Top-loading HE washer & dryer for us?

11 years ago

My Whirpool washer{{gwi:807}}/dryer pair are about 7.5 years old. The washing maching has been repaired once, just last Nov., because the switch to make it "go" needed replacing.

Now the electric dryer is running, but has no heat. It probably needs a heating element, but it could be 3 other things. DH doesn't feel comfortable trying to do the "fix", so we'll be calling a repairman.

Anyway, when it comes to replacing the washer/dryer, I "think" I want a H/E top loading set.

But I know how terribly expensive the sets are, and now I'm wondering if it's worth the investment for us.

It's just DH & me, and I do, on average, 8 loads a week. Nothing is too large. Right now, I go to a laundromat when I want to wash blankets and comforters{{gwi:807}}.

We live in FL, where water is expensive. But I don't know how long it would take to recover the expense of H/E top loaders.

I'd appreciate everyone's thoughts & opinions.

Thanks,
Ellen

I also posted this on the Laundry forum.

This post was edited by nelles on Sun, Feb 10, 13 at 19:30

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Comments (6)

nelles_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
I also posted this on the Laundry forum...
karenlee56
11 years ago
I have to remember the details, but I had a Kenmore (made by Whirlpool) king-sized top load washer and dryer. I sold them about a year-and-a-half ago. Anyway, the dryer wouldn't stay on. If I held the start button down, it stayed on- but it did get hot. From what I remember, there were two identical "relays" behind the top part of the dryer. One kept it going, and one made it get hot. My husband and I found out about it online and changed the relay ourselves (which turned out to be pretty easy) for about $8.00. Funny that it was also about 7 years old when it happened. What model dryer do you have? It is a cheap and easy fix if it's the same basic model dryer.
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Dryers are pretty simple for repairs. Heating elements certainly can fail, but it doesn't happen as often as people tend to expect. Components involved in an (electric) no-heat situation include: - A tripped breaker on the 240v circuit. If one of the two legs trips, the machine may run (the motor is 120v, needs just one leg of the circuit powered) but not heat (the heating element needs both legs for full 240v). - Failed element. In some cases if the element shorts to ground (the element breaks and touches the metal frame), it'll heat continuously unless the power is disconnected ... which results in a non-resettable thermal safety fuse blowing due to overheating (element hot with no airflow). - The aforementioned thermal fuse can blow due to overheating from causes other than a shorted element, such as obstructed airflow from clogged exhaust ducting. The cause of the overheating must be corrected along with replacing the fuse or the fuse will blow again. - Element overheat safety thermostat, which is a companion to the thermal fuse. - Bad operating thermostat, which cycles the element on/off to maintain the target drying temperature. - Bad timer. - Bad start/centrifugal switch on the motor. The heating element is wired through the motor such that the element can't get power unless the motor is up to full running speed. The element may not get power if this switch on the motor fails. - Bad temperature selector switch on the control panel. Note that there's typically another thermal fuse in the blower housing next to the operating thermostat, but the entire machine usually goes dead if that one blows.
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Blackbelt consumer: Sorry to hear of your bad encounter with Sears. You know, when I first got those machines home and tried them on, I already felt that something wasn't "kosher." I guess we bought in to the sales talk too quickly. We never learned our lesson dealing with Sears. We got a Kenmore dishwasher. It was a smaller capacity one, but cost more. We got it because of space limitation. Before the year was up, it already had problem--the water spinner broke--it melted away! And of course the warranty period was over too. So, I was thinking to myself how could Sears sell such a shoddy product! Anyway, Sears will be history for me too. spark823: Thanks for the heads up on LG. Interesting thing is that a few people in this forum seem to have positive things to say of it, but of course until the problem becomes a problem, it's always ok. In all fairness, all things will have problems some day, but if the problems become evident too soon, then the product is no better than the top loaders. They seem to last for years. Only difference is its energy saving feature, but I wonder how much savings is worth looking into, considering all inconveniences one has to go through. By the way, I do use the new detergent that is made for front loaders. laudrytech: The only thing with our set is that we have installed a new vent, so there's no kink or clog as far as we can tell. Also, the machine being so new, there isn't any residue around the door. That said, I will look out for the helpful things you suggested for future trouble shooting though. Guys, I have learned something here and want to thank each one of you for taking the time to respond. Meanwhile, I've been thinking of reverting back to good old days--with the top loaders. Any models to recommend? Stackable ones are preferred. Thanks so much once again and have a good evening.
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We usually don't get the good stuff in the US, or if we do, it arrives almost a year after the rest of the world gets it. GE had a recirculating water thing like that for a long time - it even ran the recycled water spray through a filter - but don't think the new ones still use that design. I know the filter is gone - it had to be removed and replaced each time the washer was used and I doubt that was popular with customers. Haven't had time to look through the Electrolux TL manual but notice it too says nothing about crucial items like spin speeds and water temperatures.
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Whirlpool still uses the same dryer design today as they did when you bought yours, I would think there is still some sort of timer available that would work but I could be wrong. I believe there are also repair services that can fix timers, I've never tried one though. What's the point of replacing both if one machine is broken? None of the washers today are anywhere near as well made as your Maytag. If I were you, assuming the dryer is unrepairable (which I kind of doubt) I would replace it with the exact same thing: a brand new Whirlpool, 29 inch wide with the lint filter on top (NOT their 27" with lint filter in the door) and I would leave the washer be. Then, if the washer conked out I would replace it with a modern front loader (NOT a modern top loader). It's one thing if water conservation is very important to you or your community (in which case you should have replaced it with a front loader a long time ago) but it doesn't sound like that's the case here. The tone of your post suggests you like what you have and don't want to give it up, so why do it if you don't have to?
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nelles_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
The model number on our Whirlpool dryer is LEQ9508PWO.

My husband & I don't want to tackle the repair since there are a number of things that could be broken.
beachlily z9a
11 years ago
I've had the HE topload GE washer/dryer for about 4 years and have had no problems with it. Like it so well we purchased a pair for our niece when she bought her first home. I'm in FL too, and the GE does a great job. I wash king sized blankets--it has a very big load capacity. I tend to keep adding to the load in process--that's easy to do with the toploader. Research indicated that LG makes the HE top loader for GE.
dadoes
11 years ago
LEQ9508PW0 (zero at the end, not letter O)

Most probable items (prices quoted from an online source) --

-- Heating Element 279838 - $35.95
(or alternate ER279838 - $27.50)

-- Thermostat Kit 279816 (includes both Hi-Limit Thermostat on element frame and Thermal Fuse on heater box) - $22.30

-- Operating Thermostat 8318268 - $21.57

Unlikely all of those items are bad, but even if they were, the parts total is $71 (standard ground shipping is only $6.95), which is considerably less than $450 to $500 for a new dryer (or *much* more than that for a new washer/dryer pair).

Less likely --

-- Timer 3406725 - $82.37

-- Motor 279827 - $67.83
(or alternate ER279827 - $54.75)

Your choice, of course, but seems more reasonable to repair than buy new.
Nunyabiz1
11 years ago
We paid $728 each for washer and dryer for a LG WT510HV. newer model is the WT5170HV.

It is 4.7cuft and washes fantastic even in cold water, very quiet.
Have had them for about year and a half now without any problems and would definitely buy them again.

Always go with Top Load, far fewer problems.

Here is a link that might be useful: LG washer dryer

Top-loading HE washer & dryer for us?

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nelles_gw
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