I purchased a new Speed Queen home laundry front loading washer and dryer a few months ago. The pair has operated flawlessly. The Speed Queen dryer dries better than the Kitchenaid dryer with moisture sensor that it replaced. The washer cleans clothes very well and is also gentle. The washer cycle time on regular is approximately 45 minutes. The cycle time is long enough to get the clothes clean and short enough to get many loads completed quickly. The tub size is more than adequate for a home laundry. The units are easy to operate with few frills. I do not need frills to clean clothes properly.

The build quality of the washer and dryer are very robust and I expect them to last a long time. These machines are commercial units. Since the washer has stainless steel outer and inner tubs and a mildew resistant rubber boot, mold/mildew problems should be minimized. Soap scum film sticks to plastic tubs much more than it does to stainless steel tubs. People abuse the equipment in Laundromats. Have you heard of any mildew problems in Speed Queen front loading washers in Laundromats? I have not. I like the 3/5 year warranty. What other manufacturers back their equipment with such a long warranty? The Speed Queen warranty is longer because they know their equipment will last.

I would not hesitate to recommend Speed Queen over other manufacturers of laundry equipment. It takes a discerning buyer to select a front washer with a smaller capacity (3.3 cubic feet), a commercial build quality, a longer warranty and at a higher cost. Most consumers pursue washers with larger capacity with cheaper build quality and cost.

The concept that a larger capacity washer is always better does not make sense. The way I separate clothes for washing does not depend on washer capacity. The larger capacity washers also use more floor space in the laundry room. How big is big enough?

I think you have it right. If you're the typical four person family and have >3 cu. ft of wash space, and its not enough, you're either have way too many clothes or aren't sorting loads properly.

I've heard concerns about vibration regarding SQ front loaders; have you had any problems with vibration, or do you think its just some customers experiencing an improper install? Thanks for the info!

I am a current Bosch owner but when it goes out of (extended) warranty and ends up with a too-expensive repair I'll probably go with a Speed Queen FL. The capacity is just a bit less than the 500-series I'm using now (2.84 vs. 3.31 according to the government), but the build quality appears to be better. That, plus the Luddite in me is starting to admire the lack of computer controls which have been an issue on the last two washers I've had, and in fact my Bosch dryer is in the process of slowly losing its mind right now and is due for a service call...again.

One other thing to consider from an engineering perspective is that the SQ is a *true* horizontal axis washer like the tiny, powerful and frighteningly expensive German/EU Mieles, and unlike almost all other US tilted-drum FLs on the market including the bigger Mieles. That alone will contribute to a larger water contact area with the clothes as it operates, which should (in theory) lead to better wash performance.

Miele washing performance has to be better than Speed Queen FL, for a number of reasons: 1) Availability of longer wash cycles; 2) Internal heater works on all wash temperatures; 3) More wash temperature selections, topping out higher than the 140degF of Speed Queen's boosted hot. Last I heard, Miele warranteed their washers for 5 years, if installed by an authorized installer in the USA. I've also heard about 10 year warranty in Canada.

The statement about correct capacity for a four person family sounds kind of arbitrary :-) Some people have more items to dirty between loads, or bulkier items. Not to mention stuff like comforters, where you can always use more capacity. All things being equal, I can't see any downside to a larger capacity. Of course all things are never equal. If I could've gotten a washer larger than 4.0 IEC with the Miele W4840's features, I would have considered it, but there isn't any.

I can tell you that when you start really using the heater for things like profile washes, etc. that long wash cycles turn into REALLY long wash cycles for 120v machines, because they just don't have enough watts to raise the water temp like the small, powerful 240v machines do. So I guess you could say that longer cycles are both available and, in many cases required.

Speed Queen's cycles are shorter than most but hey, they don't call 'em *Speed* Queen for nothing, eh?

As for the the heater, I've heard that in the Miele 4840 it is only used on Custom programs, not the Normal ones, correct? I think someone had hooked up a Kill-o-Watt to theirs and determined that, but I can't find the link off right now. If that's the case then you have a whole selection of programs that are run at no better than mixed wall temperature.

The current SQ warranty is 3 years parts and labor, 5 on motor, cabinet, bearings and seals, and lifetime on the basket and drum. Not 5 bumper-to-bumper (so to speak) but still better than most. Wonder why Canada gets such a better 48xx warranty than us?

All of that being said, I'd still love a better internal heater on the SQ, and perhaps a few more (mechanically driven) programs, and maybe even a 240v one that could operate off a Miele-style "convenience kit" 240v/30a outlet splitter kit so you wouldn't have to rewire anything.

But for now at least they are still at the top of my possible replacements lists. USA made (like a tank) and true horizontal access are two big selling points.

No matter what, my next one certainly won't be another Bosch... (even though mine was made in North Carolina, I think.)

As far as I know, the Normal cycle on the W4840 is the only one that doesn't use the heater. I've seen the heater operate on Comforters and Hand Wash, as well as Custom which I use most of the time. No reason to think it wouldn't work on any of the other cycles, if the temperature conditions called for it. My guess is the heater is disabled on Normal to get the best energy testing results.

The 4800-series Mieles actually don't have a profile wash option. But you can hook them up to cold water only, in which case I guess every wash would be a profile wash.

Clearly a higher-wattage heater would be better. But comments about the slowness of the 1050W heater have led to the myth that this heater somehow makes every wash take a long time. The heating delay, if any, depends on the supply temperature, the desired temperature (30C, 40C, 50C, 60C or 70C), and the size of the load. A smaller load (say a bucket of housecleaning rags) absorbs much less water than a full load of towels, and therefore heats to 70C in less time, even with my often tepid supply temperature. A full load of socks and jeans being washed at 40C may need the heater only intermittently to maintain the temperature. With a better hot water setup (like I believe another W4840 owner on this forum has), a 50C wash would also probably need very little heating. Since you own a machine with an effective heater, you probably knew all this already, but I'm saying it anyway to clarify for those who don't.

Is the Speed Queen FL really entirely mechanical, or are the cycles controlled through some kind of electronics, though maybe not a "computer" module?

Is the Speed Queen FL really entirely mechanical, or are the cycles controlled through some kind of electronics, though maybe not a "computer" module?A "timer" like this (cycles spaced equally around the dial with no Off position between them, and no operational sequences of wash, rinse, spin detailed in each cycle) is a selector for an electronic control board. A machine having rotary controls does not always mean there's a mechanical timer behind the panel. If turning the timer doesn't reveal the grinding sound of gears and cams, then it's electronic. And even if the timer is mechanical, there may still be an electronic board involved. The original Maytag Neptune had a mechanical timer, but was actually controlled by a computer board that triggered the timer motor to advance through the various cycle phases.

{{!gwi}}

suburbanmd / dadoes,

It has been my impression from everything that I've read that the SQ controls are computer free, but I probably misspoke when I described them as "mechanical". I suppose a better term for something like that would be... "electro-mechanical" - electrically powered but without a central, general purpose CPU brain to oversee operations. Scanning the list of SQ parts on repairclinic.com reenforces this impression.

Does that make more sense?

So, to get this discussion back on track, let's talk cycle times. Royaluser above mentioned that the cycle time was 45 minutes for a regular wash, and given the nature of the controls I wouldn't expect that to vary dramatically across the cycles.

For my Bosch, the cycle time depends just as suburbanmd described, on the temp settings and load sizes. For instance, a "Normal" wash is 1:00. Select "Heavy duty" which starts with a cold fill and uses the internal heater and that immediately goes to 1:40. Bleach adds +12 and an extra rinse +10. Change to TempBoost (150F) and the base cycle time is 1:30, even with a hot fill. XXtraSanitary (hot with short 170F sanitize portion of the wash) *starts* at 2:04, and fully optioned it goes up to 2:38, although I've seen it take 3+ hours or more on large, dirty loads. The lesson here is the more you have to use the heater, the longer it takes.

And the Bosch is absolutely nuts about using its heater -- it wants to maintain ~precise~ temps during washing (even a minimum Cold temp!) so the thing runs a lot. Darn German engineering and its emphasis on precision! I appreciate the effort to stay on-temps, but often I just don't know how long a load is going to take until it is done, as the time will sometimes jump forward and back depending on how much arguing the computer is doing with itself about what's going on.

How does the Miele stack up on cycle times for general items, at various temps?

royaluser, how are the drying times? I can't really comment on the Bosch times since my dryer has currently lost its mind and either leaves the clothes wet or tries to burn them up, even on delicates -- all the while the timer keeps "adjusting" to a new completion time that sometimes doesn't ever arrive. Not kidding..... ugh!

I'll give some initial cycle times for Custom cycle on the Miele W4840. Despite the name, Custom is really the general-purpose cycle, since Normal doesn't use the heater, and allows only Max spin (presumably to reduce the Modified Energy Factor, which takes drying energy into account).

Note that the following initial cycle times are the values for my machine, at this point in time -- They were two minutes longer when the machine was new, and another W4840 owner here reported that his initial cycle times are now several minutes shorter than those below.

1:08 with no options
1:38 with Extended option (longer wash cycle)
1:20 with Sensitive option (extra rinse)
1:50 with Extended and Sensitive option

The initial time doesn't vary with temperature selection, surprisingly. If the set temperature isn't reached by a certain time in the wash cycle, the timer pauses while the water continues heating.

The initial time does vary with spin speed -- Choose Medium (900 RPM) or below, and the time increases by an amount equivalent to an extra rinse.

The timer generally either counts down or pauses, rather than bouncing around like your Bosch. One exception is if High or Max spin is set (we almost always use Max), and the machine can't achieve a good spin after the wash cycle. Then it adds an extra rinse, and bumps the timer accordingly.

Some of the special-purpose cycles, like Silk or Wool, are shorter.

Sanitize cycle is longer, what with Heavy Soil (prewash) option being set automatically, and possibly having a longer wash cycle. I've never used Sanitize cycle, rather I use Sanitize temperature on Custom cycle, and then the times are as above, with added time for heating. With Sanitize as with other temperatures, the machine doesn't require that the entire wash cycle take place at the set temperature, so heating time partially overlaps with wash time.

Electro-mechanical IS the term for a standard timer sans computer board. Many years ago, some washers (and dishwashers) were fully mechanically controlled in terms of timer. The main drive motor was electric, but it ran the various components (water valves, pump, transmission shifting) by way of mechanical linkages. If the power failed while the machine filled, the water valve was held open by a mechanical lever and the water continued to run (and the machine would overflow) until/unless the supply faucet was manually shut off by the homeowner.

The SQ frontloader shown above surely must have an electronic control board. Compare that dial to a Whirlpool Cabrio or Duet or Kenmore Oasis or HE3/4/5 or Maytag Bravos, etc.

SQ toploaders, on the other hand, do have an "electro-mechanical" timer. See the difference? The toploader timer in this picture shows each cycle progressing through a wash period, rinse, spin, extra rinse, etc.
{{!gwi}}

Question. If one of these SQ washers happen to need a repair, do most companies service these?

Speed Queen uses local repair companies to service their machines. The companies selected work directly with Speed Queen and they typically service only high-end machines and commercial units. I surmise the quality of workmanship is higher and more reliable with these companies.

So...does the SQ front loader use reasonable amounts of water and rinse the clothes well? (unlike other machines like the Duet, which have to be tinkered with to get enough water in the drum to wet the clothes...)

Seems to use a reasonable amount of water, as you can always see it sloshing around in the drum. Every so often, there are some fabrics or items that seem to retain the detergent suds more than other loads. Then it is a simple matter to flip the "extra rinse" switch on. For a bulky sleeping bag, for instance, we've learned to use the extra rinse, since we don't like any detergent perfumes to remain in the bag. The machine controls are so basic, however, that you must remember to flip the "extra rinse" option off for the next load as it does not reset to a "default" off setting. To counter that, we developed the habit of scanning ALL the control settings (as in all three; big deal) prior to walking away from the machine. Simple, but effective.

Hands down the speed queen washer is the best because clothes come out super clean and they have the very best heavy duty transmission in the business and washer will last 25 years. it doesn't skimp on water which gives you cleaner clothes and the water level is adjustable, had our washer since March 2015 with a family of 5 people and not one issue. So awesome! So AWESOME. You will not be disappointed. Our model is the awn432S.

Yes but its a deal breaker for many people because of no heater....if they would put a heater in it I could see it becomming the best the US has to offer...shame

Hello. The "adjustable water" level caught my eye.I too bought their front loader in 2015 but I have no idea how to adjust the water level, and I think its a bit low. Is this something that is easy to do?

You tube probably has a video on adjusting water level if it's adjustable. I know there are videos on other brands and maybe SQ also.

SQ front load used to have a heater but was discontinued a few years back.

M R above is referring to a toploader model, not a frontloader.

My heater comment was to Pink because she said if they added a heater it would be best on the market. And my water level was for chuck14 because they said they have a 2015 SQ f/l but didn't know if water level was adjustable.

My comment was in regards to an 8-years-old thread discussing SQ frontloaders being revived by M R touting his/her experience with a SQ toploader. Onboard water heaters were never relevant to SQ toploaders, and I took M R's reference to adjustable water level as the standard mini/small/medium/large/etc. water level selector on the topload models. :-)

Dadoes, I didn't mean for my remarks to seem smart*** toward you or anyone as far as that's concerned. You have helped me with questions/ solutions so many times and I really appreciated that so if I sounded like an a** Sorry about that. Wasn't intended to be.