Anyone know of a play on web where you can run calculator on High
efficiency washers? I am interested in seeing how much they save... My
Maytag will run on forever, but I am wondering if money could be saved
by switching over -- I do a lot of laundry... 9 people living in the
house... A LOT OF LAUNDRY.

Looking to plug in elec. rates... water rates... and number of loads
and get back how long it would take to pay back for the grand spent on
HE washer.

I did a google.. found nothing.

If its those costly front load machines....

Figure in the cost of parts and service

A good friend investigated this recently and found just one piece of a
front loader, the control panel $455.00 woiuld pay for a new regular
top load machine.

such considerations are a important part of the cost equasion.

wrote in message
oups.com...
If its those costly front load machines....

Figure in the cost of parts and service

A good friend investigated this recently and found just one piece of a
front loader, the control panel $455.00 woiuld pay for a new regular
top load machine.

such considerations are a important part of the cost equasion.


It might help to know what brand of machine your friend had a problem with.
Otherwise, your warning is of no value at all.

If you have a functional washing machine now, you can take your time
and look for sales - I found a fridigidaire front-loader at a local
furniture store for about 25% off (floor model, had one scratch and
some tape residue).
I'd also look at Consumer's Reports - they do a lot of tests, comparing
efficiency, etc. with lots of appliances including washing machines.
You might also look into the EnergyStar stickers - although they might
be different for top- and front-loading machines, they might give you
an idea of how much you'd save on energy, at least. I'm not sure cost
alone can justify a front-loading machine (especially not a high-end
one), but water and energy savings make me feel better about calling
myself an conservation biologist...
Andy

Jack wrote:

Anyone know of a play on web where you can run calculator on High
efficiency washers? I am interested in seeing how much they save... My
Maytag will run on forever,

It must be an old one that's been refurbished.

but I am wondering if money could be saved by switching over -- I do
a lot of laundry... 9 people living in the house... A LOT OF LAUNDRY.

The US government says washers consume from 120-700 Kw-H of electricity
annually for a typical family, and this factors how dry the clothes
come out the spin cycle.. A Kw-H costs anywhere from about 5-25 cents,
usually 9-10 cents, which translates to about $12-$70 a year. So the
$52 saved annually by using the most-efficient washer instead of the
least-efficient one, spread over the 10-20 years a washer typically
lasts, is roughly the cost premium of a high-efficiency front loading
washer over a conventional top loader. However this doesn't consider
the time value of money, that is, what you could earn on that $52/year.

You may want to check Consumer Reports and some appliance forums, such
as www.fixitnow.com, to see how reliable different brands of front
loaders are. Apparently the Whirlpool/Kenmore Duet is the best, but
word is that L-G front loader is also reliable.

I did a google.. found nothing.

Exactly what did you Google?

wrote:
If its those costly front load machines....

Figure in the cost of parts and service

A good friend investigated this recently and found just one piece of a
front loader, the control panel $455.00 woiuld pay for a new regular
top load machine.

such considerations are a important part of the cost equasion.

I'm biased in favor of electronics and even converted a washer to
homemade electronic controls, but I'd much rather buy washers and
dryers controlled purely by mechanics.

If an electronic board fails out of warranty, DIY repair may be
practical because the defects are usually simple, such as cracked
solder, broken copper circuit traces, or blown power transistors or ICs
that drive relays or solonoids. Some boards need to be beefed up
mechanically with bracing, such as strips of wood or plastic slotted
out and epoxied along the edges, or by soldering thick copper or steel
wire to the wider copper traces. Any overheated resistors should be
replaced with resistors rated for twice the original wattages.

On 22 Jan 2006 19:06:19 -0800, "
wrote:

If its those costly front load machines....

Figure in the cost of parts and service

A good friend investigated this recently and found just one piece of a
front loader, the control panel $455.00 woiuld pay for a new regular
top load machine.

You know my mother had a front-loader in 1949. The problem was that
she couldn't add clothes after it started.

such considerations are a important part of the cost equasion.


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

If you do decide to buy one, be sure to use the special HE (low-sudsing)
detergent: the regular kind may get into the bearings and do major
damage resulting in the need for expensive repairs.

Perce


On 01/22/06 09:43 pm Jack wrote:

Anyone know of a play on web where you can run calculator on High
efficiency washers? I am interested in seeing how much they save... My
Maytag will run on forever, but I am wondering if money could be saved
by switching over -- I do a lot of laundry... 9 people living in the
house... A LOT OF LAUNDRY.

Looking to plug in elec. rates... water rates... and number of loads
and get back how long it would take to pay back for the grand spent on
HE washer.

wrote:
Jack wrote:

Anyone know of a play on web where you can run calculator on High
efficiency washers? I am interested in seeing how much they save...
My Maytag will run on forever,

It must be an old one that's been refurbished.

but I am wondering if money could be saved by switching over -- I do
a lot of laundry... 9 people living in the house... A LOT OF LAUNDRY.

The US government says washers consume from 120-700 Kw-H of
electricity annually for a typical family, and this factors how dry
the clothes come out the spin cycle.. A Kw-H costs anywhere from
about 5-25 cents, usually 9-10 cents, which translates to about
$12-$70 a year. So the $52 saved annually by using the
most-efficient washer instead of the least-efficient one, spread over
the 10-20 years a washer typically lasts, is roughly the cost premium
of a high-efficiency front loading washer over a conventional top
loader. However this doesn't consider the time value of money, that
is, what you could earn on that $52/year.

You may want to check Consumer Reports and some appliance forums, such
as www.fixitnow.com, to see how reliable different brands of front
loaders are. Apparently the Whirlpool/Kenmore Duet is the best, but
word is that L-G front loader is also reliable.

I did a google.. found nothing.

Exactly what did you Google?

Very good response.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

There are other ways to save as well. I suspect the main cost is the cost of
heating the water. Try to experiment with washing in warm water in the
winter and cold water in the summer. Try to convince family members to wear
shirts etc more than one day before washing unless they got sweaty or
stained.


"Jack" wrote in message
ups.com...
Anyone know of a play on web where you can run calculator on High
efficiency washers? I am interested in seeing how much they save... My
Maytag will run on forever, but I am wondering if money could be saved
by switching over -- I do a lot of laundry... 9 people living in the
house... A LOT OF LAUNDRY.

Looking to plug in elec. rates... water rates... and number of loads
and get back how long it would take to pay back for the grand spent on
HE washer.

I did a google.. found nothing.

On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 21:53:46 -0800, rantonrave wrote:


Jack wrote:

Anyone know of a play on web where you can run calculator on High
efficiency washers? I am interested in seeing how much they save... My
Maytag will run on forever,

It must be an old one that's been refurbished.

but I am wondering if money could be saved by switching over -- I do
a lot of laundry... 9 people living in the house... A LOT OF LAUNDRY.

The US government says washers consume from 120-700 Kw-H of electricity
annually for a typical family, and this factors how dry the clothes
come out the spin cycle.. A Kw-H costs anywhere from about 5-25 cents,
usually 9-10 cents, which translates to about $12-$70 a year. So the
$52 saved annually by using the most-efficient washer instead of the
least-efficient one, spread over the 10-20 years a washer typically
lasts, is roughly the cost premium of a high-efficiency front loading
washer over a conventional top loader. However this doesn't consider
the time value of money, that is, what you could earn on that $52/year.

You may want to check Consumer Reports and some appliance forums, such
as www.fixitnow.com, to see how reliable different brands of front
loaders are. Apparently the Whirlpool/Kenmore Duet is the best, but
word is that L-G front loader is also reliable.

I did a google.. found nothing.

Exactly what did you Google?

We bought the LG front loader washer and dryer 5 months ago. The dryer is
electric and dries the clothes really fast, even a comforter in about 25
or less minutes. The washer uses less water than the top loader we had.

One aspect I like about the washer is the filter on the lower front, it
filters the waste water before it goes into the drain pump, pull the
little cover off, pull the drain tube out and drain into a pail, unscrew
the filter and clean it out. I clean it out after we wash the dogs beds,
dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

mike urig wrote:
On Sun, 22 Jan 2006 21:53:46 -0800, rantonrave wrote:

....

We bought the LG front loader washer and dryer 5 months ago. The
dryer is electric and dries the clothes really fast, even a comforter
in about 25 or less minutes.

Most of that fast drying can be traced to the washer.r Most of the new
front loaders spin at a much higher speed than top loaders and extract far
more water. Overall they use less energy because of that.

The washer uses less water than the top
loader we had.

One aspect I like about the washer is the filter on the lower front,
it filters the waste water before it goes into the drain pump, pull
the little cover off, pull the drain tube out and drain into a pail,
unscrew the filter and clean it out. I clean it out after we wash the
dogs beds, dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit

"LoL" wrote in message
...

One aspect I like about the washer is the filter on the lower front, it
filters the waste water before it goes into the drain pump, pull the
little cover off, pull the drain tube out and drain into a pail, unscrew
the filter and clean it out. I clean it out after we wash the dogs beds,
dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.


ROFL
Why have a filter on the drain?


As drain water leaves a washing machine, it contains lint, hair, etc. If
your machine drains into a laundry tub, the fibrous material can clog the
drain, and at some point, you can start raising soap-resistant trout in your
basement when the tub overflows. There are lint traps you can put over the
end of the drain hose, but sometimes those don't stay on no matter what you
do.

wrote:
If its those costly front load machines....
Figure in the cost of parts and service

Good advice for any machine. Some of those top-loaders with the fancy
agitators don't have one mechanical control on them, you can bet the
control boards cost an arm and a leg too. While the fancier top-loaders
are a recent development, companies such as LG, Bosch, and so on, have
been making horizontal axis machines for decades overseas, so it is a
fair bet that they will be reliable.

The biggest draw of a horizontal axis in most of the US isn't as much
water and energy saved, but that they just wash clothes better. Less
lint and more dirt out. They will get rid of the wear line on the
collars, and will wash comforters. Once you watch an HA at work, you'll
find the proposition that a top-loader can wash something quite absurd.
Unless you have a Jet Action GM.

LoL wrote:
On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 21:27:21 -0500, mike urig wrote:
dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

ROFL
Why have a filter on the drain?

Dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

--
If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination,
my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.

"clifto" wrote in message
...
LoL wrote:
On Mon, 23 Jan 2006 21:27:21 -0500, mike urig wrote:
dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

ROFL
Why have a filter on the drain?

Dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

Why not wash the dog outside instead of putting it in the machine?

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"clifto" wrote...
LoL wrote:
mike urig wrote:
dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

ROFL
Why have a filter on the drain?

Dog hair can clog up the filter pretty quick.

Why not wash the dog outside instead of putting it in the machine?

Because the machine has a filter to catch the dog hair.

--
If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination,
my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.