Things to do with old washing machines.

[hawkeye08]

First if it was not answered already, HE = high efficiency. It also does not take as much for each load. Been using it for years in our front loaders, per the instructions.

A good use for dead washing machines is to put one in the front yard. When you can no longer see it, it is time to mow the lawn.

 

[aczlan]

I'd never heard of this detergent issue before.... what does HE stand for ? How much more expensive is the HE goop, than regular detergent ?

Pretty much the same price:
102 loads worth of HE detergent: $17.97 (Ultra Tide Original HE Powder Laundry Detergent - Walmart.com)
102 loads worth of non-HE detergent: $17.97 (Ultra Tide Powder Laundry Detergent - Walmart.com)

Aaron Z

 

[dmccarty]

I hate to admit this, but our dead Whirlpool washer is on the back porch, and has been for quite some time. I WILL NOT say how long said washer has been on the back porch. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I want to strip out the motor and wash tub. I figured the wash tub could be used as part of an apple juice press but the fire bit might get more use.

Sounds like I should strip out the valves as well before taking the remains to the dump

Later,
Dan

 

[3930dave]

Pretty much the same price:
102 loads worth of HE detergent: $17.97 (Ultra Tide Original HE Powder Laundry Detergent - Walmart.com)
102 loads worth of non-HE detergent: $17.97 (Ultra Tide Powder Laundry Detergent - Walmart.com)

Aaron Z

Thnx. Scratching my head about whether HE is chemically different from what I know as generic Concentrated liquid laundry detergent.

Manufacturers blaming bearing failure on the use of any laundry detergent sold at retail still sounds really lame to me....

Rgds, D.

 

[tcartwri]

A huge improvement in these newer appliances would be to get rid of the circuit boards which are undoubtedly the reason most of them are scrapped. If you had a chance to see how cheaply these boards are made before you made your purchase it sure would change your perception of the value of these machines. Absolute garbage.

 

[aczlan]

Thnx. Scratching my head about whether HE is chemically different from what I know as generic Concentrated liquid laundry detergent.
Manufacturers blaming bearing failure on the use of any laundry detergent sold at retail still sounds really lame to me....

As I understand it, HE detergent is less "sudsy" so it doesn't require as much rinsing. No idea on the "non-HE detergent will make your frontloader fall apart" syndrome. That also seems odd to me.

Aaron Z

 

[dmccarty]

A huge improvement in these newer appliances would be to get rid of the circuit boards which are undoubtedly the reason most of them are scrapped. If you had a chance to see how cheaply these boards are made before you made your purchase it sure would change your perception of the value of these machines. Absolute garbage.

Our Maytag dishwashers had multiple board failures and the machines were designed to be expensive to fix. Both of the dishwashers were bought new and both failed within a week of ownership. One with in a day or so. Both were fixed under warranty. The first one we left at our house in the city so I do not know how it turned out. What is sad is that the dishwasher it replaced was over 20 years old and still, sorta, working. :laughing: The old washer was rusting and it sounded like an airplane taking off so it was replaced. The Maytag we put into the country house we replaced a couple of years ago. The last board that was burned out really fried the washer. We bought a Bosch and you can see the vast difference in build quality. The Bosch was designed to be easier to install than the Maytag. I looked at parts on line and it looked like I could replace the Bosch boards much cheaper than Maytag and I would have to buy less parts. Hopefully, I don't have to ever find out. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Now, the Whirlpool clothes washer we had to replace last year did not fail because of the circuit boards. The thing simply fell apart piece by piece. Not really impressed... The Whirlpool clothes dryer is working just fine but I did have to replace the heating element which was pretty easy to do.

Later,
Dan

 

[3930dave]

A huge improvement in these newer appliances would be to get rid of the circuit boards which are undoubtedly the reason most of them are scrapped. If you had a chance to see how cheaply these boards are made before you made your purchase it sure would change your perception of the value of these machines. Absolute garbage.

With you there.... when I bought my basic Frigidaire refrigerator 15+ years ago, one of the reasons I selected it was that it had NO electronic boards at all.

Bought it from an old tyme family appliance store, the old guy who ran it had been in the appliance game a long time.... we got chatting about the pcbs, and he said that most of the boards looked liked they had been laid out by a not-that-bright 8 year old kid, using a dull crayon.

Sounds like things are no better today :thumbdown:.....

Most of this new junk is being marketed from an energy efficiency angle. If you look at it from a Total Cost of Ownership standpoint, a smart young person would be well served going to old estate sales, and picking up some old iron....

Rgds, D.

 

[Jstpssng]

Had some drive time yesterday.... was thinking about appliances....

If the failure rate stays high enough on these new Latest/Greatest/Blingomatic 3000 washers, it may create an opportunity for a company like BIC.

I can be sarcastic, but I'm actually serious. If BIC designed a basic no frills washer to (really) last 6 years, and sold it for something like $300 Canadian, it would probably sell. Why pay $1000+ for a washer that doesn't last any longer ? I'm not interested in pounding on rocks to wash clothes, but seriously, does somebody really need 82 different program options on a clothes washer.

I'm not anti-technology, at least when it works well..... you could easily take a low cost platform in another direction....

Complex Human Interfaces are low cost and pervasive these days...... BIC could take that $300 unit, strip all the controls and displays off it, and just hang an ethernet port off the back. For the folks that like to use a PC/tablet/Smartphone all the time, they could go with a monolithic look machine, for a few bucks off $300.

The programming options on the monolith version could be as complex as you want, w/o any added display/keypad costs.... or more relevant to this discussion.... failure points.

I'll take mine as a black monolith (playing the 2001 soundtrack), for washing my stuff !

Rgds, D.

I guess I think in the other direction... if somebody built a solid, built to last (insert item here) for the general consumer and priced it accordingly, do you think they could stay in business? Case in point Craftsman hand tools... not the best in the world but good enough for many of us. Yet when i went to replace the set I purchased 30+ years ago and have since strewn across Northern New England one piece at a time I found they are now made in China. Next time I go to the big city I'll be hitting the pawn shops looking for a new-to-me set of Made in USA Craftsman... or better.

 

[PILOON]

Quote----
Manufacturers blaming bearing failure on the use of any laundry detergent sold at retail still sounds really lame to me....

Total BS, hey come on, the detergent is in the tub so what does that have to do with bearings? and wear? are they saying the tub leaks and detergent gets into bearings? if that's the case then their seals need upgrading.