Jerome, what model # do you have in mind? The GE washer's I am finding have a 0.33 HP motor.

www.repairclinic.com/Part...

The only thing I like about GE washers is that the motor run capacitor is elevated on a pedestal. Other than that, the rest is flimsy.

Personally I'd like to see 1HP to 1.25HP high torque PSC motors in washing machines. Its how I've envisioned washers for years. In my world people would literally spend more if it meant longevity, eliminating potential failure modes and making repair easier.

Where the general public needs to wake up is to the fact that the VMW mechanism was originally created for and used exclusively in compact portable washers (which in of themselves had horrible reliability) about two decades prior. Whirlpool then took the undersized mechanism, took out the brake and common sense mode shifter, and mindlessly adapted the rest of it to a full size washing machine. Every single VMW has an undersized motor, splutch, belt, shifter, gear case, and drive mechanism. Every single one made, sold and used. How this has not triggered buyer's outrage is beyond me.    

I'm well aware that the South American market was the first to experience the full size VMW experiment, and if anything that has proven that VMWs are not equal to the direct drives a decade before Whirlpool shamelessly released full size VMWs in North America.

If the market share went to 98% Speed Queen, then the competitors might care.

Whirlpool's expanded commercial lineup is largely due to Speed Queen. Critical parts like the motor, belt and pulleys are said to be beefed up. 

I sympathize with her pain! She reminds me of the early 2000s when all our brand new GE appliances were dropping like flies and GE cares could just not even pretend care. That experience and GE's lack of responsibility left my very jaded when it comes to appliances. On the flip side it opened my eyes and taught me to never take anything for granted. 

Today I know that was the beginning of the end. I do agree we have reached very dark times especially when the magnum opus of excellence has declined to the point there it talk of a buy-out. 

Sadly Jerome gtw525acpwb is taking me to WH49X25375. WH49X25375 is a 0.4 horse power motor with a 60 micro farad capacitor.

GE is so shamelessly scummy that while their advertising says 0.5 HP, the Chinese magnum opus of a motor is labelled 0.4 HP. 

And the current is really low for a 0.4HP motor, so said motor may not even be 0.4 HP in actuality. 

Really I feel like vomiting. At least be honest about the paper tigers you're sticking in these machines. 

In my world a REAL 1HP motor would come standard in washing machines.

Agiflow, I've seen your videos of your CAE2795FQ washer and I agree it has excellent cycle programming. I saw the video where your machine suds locked in the first spin and it just stopped spinning early altogether advancing to a fill. This is to protect the motor since these VMWs lack a slip clutch.  Your washer has what I call limp along and push through cycle sequences that will more or less advance a machine forward instead of repeating the same sequence over and over, freeze, or throw an error code. All washers should be like your CAE. Even some old school couldn't limp along. 

For example I remember when Toggleswitch bought his new GE washer around 2006 he had a suds lock while on the phone and the motor tripped out for nearly two hours. The plastic GE washers prior had a centrifugal start motor with clutch at the bottom of the shaft which was latter replaced with a PSC motor without a clutch. This is one example of thoughtless appliance design in that the PSC motors lacked a current sense circuit. Any suds locking would cause the motor to render the washer useless for a few hours. Dumb. dumb, dumb. And no, the spin circuit being run through the pressure switch on those washers will not save you from a suds lock.    

Here is an example of Toggle's washer in the link. This version has a PSC motor. The metal dome acting as the pulley does not provide any clutch action like it did in earlier models. A suds lock on these latter model Ts caused the motor to overheat and trip out. 

 It was these washing monstrosities that boiled the frogs for the Hydrowaves and the inevitable VMW proliferation.

- but that doesn't mean efficient or practicable.

John, your the one worried about energy efficiency. If you had any engineering experience you'd know domestic appliance motors are some of the most over driven, crude, inefficient and value engineered motors in existence. Common induction motors (single and 3 phase) are actually the most energy efficient when loaded to around 50%-75% of their rated output, with under-loaded motors actually running cooler while extending motor life. Its funny because in many older appliance induction motors barely became hot when running vs today where a motor after a single cycle is literally hot enough to seriously burn someone.

Norge choose a 3/4 HP motor because engineering calcs required it for handling full size loads during agitation. Timers burning up? Design a more durable timer specifically rated for breaking higher currents. There are millions of electrical switching devices making and breaking much higher currents countless times every second of every day many having been in service for decades without a hiccup. It can be done.  

I want to see drastically more efficient 50/60Hz induction motors in appliances with build and application quality that will let them last 60+ years.

I probably shouldn't tell you this John but I will let you pick on me like an educated man. The only down side (besides cost and weight) to my mentality of oversized cool running motors with high saturation thresholds and reduced winding and stator losses is significantly increased inrush current. But given time current curves of most North American circuit breakers I doubt it will make itself known just like plenty of MOTs and window AC units are not blowing breakers. 

There is nothing to fear John.

John in a perfect world a lot more machines would be manufactured in the United States. Factories would be like GE's Appliance Park in the 60/70s- raw material going in one end machines coming out the other end. Most everything would be stamped and made in-house. 

Jerome, I don't know for sure. I know little to nothing about GE's 2025 washers other than what can be gained by online reading.

Oh, they are lying. The cheap motor is labelled 0.4 HP. The smaller size when compared to a similar HP rating has me questioning if the motor is even trully rated 0.4 HP or even 0.33 HP for that matter. 

Given the fact the capacitor is 60uF leads me to believe the motor is so undersized and so over-driven that it would otherwise not have enough starting torque with a typical value run capacitor found on a similar rated motor unless the run capacitor is significantly oversized. Over-sizing a motor run capacitor to overcome a lack of sufficient starting torque greatly degrades motor efficiency, makes the motor run much hotter, draws more current, and causes the motor to vibrate more due to the uneven (distorted) magnetic field. 

In the civilized world outside of GE such a motor would have a high rated start capacitor to achieve the required starting torque and then once up to 80% speed would drop to a lower rated run capacitor to achieve the desired efficiency and life expectancy targets. Which I doubt this motor has or even comes close to.            

Here is the data plate for the WH49X25375. 0.4 HP, 4.6 amps, 60uF capacitor. 

Now, compare that to the PSC motor from a ~2005 transmission and brake model T top loader. 0.5 HP, 4.5 amps, larger size build and 45uF capacitor.

They're trying to squeeze every bit of power out of as little iron and copper (or aluminum) as physics will allow for the short noisy life of this motor. Partially analogous to going from lighting a room with a 60 watt light bulb at rated voltage to lighting a room with a 7 watt night light bulb at 250% rated voltage. You might actually equal light output when both bulbs are compared... I say partly because unlike motors light bulbs become more efficient lumens per what as they are over driven.  

Jerome, this is how I am envisioning the ideal residential washer in 2025. Push button water level with metal dome pressure switch, push button fabric care, colored lighted cycle indicators, pre-wash and pre-soak cycles. Dual action agitator, white porcelain on steal tub, scratch resistant porcelain top, cool running 1 HP motor, clutch, brake, all metal gear transmission, no lid lock, porcelain on steal outer tub, angled fill flume. 

Water temps are realistic no nonsense as follows- White Cottons is hot/warm ; Colored Cottons is warm/warm ; Whites Press Care is hot/cold ; Colors Press Care is warm/cold ; Delicates is cold/cold ;  Knits is cold/warm.

I am still debating on what to call the knits cycle, but thats the least of my worries LOL. 

Lights are as follows. On-In use colored orange is parallel to the timer motor circuit. Timer motor runs, On - In use lights up. Cycle complete colored red illuminates when timer switch 02-M drops open from timer contact 02-T and falls into cycle complete lamp contact 02-B at the end of the last minute of the cycle. Filling or soaking colored pink lights up when the machine is either filling or in a soak period. Wash colored blue lights up when the machine is agitating in either the pre-wash, soak or main wash periods of the cycle. Rinsing lamp colored green lights up at the start of the first spin after wash and continues to do so when spray rinsing or agitating in a deep rinse. The rinsing light acts as a demarcation point between wash agitation and everything thereafter. Spinning lamp colored yellow illuminates at the start of spin after the deep rinse or after the last spray rinse is complete.          

Ok, Jerome you are in for a ride, so hold on lol. There are three versions of this machine with only slight differences in the control panel wording.

First is a single speed model with a 4 pole 1650 RPM motor. All cycle times and functions are identical. The only thing the fabric type switch does is control the wash and rinse water temperatures. That is it. As a result, delicate is relabeled to bright colors and knits to hang dry to reflect the fact there is no real delicate cycle on this machine. Permanent Press is called whites press care or sheets and colors press care or easy care or casuals in that other than a cold spray, there is no genuine half tub drain or slow / shortened spin. Not that calling it press care would be truly deceptive, there are many machines out there today that call a 10 second spray with a 6 minute high speed spin identical to the heavy cycle cycle a full blown permanent press cycle. I have yet to see anyone notice. I have included a wiring diagram of this one speed machine in that it is relatively simple and straightforward as to what is going on behind the knobs.      

Second model is also a single speed model model with the same 4 pole motor. The difference here is the fabric type switch modifies the length of the wash and spin cycles in addition to the water temps. For example, Heavy/white cottons/towels would agitate for a full 14 minutes with a final spin of 6 minutes. Colors/Normal would agitate for 5 minutes, soak 4 minutes, agitate for 5 minutes and then have a final 6 minute spin. Permanent Press would agitate for 5 minutes, soak 4 minutes, agitate for 5 minutes and have a 2 minute final spin. There would also be a cold cool down spray that would begin when the pressure switch resets and the whole spin sequence would be shortened as a whole. Delicate would agitate for 1 minute, soak 5 minutes, agitate 2 minutes, soak 5 minutes and then agitate 1 minute, spins shortened, final spin would be 3 minutes. 

The best way I can describe this model as a rip off of the Maytag A407. 

Third model has a 3 speed motor with a 4 pole winding, a 6 pole winding and a third 8 pole winding. 1650 rpm / 1075 rpm / 800 rpm ; fast, medium, low. Cycle times are the same, the only difference is the fabric switch alters the motor speeds. For example, Heavy Duty would be fast/fast the entire cycle. Normal would use some fast and some medium agitation and all spins would be high. Permanent press would use some high some medium agitation but all spins would be medium speed. Knits and Delicate would agitate only at medium speed and spin only at medium speed. Handwash would agitate only at low speed and spin for 2 minutes at medium speed at the start of drain then switch to slow speed spinning. Permanent press does a cold spray at the moment the pressure switch resets. I can't imagine a half a tub drain being relevant to modern fabrics possessing a permanent press label. 

The reason for the different makes is that it gives users to option of having a simpler model with less that can go wrong for their needs, ie if a user does not need hand-wash they can buy a the first model machine that lets them save energy on their cottons while being well rinsed and comfortable to handle with a hang dry cycle. 

The programmed cycle concept lets users push buttons based on the fabric type and soil rather than having to translate to temps, time, speed, ect.

Finally, all programed cycle washers I have in mind technically have only a single cycle timer. Even those with a prewash option. There are no 5 or more separate cycles doing what the programmed buttons do. That means fewer increments or faster rotation time on the timer, with more or all 7.5 degree increments on incremental advance timers. There is less to go wrong, and less chance of the timer stall out / contacts not making.  

These go into production post revolution. 

At this point all there is to do is wait until people demanded common sense coming back into their laundry room.

TL laundry mat washers used all the concepts I am describing here. 48 increment 7.5 degrees or a 30 minute 360* timer, programmed selections (typically) heavy duty design, deep water wash. Sadly, even that is changing and HE/grey water rinsing/VMW is making its way into OPL and laundromat.

Is there a particular design you have in mind? A Whirlpool direct drive mechanism would have the following oscillations per minute in the 3 speed machine:

180 high, 120 medium, 90 low

Spin speed would be about:

640 high, 420 medium, 320 low.

All these speeds and OPMs are approx BTW.