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Thread Number: 93067
/ Tag: Modern Automatic Washers
Happy 18th B Day to my Whirlpool Duet |
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| Post# 1176893 4/2/2023 at 11:00 (383 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
Yes. 18 years old this month. Purchased April 2005. I still can't believe it.. Crazy!
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Post# 1176894 , Reply# 1 4/2/2023 at 11:03 (383 days old) by appnut  (TX) |
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| Post# 1176896 , Reply# 2 4/2/2023 at 11:16 (383 days old) by Golittlesport (California) | ||
Happy birthday! That's a good long life for a modern washing machine -- any washing machine!
I gave a 2006 Frigidaire front loader to my son and daughter-in-law about six years ago, who in turn gave it to my son's mother-in-law after a few years of heavy use and it finally gave up recently with bad bearings. That thing was a work horse for 17 years. | ||
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Post# 1176907 , Reply# 3 4/2/2023 at 12:45 (383 days old) by lakewebsterkid (Dayton, Ohio) |
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What a beaut! Very happy for you! I am jealous! Ours lasted 11 years with somewhat heavy use. It was a great machine, though not perfect! | ||
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Post# 1176914 , Reply# 4 4/2/2023 at 14:41 (383 days old) by ryner1988 (Indianapolis) |
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Just goes to show that an electronic machine can last if it's made well. Here's to more happy years with your washer! :)
I was considering a Whirlpool Duet when my Maytag A112 died last summer. It was at the same used appliance shop where I ultimately bought the direct drive TL I have now. I chose the DD because I know people who can easily work on it when/if needed, and I wasn't sure I could receive the same assistance maintaining a 17-year-old electronic machine. But I'm sure I would have enjoyed having it. There was a Duet washer at the blindness rehab center where I did independence training in 2007 and I really liked that machine. It's one of the only electronic machines I know of where the manufacturers actually had accessibility in mind when they built the controls. | ||
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Post# 1176919 , Reply# 5 4/2/2023 at 15:18 (383 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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That's great.
in 2007, that model was my "training" front loader and how I learned all about why FLs are superior.
Some people I stayed with for a short period had a matched set. They didn't know the importance of removing the tray and leaving the door open after use but.... I was so impressed with how it worked I literally went to Lowes and bought the then current model Duet for like $700 and put it in storage until I could use it. Also sold my 8 y.o. Kenmore toploader for $200 but kept the matching dryer that was in like new condition. I glad yours is still working for you after all this time. Have you had to do any servicing on it? How are the bearings? | ||
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Post# 1176928 , Reply# 6 4/2/2023 at 16:31 (382 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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 Mark, I'm looking forward to future birthday reports for your machine. Maybe even a silver anniversary. That'll give Speed Queen a run for its money re: their longevity claims.
We bought the same model Duet washer and companion gas dryer around this time in 2007 and I loved everything about both. The set was too big for the laundry room in our next home, so we threw them in with the sale of the house, otherwise I might still be using them today.
Knobs and buttons rule, in spite of their housewife-pleasing color schemes! | ||
| Post# 1176933 , Reply# 7 4/2/2023 at 16:46 (382 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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Service
Actually yes but very early on...I think it was like 2007 I started getting an F-DL door lock error. Called serviced. Guy comes here and orders a door lock...comes back and puts new door lock... Same thing. F-DL.. He was sort of stumped and scratching his head.... then he unplugged some things from the control board and plugged them back in....we thought that fixed it but it started happening again a few weeks later...Then he determined it was probably the board, which he replaced...from that point on, absolutely nothing has been serviced on it..I keep it plugged into a surge protector (whether or not that's doing anything, I don't know) but I didn't want to take any chances after the first board failure.
I don't know about the bearings.. All I know is it still works at it always has with the occasional baby birds chirping sound when it tumbles during wash or rinse and that sound will just come and go and has for years...It's more OFF than ON....I'll just randomly hear it when doing loads for a week or so and then suddenly it just goes away for months...That's been going on at least 8 or 9 years now...so whatever it is it must not be major... I'm the only one that has ever touched it and being a clean freak I wipe everything down when done...leave things opened to air out, etc...still smells clean as a washer should. Even the buttons still look new... | ||
| Post# 1176934 , Reply# 8 4/2/2023 at 16:54 (382 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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| Post# 1177013 , Reply# 9 4/3/2023 at 15:17 (382 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah) | ||
I really miss ours, I think in my humble opinion they are the BEST washers that I've ever used! And I honestly didn't even realized it until I had used another one at a ranch I was living at a few years ago. As a consumer, if I could have any set in the whole world, it would definitely be that same Duet we had before. I wished we kept it at our house instead of the Maytag set we also had before. We bought both the Neptune and the Duet at the same time back in 2004 I believe but only one of them was going to be used for our house and the other for our cabin, from what I was told, we kept the Neptune for our house because it had more features than the Duet. This was ours from the cabin that we no longer have, the white one. And the grey one was from the ranch. Honestly, I liked the grey one more because of the color. I'm not really a fan of white. But at least though it matched with the other set we also had up there which was white, the GE top loader that the Neptune replaced from our house.
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Post# 1177027 , Reply# 10 4/3/2023 at 16:35 (381 days old) by Logixx (Germany) |
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Congrats 
Mine will turn 12 years old next month. The only repair has been the flowmeter that I switched out last year
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| Post# 1177056 , Reply# 11 4/3/2023 at 21:44 (381 days old) by IIIJohnnyMacIII (North Carolina) | ||
Congrats! | ||
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Post# 1177069 , Reply# 12 4/4/2023 at 00:02 (381 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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wait a minute!
WE didn't have this handy clean out on our washers?
Whats GOING ON HERE! Can you give us a close-up of this? Show us how it's SUPPOSED to be.
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Post# 1177072 , Reply# 13 4/4/2023 at 03:03 (381 days old) by Logixx (Germany) |
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Close-up
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Post# 1177083 , Reply# 14 4/4/2023 at 06:58 (381 days old) by lovestowash (St. Petersburg, FL) |
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Lasting ability | ||
| Post# 1177090 , Reply# 15 4/4/2023 at 09:33 (381 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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REALLY good question. Why would the German model Duet have an access door for the drain pump...but the similar American model didn't? All FL washers should have the access doors like that. To get to mine, I have to take the lower panel off..The LG's put them on, as does the GE (I think) but Electrolux and Whirlpool don't on most of their models. I think there might be an access door on one of them. We talked about this on here a while back and someone said it's probably because it's not pleasing to the eye and designers think the customer would rather not have that ugly door on there...I think the designers are totally wrong on that one.. IF that's their reason for it not being there.
Anyway, I check pockets religiously before putting clothes in but I've still missed some things....not often though..The worst thing I washed once was a small screwdriver and an ink pen (which didn't leak) | ||
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Post# 1177104 , Reply# 17 4/4/2023 at 10:56 (381 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md) |
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Whirlpool, washer, duet, durability
These original Germans built duet machines were quite durable, as are many other front loading washers.
It’s not at all surprising to me that many of these have gone 20 years without a service call or more, we put a pair in for my former partner, when they first came out, neither the washer nor dryer have been serviced once, in spite of him being an auto mechanic and always bringing the rags home from the shop and everything else to Wash in them. The quality of assembly in the last 2030 years is at an all-time high so it’s not surprising machines that are properly installed and treated well. Will go a very long time without needing service. Important interesting thing that many of us leave out when you talk about how well your machine has lasted, it would be helpful to say about how many loads a week the machine has done while you have had it. As good as these machines have been the Speed Queen frontload machine is still a much better built machine both my brother and I have had a Speed Queen frontload machine for 18 years now neither has ever required a single repair kind of doubt it ever will because I’m only doing about one load a week in it as I have multiple machines. For the past couple years I’ve had one of the KitchenAid pro line stainless steel front load washers that uses the German Duet guts. It’s a good machine overall, I wouldn’t want it as my only washer it just tangles too badly the other week I threw a load of eight pairs of jeans in it, and took them all out in one hand they were so tied up for Speed Queen doesn’t do that , I would never have a front load washer that had a slanted tub for this reason. John. | ||
| Post# 1177119 , Reply# 18 4/4/2023 at 11:56 (381 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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Only two people...I'd have to say it's definitely not heavily used...Like I'm not doing laundry EVERY day... I let it build up then do it.
Figuring it out in my head...and this is going to be an average..4 to 6 loads per week..and most loads are larger loads (but not overloaded).. I could be wrong in that estimation but going through my head I think that's about right. Some weeks I've done maybe up to 10 loads..while another week I might only end up doing 3 My model has a built in clean washer cycle but it's a series of commands you have to enter to activate it... I used it a few times then stopped because it just didn't need it. Did I mention that the hoses on the back say (replace every 5 years) and they are the original hoses....which is why I got in the habit of turning off the water in the back when I'm done doing laundry. At first it was a total pain to get used to doing that but I kept doing it until my brain was hardwired to do it. | ||
| Post# 1177128 , Reply# 19 4/4/2023 at 12:25 (381 days old) by qsd-dan (West) | ||
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Did I mention that the hoses on the back say (replace every 5 years) and they are the original hoses
I've noticed that the further back in time one goes, the better quality hoses were made. I replaced all of the hoses on the washer/tempering valve configuration because the original 35-40 year old hoses started to concern me. 3 years later, I swap in the 906 washer to play around with and find a bubble in both of the hot water hoses. Swapped in the old hoses again and 7 years later, zero problems. I knew there was a logical reason I kept all of the hoses I acquired from all of the vintage Maytag washers that passed through my hands but some of these are 50+ years in age.
Anybody know of an outfit that would custom make hoses/connections that meet or exceed the original ones sold with Maytag washers in the 70's-80's? Are the hoses sold with Maytag washers in the 90's the same quality? | ||
| Post# 1177134 , Reply# 20 4/4/2023 at 13:13 (381 days old) by cfz2882 (Belle Fourche,SD) | ||
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my HE3 Kenmore version is about to turn 22 :) | ||
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Post# 1177137 , Reply# 21 4/4/2023 at 13:30 (381 days old) by ozzie908 (Lincoln UK) |
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Any idea how old this is ?
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| Post# 1177140 , Reply# 22 4/4/2023 at 13:39 (381 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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He3.... 22? Damn
That would be one of the first ones Whirlpool started making like in the early 2000s for Kenmore.. Maybe mine will continue trucking along more years HOPEFULLY HOSES: I didn't know they started making hoses less durable...I did remember seeing a video of a flood of a house where the washer hoses exploded and as soon as I saw that, regardless whether or not the hoses were old or new, I'm turning that S**t off when done using it just to be safe. It made me paranoid as hell and something I would have never even thought about. | ||
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Post# 1177146 , Reply# 23 4/4/2023 at 14:29 (381 days old) by logixx (Germany) |
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ozzie908
Look at the serial number. First two digits are factory (Schorndorf, Germany), then xx year and finally xx week.
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| Post# 1177159 , Reply# 24 4/4/2023 at 16:38 (380 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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@ Combo
I forgot to mention your post about the tangling... That's absolutely something my Duet will do... especially with jeans or anything pants..I've gotten so USED to it...I remember at first I was like WTH??? But it's no big deal to me now... I just pull out the big clump and separate them and throw in dryer. It doesn't always happen.. It's random and only seems to be pants that do it. In fact, it happened today on a load of jeans I did. | ||
| Post# 1177161 , Reply# 25 4/4/2023 at 16:53 (380 days old) by WindRivers (Wind River Range, WY) | ||
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Reply 19 "I've noticed that the further back in time one goes, the better quality hoses were made." But the quality of assembly is better today, and they're lighter weight, and use less resources! I would never use hoses over two-thousand-thirty years old. (Reply 17) | ||
| Post# 1177163 , Reply# 26 4/4/2023 at 17:07 (380 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah) | ||
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I forgot to add here
My aunt has had this Maytag branded set for over 10 years now and they both still work just fine. The only issue however is that the detergent drawer handle on the washer broke off but it doesn't affect anything, it may have been broken before she moved into her new house a couple years ago.
My uncle, my aunt's brother, had a Kenmore Elite version before. A little bit older than my aunt's Maytag. Unfortunately the washer broke after a short while he's ever owned it. And from what I was told, he had trouble with Sears of getting it fixed so he replaced the washer with a Samsung front loader that he still has today. Thankfully he also still has the Kenmore Elite dryer that matched with the washer since it still works. I wish my uncle still had the Kenmore washer, I thought it was a cool looking machine. | ||
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Post# 1177169 , Reply# 27 4/4/2023 at 18:20 (380 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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| Post# 1177175 , Reply# 28 4/4/2023 at 19:34 (380 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah) | ||
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Post# 1177184 , Reply# 29 4/4/2023 at 20:39 (380 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.) |
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#12 | ||
| Post# 1177185 , Reply# 30 4/4/2023 at 20:49 (380 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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If you were to take a time machine back to 2005 and get on the internet and go to a laundry forum like this one, people would be complaining about the modern appliances being JUNK and you would be lucky to get 5 years out of them. LOL
I remember a lady talking about looking at the Duets (in 2005) at Lowes or Home Depot and the handle was broken and said it felt really cheap.. She was not impressed with them at all (LOL) | ||
| Post# 1177198 , Reply# 31 4/4/2023 at 22:27 (380 days old) by WindRivers (Wind River Range, WY) | ||
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Yet we are impressed enough with a 2005 washer lasting 18 years to make an entire thread out of it. That in itself would seem to say something. | ||
| Post# 1177235 , Reply# 33 4/5/2023 at 14:34 (380 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY) | ||
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