Actually your new kenmore is made by LG, I took noticed the shorter baffles and the rollers on them as well when I seen them in Sears. The wool cycle is a not a vigerous wash, as you would not want it to be, to help reduce strething. I tihnk if you were wahing more than two items in it, you may see more lift to the load. I too have a 9 year old HE3T set, still running with no issues. Just curious, is yours new washer a steam one? Internal heater? Lots of people are curious to the performance of this new machine

as Gates1 wrote wool/handwash DOESN'T use the lift and drop move but a delicate and slow roll action , cause wet wool is very sensible to mechanical action (note: spin is not a mechanical action, cause clothes are stuck onto the drum - wool can be spun up to 1200 rpm)

If you're not convinced, wash a cashmere jumper on the regular cycle .... you'll have a nice rag for your hardwood floor :)

Im laughing myself silly at Hidroman's cashere jumper floor rag! I hope this didnt happen to you LOL! I did make a size small sweater xtra large a long time ago I still laugh at that...

Gates1:

I ordered the washer about about a month ago (although it tool forever to get here), right before the new LG built Kenmore's were available in Canada. I'm assuming I gave you the impression that I have one of those newer 5-motion washers... Sorry to dissapoint :) The kenmores I have are definitely built by Samsung-- I double checked with the sales employee, and also they look identical to the sister samsung machines. Also, the baffles do not have roller balls like the LGs do.

Hidroman:
Your explanation about the wool cycle makes sense. I guess I'll pay closer attention to a small normal cycle next time. But I'm still skeptical of these small fins :)

So I found that in a normal cycle, clothes tumble properly if there are enough. But if you want to wash just a few tshirts in a short wash, they don't get lifted by the fins. Also, I just tried running the sanitize cycle (which has a normal water level) on a shower curtain, and the shower curtain doesn't move when the tub spins... it just sloshes around in the same spot in the water, because there isn't enough for the fins to lift. Kind of disappointing.

I have one of the new Kenmore Elite 5 motion FL (model 40512). It was delivered last weekend. Prior to that, I was using an old Kenmore TL. So I really have no comparison. So far, it seems OK. I still have not decided whether I like the SmartSense feature. It nneds to be turned on manually if I want to use it. I haven't tried washing without it. I figured it's a good feature.

I had an olive oil stain on one of my khaki shorts and so far, the machine has wow'ed me by removing it. The stain is still there after 2 normal wash cycles. First wash, I used Costco's Ultra Powder Detergent. On the second wash, Ecos detergent. The stain is still there. I will have to spray some pre-treat on it next time.

I have a 5 year old Duet and I thought the fins in my DUET were small! You're saying they are even smaller than that? I do notice what you're talking about with the lack of lift and drop. You sort of have to work around it by adding a bath mat or something with the shower curtain or try not to wash single or really small loads. I can wash a small load on my duet fine though, I never did wash the shower curtain by itself though...I think the towel or bathmat added to it helps scrub it clean.

Mark, I think when they are talking about small baffles, its not the height of them. When I looked at the new Elite, the baffle does not go from the back of the drum, all the way to the front like yours and mine does.

When I say that the baffles are "small" I am talking about the height of them... Let's say the baffle has three dimensions: width (which runs along the circumference of the tub), length (which runs from the back to the front of the tub) and the last dimension is height (which runs from the edge of the tub to somewhere towards the center of the tub, kind of like when you measure radius/diameter). I find that the 'height' of baffles these days is much smaller than before. Although you're right that the length has gotten shorter too.

Pics below:

I should mention though that this isn't a complaint (yet) about the size being small... because clothes seem to be coming out clean. Even the one shower curtain that just bobbed around in the water without lifting came out stain free. I just don't understand why they make the baffles smaller (resulting in less lift+drop action).

You're right,

the "Diamond pattern" drums in Samsung euro models are a bit different, cause each baffle has the same height as your ones in the back side. Can't catch why they are flattened in the front side

As for shower curtains, I use dishwasher detergent on perma press @ 120°F. Works great

cgi101 - my Kenmore Elite washer (40512) baffles does not look like yours. Mine has 'roller balls' on them.

Well I had those baffles all wrong. Maybe they are higher in the back due to a slightly tilted drum. There would be more water in the back, hense the higher baffles would be better at picking up the clothes and rotating them around. Just a guess here. The clothes in the front sit in less water, so they would not "float" as much. I am sure it is a great machine and will perform fine :) I didnt know that Kenmore Elite was made by Samsung also. My bust

gates1: smart thinking about the baffles being higher in the back because of the tilted drum, that makes sense.

Who knew laundry could be so fascinating :)

I know...can you tell it fascinates me LOL I dont know why, just always been like this. By age 6 I knew how to wash clothes. I just hate folding them LOL

I was under the impression that my Kenmore Elite (40512) was also made by LG. I don't remember where I read that, but I guess I am wrong. But here's the picture of my machine.

Ssooby77: your machine looks like it is in fact built by LG... it has LG-style baffles with the rollerballs.

The salesperson at Sears (Canada) told me that the Kenmore Elite line has been built by several different manufacturers over the years. Recently Samsung made some of them, but the newest models which came out in the last month or so are made by LG. Looks like you have one of these latest-and-greatest LG ones :)

that door looks far sturdier than those ones of WP outsourced KM machines. Look at that hinge system !

That may be one of the reasons why Kenmore dumped whirlpool after all these years, they are searching for a higher quality product for the new Elite series washers. Dont get me wrong, I am not knocking Whirpool products, I have a kenmore elite FL, the first one they made 9 yrs ago. Its still cranking out clean clothes too. Maybe Sooby 77 will do some videos for us :)

link > Who Makes Sears Kenmore

> 683. Philco Italy? aw

LOL that's no more a firm since 20 years ... it' just a brand used by antoniomerloni.it - scroll down , who also makes the small 24" Inglis and Asko w/d combos. Asko scandinavian production lines have never produced combos, so merloni makes them in italian plants

Um.......That's a nice looking machine! The drum looks COOLER than my Duet drum. I dunno about LG though..Just don't know. Wait til u see the clean washer cycle.......I wish my machine had one cuz that's the craziest cycle. It literally spins with a drum full of water, water going everywhere.

I know several people with a LG FL, my parents being one of them now for 3 years. None of them have any any issues with them at all, run and spin quiet, great wash performance. In fact, I recommended they buy LG since at the time, Kenmore/Whirpool was getting a bad reputation according to owners on this site.

Scooby.....

Not sure if you will come back to this thread or not.......But on your washer, have you used the bulky/bedding cycle? I've heard those bulky cycles use a lot more water. Just curious if you have used it. Thanks

I just washed our King size comforter last week. I don't know whether it used more water or not because I can't really tell. The comforter filled the tub and even during spin, it never really opened a space in the middle of the drum (if you know what I mean). The cycle limits the spin to medium and not anything higher. But that makes sense to keep the machine from getting all out of balance with large bulky items.

The next time you do an average load of regular colors or similar, can you use the bulky/bedding cycle just to see if you notice? I've heard on other forums a lot of people use this cycle ONLY because it uses more water. I assume with a large comforter in there you probably wouldn't be able to notice any difference. I also heard that it does limit the spin speed to medium (unfortunately)....they run a drain/spin cycle after if completes. I wish my Duet had the bulky cycle on it but it doesn't

I just ran a "Delicates" wash and noticed that it was using significantly more water. I can actually see water through the door window, just in line with the bottom outline of the drum and touching the glass window. I guess the idea was so that the delicate clothings are submerged in water as the wash is less vigorous.

You are correct Sooby77 :) most FL washers will add more water on the delicate and handwash cycles to help protect the fragile fabric

yes delicate cycle is supposed to have just a 1/3 of drum load cause laundry has not to tumble but has just to float and roll.

Anyway wool/handwash cycle to be actually safe for dryclean only and handwashable woolens has NOT to have such a high level

I know it sound very odd. I was scared the first time I ran the wool cycle in my 10 y.o FL : extremly low water level, while the old one fills up to half glass door. But the elder one felts and shrinks hanwash only woolens, the "younger" doesn't

I actually wish my new washer (Kenmore Elite 40512) have a Permanent Press cycle. I wear a lot of dress shirts and pants and want to use the gentlest cycle as possible. Delicates seems rather restrictive. It won't even allow the SmartSense feature to be on. Is the Normal cycle gentle enough for dress clothes? Why did they eliminate the Permanent Press cycle?

The normal cycle is used for Perm Press clothes, if you feel the need you can reduce the spin speed on this cycle if the default if high spin, to help reduce wrinkles should they be a problem