question about Speed Queen tl washer tub leaning

9 years ago

To any speed queen washer tl owners. Does your tub lean when the washer is washing? I read some responses over at AW.org. that the tub leaning forward is motor torque.

My washer leans back and off to the right when washing but straightens out after spin. Could it possibly be the springs need adjusting?

From what I have read Speed Queen says that is normal operation and nothing to worry about. I have not personally contacted SQ, but it is a curiosity.

Never had an out of balanced load that made the machine vibrate severely or walk. Rock steady for the last 14 months.
Overall good engineering on these machines.

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Comments (13)

gwarstong
9 years ago
The tub has a normal range of motion that is restricted -- but not controlled -- by those springs you mentioned. It is normal for the tub to take on various less-than-plumb positions when stationary or in operation.

The old Maytags were the same...except the SQ is much better about handling out-of-balance conditions. Your 14 months of no catastrophic out-of-balance issues speaks volumes.

Everything's fine. No worries.
triedandtrue
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the reply. This machine is so quiet in spin it doesn't sound like it is spinning at 710 rpm most of the time.

I really do believe this is probably the best washer I have ever owned overall so far. The bravos was a joke compared to this washer and the 2 DD whirlpool/kenmore washers our family had were good, but the speed queen is superior to all of them.

Never had a washer that had such a good suspension system in it. An early70's Westinghouse top loader we had came very close to this though. I don't remember that machine ever going off kilter in spin either.

anyway.sorry for the rant. Just blessed that we still have one manufacturer who makes true old school workhorses.

Keep up the good work Speed Queen !
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To be specific 1. I have two robes that are made of the soft fleecy material, machine washable. I put them in and they developed all sorts of pulls and pills after one wash. I think I may have washed them in my TL before it broke, no problem. I also have a couple of silky sweaters. I had washed similar ones in my TL without a problem, these pill in the washer even in a bag on hand wash. I occassionally get a very tangled load. My kids have some North Face down jackets. I have washed them in the machine and they develop small cracks or holes (I will take this up with North Face but I suspect it is the machine). My kids are gentle and bookish, not the types to roll in the mud. None of their friends report this problem 2. The water temperature used to drive me crazy. If you read the specs it says that hot without the heater is designed to be 112 F. The heater can only be used with white loads and the loads wash for nearly two hours then. Plus it fills with lukewarm water which it then heats. My TL used to fill with much hotter water from the tap on most cycles. It is ridiculous since the tap is about 10 feet from water heater and I always run the laundry tap if I want hot water wash. If I do not want the heater, I literally have to turn off the cold water supply. Apparently the lower model without the heater is designed to fill at 130F! as a max. This would have been better since I rarely use the heater. If you like using cold water for all your loads, this is the machine for you! 3. I recently had a mold problem that literally stunk up the whole house. I could smell it in the kitchen one floor up. It was impossible to find the source, I did clean the dispensers, and put bleach in them. The tub sort of floats in the machine and is impossible to clean behind without taking the machine apart. Fortunately the Tide cleaner, after about 4 uses got rid of most of the problem. For the record I never use fabric softener or dryer sheets and I always use HE detergent. We are guilty of not always leaving it open but I was surprised it happened after a few years. As for regulating the water, you have to play with the controls and manipulate them if you want it to fill Finally I do not think my laundry is any cleaner than it was with my TL. If anything it might be a bit more stained but it might be me making less of an effort Having said this, we used a small Bosch on vacation which did not use enough water to get the smells or stains out of my kids laundry so I guess there are worse choices If we move I might get another machine of the same type because of the blanket issue. It would have to have a better way of regulating the water temprature. I need a washer with hotter water on a regular length wash
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It has springs under there that keeps it centered and balanced. One of these might be tighter than the other and be pulling it more one way. If it is new I would just call where I got it and see if they would send someone out to check it. Also it might not be level. Even if it is steady on the floor if the floor is off and the machine is tilted/leaning more to one side it could possibly throw it off.
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The installation instructions include the dimensions. I don't own one so I can't answer your other questions. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.speedqueen.com/sq_con_tech_pdf/201471en.pdf
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Here's what I found out - mostly, thanks to an experienced repairman at a local appliance parts store. This machine actually has no "snubber ring". It does have a "snubber plate" - actually three of them. They are steel and don't require replacing. Each is kind of a T-Shaped piece of metal that attaches with a pair of springs. (#6 ASSY,SNUBBER in attached diagram) It was suggested that when experiencing noise and/or "unbalanced load" type problem as we were (details re what we were experiencing can be found here: "Always "unbalanced load" on spin?") that it's probable that one of the springs had broken. This seemed a good explanation however, this was not the problem in our case. It turned out to be a simple problem with the sediment tube. The sediment tube (20 in attached diagram) runs up from the bottom of the tub and attaches to a small bracket held on by a screw that secures the spin basket balance ring (11 in attached diagram). That bracket had rusted through allowing the sediment tube to flail around freely inside the drain tub, depending on which side it fell, either pounding the side of the tub when pulled or, when pushed, causing a horrible metal-on-metal screeching and jamming and sticking making it seem like a balance problem. To repair this properly required removing the spin tub which I had been having a great deal of difficulty doing (see my other posts). This was also immediately confirmed by that experienced ol' repairman "Oh, you'll never break those! You need air tools." My solution was not ideal but seems to work. I attached a length of twine to the sediment tube end, wrapped it around the tub a few times tied the ends together. Because this will eventually degrade, come apart and could possibly clog up one drain or another I also attached both ends to the top of spin basket balance ring so that it can easily be retrieved. It now seems to run fine. I'll probably redo this using wire. That solved the possible snubber ring, "unbalanced load" issue but doing so apparently created yet a different problem. (Thanks to www.partselect.ca for diagrams shown).
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sparky823
9 years ago
I remember Westinghouse having a commercial where they placed a basketball in the tub of the washer and ran it on spin to show how balanced the machine was. No vibrating or knocking. Of course, this was years ago!
mrb627
9 years ago
I remember a similar commercial involving a phone book (I think) and a TL Amana machine. The Amana in that commercial was a similar design to the Alliance built SQ we have today.

MRB
triedandtrue
Original Author
9 years ago
Does anybody know hell well these machines hold up against rusting? My machines are in a basement and I notice that the area around the bleach dispenser looks like it is yellowing.

I really don't use the dispenser much; but if this is an early sign;this is not good. I thought these machines had a special 3 coat protection ? Nothing beats a true porcelain coated top, providing it is applied correctly.

If they wanted to.make these machines like the laundromat machines, it would be nice to have porcelain enamel tops.
triedandtrue
Original Author
9 years ago
*how well*
sparky823
9 years ago
Do you leave the lid open so it will dry out? When I had a top load I never closed the lid, but thats just me. Never had any rust either.
triedandtrue
Original Author
9 years ago
Never had issues with rust and usually left the lids on all my machines open. Lately have been keeping the lid closed on this washer, but will just leave it up I guess.
triedandtrue
Original Author
9 years ago
I noticed the lids on these SQ washers are like old Maytags in that both lids close pretty tight. Little air circulation.
mrb627
9 years ago
Hmmm...

What is the warranty on the tub against rust? Isn't it lifetime?

MRB
gwarstong
9 years ago
SQ topload washer Limited Warranty...paraphrased from their sheet:

3 years parts/labor limited warranty on the complete washer.

5 yr. on cabinet rust from inside out.

5 year on motor. yr 4 and 5 parts only

10 yr on tranny. yr 4 thru 10 parts only

Lifetime on SS tub and outer tub rust and corrosion.
sparky823
9 years ago
Latest models now have a 15 year transmission warranty if I am not mistaken?.
gwarstong
9 years ago
I was reading from the sheet that came with my machine in September, '13. Maybe different, now?

question about Speed Queen tl washer tub leaning

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