<p>looking to buy a new washer and dryer for the laundry room at my BF’s house… today we went shopping at five or six places and he didn’t find a single washer that meets his criteria. I thought I’d come on here and see if anyone can make any suggestions.</p>
<p>He wants a top loading one rather then a front loading one. He wants it to have a manual dial for load size rather then an automatic load sensor because 1) a lot of reviews state the load sensor washers don’t clean as well because they have less water and because 2) i have a load sensor washer and the load sensor broke after a year. cost 250 bucks to fix and the repair person said that is the most common part to break on the new washers that have them. that being said, he also wants a large capacity washer as well. Every large capacity one we saw had the load sensor (seems to be almost standard anymore) and all the ones without the load sensor were the size of what he has right now or smaller (about 3.5) and he’s trying to go bigger. </p>
<p>I have a feeling he’s going to have to budge on one of his requirements because we didn’t find a single one out of any of the stores that we went to. Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Just as a point of reference–what capacity is he looking for? It’s been a while since we’ve shopped for washers…but I can see his point of trying to get a washer that doesn’t have all those bells and whistles that always end up breaking.</p>
<p>Seems like that means that you should be looking at downscale washers–which probably don’t come with extra large capacity.</p>
<p>I believe GE still makes a 3.7 cu. ft. large capacity washer with mechanical water level adjustment. Try shopping on-line, rather than going in a store, because stores don’t always have space or the desire to show “basic”, lower-end models. I bought a GE dryer on-line from Home Depot about a year and a half ago and they had a rotary dial mechanical GE washer at that time-- but it was on-line purchase only. My current GE washer is nearing 20 years old.</p>
<p>He liked the sizes of the ones that are like 4.3, 4.5 but didn’t like the auto sensor that was on them. I’ll have to try to see if I can find that 3.7 from GE, we didn’t see anything like that in the stores. We think his right now is around 3.3 or 3.5, so 3.7 is slightly bigger. If I can find that I’ll run it by him.</p>
<p>GE makes a larger capacity, around 4.3 (?) cu. ft., but I believe this one is auto-fill and not mechanical. Check out Home Depot’s on-line site, you can compare different models side-by-side.</p>
<p>jshain, thanks for the tip on the GE’s. I found two of them both 3.7 for him online at home depot. The one has fully manual controls and the other has the option for both auto fill or manual. That one is 50 dollars more. I’m going to suggest he get the latter because it’s energy star and he’ll get a 75 dollar refund on it from our electric company. Plus that gives him the option to try out the auto fill if he wants to. I guess now we’ll see how much my opinion is valued. :)</p>
<p>I’m more excited about him getting a new dryer. His is teeny tiny!! I’m hoping our quest for a dryer will be much easier - hopefully he’ll just pick the one that matches the washer, lol.</p>
<p>Fisher Paykel makes a large capacity and you can use the sensor fill or choose the level. I often choose the level in mine. I love my Fisher Paykel.</p>
<p>I looked them up but they all seem very digital with buttons and stuff and I know he won’t want that. He usually embraces technology but this time he’s adamant that it will have old school turney knobs. I e-mailed him the one that I found but haven’t gotten a response yet.</p>
<p>I think he’ll find the Fisher Paykel to be rated as a much better quality appliance. If he focuses on things like electronics vs mechanical, he’ll miss the bigger picture - like the reliability of the motor and the design of the agitator.</p>
<p>I was told by the salesman during my last washer/dryer buying excursion that all current residential washers and dryers are built to have a 6-10 year planned obsolescence, no matter how much they cost, no matter the bells and whistles. I believe it. The thought really torques me off, too.</p>
<p>well today he texted me that he finally decided on a washer. I was just about to text him back saying something along the lines of “please don’t tell me it’s the one that you have already” because he hasn’t approved of any that i’ve sent him yet… and just as i’m about to send that to him he texts me again saying “the one sitting in my basement! we still have to buy a dryer though!”</p>
<p>Men!</p>
<p>I guess he figured he didn’t like the bells and whistles of the new ones and he didn’t want to spend money on something so close to what he has already. I am looking forward to him having a new dryer though… Hopefully that search goes much quicker!</p>
<p>Do NOT purchase a GE dryer with a stainless steel drum. My model number is DPSE 810. Mine is less than 2 years old and gets a high pitched squeak after running for a few minutes. GE has replaced the rear drive shaft sleeve bearing, the belt, and the pulley assembly. Next they are going to replace the steel drum and the heating assembly. The tech told me that the stainless steel drums expand when they heat up and can rub on the inside wall of the metal cabinet, creating the irritating squeak I’m hearing. Thank goodness I have extended warranty protection on my credit card.</p>
<p>We’ve had excellent luck with Whirlpool models. Not to start a whole thread, but it also gives us pleasure that most all of these are American owned and American made.</p>