Thread Number: 39785
Review of Speed Queen AWN412 |
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Post# 589149 , Reply# 1   4/13/2012 at 21:55 (4,393 days old) by PeterH770 (Marietta, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 589159 , Reply# 2   4/13/2012 at 22:44 (4,393 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Two things on the Hot water issue......
you can drill out the restrictor OR turn your water heater up to 140/160 degress.....I did the second one....and get a real warm wash.... note:keep in mind, the water spout flowing the water in IS pouring water into and behind the SS tub....I took mine apart, and sealed off the rear exit....all water now flows onto the clothes.....especially during the spin rinse I am suprised your having issues with a full load, I never experienced that.... |
Post# 589167 , Reply# 3   4/13/2012 at 23:26 (4,393 days old) by LLMaytag (Southern California)   |   | |
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I have the AWN432, which is similar except I have a 2nd rinse option. Tell me, how high does the water fill on the highest level setting? You probably still have two to three rows of hows left at the top of the tub. There is apparently a way to adjust the highest water level. I'll look for that posting..but I think that would allow you to have a more effective full-load wash. I havent' done it yet, but need to on my 432.
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Post# 589209 , Reply# 4   4/14/2012 at 05:50 (4,393 days old) by mercman ()   |   | |
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Yes, I adjusted the water level. Now fills just below the top row of holes. |
Post# 589265 , Reply# 6   4/14/2012 at 10:28 (4,393 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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Well wait a minute here...I have an AWN 311 SQ washer and it does alright with rollover. Methinks your overloading your machine. I load the machine dry dropping clothes in loosely up to the top row of holes. I know alot of people start the machine then add detergent to dissolve then the clothes but one really can overload the machine and the clothes get wet and pack down. It gives a false sense of hey I can add more when in reality you shouldn't.
As far as build goes it's far better built than lets say an LG washer that will explode with a balled up sheet or mattress cover. Suspension is rugged and the washer carries on and gets the job done. One thing I wish is that they had a spray rinse in the final spin. The spray rinse that I get in the first spin the tub isn't even drained nor is the wash basket up to speed. The thing is for the cabinet as long as it keeps the machine together and doesn't crush itself and your not going to sit on it are ya?! Unless your in a fit of passion and wanna get your swirl on the washer during the spin cycle then it might be an issue. |
Post# 589280 , Reply# 9   4/14/2012 at 11:42 (4,393 days old) by DirectDriveDave ()   |   | |
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Couldn't you also buy another water valve that doesn't have the resctrictor? (yes I know this is not a free alternative) |
Post# 589408 , Reply# 11   4/14/2012 at 18:00 (4,393 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 589636 , Reply# 13   4/15/2012 at 12:35 (4,392 days old) by danmantn (Tennessee)   |   | |
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I agree with mtn1584 - of what you can get today, it's the best cabinet out there - AND identical to their commercial grade units that I've seen in the new SQ laundromat. No, they are not 1/4" thick like they were 30 years ago...never will be again. Rollover is never an issue for me as I follow the "fill loosely to the top rop of holes" rule that's been around since at least the 80s - read that in my Whirlpool manual in 1984. Follow that and you're golden.
My sister used my SQ when her WP broke down. First thing she did was to CRAM her clothes in it. I quickly tried to correct her and an argument shortly ensued. I see this ALL THE TIME at the laundromat...IF YOUR CLOTHES DON'T TURN OVER, THEY DON'T GET CLEAN! Simple as that...adjust accordingly. I have my SQ fill till the top of the "hole gap" which is where it would be if there were no level restrictions as you can see in the Aussie version of the SQ. This video shows a very heavy load - and good turnover as well. |
Post# 589653 , Reply# 14   4/15/2012 at 13:41 (4,392 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Hey...the Aussie machines don't Spin-Drain?........
I wonder Dan if he would do better with the solid vane agitator?.....curious... Not sure what you mean Matt with adding the extra hose...... and be cautious about getting another valve.....at first I switched one from a Maytag, it was the same valve......then I took one from a GE FF, removed the restrictor......and WOW!, Niagra Falls....... These from the GE's were easy, the restictor is a little rubber washer, can be removed in minutes.......the SQ has to be drilled to make the opening larger... |
Post# 589667 , Reply# 15   4/15/2012 at 14:54 (4,392 days old) by danmantn (Tennessee)   |   | |
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Post# 589668 , Reply# 16   4/15/2012 at 14:55 (4,392 days old) by danmantn (Tennessee)   |   | |
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Post# 589672 , Reply# 17   4/15/2012 at 15:10 (4,392 days old) by mayfan69 (Brisbane Queensland Australia)   |   | |
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Yogi.....no....the versions for the Aussie market don't spin-drain.
They have electric pumps. I have to agree with Dan here....i don't usually cram my SQ with that much clothes as i did with this load and the turn over is fine, even with heavy items such as jeans etc. As for the build quality, its better than you're going to get with probably any machine on the market today. I'd be looking at more the commercial 'components' such as the gearbox and outer bowl, because THEY'RE heavy duty. Leon |
Post# 589702 , Reply# 19   4/15/2012 at 16:53 (4,392 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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Your clothes will last longer and your machine as well.....The other thing I was thinking of is that the Hotpoint washer has a much smaller wash basket than the SQ washer. You had to be packing it tight and the spiral agitator tries to get the load rolled over. Both machines are different animals. The main reason the GE Hotpoint washer needs to have a stronger cabinet is because the cabinet holds the weight of all the water in the machine and the suspension system. It is more rigid because of the "aircraft cable suspension". The SQ washer uses the base to send the weight to the floor and to anchor the wash system by springs. The SQ washer can handle out of balance loads better.
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Post# 589704 , Reply# 20   4/15/2012 at 17:02 (4,392 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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The SQs lid is probably the same thickness as the old HP-GE the difference is that it is much larger and like many other washers lids if you sit on it it will bow downward, it is easy to fix just open it and pound in the middle with your fist. I am sure that a straighten at least 5 washer lids a week on newer GEs and WP-KM washers. The cabinet likewise is at least as thick as the old washer. I agree with you on the agitators ability to turn over really big loads and I have tried in vane to get SQ to use a dual-action agitator in their washers. There is no reason in this day in time not to be able to wash really large loads of jeans etc and have them turn over, as a dealer we know this machine well we sell 6-10 TLs per month and the lack of the DA agitator is the worst thing about this washer. The best thing to do about the reduced warm temperature is to substitute a 50/50 inlet valve or remove the filter screen on the hot side and drill out the hole to the same size as the cold side, be sure to carefully replace the inlet screen. |
Post# 589719 , Reply# 22   4/15/2012 at 17:44 (4,392 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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Post# 590346 , Reply# 24   4/17/2012 at 17:22 (4,390 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 590354 , Reply# 25   4/17/2012 at 17:53 (4,390 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Wonderful.....does anyone here think thats he's much, much, much, much happier now!.....lol
I did the same with mine although I went a few sizes bigger, it is rather easy, just take your time.....love the flow rate of the waterfall as well....... Malcolm, take the temp of the drain hose output on your next load.....that should be close enough to what the actual temp is... how about the lid switch......and higher water level....and cut the restrictor off the end of the drain hose......just little improvements that makes us happy....and we all want to be much, much, much, much happier.....don't we? |
Post# 590383 , Reply# 27   4/17/2012 at 19:15 (4,389 days old) by mercman ()   |   | |
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If I can make this simple alteration to the hot inlet with out ruining anything I'm sure you can too. |
Post# 590385 , Reply# 28   4/17/2012 at 19:16 (4,389 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Post# 590389 , Reply# 29   4/17/2012 at 19:22 (4,389 days old) by mercman ()   |   | |
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No comment...I'm speechless!!! |
Post# 590397 , Reply# 30   4/17/2012 at 19:43 (4,389 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Post# 590477 , Reply# 32   4/18/2012 at 06:17 (4,389 days old) by mrb627 (Buford, GA)   |   | |
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Post# 590486 , Reply# 33   4/18/2012 at 07:09 (4,389 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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Malcolms right....its not 50/50 for a warm setting, even the AUTO temps are dubbed down, and harder to adjust.........
I operated a newer Whirlpool TL a few weeks ago, and selected HOT, it gave a 60 second fill with HOT, and then jumped the rest of the way to LUKEWARM, I even reset the timer, no go, it had to continue with LUKEWARM......only resourse was to reach under the sink and turn the COLD off until it finished filling....its getting crazy with the newer machines...... I'll stick with my vintage machines, but if I had to own a new one, I think I would forget the fill valve and do it manually.... as we learned, even SQ has a dubbed down version.......pretty soon machines are only gonna be allowed a single cold water hook-up, with no internal heater..... that, or their gonna remove the water heaters from our homes....... which brings me to a question....why not improve the source?....if the water heater uses so much energy, why hasn't someone come up with a better one, better design, granted their more efficient today, but apparently not enough!.....why isn't the government forcing these guys to produce a super efficient model......take the energy level one uses today, and for starters, make it do the same job with 25 to 50 percent less energy! |
Post# 590491 , Reply# 34   4/18/2012 at 07:54 (4,389 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)   |   | |
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Martin its coming, but it is true that regular Gas water heaters are not nearly as efficient as they could be and regular electric water heaters should be taxed out of existence. I installed a new Rheem heat-pump water heater at my partners house over a year ago and it works GREAT. The WH only draws 6 AMPS at 240= 1446 watts vs the old one drawing 4500 watts and from what I can tell doesn't even run nearly as long or often as the old electric model did. And as an added benefit we stopped using the dehumidifier in the basement as the HPWH removes one or two gallons of water per week. Interestingly in the winter when the air is dryer it hasn't removed a drop of water since last October, I was concerned that it might make the air dryer in the house in the winter. |
Post# 590580 , Reply# 35   4/18/2012 at 15:32 (4,389 days old) by mercman ()   |   | |
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So let me understand this, even after drilling-out the hot water inlet I'm still not getting a true 50/50 mix. WTH ? |
Post# 590596 , Reply# 36   4/18/2012 at 17:23 (4,389 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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NO, NO, NO....your getting the best possible mix.......opening up both the same, its as close as possible.......
the before of your machine was not allowing a full 50/50 mix......that what was confusing some people, yeah, if you selected HOT, you got tap HOT water, same for COLD, but if you asked for WARM, it was more like 70/30, or luke warm if even that.....some people weren't even checking as to the actual temp once the machine was filled......like Malcolms machine, once locked, he can't be sure he's getting a true warm wash, or even hot for that matter..... something just to keep in mind.......WARM is determined for you now based on incomming water temps.....if the COLD is icy cold, and your water heater is set at 120, you may be only getting a luke warm wash, and this can also change by the Season, and the area you live......thats why mine is set at 160, I can always turn the faucet down, and adjust to my liking..... check your wash temp, warm if I am correct should be around 90 to 100F.... |
Post# 590621 , Reply# 38   4/18/2012 at 18:49 (4,388 days old) by wayupnorth (On a lake between Bangor and Bar Harbor, Maine)   |   | |
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You're right Yogi about the temperature of what the water is coming in, it should be what each faucet has. I have an oil fired boiler with tankless hot water coil and I think the valve that regulates the temp from boiling to hot has gone out and I have to have it replaced. I notice now the Maytag does not fill with Hot when set and when the machine fills up the furnace burner finally kicks on. Same thing happened in the shower today, went cold and I always had more than enough hot water but now I have to wait for it to heat. Not a project I am going to tackle.
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Post# 590642 , Reply# 39   4/18/2012 at 20:19 (4,388 days old) by xraytech (Rural southwest Pennsylvania )   |   | |
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In order to compensate for the coolness of the warm water mix in my Speed Queen I just fill the tub 1/3 with hot water then switch to warm the remainder of the fill, We get very hot water in the washer, as there is only about 3 feet of pipes from water heater to washer, and I have the temp set on 140 degrees
What really pisses me off is the requirement of only being able to rinse in cold water, I prefer warm rinses |
Post# 590728 , Reply# 40   4/19/2012 at 07:06 (4,388 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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you could drill the hole a little larger, but to just fine tune it at this point, I would try first by adjusting the cold faucet a little....because your temps are gonna change thru out the year.....I a getting too much HOT right now, because of the water heater set temp, so I have to cut back the HOT valve
Sam, you could have two choices, intall a "Y" and set the Temps manually, or just reset the machine to WASH, once filled with warm, turn dial around to rinse and let it finish, either way, its gonna take some monitoring..... a few of my machines have a WARM rinse option, but usually only if I select a HOT wash......the Neptunes are the only ones that have the WARM/WARM option... |
Post# 590838 , Reply# 42   4/19/2012 at 14:54 (4,388 days old) by Yogitunes (New Jersey)   |   | |
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You know, as scary as it may seem, that may be the next course, Wash and Spin, thats it.....but at that point, I could live with it, a bit of a pain, but consider it a Semi-Automatic......set the machine to Wash and Spin, and then reset to Rinse and Spin all over......
WE always find a way around it.....and will!.....lol |
Post# 594399 , Reply# 44   5/5/2012 at 11:20 (4,372 days old) by danmantn (Tennessee)   |   | |
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Post# 594535 , Reply# 46   5/6/2012 at 08:28 (4,371 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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Mikeske, it sounds like you had the same Maytag set I had. The washer bearings went on mine plus it was recalled for a fire hazard. Your wife may want to rethink her stance on the dryer since it will give up the ghost a year from now...mine did just that. The SQ dryer will dry much faster than the Samsung Maytag and it's better built.
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Post# 594807 , Reply# 48   5/7/2012 at 07:50 (4,370 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)   |   | |
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Well my Maytag Samsung dryer motor went out exactly a year after we got rid of the washer. My washer did that same thing adding time in a loop and balancing issues OMG I wanted to kill it. Then the bearings were going and I would get te dreaded T1 code.
The dryer in my opinion wasn't efficient and would only check the load twice for dryness. At least mine did that. I have been reading about the drum seams letting go too...but if she wants to run t in the ground then do it, but when it dies it goes out in a very big way. |
Post# 594884 , Reply# 49   5/7/2012 at 14:56 (4,370 days old) by danmantn (Tennessee)   |   | |
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