I wish our old machine had quit sooner
Written: Oct 10 '03 (Updated Oct 16 '03)
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Pros: Great cleaning, quiet, useful features, durable, and very wise in use of water and power
Cons: Possible issue with panel resonance during spin cycle
The Bottom Line: Anyone with an old-style top-loader will wonder why they didn't try one sooner -- this machine is a stunning triumph of engineering and design.
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| sleahy's Full Review: Kenmore 44832 \ 44834 \ 44836 Front Load Washer |
Our old top loading Kenmore died this past week. Sadly, it ceased respirations with a tub full of dirty washwater and a big old bathroom rug in it.
I am an old hand when it comes to nursing appliances back to life, but one look down the throat of our old washer pretty much decided it for me. Over the years I have replaced roll pins in the transmission selector solenoids, multiple belts, yanked tubs, been all around the inside with a multimeter, and a bunch of other things to keep it running. But one look at that water, dismal and brown, and that throwrug just floating there like a dead halibut decided it for me. I shoved a hose in the tub and started a siphon to get it to empty into the shower and then drove down to Sears to buy the new HE3 washer and dryer. (This review will concentrate on the washer -- stay tuned for my take on the dryer under, um, -- dryers!)
In anticipation of the moment, I had been looking at various front loaders in stores for some time, but had really not made any decision as to which to buy. I wanted something available locally, with a good parts supply -- given my history with washers! The real criteria, however, had to do with features, cleaning ability, energy and water conservation, and capacity.
Something a bit quieter than the old top-loader was also important. Our old washer was an 80's vintage agitator, loud and cantankerous as an angry Baptist. I craved Zen.
The washers of my particular interest were the Maytag Neptunes, Whirlpool Duets, and the Kenmore HE3 Elites. (note: Whirlpool Duets and Kenmore Elite HE3s all come from the same place; Bauknecht, a German appliance company that is now owned by Whirlpool.)
All the above washers feature stainless steel tubs, are front-loaders, and are Energy Star Compliant.
So why did I choose the Kenmore?
Well, looking at all the machines, the Kenmores and Whirlpools really stand out as sturdier looking machines. There is a clear plastic window in their front doors so nosy owners can watch what’s going on. I also liked the control layout of the Kenmores more than the membrane switches or touch-screens of the Maytags. Finally, you can stack the Kenmore and Whirlpool dryers on top of the washers if you want; sort of cool if you could use a little extra floor space in the laundry area.
In contrast with the Maytags, the German manufacturing ethos seen in the Kenmores is readily apparent. The machines look great, front and back. Well-organized, stout materials; the high quality is apparent.
I also subscribe to Consumer Reports on the web -- so I checked the ratings. The top-line Kenmore Elite HE3t got an excellent in EVERY tested category by CU. That is really quite extraordinary. Normally, those guys find something wrong with everything. The HE3 this review refers to received an excellent in everything but energy efficiency, and it got a "very good" in that.
A word about the lines is in order: Kenmore sells both the Elite HE3 and the Elite HE3t. The HE3t adds a couple more programmed wash cycles, a supplemental heater, and a faster spin rate (1200 rpm vs 900). I probably would have sprung for the HE3t if the local Sears had one in stock, but I did not want to wait a week to get it. I had a flipping hose running down my hallway and dirty clothes piling up. So I decided that the second line model would suffice.
So, what have I seen so far? All I can say is if you are used to an older top-loading unit, you are in for a pleasant surprise. This washer is like hopping behind the wheel of a Mercedes after driving Plymouth Dusters for decades. It is solid, quiet, and smart. Instead of beating your clothes around the tub like an idiot, the HE3 takes them on a gentle, thorough, journey to cleanliness. First, it fluffs the clothes around a bit to separate them, then it sprays a high concentration of detergent with water onto them so that they are getting more of a pre-treatment rather than the full-dilution drowning they enjoy with the clunkers. Then it silently works away, back and forth. Every now and then it goes into a brief, slow, spin to expel the dirty water and adds a new batch of fresh water, but never very much. You just do not see a huge amount of water being used with the machine. It's something like 16 gallons for a whole wash compared to 42 gallons for the old butter churns. Amazing. Clothes come out of the Elite noticeably cleaner to boot.
The capacity is around 20 pounds of laundry. 22 full size towels. We had a good stack of laundry built up after the death of our old Kenmore, so my better half and I laid into that pile with relish. It did not skip a beat. I did notice, on the very first load that I ran (the one that included that big wet throwrug) that on the final spin I got a resonance going on the right side panel of the washer. Though not as loud as the old Kenmore in it's most humble moment, the noise was still a bit too loud to suit after watching it silently work away during the wash.
I took a look at the parts diagram and there is a stiffener on the inside, but putting my hand on the outside completely quieted it. Since then, the problem has not returned, but I will keep my eyes (ears) on it. The issue could have had something to do with the fact that I had just installed the machine and it was working its way into the vinyl flooring.
Installation:
I installed both the washer and dryer myself. I was careful, and so should you be too -- if you decide to do it yourself, that is. First, there are 4 shipping bolts in the back of the machine. They must be removed before operating the washer. The instructions say use a 13mm or ½" wrench. Well, forget the ½", it won't fit cleanly on the bolts. Use a 13mm metric wrench. Be sure to pull the bolt, the plastic spacers and the attached cables all the way out of the machine. You may have to wiggle the cables a bit to get them out, just be sure that they are before plugging the thing in. Next, get a level and level the machine, side-to-side first, then front-to-back.
Leveling is accomplished using the standard threaded feet and locknuts. Take some care here and get it right. Remember, you are talking about a tub that spins at 900 rpm; you do not want to make things harder on the washer by running it at a tilt.
Hook up your water supply, and be sure to know which faucet is the hot and which is the cold. The hoses (nice touch) are clearly marked, so the only way to make a mistake is to not know which faucet is hot and which is cold. If your house was built by a sane contractor, the hot should be the one on the left, but if you don't know, check it first. (Yeah, get a bucket and run some water into it to make sure it's hot.)
If you don't get it right, you will end up with errors when you try to wash. The machine is smart enough to know whether it is getting water or not and will revolt if it does not get what it wants, not unlike your reviewer.
Last, hook up the drain hose, make sure you have all the tape off and the owner's manual out of the tub, plug 'er in and get washing!
Doing the laundry:
There is a dispenser drawer at the upper left front panel. You pull it out and add detergent, softener, and bleach all at the beginning of the cycle. The machine handles the dispensing for you. You can use liquid or powdered detergent, but you need to remember to use about half the detergent you normally use in a top-loader. There is a delay feature on the machine, so if you live in an area where you get a price break for using electricity at off-peak hours, you simply set the delay and the HE3 will automatically start later. One thing to keep in mind is that you must use a powdered detergent to use this feature. Liquid detergent will slowly leak into the machine if you leave it in there for hours before starting.
Also worth mentioning is that if you do mistakenly add too much detergent, the Elite will detect the excess suds and automatically compensate -- but it uses excess water to do it. Remember, the whole reason you are buying a machine like this is to save water, power, detergent, and money. So use HE detergent or only about half the amount you would use of normal detergent. Trust me, it works great with less, and you are going to get twice as many loads per container of detergent.
Next, you shove in the clothes. Just grab a whole bunch of laundry and cram it in there. The tub is huge. It can hold 22 towels, so just go ahead and load it up.
Next, you close the door tight, select what type of load you are doing, (Settings include casual, meaning permanent press stuff, whites, heavy duty, and there are also a couple of delicate cycles.) then you press the start button and hold it down until you hear the door lock click. That's all there is to it. Walk away. Take a smoke break, have a cold drink, whatever.
If you are like me and always end up finding a sock or a pair of skivvies that need to go in with the load after it's started, no problem. Just press the pause button. The machine will think about it for a second, stop operating, and the door lock will click. Open it up, toss in the item(s), close the door and press the start button again. The machine will pick up right where it left off.
At the conclusion of the spin, the machine is considerate enough to slowly roll back and forth again, separating the clothing and fluffing it up making it easier to get out of the tub and into the dryer. No more peeling twisted wife beaters out of the bottom of the tub, it all comes out easily, and far less wrinkled.
The whole thing is done with such exceptional silence (minus that one instance I mentioned above) and competency that old-school dudes like myself are sure to be astounded. When the tub rotates, it does it so quietly that one almost thinks something is wrong. And that is a good thing.
I would normally be a bit leery of writing a review so soon after getting a new piece of gear, but I have good instincts, a lot of experience with machines of all types, and I know a good one when I see one. The Elite HE3 is not just a good machine, it is a great one. There is one other review of this washer here on Epinions as of today (10-9-03) and it was not a good one. I do not mean that the reviewer did not write a good review; (Okay, it wasn't all that great ...) but what I mean is that she reviewed the washer saying it was not good. She has had too many service calls and has experienced a buildup of mold. I am not sure what all the conditions were prior to the mold thing she experienced, but I will go over some stuff to keep in mind when using any front-loading machine.
First, you must not keep the door closed firmly on washers of this type when they are not being used. The seal on the door is airtight and watertight. If you have any residual moisture in there, and you will, it will foster mold if it cannot evaporate. Leaving the door open will allow the water to evaporate.
Another concern is this: These machines have a super-delicate wash selection that includes a "no-spin cycle". Basically, the machine will not go into a spin. It is beneficial to include this feature because it means that your HE3 will no kidding do hand washing. Seriously -- watch the thing on delicate: It will do a gentle hand wash for you and stop without ever spinning. BUT, if you do use this feature, after you are done, do not let the machine sit for a long period of time. Either do a regular load (with a full spin) soon after, or just run it through a spin cycle manually. That will ensure that most if not all the standing water in the machine is expelled. Then, remember to leave the door open between washes. Evaporation is your friend when it comes to mold.
Finally, if you get a little mold going, toss a cup of bleach water into the tub and spin it for a couple of minutes. You do not have to run a complete wash cycle or do any of the crap that the phone tech told our prior reviewer. Hell, you can probably put a good hurt on the mold with a spritz of Lysol and a sincere "Hail Mary". (BTW, I am beginning to think that our nation is leaning too much on the lassitude of phone techs. Phone techs are people. Just because they answer your call does not mean they know what they are talking about.)
But enough of this. The main thing to get across is this washing machine is stand-up great. You will be amazed at the intelligence and craft that went into it, and as for me, the only question I now have about the unit is how long it will last. As I said, I have good instincts when it comes to machines, and I think it will do well over the long run. If it does not, I will write back and tell you.
Note: This review underwent minor revision for grammar/word usage/clarification on Oct.16, 2003. Additionally, two minor errors were fixed. I had incorrectly described the stackable dryer as "German" in the original review. While the washer is in fact of German manufacture, I have no evidence that the dryer is made there. In fact, all the evidence (literature and appearance) I have come across leads me to believe that the dryer is made in the USA. The second minor fix has to do with the Consumer's Union rating. The washer got a "Very Good" in energy efficiency, not a "Good" as I had reported.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 999
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Epinions.com ID:
sleahy
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Location: Mojave Desert of California
Reviews written: 46
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
Happily reviewing timesaving contraptions and cheap junk since 2001!
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