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Thread Number: 4606
Tale of Two Whirlpools |
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Post# 103534 1/13/2006 at 22:34 (6,676 days old) by sudsmaster  (SF Bay Area, California) |
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I was on a semi-regular visit to the local Costco tonight, and looked at the top loaders. Both Whirlpools. One was the "Super Capacity Plus" model, for over $400. The other was a plainer "Super Capacity" model, for $299. The Plus model appeard to have two speeds... although I couldn't be sure, but it had selections for various fabric combinations, like "Cotton/High/High" which I took to mean High wash speed and high spin speed, and "Perm Press/High/Low" which I took to mean high wash speed low spin speed. Is this correct? The regular Super washer had no such selections, just the more usual water temp and water level options. I'm not actually interested in buying either washer, just wondering if Whirlpool has resovled its reputation for making clothes shredders with its direct drive top loaders (the belt drive modesl are repputed to be much more gentle). Does the addition of a lower speed in the higher end model resolve the shredding problem, or is the short fast stroke still an issue? | ||
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Post# 103554 , Reply# 1 1/14/2006 at 00:39 (6,676 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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Lower agitation speeds are not a new thing on DD Whirlpools. Bob's ShredMore has a low agitation speed. All of them except low-end 1-speed models have always had at least two. Some have three agitation speeds. Machines with three-speed motors (such as my KitchenAid 760) may use the medium motor speed as high agitation speed, and high motor only for drain and spin. Many of them also shift from high agitation to low agitation toward the end of the wash period. Lower agitation speeds are less "shredding" but also make for lesser turnover. | ||
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Post# 103591 , Reply# 3 1/14/2006 at 10:05 (6,675 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Well Knitwits, Glenn has seen first-hand the evidence of damaged laundry when he & RJ have visited here. I have a 1986 LK DD and a neighbor around the corner has a 1988 or 1989 Kenmore Series 80 washer. We both had the same issues of tears, rips, and little pin holes in our laundry. Glenn saw two different sweaters I'd washed all by themselves each on medium water level on gentle and he saw the ruined weave. I also have several pairs of slacks. The Gardenweb's Laundry form has from time to time people mentioning frayed shirt sleeves, pants legs, and collars. Two of my co-workers have complained their towels are wearing out very fast, something they've never seen b4. I've been doing laundry for 45+ years now and I have never seen anything like it. Your Kenmore undoubtedly has speed selections independent opf the cycle timer. Lemme ask you, what setting to you typically do wash on--Normal (slow/fast) or Sturdy (fast/fast).
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Post# 103633 , Reply# 5 1/14/2006 at 15:53 (6,675 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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| Post# 103644 , Reply# 6 1/14/2006 at 16:57 (6,675 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY) | ||
I have both: a BD & a DD. The BD is gentler, the stroke smoother and longer. You all know that Whirlpool makes Kitchen Aid. The huge turquoise KA agitator is much bigger: the fins are longer and wider than the WP. The agitator pan is much lower in the tub, yielding more power. So here's the thing. If you install the KA agitator into a WP and use the HIGH speed, the currents are so intense, I run it with no clothes-haha-just to see the insanity. Now there's a shredder for ya. Take it to Washington. I just saw Bob's loads, and I agree with him. My Aunt Dolores would cream him. | ||
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Post# 103671 , Reply# 8 1/14/2006 at 20:14 (6,675 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Angus-- I feel your pain. My last TL'er was a 1989 MOL KitchenAid. Even though it didn't agitate as fast as a KM/WP, I still lost buttons from shirts regularly. That was what made me decide to give FL'ers a try. I've never looked back. I honestly don't recall losing a button from a shirt since! (While I can cook, I can not sew. No, not even a button.)
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Post# 103699 , Reply# 9 1/14/2006 at 21:08 (6,675 days old) by appnut (TX) |
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Anthony, thanks buddy for the affirmation. I hoped you'd chime in here because you've posted and I think we've even emaled about the washer a time or two. And my machine is getting a slight funky odor to it too. I used 150 degree hot water for whites and I've even run bleach through it a time ro two to see if it would help, no not much avail.
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Post# 103756 , Reply# 10 1/15/2006 at 03:26 (6,675 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Post# 103824 , Reply# 12 1/15/2006 at 10:51 (6,674 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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So... getting back to my original question... does the BOL Whirlpool I saw at Costco have two speeds? There are no speed buttons on the control panel, so I'm assuming if there are two speed, the machine chooses them automatically in reation to the wash cycle selected. As in, low speed agitation for delicates and maybe perm press, high speed agitation for regular or heavy? Would this be a safe assumption? If so, the higher end model might still be preferable, since it would enable one to select a longer wash cycle with normal or heavy, but have a more gentle agitation. Of course, the best solution may be to find a belt drive model in good condition... lol... or a front loader... | ||
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Post# 103839 , Reply# 13 1/15/2006 at 11:23 (6,674 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Rich, Is this the model you saw? This is a single speed model. CLICK HERE TO GO TO foraloysius's LINK | ||
| Post# 103883 , Reply# 16 1/15/2006 at 14:07 (6,674 days old) by rayjay (Carteret, New Jersey) | ||
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Well, Everone seems to forget that the front loaders where the one of the first automatics. What do laundries use? Front loaders of course, not top loaders. We have used both for years, and I think they are both good, but I still like my front loader the best! Best for cleaning, and rinsing. | ||
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Post# 103901 , Reply# 19 1/15/2006 at 15:22 (6,674 days old) by frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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Post# 103921 , Reply# 20 1/15/2006 at 16:45 (6,674 days old) by sudsmaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Louis, That looks similar, although I can't get a closeup of the control panel. Also, the control panel on the one on Costco floor was gray, just like the Super Plus model on the website (if you hit the left Next Selection arrow). I see that the higher end model, the Super Plus, has four speeds. If I were wanting to buy something like these machines, I'd get the higher end model, with the four speeds. But I'd really prefer a 60's Maytag :-) | ||
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Post# 103929 , Reply# 21 1/15/2006 at 17:09 (6,674 days old) by dadoes (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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The designation "4 speed combo with Speed Select" means, as it says, four speed combinations -- not a four-speed motor. high agitate / high spin high agitate / low spin low agitate / low spin low agitate / high spin (or it may have "handwashable" low/intermittent agitate with low spin) "Speed Select" may mean there's a separate panel control for speed selection independent of the timer .. rather than the speeds being hard-wired into the timer cycles. If so, then the picture probably is wrong. The text says "4 Control Knobs" (plus timer?) -- water temp, water level, speed, extra rinse. The picture only shows three knobs plus the timer. Too bad there isn't a close-up of the control panel to know for sure! | ||
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