On a concrete slab, I wouldn't worry much about vibration. However, any time you use a pedestal, you will increase vibration somewhat simply because the center of gravity is raised. Leveling will be very important. Level the pedestals to perfection, then level the machine. The more substantial and heavier the pedestal, the better.

I have the Bosch 500 (which I believe is the 3301, they have 2 different number designations, conveniently). It is on a pedestal, but one that I made, which is firmly attached to the floor. Vibrations are minimal, but the installers are certainly not responsible for that. I leveled them myself after the Lowes jokers assured me it wasn't necessary, even after I insisted. Idiots! But I digress. Before I purchased the Bosch, I called to find out the closest service provider. Nobody in my area keep parts on hand. Unless you're in a major metropolitan area, you're likely out of luck with any of the brands you are looking at. Parts will have to be ordered. That said, my local service assured my the could get parts in a couple of days. My decision came down to two major issues: 1) Bosch is the only 120v model that uses its heater in every cycle, which is extremely important given the small amounts of water used in a front loader. 2) The Bosch just felt more substantial, sturdier.

I would contact the local service for all three models and see who you are most comfortable with. Any one of the three will likely be a fine machine. Given the laundry piling up, all else being equal, I might even choose whichever one I could get the fastest.

I agree with the previous response. Most parts probably will have to be ordered, but should not take too long to get in. More important than the parts might be the availability of authorized service technicians. If all things were equal (regarding service) between the three brands you chose, I'd go with Bosch. The Bosch is assembled in North Carolina while both LG and Samsung come fully assembled from Korea. It's not a major concern, but I think it is good to keep some labor here in the States.

I have the Bosch Nexxt 500plus (WMC 5301) and really like it. It is very easy to use and still has the fexibility of many special cycles. I like the use of the water heater on all cycles, the heavy duty option for a profile wash, the time delay, the soak cycle and the opportunity to do a really hot (170 F) sanitary cycle. I think it is well build and I hope that I won't need service. I have just had it for 4 months now. I guess I'd be happy with the Samsung and LG as well, but I would buy the Bosch again without hesitation. Hope this helps.

We have the LG WM2688 & DLG8388 (gas) dryer on pedestals (didn't install connecting plates) on concrete, and like them.

Don't worry much about ANY 120v washing machine that uses a heater.
There just isn't enough power nor time to raise the water temperature significantly.
It is used to MAINTAIN the input "hot" water temperature.
For the 5 gallons that it uses, the heater raises the water temperature 1F every 2 minutes.
Also, because it only uses 5 gallons, chances are most of that was sitting in your hot water pipes at room temperature, unless you run the hot water tap at the washing machine's utility sink untill it's HOT, if you have one.

Not correct. Bosch raises the temperature, as necessary, in every cycle. I've checked water temperatures in all cycles, both after initial fill and mid-cycle. No matter what temperature is chosen, you end up with lukewarm water, at best, at the start of the cycle after it has been cooled by the clothing and the washer. The Bosch raises the temp to within 5 degrees of the specified temp. Consequently, wash times are longer in winter. In a washer that uses the heater for only a few cycles, clothes will be washed in much cooler temperatures than you expect.

aliceinwonderland is correct, the Bosch DOES heat up the water during the wash cycle. The manual says that the incoming hot water should not exceed 140 degrees and still the washer is able to run cycles on 150 and 170 degrees (the latter temperature is just kept for a few minutes and then goes back down to 150 F). You can tell the temperature difference by just looking at the drum and feeling the outside of the window.
I do most loads on the warm cotton cycle and even though the target temperature is only 90 F, the washer fills with quite a bit of hot water. That shows how much the temperature goes down once the water hits the cold drum and clothes. The washer fills switches back and forth between hot and cold water until the temperature of the wash water is roughly 90 F. Then it maintains that temperature throughout the wash cycle. If your washer doesn't use the heater on warm cycles, you'd get a pretty cold wash. 90 F is already on the lower side of "warm" temperatures.

On the hot cycles you can feel that the window gets hot (even though there is a wide gap bbetween the plastic cover and the actual glass window. You can also see some steam on the inside of the window. Yes, the sanitary cycle does take approximately two hours. That's plenty of time to heat up the incoming hot water...

Every manufacturer comes up with different definitions of what "hot" and "warm" means. Compare different manuals and decide which cycle setting make the most sense for your needs.

A 120v washing machine only has a 1200 watt heater.
That only has enough electrical wattage to heat the 5 or 6 gallons of water about 1°F every 2 minutes.

Thanks for everyone who gave me their two cents. I appreciate all of the input. I ended up buying the LG 2233 today, for a couple of reasons.

I went back and looked at every model - then threw out the Samsung because it's so new and I was not comfortable going with it.

The service issue is not going to be too much of a problem, other than parts, but that would have been the case anyway. I am in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and I found out that two of the certified places (for either LG or Bosch) are ones that I have used in the past for other appliances, and one I really like.

Rewarding good customer service is a big thing with me, and the Lowe's guy was absolutely useless; really didn't know the product at all, and was pretty rude to me considering that I told him I had narrowed it down and was going to buy (he just pretty much walked away when he figured out he couldn't answer my questions). And then, after being abandoned, I noticed a sheet taped to the back of the Bosch floor model indicating that it had been purchased in early December but returned in the last month because of noise and had been repaired and set back out for sale. That gave me pause, even though, yes, I know it could happen to any manufacturer.

There are differing opinions on sturdiness, but I thought the buttons and the dial for the Bosch looked cheap. Plus I still intend to use the top of the washer for staging, and I didn't want those buttons to get damaged when I put something heavy on it, or having to be really really careful.

I did like the wider opening in the Bosch, but the whole door is really large, and the door thing is a big one as my washer has to be on the 'wrong' side with regard to how the door opens. So I bought the pedestal to raise it up, allowing me to grab clothes and shove them under the door and into my dryer, which has a fold-down door, not an opening to the side door. At least that's my plan, and I thought it might be harder with the Bosch because the door is so large. I am not comfortable with the option of switching sides and having water hoses going across gas connector hoses. That's just me.

So the water temp issue was a big one for me, and of course I couldn't get anyone at Lowe's or Home Depot to comment on it. A Lowe's guy last night mentioned it. Here in Texas, most of the time the water temp is not a problem because it's so hot anyway. But the winter is a problem; the water gets really cold. That would have been the only thing that would have tipped the scale toward Bosch. But, my gut kept telling me to go with the LG, and at that point, I knew I would probably be happy with either, and so I went with my gut.

Besides, I didn't feel like trying to find the sales guy at Lowe's and begging him to sell it to me. I have no idea how long it would have taken to get one, but the LG is coming Tuesday, and I will REALLY need it by then. Plus I got a $100 giftcard at Home Depot.

So there's my decidedly unscientific decision making - time will tell whether I made a correct one. I did buy the extended warranty, and would have for either.

Appreciate all of the help!

I have the Samsung VRT since April in mobile home..No vibration.. Got it from Lowes!!!

ilovefarming,
I hope you'll enjoy many trouble free years with your new washer. I am sure it is a good washer.

regus_patoff,
why did you even buy a washer with heater if you think it can't achieve what it is supposed to?
It is very true that a 220/240 V washer has a more powerful and efficient heater. They can heat the same amount of water much faster. But don't forget that European washers are able to reach temperatures of over 200 F while they are hooked up to cold tap water only. So they will heat water from 50 F (or whatever the cold water temperature is) to 203 F. So why should an American 120 V washer NOT be able to heat the incoming HOT water to 150 or 170 F? On the hot or sanitary cycles the washer fills with hot water only to have the starting temperature as high as possible. Then it starts heating the water immediately and on the sanitary cycle it has approximately 90 minutes to do that. If it takes longer, the cycle time will go up. It does work.
I think there would be many many law suits against all the manufacturers of washing machines who claim that the sanitary cycle reaches 153/158/170 F if it wasn't possible...

I didn't buy the washer for the heater function.
The steam function is a different system.
The 120v washers CAN reach those temperatures, but it will take awhile. Can hardly be done in a 4 minute rinse cycle.

Who has ever claimed that the rinse cycle would use hot water? A sanitary or hot wash cycle is followed by a COLD water rinse. The rinse cycle does not do much for the cleaning performance other than getting rid of the wash water including detergent and soil residue and to add bleach or fabric softener to the clothes if desired. There are not many washers that still do WARM rinses, I don't think they ever did HOT rinses because it would cause excessive wrinkling. The internal heaters are just used during the wash cycles and they do make a big difference in cleaning performance. The steam function might add a little to the cleaning performance of the LG, but I am sure that the water heater has a larger impact!

From OP's post: "Bosch is the only 120v model that uses its heater in every cycle"
I thought that to mean the rinse cycles also, although the rinse cycles are only about 4 minutes each.

Oh, I think that is a misunderstanding. The word "cycles" is commonly used for the whole wash/rinse/spin cycle. It could also be called "program". What the OP meant (and it is correct AFAIK) is that the Bosch is the only washer that monitors the wash temperature no matter what setting you use. I am not totally sure about the temperature of the delicate cycle which might be tap cold, but the cotton and PP cold are perormed at a "controlled" 60 F. If the incoming cold tap water is below 60 F, the internal heater will heat it up and then maintain that temperature. For the warm cycle the temperature is 90 F, for hot 120 F (or 125 F depending on the Bosch model) and so on. The heater ensures that those temperatures are met and maintained throughout the whole WASH cycle.
Hopes this clarifies the issue.

From OP's post:
"Bosch is the only 120v model that uses its heater in every cycle"
I thought that to mean the rinse cycles also, although the rinse cycles are only about 6 minutes each.

> The word "cycles" is commonly used for the whole wash/rinse/spin cycle.

in that case the LG uses it's heater in every "cycle"

I'm deciding between the LG 2233/DLE5977 and the Samsung 328 and 377 sets. I think the Bosch Nexxt 500 sets are just too plastic looking. The LG set is on closeout at a local appliance store in Austin and is a great deal at $1399. Bestbuy has a screaming deal on the Samsung 377 set for $2100 including pedestals. And the Samsung 328 set is available for 10% off so about $1670.

I'm leaning towards the LGs but the 328 is running a close second. Or get the 377 and sell the pedestals on craiglist. I'll make one more pass of the local stores and then decide by midweek.

You can see my other post on LG, but we just returned our LG 2455 today - swapped out for an Kenmore elite which was relatively quiet for our 1st load. The LG was vibrating horribly on the spin cycle. We had the unit a week & had service out to readjust the feet on it a few days back. We have concrete floors.

Don't know what the deal w/ Home Depot is, here they said they don't carry LG. That Samsung washer looks interesting, if its the one I saw in the showroom at Sears. It has a vibration dampening system. Bosch is hard to beat for quality, we have a Bosch dishwasher and we are well pleased with it after 2 years.

We bought a Bosch dishwasher about 15 yrs ago. The heater went out a few weeks before the warranty expired. The repairman came out to fix it, replaced the controller board and left. He pointed to where the "burnned part" was on the circuit board. (I didn't see anything wrong with it. I'm an electronic technician). The next load did the same thing, not hot water, no drying. A few weeks later he returns and replaces the heater. Bosch burries the heater way inside the machine. Bosch wasn't going to cover the repair, but I complained, and they finally covered it. About 6 months later the same thing (bad heater). The next day it went to the local dump. Also, Bosch dosen't have a "food chopper" in the drain pump.

No more Bosch for us.

We bought a Kitchenaid d/w from Sears outlet store. It has been working great ever since.

We bought the LG washer & dryer (see above post) & works fine.

LG service people may be few and far between, but at least you can buy the parts at Sears and other places, and the service manuals are online.

I was seriously considering buying an LG Tromm this summer...until I called LG to find out who my certified service provider would be. The ONLY certified provider was a minimum of 60 minutes away...and more like 90 minutes most days. "But don't worry, we'll cover travel time while the machine is under warranty."

All well and good, but the machine won't be under warranty forever. LG needs to train more service people, or I won't be buying from them.

I KNOW the local certified Bosch guy...I've had Bosch laundry machines for ten years (my originals were euro-sized machines) he's less than two miles from here. It was an easy decision.

I bought my Bosch washer and dryer from a specialty appliance place. Prices were comparable to Lowes, and they had Bosch certified installers. Properly leveled, took out the shipping bolts, HANDED them to me, and made certain the machines were working properly before they left. Now, granted, I had to wait a little longer to get my machines (they had to order them) but it was worth it.

Our 12 year old KitchenAid washer is again on the blink, so we are in the market for a replacement. The first place we checked was the February 2008 issue of Consumer Reports, which rates 20 front-loaders, 22 top-loaders, and 39 dryers. The LG's rated especially well. We also checked with our appliance repairman, a local independent who services almost all brands and who has done a great job for us for 12 years. He recommended that we "steer clear of LG." He said it is very difficult to get their parts since they are relatively new to the washer business and have not yet established a good service network in the US (they are Korean made machines). He also said that many of the customer service complaints you read about on the web are valid. He will not sign-up to be an authorized LG serviceman until they overcome their startup (for washers) difficulties. Here are a few other points he made:
-- He bought a Whirlpool front-loader at Costco a couple of years ago and has been very satisfied with it.
-- Although each maker comes out with new models with new technologies all the time, he generally prefers the Whirlpool line.
-- Some of the top rated top-loaders do not have the typical center agitators. He said that those machines have a relatively new technology, but he has not encountered any reliability difficulties with them so far. He did say that, although they clean very well for most kinds of loads, they don't do quite as well as the agitator-type machines on extremely soiled loads; i.e., your kids love to play in the dirt and mud!

Just thought I'd share this information. Good luck!

Oops! Sorry, I missed your post that you had already made your purchase. Hope all goes well for you!

LG parts are available at

http://www3.sears.com/

1) I have to note that I owned a Bosch NEXXT for the last 6 years and threw it away a few days ago when it broke completely. The casing is cheap - it cracked years ago and pieces continue to fall off in chunks(we keep it in an indoor laundry room well cared for) - the mold came right away and was impossible to clean off the seal and the dryer never dried right so I will never by a Bosch again! I did try to contact them several times in the beginning, it was complicated and at the end of the day, they never did anything. So now I am without a washer and am shopping - I am trying to decide between a LG and Samsung steam washer... any input?