I have to buy some washers - one in the next few days, and would like
opinions about what brands are best, not only for reliabilitly but also
for ease and cost of do-it-yourself repairs.

I'm looking for low-mid priced models, nothing fancy, i.e., no
electronic controls or front loaders. I'm familiar only with Whirlpool
belt drive models, although I'm certainly no expert.

I know Whirlpool makes Roper, but Ropers seem to have different
mechanical timers that can turn in only one direction and make a
ratcheting sound when turned manually. This concerns me because the
very old Whirlpool timers were like this and several failed on me
(metal fingers wore, often causing washer to stop mid-cycle), but the
replacements made by Singer, which didn't ratchet, never did.

How good is Whirlpool's direct drive for their top loaders?

How does GE stack up?

My experience with repairing things is that Whirlpool is reasonably priced,
and that GE is "Generally Expensive".

My personal machine is a Whirlpool, which the last owners left behind. It
has needed the motor oiled twice, and the timer cleaned out and reoiled,
once.

Not sure that 11 years later, they are the same quality, but i'd buy anothr
whirlpool.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

"Dick Cheney" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have to buy some washers - one in the next few days, and would like
opinions about what brands are best, not only for reliabilitly but also
for ease and cost of do-it-yourself repairs.

I'm looking for low-mid priced models, nothing fancy, i.e., no
electronic controls or front loaders. I'm familiar only with Whirlpool
belt drive models, although I'm certainly no expert.

I know Whirlpool makes Roper, but Ropers seem to have different
mechanical timers that can turn in only one direction and make a
ratcheting sound when turned manually. This concerns me because the
very old Whirlpool timers were like this and several failed on me
(metal fingers wore, often causing washer to stop mid-cycle), but the
replacements made by Singer, which didn't ratchet, never did.

How good is Whirlpool's direct drive for their top loaders?

How does GE stack up?

I believe this is a no answer question, in as much there can be good
and bad in the best of brands. Personally I had a MayTag which ran for
29 years before having to change motor due to lightning strike. Now I
see that a lot are finding fault with MayTag. Apparently time changed
the quality of the product and I think that holds true with all.
I tend to think thay mfgs will put out a product of good quality until
it gains a good reputation, then they start cutting quality by putting
cheap parts a piece at a time until finally it becomes a piece of junk
and sales plummit . This is what I think has happened to MayTag. Today
I think Whirlpool is the leader with Kenmore close behind. But isn't
Kenmore built by Whirlpool?
Jack

Dick Cheney wrote:
I'm looking for low-mid priced models, nothing fancy, i.e., no
electronic controls or front loaders. I'm familiar only with
Whirlpool belt drive models, although I'm certainly no expert.

I know Whirlpool makes Roper, but Ropers seem to have different
mechanical timers that can turn in only one direction and make a
ratcheting sound when turned manually. This concerns me because the
very old Whirlpool timers were like this and several failed on me
(metal fingers wore, often causing washer to stop mid-cycle), but the
replacements made by Singer, which didn't ratchet, never did.

Roper is the most reliable brand, most likely because their washers are
mechanically simple.

That would be my recommendation, the timers notwithstanding.

wrote:
I tend to think thay mfgs will put out a product of good quality until
it gains a good reputation, then they start cutting quality by putting
cheap parts a piece at a time until finally it becomes a piece of junk
and sales plummit .

Not quite. Business exist to make money, so they will put out the
cheapest product they can and still make money. Now, some companies
make quality products because they want to charge more or they have a
reputation.

Quality is mostly a competition driven. We didn't have reliable
American cars until the Japanese forced us to.

Mike

wrote:

Quality is mostly a competition driven. We didn't have reliable
American cars until the Japanese forced us to.

Except for some between - and including - the Model T and the Jeep.

HeyBub wrote:
Except for some between - and including - the Model T and the Jeep.

The Model T is hardly a good example since it was the first car
produced on an assembly line. Which, by the way, was done to cut
costs. All other cars were "hand-crafted". And, it was one of the
very first cars. And it was hugely mass produced. And...How many
miles where they being driven and how fast?

As for the Jeep are you talking about the WWII, government contract
Jeep?

I'm not saying all American cars were junk until the Japanese came
alone, but quite nearly so. And we're much better off for it.

Mike

Try looking at what consumer reports says. They do the testing and are
non-profit.

I'd urge you to go to your local public library and take a look at
February '05 Consumer Reports. Perhaps the library has an account at
consumerreports.org where you can look up even more recent ratings.

In Feb 05 they rated Roper most reliable top loader (based on 10K+
reader survey) but didn't evaluate Roper washing machines at all.

Dick Cheney wrote:
I have to buy some washers - one in the next few days, and would like
opinions about what brands are best, not only for reliabilitly but also
for ease and cost of do-it-yourself repairs.

I'm looking for low-mid priced models, nothing fancy, i.e., no
electronic controls or front loaders. I'm familiar only with Whirlpool
belt drive models, although I'm certainly no expert.

I know Whirlpool makes Roper, but Ropers seem to have different
mechanical timers that can turn in only one direction and make a
ratcheting sound when turned manually. This concerns me because the
very old Whirlpool timers were like this and several failed on me
(metal fingers wore, often causing washer to stop mid-cycle), but the
replacements made by Singer, which didn't ratchet, never did.

How good is Whirlpool's direct drive for their top loaders?

How does GE stack up?

I know that Kenmore furnaces are made by Heil / Tempstar. so, washers by
whirlpool sounds right.

The problem with Kenmore stuff, they require a lot of parts to be "off spec"
so that you have to use Sears parts. A Tecumseh flywheel won't work on a
Sears mower. That kind of thing.

How's Ginger doing?

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
..

wrote in message
ups.com...
I believe this is a no answer question, in as much there can be good
and bad in the best of brands. Personally I had a MayTag which ran for
29 years before having to change motor due to lightning strike. Now I
see that a lot are finding fault with MayTag. Apparently time changed
the quality of the product and I think that holds true with all.
I tend to think thay mfgs will put out a product of good quality until
it gains a good reputation, then they start cutting quality by putting
cheap parts a piece at a time until finally it becomes a piece of junk
and sales plummit . This is what I think has happened to MayTag. Today
I think Whirlpool is the leader with Kenmore close behind. But isn't
Kenmore built by Whirlpool?
Jack

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
I know that Kenmore furnaces are made by Heil / Tempstar. so, washers by
whirlpool sounds right.

It may be made by Whirlpool, but it could be Frigidaire and lesser quality

"I'd urge you to go to your local public library and take a look at February
'05 Consumer Reports. "

(Sears/Whirlpool Washers)

There are different levels of Sears/Whirlpool Washers. Ask a Service Tech
for advice on which one is most reliable. We have used the heck out of them,
still using the third one in 40 years thru 4 children, last ones twins.

As for Consumer Reports, I wouldn't put a whole lot of faith in their
recommendations, from years of experience, everything I owned was junk
according to them but we had very good service such as TVs, cars, washers,
dryers, Lawn Mowers, on and on.

Walt Conner

wrote:
Try looking at what consumer reports says. They do the testing and are
non-profit.

According to CU, Roper makes the least troublesome washer. As I opined
earlier, that's because they have the most basic designs.

On 22 Dec 2005 07:02:53 -0800, wrote:

I believe this is a no answer question, in as much there can be good
and bad in the best of brands. Personally I had a MayTag which ran for

I think it is pretty clear from those Public Service Announcements
that Maytag repairman have very little work to do. The just sit
around the office most of the time. The machines must be reliable.


29 years before having to change motor due to lightning strike. Now I
see that a lot are finding fault with MayTag. Apparently time changed
the quality of the product and I think that holds true with all.
I tend to think thay mfgs will put out a product of good quality until
it gains a good reputation, then they start cutting quality by putting
cheap parts a piece at a time until finally it becomes a piece of junk
and sales plummit . This is what I think has happened to MayTag. Today
I think Whirlpool is the leader with Kenmore close behind. But isn't
Kenmore built by Whirlpool?
Jack


Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let
me know if you have posted also.

"mm" wrote in message
...
On 22 Dec 2005 07:02:53 -0800, wrote:

I believe this is a no answer question, in as much there can be good
and bad in the best of brands. Personally I had a MayTag which ran for

I think it is pretty clear from those Public Service Announcements
that Maytag repairman have very little work to do. The just sit
around the office most of the time. The machines must be reliable.
===
No. They're sitting around the office because they don't know how to fix
them.
===

"Travis Jordan" wrote in message
. ..
wrote:
Try looking at what consumer reports says. They do the testing and are
non-profit.

According to CU, Roper makes the least troublesome washer. As I opined
earlier, that's because they have the most basic designs.


I've had a basic no frills GE washer and Roper dryer for three years. No
problems, no complaints. The more fancy stuff you put on them, the more
there is to go wrong, no matter which brand you choose.

Bob

"Robertm" wrote:

I've had a basic no frills GE washer and Roper dryer for three years. No
problems, no complaints. The more fancy stuff you put on them, the more
there is to go wrong, no matter which brand you choose.

True in theory, but practially, difficult to do in the real world.
Unfortunately, those fancy frills tend to get bundled with higher quality parts
that do matter. Things like a stainless steel tub instead of a plastic one,
motors rated for greater loads, etc. Also unfortunate, because unless you tear
down models to compare or know one of the GE manufacturing engineers, its
difficult to find out which things do matter.

My rule of thumb is to go for the mid or mid-upper-range unit. Avoid the budget
line as those are built to an extreme price point and pennies are shaved
everywhere. Avoid the top end, because its a marketing truism that those are
aimed at people who believe that spending more gets you a "better" unit and
money isn't as important to them.

Am running into a related situation with hot water heaters. There are 3
generally available grades of water heaters these days - 6 year warranty, 9 year
warranty and 12 year warranty. With the exception of paint trim color, all three
have the same tank, burner (BTU rating), T&P valve, & thermostat. I.e., all the
operating parts. The only difference between them is about $50 difference in
price.

Unfortunately, I want a tank with 2" of insulation around it instead of one. R16
instead of R8 - it goes in an unheated garage. Guess what? Only available on the
$100 more expensive model with the 12 year warranty.

Or, I could do what I did with the previous heater - buy a tacky looking
insulation jacket for $5. Oh well, it is in the garage after all.

Hey Clark If its a money saving water heater you want go with one of
thos tankless jobs. I bought mine and installed it during construction
of my new home and its the bomb. Takes up no space. runs only when you
need it and only uses a fraction of the gas my old tank style heater
used. It was well worth the triple cost over the standard heater. If
you buy off a site like EBay you can get it much cheeper than a retail
store.Just my opion. Steve

Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote:
My rule of thumb is to go for the mid or mid-upper-range unit. Avoid
the budget line as those are built to an extreme price point and
pennies are shaved everywhere. Avoid the top end, because its a
marketing truism that those are aimed at people who believe that
spending more gets you a "better" unit and money isn't as important
to them.

I have found that nowadays most U.S. headquarted consumer companies are
shaving pennies everywhere, regardless of the price point of the product
to be sold. Such is the nature of a price-sensitive hardgoods
marketplace.

Hotpoint or Hoover are good.

"briz" wrote:

Hey Clark If its a money saving water heater you want go with one of
thos tankless jobs. I bought mine and installed it during construction
of my new home and its the bomb. Takes up no space. runs only when you
need it and only uses a fraction of the gas my old tank style heater
used. It was well worth the triple cost over the standard heater.

Thanks. Am very familiar with tankless heaters. Unfortunately, in most
situations (especially retrofit ones like mine), they don't work out
economically.

For anyone else who is interested in tankless, State Indistries (a major water
heater manufacturer in the US) used to publish a good whitepaper on the
economics of tankless heaters. For some reason, they seem to have pulled it, but
you can still find it at the author's web site:

http://www.rwco.com/tankless_whitepaper.pdf

I've owned one washer and it's a Sears. It's worked so far, a bit over a
year since I bought it used, but if I were to get another washer there's
no way in the world I'd buy a top loader. If I were going to buy one now
I'd find a front loader somewhere, discounted, maybe with a cosmetic
scratch and/or last year's model.

Dan

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 14:06:12 -0800, wrote:

:On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 21:21:22 GMT, in misc.consumers.house Dan_Musicant
wrote:
:
:I've owned one washer and it's a Sears. It's worked so far, a bit over a
:year since I bought it used, but if I were to get another washer there's
:no way in the world I'd buy a top loader. If I were going to buy one now
:I'd find a front loader somewhere, discounted, maybe with a cosmetic
:scratch and/or last year's model.
:
:Dan
:
:
:I bought a used frontloader for about $250.00 the shop honored it's warranty
:when it quit working and because they had trouble finding the problem they ended
:up replacing almost all the components of my machine. Except for the exterior
:and the drum the machine is all new.

When I use my toploader I stand over it with the top open and repeatedly
jam a stick into the laundry to jostle, move the clothes about, assure
good pentration of the sudsy water. It's almost not necessary, possibly,
when I do a small load, less so for a medium load, but seems pretty
necessary for full loads. When the water level is high, the clothes get
almost no movement and the cleaning action is very much reduced unless I
use that stick. I also do an extra rinse. I may still do an extra rinse
when I get a front loader, but it won't be necessary to use that stick
due to the far superior motion achieved by the tumbling of a front
loader. Next one will be front loader, my mind's made up!

Dan