I'd go with Bosch for the capacity and because the washer runs on 240 volts (much faster water heating). The washer plugs into the dryer, and the dryer plugs into a standard electric dryer outlet powering both machines, so you probably won't have to change your electrical service.

LG does offer a combination washer/dryer which is a nice option if you want to have one machine that washes and dries the clothes by itself. Unfortunately it runs on 120V so it takes a really long time for both the wash and dry cycles.

Wow, lee676, thank you! That is information I didn't even know to look for when considering this purchase.

The apartment right now has a 20 yr. old stacked washer / dryer in the bathroom. We are moving it into its own very small "laundry room" (in quotes b/c let's be real, it is a closet!)

I will ask the contractor about electricity - right now there is no plug in the closet, so I will make sure the electrician wires it for 240V!

Thanks!

If the stacked washer/dryer you have now is a single-piece unit with a shared control panel (as opposed to a separate dryer on top of a separate washer), and has electric drying (not gas), it probably has a single 240V (or 208V), 30 amp outlet it's plugged into. If it doesn't allow the washer and dryer to run at the same time, or if the dryer is connected to a gas line, you may have only 120V outlets there. If the former (which is more likely), you could repurpose the existing 240V/30A circuit breaker and run a new wire to the closet, or even extend the existing 240V wiring from the bathroom to the new closet if that's easier (it will need to have a separate ground wire, which older 240v wiring may not have though). Your electrician should know this stuff.

The Bosch "Axxis" series laundry machines (the smaller 24" wide ones) as well as Asko's in the same size can be powered from a single 240V/30A outlet (known as 14-30R amongst electricians) that accepts a 4-prong plug. The dryer has a fused 240V/15A outlet on the back that accepts the 240V/15A washer plug. You plug the washer into the dryer, and the dryer into the wall outlet, thus powering both machines.

Alternatively, you can have the electrician install a 240V/15A circuit and outlet for the washer to plug into directly, and a separate 240V/30A circuit for the dryer which would keep more options open for whenever the *new* washer and dryer eventually need to be replaced, but probably better/cheaper not to deal now with what hopefully won't matter for a long time.

Some electricians don't seem to realize that some washing machines sold in the U.S. run on 240V power. The dryers that stack over these also actually need only 240V/15A power, not the more common 30A. That's because the washers spin faster than older American washers and extract more water, so the clothes are less damp when they're put in the dryer and thus need less electical power to dry them (about 2800 watts instead of 5500, a big savings), yet it dries about as fast since it has less work to do, and because they have a higher airflow rate and spin in both directions switching occasionally to help prevent clothes from tangling and clumping up. Nonetheless, they are designed to be used with 30 amp circuits and outlets because they are much more common; the dryers have a built-in 15A fuse.

Hey Lee676, very interesting explanation. I had thought the contractor would be figuring that stuff out, but it seems like he didn't really consider it when I spoke to him, so it makes me very thankful to people like you who share their knowledge on this forum.

If you had to choose, which brand would you go with?