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Thread Number: 49803
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| Post# 719496 , Reply# 1 12/5/2013 at 19:35 (4,151 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E) | ||
O-Kay.
Brandon:
There are two brands to keep in mind if you want to go vintage and want relative ease of repair when things go wrong. They are: 1) Maytag and 2) Whirlpool/Sears. Each of these brands have their fans and detractors, and I will go ahead and put my biases on the table by saying I'm in the Maytag camp. Whirlpool and Sears (Kenmore) are lumped together because Whirlpool made Sears for decades and the two brands are sisters under the skin. There are other brands that many people here love, but I'm assuming you want something easy to find, as robust as possible and as easy to fix as possible. The reason I like Maytag is that even I understand what's going on under the hood; I'm mechanically inclined up to a point, but not to the extent others are. Parts are still reasonably easy to find for the classic top-loaders, and you can perform many repairs yourself using common sense and common tools. Maytags came in many models, at a lot of different price points. The top of the line for many years was the A806, with all the bells and whistles. Lesser machines were still very well-featured; I once owned a near-bottom-of-the-line A208 that had almost every feature my present A806 has. The engineering was very similar no matter what Maytag you bought, and the quality was the same no matter what. You do need to understand one thing about what you're getting into: You will need to learn to do simple maintenance and repair yourself, and you need to have a network of friends who can help with more complicated stuff. This site's members can help with the first, and if you're nice to them, will turn into the second. The reason you need to become at least partly self-sufficient is that most repair places will not work on vintage stuff; the parts aren't on their shelf, there's no factory-paid warranty work to make easy money on and they usually don't have the know-how, since their technicians are often young guys who trained on newer stuff. Used Maytag washers are all over most cities' Craigslist for $100 or less. Members here can tell you about how to judge one for sale. Or if you're the risk-taking type, you might just take a chance on one without knowing too much about it - the Almond pair of top-of-the-line 806s below began as free machines with an unknown history. I have all of $100 invested in repairs, and they run perfectly, as they have for over three years since I got them back in shape. Welcome to AW.org! 
This post was last edited 12/05/2013 at 20:02 | ||
Post# 719507 , Reply# 2 12/5/2013 at 20:28 (4,151 days old) by akronman  (Akron/Cleveland Ohio) |
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Hi
Everything above is accurate, and tons of Maytags and Kenmore can be found on Craigslist. But General Electric filter Flo machines are also darn good, long lasting, and were built until the mid-90's. Tons of parts avaialble, like Maytag and Kenmore. This picture shows one. While the console changed lots thru the years, that lid with the clipped corners is the sign of a GE Filter Flo.
Danesmodsandy is also correct that you'll get lots of advice and many differing opinions here, sorry. 
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Post# 719513 , Reply# 3 12/5/2013 at 21:05 (4,151 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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 Vintage:
If largest capacity is one of your top considerations, a Whirlpool or Kenmore will provide the most, but you'll probably need to go back to the belt-driven models for the biggest tubs.
I'm a Maytag fan, but their tubs are among the smallest, even on the "extra large" capacity models.
New:
For something new that still has old-school reliability, I (and legions of others here) would recommend Speed Queen. They're kind of pricey and can only be found at select appliance dealers, but they have a huge stainless steel tub, are built to last, and it's easy to tweak the water fill level to make it hold even more if you find it necessary. The model AWN432 offers an extra rinse option. The less expensive AWN412 does not. Since you're only in the market for a washer, you might find the Speed Queen a viable option. Their web site allows you to compare models (there are only three) and will help you locate a dealer in your area. | ||
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Post# 719751 , Reply# 6 12/7/2013 at 10:37 (4,149 days old) by Frigilux (The Minnesota Prairie) |
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I second Ralph's Speed Queen recommendation. Although my daily driver is a 2010 Frigidaire front-loader, I wanted to add a classic, old-school top-loader to the laundry room, so I purchased a Speed Queen AWN542. It has everything you're looking for in a washer, plus the bonus of being able to order parts should they ever be needed.
This post was last edited 12/07/2013 at 11:02 | ||
| Post# 719782 , Reply# 7 12/7/2013 at 13:45 (4,149 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
The Neptunes were not at all nor ever will be my choice in front loading washers. They were an embarassment to salesfolk like me. The problems they had were a nightmare from Hell. The Frigidaires were ok but their spider pullies were too problematic. The good news was you could reset the water level by just the turn of a screw. Whirlpool Duets also. The only issue with Duets was mold forming from users closing the door instead of leaving it open to dry. The LGs also had an adjustable level but I only saw it on the model I currently own. Top loading agitators wear out and damage fabrics by agressive and pointless short/rapid oscillation using sharp blades to stir up the turnover of clothes.The lint in the dryer is proof. I think that ,if you had one like my.Duet and could increase water intake,you'd see my ppint.
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Post# 719792 , Reply# 8 12/7/2013 at 14:51 (4,149 days old) by rp2813 (Sannazay) |
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Post# 719817 , Reply# 9 12/7/2013 at 17:08 (4,149 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.)) |
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Vintage TL Washer and Dryer | ||
| Post# 719825 , Reply# 10 12/7/2013 at 17:33 (4,149 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E) | ||
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Nick:
Since this is someone new to the hobby, without a lot of knowledge about how different washers vary, what about setting forth your reasons for recommending a DD Kenmore? This person is already aware we all have our preferences (like I love Maytags and wouldn't want another DD Whirly product), but it would probably be helpful for him to know why we have them.
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| Post# 720024 , Reply# 12 12/8/2013 at 20:54 (4,148 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii) | ||
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Yes,Speed Queen is the best in top loading automatics in my own opinion. However,again,the base of their agitators has the flexible fins that are sharp and pull taring the fabrics and causing more wear on your clothes. They don't spin as fast lengthening drying time and costing more to use an automatic dryer. They're also more expensive with fewer options i.e. extra rinse, lengthened wash cycles and delayed cycles.My Duets are now twelve years old and like new. I got them used for $500.
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