1   12/31/2011 at 23:57 (4,720 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Again It's Not A Federal Regulation Per Se

launderess's profile picture
Causing the likely demise of top loaders, but the Energy Star program which is voluntary.

In 2012 standards are supposed to be increased for dishwashers and washing machines to use less water and energy than those currently holding the award.

Seeing how top loaders (those with central beaters) already are down to pretty much beating dry laundry because they use so little water there isn't much more room to lessen that amount.

Manufacturers are perfectly free to sell washing machines without the ES label,but as the people have been conditioned to seek it, don't fancy many companies putting scarce R&D much less other dollars behind that scheme.



Post# 566202 , Reply# 2   1/1/2012 at 01:02 (4,720 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        

arbilab's profile picture
Low-water toploaders are a false economy. Doesn't clean, and last time I looked clothes were more expensive than water.

I've been frontloading half my life and I prefer them. If they also save something, so much the better. But I don't want anyone forced to buy something they don't like/want.


Post# 566209 , Reply# 3   1/1/2012 at 02:06 (4,720 days old) by qualin (Canada)        

I think the only thing keeping top loaders sticking around is that they are cheap machines. (The conventional center post agitator ones that is.) The tooling is all still there, so the washer manufacturers will probably still be making machines until the tooling completely wears out.

At the local Future Shop, I happened to see a "Estate" (Aka BOL Whirlpool. Have no idea why it's just not Inglis.) washer/dryer set. I opened the lid and was very surprised to see a black with white speckles porcelain tub, just like what my parents old 60's era Filter Flo used to have. It uses a "Reduced water level" on washes and rinses apparently, but that could probably be fixed by adjusting a screw on the pressure switch.

It looked like a standard capacity washer, but I seem to recall that it sold for just a shade over $300, which is a downright bargain considering that GE's BOL washers have a plastic tub and sell for a shade just under $400 here.

I think Toploaders are going to stick around for a while, especially with washplate washers entering in the scene. Some people swear by them, some people swear at them.. But I think Washplate machines are going to spurn on the popularity of front loaders due to their low effectiveness.

I don't think the Canadian Government will ever go out of their way to ban top loaders outright. If they ever do, I'll be really surprised.


Post# 569934 , Reply# 4   1/19/2012 at 13:11 (4,701 days old) by gocartwasher ()        
USA pushing for high Efficency

Just like Urope has for years , one of their things was and still is they have Disel engine powered tractors even small garden tractors.The big trend now is LED lighting 10X more efficent as flourcent

Post# 569937 , Reply# 5   1/19/2012 at 13:22 (4,701 days old) by gocartwasher ()        
Top loader washes like front loader

Last year my brother bought a new washer I don`t remember the make but had a top loading door and a wash action like a frot loader. theres 2 doors one on the top and one on the drum.

Post# 570089 , Reply# 6   1/20/2012 at 00:53 (4,701 days old) by tolivac (greenville nc)        

Well,TL machines that use WATER and fill up are available used at your local appliance swap shops--The two swap shops near me won't take FL washers-the operators just take them to the scrapper.The stores say the TL's are easier to fix-even if using scrap machines for parts.

Post# 570162 , Reply# 7   1/20/2012 at 10:49 (4,701 days old) by PassatDoc (Orange County, California)        
@gocartwasher

I don't know the brand your relative bought, but top loading horizontal axis washers have been around for a long time. They wash the same as a front loader: horizonal axis drum, low water use, etc. But for those who don't want to stoop, or who dislike a forward-opening door with water inside, top loading h-axis washers are a compromise. You open the top door like a standard top loader, then open a trap door in the drum to gain access to the drum. Because their capacities tend to be smaller than today's front loaders, they never captured a large market share, but they're around, particularly with the elderly who have issues with stooping (to some degree, pedestals have ameliorated that issue). I have a friend in Sweden whose mother had a top loader h-axis. Also, when I was an exchange student in Holland in 1973, the family with whom I lived had a TL h-axis. According to board member foraloysius, that model was not uncommon in Holland in that era (not the #1 selling model, but not uncommon).

Post# 570167 , Reply# 8   1/20/2012 at 11:21 (4,701 days old) by sillysuds (new jersey)        

Hi, I hope they never stop making top load washers, I have a estate (whirlpool) top load for 12 years with not one single repair. go top load. just my opinion. Thank You.

Post# 575434 , Reply# 9   2/12/2012 at 17:22 (4,677 days old) by jmurray01 ()        

In my opinion, front loaders are great, so I don't see a problem with them stopping top loaders.

Besides, it will make them more valuable as they won't be in production any more.


Post# 575539 , Reply# 10   2/13/2012 at 01:59 (4,677 days old) by rapunzel (Sydney)        
I don't see a problem with them stopping top loaders.

Well, I do. Anyway, even if they are legislated to niche product status in the US, that will not necessarily be the case anywhere else in the world.

Post# 575548 , Reply# 11   2/13/2012 at 04:05 (4,677 days old) by qualin (Canada)        

I suspect that even if all of the other major manufacturers stopped making top loaders, there would always be one manufacturer hanging on still making them.

As for the conventional center post high water level machines, those are starting to become a rare breed.

Reading through this topic, I would have thought that a front loader would be easier to repair than a top loader, only because a transmission isn't involved.


Post# 575573 , Reply# 12   2/13/2012 at 07:50 (4,677 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
NO PROBLEMS WITH STOPPING TOP LOADING WASHERS

combo52's profile picture

In the US many people have washers installed in very tight places and corners and FL washers are not an option, plus are large # of people world wide prefer TL washers so I would wager that they will never go away.


Post# 576522 , Reply# 13   2/17/2012 at 06:24 (4,673 days old) by fenwoman ()        

but on the minus side. If space is really tight, you can always stack the dryer on top of the washing machine with a front loader, or, as I have, create a work surface above the front loader on which you can either store all your cleaning chemicals, laundry baskets and the like, or, if you are potty like me, you keep all your pet rat's cages on it :o) If space was tight, I'd opt for a front loader every time simply because you get to use the often unused space up above it.After all, if space was tight so you got a top loader, you still have to stand in front of it to load it. And you are therefore using no more space than you'd need for the door to open on a front loader. I loved my front loader so much that when I moved to Canada I brought mine with me from the UK (and took it home again 4 years later)

Post# 576530 , Reply# 14   2/17/2012 at 07:35 (4,673 days old) by rapunzel (Sydney)        

I assume Combo is referring to tight spaces where there isn't enough room for someone to get in front of their front loader. In Australia it isn't uncommon for dryers to hang above top loading washers. Makes for better ergonomics and most dedicated laundry spaces have a laundry tub with storage and/or a storage cabinet.

Post# 576552 , Reply# 15   2/17/2012 at 09:48 (4,673 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT)        
We surely hope the TL are continued in production

firedome's profile picture
as we fully intend to get a TL Speed Queen when one of 4 in various locations bites the dust.


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