"elf" writes:

The major players today are the
brands such as Unimac, Maytag, Speedqueen, Hubshe, Milinor,
Continental, Wascomat along with a couple more I can't think of right
off hand.

How many of those are actually separate manufacturers, and how many are
just "badge engineered" versions of the same thing?

The top load models seen in laundry-mats are simply a home washer with
a coinbox and slide mounted to the machine, Generally the control
system these types of machines whether it be microprocessor or manual
timer type will be a more simple affair as most folks uses only a
gentle or normal wash cycle. The machines have the same problems as any
home machine as they are the same, except as decribed above.

Interesting-- they seem to last a long time, under heavy use (maybe I go
to the wrong laundromats, but I've only ever seen the top loading ones,
until very recently).

One thing people are forgetting is that if you have a 30 year old
washer that still works fine, that doesn't mean they're still making
that level of quality 30 years later.

If I had to replace it today with another I would
look at the Whirlpool, Speedqueen and Maytag model topload washer in
that order.

Whirlpool recently bought Maytag.