Washing machines :(
- Thread starter Overundr1
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Man, we have had this Samsung front loading dryer for what, 3.. 4 years maybe? In that time, had to replace that crap heater element 3 times..
Now dreading having to pull it out yet again (wedged in a side room off an interior hallway), out into the kitchen because THIS time it's the dang cheap plastic drum bearings and idler gone bad. Well.. 30 here.. 40 there.. beats the crap out of 100's for a new one.
Now dreading having to pull it out yet again (wedged in a side room off an interior hallway), out into the kitchen because THIS time it's the dang cheap plastic drum bearings and idler gone bad. Well.. 30 here.. 40 there.. beats the crap out of 100's for a new one.
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Well I'm more at planning to open a museum.
I know most of the potential French buyers, some of them could spend $1000 on a new super high tech Chinese made machine that will break in a few years but those won't take a free working 50 years old machine because of a tiny rust spot...
There's almost no demand for rentals and they usually wants a more than new look, but I prefer to focus on sourcing old parts and technical solutions to make the machines working again and safely, bright paint is the last thing to do.
I know most of the potential French buyers, some of them could spend $1000 on a new super high tech Chinese made machine that will break in a few years but those won't take a free working 50 years old machine because of a tiny rust spot...
There's almost no demand for rentals and they usually wants a more than new look, but I prefer to focus on sourcing old parts and technical solutions to make the machines working again and safely, bright paint is the last thing to do.
I feel your pain. DO NOT get me started on front loaders. Worst pieces of shit ever created. Leak like a sieve and the digital panels aren't worth the powder to blow them to hell. Had a Kenmore pair for three years before we moved, replaced bearings once, seals twice, and control panels twice.. Left them with the big house and bought mechanical Maytag uprights. Haven't had an issue since.
I dunno Bob, over here in EU washing machines are almost exclusively front - loaders.
I've been running a very basic LG model with a DD motor for over 10 years now without so much as a peep.
i made sure to get a basic, no frills model as someone also alluded to earlier those gadgets and gizmos are just prone to failure before the most important components of the machine. It doesn't even have a digital display, just LED's that light up against the chosen program settings.
Motor was guaranteed for 10 years and still going strong....
I've been running a very basic LG model with a DD motor for over 10 years now without so much as a peep.
i made sure to get a basic, no frills model as someone also alluded to earlier those gadgets and gizmos are just prone to failure before the most important components of the machine. It doesn't even have a digital display, just LED's that light up against the chosen program settings.
Motor was guaranteed for 10 years and still going strong....
I get it - it's a size thing as living spaces are generally smaller over there and units often need to be stacked. No way around it. It's just that my failure rate with front-loading washers is 100%. And even in the (much) smaller house, I still have room in the basement for a top loading washing machine. The dryer is front loading but most are these days. And water is not involved.
As we get older, we've thought about moving things upstairs into one of the closets but there would be substantial carpentry involved to make that happen.
As we get older, we've thought about moving things upstairs into one of the closets but there would be substantial carpentry involved to make that happen.
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Never bought a 'new' washer or dryer. But have mainly owned units with a combination of plastic and metal parts.
I speak highly of Fisher and Paykel direct drive washers, because they last.
First one was given to me for free because it would not let cold water in, I simply swapped the 'thing' that controls the water flow with the hot water side, as I only use cold wash. It was a small 5kg capacity unit, direct drive drum and pump, no belts. It did have a fault where if you unplugged it from the mains, it would sometimes take several power cycles to fire up the electronics, maybe a failing capacitor? Always got it going though and mostly left it plugged in and switched on. Fully electronic operation, never let me down. Got at least 10 years out of it, good for a freebie.
Picked up a Simpson 5.5kg belt drive washer from my neighbor, he left it out on the footpath (sidewalk) because it would not power up. 3 years old. Turned out to be a single capacitor on the main board, fixed that, it got me by but I didn't like the fact it took over an hour to do a full heavy duty cycle vs 35 minutes for the fisher and paykel unit. Still it came along at the right time, because the pump started leaking onto the motor in the paykel. It had done around 15 years work so it was time to get rid of it.
Found another fisher and paykel washer for 2nd hand for $50, this one was a larger 7kg model, direct drive everything, electronic operation. I have had it for a good 6 years and it is probably around 11 years old now, it is serving me well and does the heavy duty cycle in 35 mins the same as the smaller model. Both of the paykel models do not have a lint filter, it must just go straight through the pump. The simpson has a filter which requires cleaning each cycle.
The 7kg Paykel remains king and I kept the simpson as a spare, although I'm not too fond of the simpson, it will get me out of the shit if the paykel fails.
As for the dryer, this one is an interesting one in the sense that it should not still be working 15 years later. I found it on the side of the road with a dent in the body (it had been thrown). It was full of lint and the fan belt was broken. Cleaned it out and removed the grill from exhaust vent, as any lint that escaped through the filter would go there and clog the outlet. The element is partially burnt out, so instead of using 1400 watts it uses around 900 watts. It is now on its 4th fan belt and I replaced the motor run capacitor about 2 years ago, I'm surprised it is still going because these things are not designed to last. It does take its time drying, but the low wattage is ideal when you are running from battery power. You probably wouldn't want to put more than 2 or 3 towels in at a time as it would take far too long to dry them. Keeps me out of trouble and it was free.
I speak highly of Fisher and Paykel direct drive washers, because they last.
First one was given to me for free because it would not let cold water in, I simply swapped the 'thing' that controls the water flow with the hot water side, as I only use cold wash. It was a small 5kg capacity unit, direct drive drum and pump, no belts. It did have a fault where if you unplugged it from the mains, it would sometimes take several power cycles to fire up the electronics, maybe a failing capacitor? Always got it going though and mostly left it plugged in and switched on. Fully electronic operation, never let me down. Got at least 10 years out of it, good for a freebie.
Picked up a Simpson 5.5kg belt drive washer from my neighbor, he left it out on the footpath (sidewalk) because it would not power up. 3 years old. Turned out to be a single capacitor on the main board, fixed that, it got me by but I didn't like the fact it took over an hour to do a full heavy duty cycle vs 35 minutes for the fisher and paykel unit. Still it came along at the right time, because the pump started leaking onto the motor in the paykel. It had done around 15 years work so it was time to get rid of it.
Found another fisher and paykel washer for 2nd hand for $50, this one was a larger 7kg model, direct drive everything, electronic operation. I have had it for a good 6 years and it is probably around 11 years old now, it is serving me well and does the heavy duty cycle in 35 mins the same as the smaller model. Both of the paykel models do not have a lint filter, it must just go straight through the pump. The simpson has a filter which requires cleaning each cycle.
The 7kg Paykel remains king and I kept the simpson as a spare, although I'm not too fond of the simpson, it will get me out of the shit if the paykel fails.
As for the dryer, this one is an interesting one in the sense that it should not still be working 15 years later. I found it on the side of the road with a dent in the body (it had been thrown). It was full of lint and the fan belt was broken. Cleaned it out and removed the grill from exhaust vent, as any lint that escaped through the filter would go there and clog the outlet. The element is partially burnt out, so instead of using 1400 watts it uses around 900 watts. It is now on its 4th fan belt and I replaced the motor run capacitor about 2 years ago, I'm surprised it is still going because these things are not designed to last. It does take its time drying, but the low wattage is ideal when you are running from battery power. You probably wouldn't want to put more than 2 or 3 towels in at a time as it would take far too long to dry them. Keeps me out of trouble and it was free.