Using new hi-efficiency washer correctly?
super dad
5 years ago
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Saypoint zone 6 CT
5 years agoJakvis
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Washers: please explain high efficiency advantages vs. agitator
Comments (6)You did not mention if your GE Filter Flo still works-on the -automaticwasher.org-site your machine is one of the preferred vintage machines- a good repair tech and advice from that site should be able to keep it running. My take on ConsumerReports recently is that they are all about energy and water conservation, good causes they are, even if it is to the detriment of performance and/or low life cycle costs-see how few years they recommend replacement over repair. Besides the Speed Queen,the Fisher Paykel Eco Smart with traditional agitator might be suitable if you cannot keep your GE running. FP uses very little hot water unless YOU CHOOSE to run a cycle with a full tub of warm or hot water and it has a high speed spin to save energy and time in the dryer. With any new machine's electronic controls use a good surge suppressor to help prevent blown control boards. We have had our F&P about 10 years,use a surge suppressor and unplug washer between uses-no problems so far....See MoreWhich one Miele 1926 (used) washer vs Miele 1986 (newed)?
Comments (12)Wow what a decision. I have the 1986. When I was doing research back in 2002 I decided on the 1926. When buy time came the 1986 was there and I bought it in Jan 2003. There are differences. The 1926 will allow for 4 or 5 rinses. The 1986 will allow for 2 or 3 rinses, but ends up using the same amount of water. This is because the 1986 uses more water for each fill in the rinse plus I have mine programmed for higher fill rinses. The water can be up over the bottom of the door and into the glass while the clothes are lifted and then plunged into and through the water. A good looking rinse. The 1926 does the rinse and I think then does a slower spin between each rinse. The 1986 will rinse and then do a faster(not max) spin between the rinse. The 1926 lets you select the spin speed in rpm. The 1986 uses terms like low med high max, but these translate into the same spin speeds as found on the 1926. At first I was upset with the lack of rinses but found that 2 or 3 high fill rinses with spins between work just fine. If you use 3 rinses, the middle one will do short tumbles and longer pauses so that the clothes soak in the water. Also if I want additional rinses I can use the fine rinse cycle. This cycle provides two very high fill rinses, with the water for the last rinse being taken in through the fabric softener dispenser and you can use any spin speed you want. Jeans, Dress shirts. Perm Press works just as well in my opinion except that it will not give the same type of spin that Jeans, and dress shirts do. The speed will be there but the duration is not. Perm Press gives what I call half a..s spins but well...things don't require ironing. Silk...I use this cycle for silk shirts..it works great. I also use the wool cycle for wool sweaters....great. The 1926 defaults to extended, the 1986 defaults to quicker. I don't think the default quick cycle is the same as the rapid cycle on the 1926. I think the 1986 default cycle may be a bit better. Extended. when I first bought the washer I used Extended for white cotton all the time, and I would use a temp of 140F. Now I find that white cotton gets very clean using the default cycle and I use 120F or 140F if very dirty. If you use Extended each phase of the cycle is longer. However the length depends on the cycle you select, so less time will be added if you select extended for dedicates, than if you would have selected it for cottons. Here is one thing I don't think the 1926 has and that is fuzzy logic to determine load size. This is a major plus for me. The 1986 will determine the size of the load and then adjust the estimated wash time...So If I start a small load with an estimated time of 49 minutes, after a few minutes the machine will detect that it has a small load and drop minutes from each portion of the cycle....and still get everything clean. The shortest wash phase i've seen has been 10 minutes. Time reduction occurs when using the Extended option also. Also the machine will automatically add a rinse if needed, but this has only happened 1 or 2 times for me. The 203F cycle is something I really don't need. I only use 190F on items that do not contain spandex or polyester. If you subject these to temps much over 140F they will start to fall apart quickly. I will say though that when you use 190F and you stand near the machine you can hear the water near the boiling point during the tumbling pauses. You know that sound you hear in a pan when the water is really really hot. Prewash. You can use this option on almost any cycle. It starts with cold water, heats it a bit, and then drains it and the washer moves on to what ever cycle you have selected. This is very good for stains. So over all I am pleased with my 1986. Of course I didn't have the option of getting the 1926 but I am pleased with the machine I have and don't plan on getting another anytime soon. If I move..this washer goes with me too. I hope someone with the 1926 will reply and describe the operation so that you can get a good idea of each machine....See MoreNew LG HE top loader washer using too much water?
Comments (14)Considering that it's only my wife and I and we don't do that many washing loads, we're very satisfied so far that the LG will meet our needs and expectations (won't know how it holds up until later). With the different cycles available and the ability to modify them to a reasonable extent, we can always pretty much match water level to something that works well on any load we would wash. On the cycles that have a high default fill we will just add enough clothes to match. No more loads than we do, the water usage is not that important to us, and we prefer the choice of using a cycle (and/or the water plus selection) that will use enough water for great results, but use very little water when it's appropriate. On the water temps, we're perfectly satisfied as well. Machine cold (not tap cold which is about 62 deg right now) 80-82 deg is fine, well above detergent performance level. Warm around 102 deg tested after fill with clothes) is fine also, and having 120-124 deg hot water available on hot without using the heater (still haven't tested on sanitize or bright whites with heater available) seems unexpectedly good on an HE washer with a hot water heater setting of 135 deg. Don't know what the future holds, but everything considered, at this point we couldn't be more pleased with both washer and dryer (particularly after reading many HE experiences folks have had). It definitely pays to learn the 'ways of operation' of your particular machine. I'm not sure though, after observing a few wash cycles, our washer even knows what it's doing half the time... but it seems to work out well. Thanks... Quinn...See Morecomparison of new high efficiency gas water heaters
Comments (6)The hyrdonic air heating systems were designed to do exactly that- use the same water for both, as it is completely potable by virtue of doign nothing more than circulating through a set of auxilliary coils over which the same air handler that the AC uses in the summer dispencses it. This is not a fringes kind of set up, it just isn't widely used in redidential but has been used commercially for many years. Our issue is to save money as a by product of possibly changing the way we "condition" our air to not be using the MOST EXPENSIVE way to do it. It wasn't the original foremost thought. We thought that the water heater had to have gotten very inefficient over the course of 15 years, or that we had had a gas leak in the underground line from the tank for 15 years. Neither of those proved to be the case. gas comp(not cost) has always been this high. So either this particular water heater is a fuel hog, and supposedly any of them of that vintage should be compared to these new ones, or it has been suggested that it could have had a problem witht the cold wter inlet tube all along. Only way to find that out is to disconnnect and haul it out to check because it cannot be checkd in the palce it resides. Hence the research into the ne high efficiency units that alas, cost some variation of the king's ransom. IF, and that's a big IF, they actually could save 1/3- 1/2 of the gas we are using , then one of them could be a consideration despite cost, since the idea of using water that is already always hot is sensible and the heat is great. If they would not save enough money to eventually make them worth it, then using this one till it dies and then going to a heat pump system seems like a better idea all around. Propane will not be going down but the electricity rate is so low that even if it goes up, it wil never catch up. Brewbeer, I have now talked to an actual Polaris dealer/installer who has done them for years and he says tht poor installation is the cause for most of the problems they have had. He also said that in their earlier years there were some design issues that have been changed, making them even better. I was trying to get a handle on comparing the others- Apollo, Vertex, and Bock. There is a Bradford White one that is made for this kind of air space heat as well, so I would welcome info on that as well, TW2. Keep the ideas coming and thanls!...See Morezneret
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