Anyone have HE TL on Upper Level?

kelly_s_2008

16 years ago

Hello,

I currently have a set of LG FLs (Steamwash 2487/7177) on my upper level laundry room - second floor of my house (3rd including basement) I am returning them to Best Buy after 8 months of trying to get them leveled properly. Apparently my 20 year old house has "floor-flex" issues and will not accommodate the FL high spin speed without massive vibrations.

ANYWAY - Does anyone have any experience with replacing a FL with a HE TL due to vibration issues? Or should I just go with a basic TL? We had an ancient Speed Queen TL that died last year and didn't have any vibration/shaking issues. I would really like to go with an energy efficient set if possible, we saw a big improvement on our electricity bill after replacing the old dryer. The Best Buy sales person is telling me that the HE TLs (Cabrio or Harmony) spin out just as fast as the FLs and will cause the same vibration. Does anyone have these units on an upper level and recommend them?

By the way, I have to go with GE/Whirlpool, etc - brands sold buy Best Buy for the exchange.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!

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Comments (9)

regus_patoff
16 years ago
no chance of moving the LG's to the basement ?
sparky823
16 years ago
If I was going with an HE top load I would get the Harmony.You read far less about "bad" ones than you do the Cabrio/Oasis. Does Best Buy not have the Samsungs? If so get the one with the VRT(vibration reduction technology). They are for wood floors/2nd floor installs. They also spin as fast as the LG.
The Harmony or Cabrio won't shake/vib like a front load since they are topload even though they spin at 1000rpm. They have balance rings as does the Samsung.
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kelly_s_2008
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for your responses - no there is no chance of moving the LGs to the basement. There is no laundry room down there and part of the reason I bought this house is for the UL laundry - no lugging clothes up and down stairs.

Thanks Sparky823 for your suggestions. The Best Buy salesperson seems to think that the HE TLs will have the same problem as the LGs since they do spin as fast, but I haven't found many complaints about the vibration in HE TLs, whereas this is a big issue with FLs. Best Buy has a good return policy but I would prefer not to go through that again. I think I can special order the Samsungs. I looked on the Whirlpool website and noticed that they do address 'floor flex' in the Cabrio FAQs, so it must be an issue for some. I will investigate the Samsungs but appreciate any further info anyone has on these machines.

Thanks!
Kelly
sparky823
16 years ago
Go to the Best Buy website and check out the Samsungs--and read the reviews there. Some on there swapped their LG's back for the Samsung with NO vibration from Samsung. I think they have a demo of it on the Samsung site also. I really don't think you could go wrong with those. They look good too! Let Us know what you get.
appliance_researcher
16 years ago
You may also want to check out the Maytag Bravos. The Bravos is related to the Oasis and Cabrio. However, it does not seem to receive nearly as many negative reviews as the Oasis and even the Cabrio. The Bravos also tends to be priced less expensively than both the Cabrio and Oasis. My grandmother owns a Bravos and she just loves it!

I would also take Sparky's advice and check out the GE Harmony and Samsung FL's. I have also heard wonderful things about both of those machines as well. Fisher and Paykel Aquasmart may also be worth a look. Hope this info helps!! :o)
jcrowley99
16 years ago
Sorry to hear about your FLer problems, I can feel for you since I went through the same thing last year. I switched from a Bosch Nexxt 500 to the Cabrio HE for this exact reason. My laundry room is on the first floor, and apparently the floor is "flexible". The pots on my stove rattled, my china in the dining room rattled, even the lamp on my night stand (on the second floor!) rattled. Needless to say that was waaaay too annoying to live with. The Cabrio HE does not cause any vibration problems. I made sure it was properly leveled after being installed and it is perfect. It also works great, I have not had any problems. I got it last March.
dnlblank2
16 years ago
All suspended floors flex. It is a matter of how much.

I think another factor may be what engineers call natural resonance. If the forces generated by the washer occur at a frequency that matches the natural resonance of your floor, you will get some annoying shaking.

I was able to solve the issue on my first floor by going into the basement (open ceiling) and adding some stiffener blocks to my joists.

Different machines would likely generate vibrations at different frequencies, so trying another brand may solve the problem.

Your machines would probably room smoothly on a different floor system.

I have never seen this issue of vibration resonance address in any manufactures literature.

David
kelly_s_2008
Original Author
16 years ago
Well I took Sparky's advice and got the Samsung FL and I am thrilled!!! I got the lowest end model with VRT and it has been SILENT even on high speed, where my LG2478 sounded like a helicopter even on low. I've only done 2 loads so far, but my stress level has gone way down and I am excited to do laundry again in my new washer and dryer.

It was a hassle dealing with Best Buy, but they took back my whole LG set and returned it for the Samsung set as well as gave me a credit for the difference. I would buy an appliance there again in a heartbeat.
sparky823
16 years ago
Kelly, Glad to hear that you got your machines changed out and are enjoying the new ones. Let us know how you like them after you have used them for a couple of weeks. Good Luck..Glad I could be some help.

Anyone have HE TL on Upper Level?

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Anyone have HE TL on Upper Level?

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