replacing my basic FriGEMore

17 years ago

My simple FriGEMore lasted 7 years and finally died this past week. They wanted more in repairs than it costs to replace. We were not unhappy with it.

Is this reasonable for a washer that was used.... 3-4 times a week? (3 adults, no kids)

Probably unanswerable, without knowing what was being washed... but that feels low to me. I read somewhere that 10-12 years is the "average" life of a washer. But this is not a high-end washer.

Things have really changed since I got it, and I don't really have much time to do research... I don't have a lot of spare time to spend at a laundromat.

Talking to my wife, this is what we could think of for requirements

- Front loader (its in the basement, vibration is not an issue. HE is a priority for us.

- Larger capacity (didn't realize at 3.1 how small it was.) Washing a twin/queen sized quilt would be nice.

- good gental/delicate cycle a must, we do a lot of that

- It is used to remove a lot of "outdoor" stains as well (dirt, grass stains,....)

- I'd prefer to spend under $800, but is that asking a lot?

- Our dryer has 5.7 cu feet... will we have trouble getting a larger washer with load size?

Beyond that, I'm not sure what else I care about... or what I can tell you. There are so many makes/models out there right now.... its rather overwhelming. combine that with how different from model-to-model they are, how many are made by each other.... and I almost feel like picking randomly in a price range would be just as good.

And that is a bad feeling in an inveterate researcher!

Thanks for any help,

Eric

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Comments (5)

housefairy
17 years ago
If you are not replacing the dryer then you will be limited on the size of the washer. Clothes hanging outside is not allowed in my neighborhood so a dryer is my only option. And unless you want to divide the load when you dry, you will have a wrinkle issue. The clothes won't have enough room to fluff.

My Neptune FL lasted a little over nine years. At the end the bearings were going and it was getting very loud. I replaced it with a Samsung 218. Unfortunately, they are no longer making this model. The price of the washer and dryer was less than I had originally paid for just the Neptune washer.

I was just noticing today that the new Samsung cleans the whites so much better than the old machine. The current model is a 4.0 size and I can wash one of my king comforters. I have a couple other king comforters that won't fit, but even the cleaners comments on their size. Queen comforters are no problem. I've not had any issues with it's ability to clean with what appears to be so little water.

I guess I am just saying I paid the big bucks for a FL washer, that was from the "dependability people" and it didn't last any longer than any of my previous washers. So this time around I also used price in the equation. I decided what size and then looked at the various models and brands. My deciding factor was quietness and price. I also had written off Maytag because of poor customer service with a Maytag refrigerator. Since they had been purchased by Whirlpool, they were the actual company that was doing the lousy customer service. So Whirlpool and Maytag were not on my list.

With the kids gone I just wanted a basic washer/dryer. However, it seems to wash better than the old unit. With Memorial Day coming, you should see some good sales. See if they have a thirty day price guarantee so you can buy now and then go back and get your refund.
erichome
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the tips.
I'll look into Samsung models and see what it out there for sales right now. I don't know much about their stuff - but that is an easy problem to solve. :)

I'm also worried about not replacing the dryer. I don't know what size drier to have for what size washer. My previous one was much larger. A 3.1 washer was matched with a 5.7 size dryer. If I go up to a 4.0 washer I don't know if the drier will be too small (or I'll be over loading it.)

I like the idea of the price match! That is a great idea. I really don't want to have to wait until memorial day. I guess I could, if I wanted to spend some quality time in a laundromat.... but I'd rather not.

It should be said that I wasn't unhappy with how well the old one cleaned... I'm just unhappy that it died. :)

Eric
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Joe Henderson
17 years ago
5.7 may give you some trouble. Realistically dryers should be as close to twice the capacity of the washer as possible. If you look at matched pairs like LG the washer is 4.5 and the dryer is 7.4 or electrolux is 4.7 to 8.0. Thats the kind of ratio you want so it may be important to replace the dryer as well

I would recommend looking at a WFW9200 or WFW9400. They should be close to your price point and are excellent machines.
mark40511
17 years ago
You know something. The matching dryers for the FL washers are very inflated. I have the Whirlpool Duet with matching dryer. If I had it to do over again, I would have gotten the Duet washer and a simple 7.0 cu ft dryer that didn't match. I guess matching is very important to some people but why when you can save half the money and get the same capacity?
erichome
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for the Whirlpool suggestions. I'll check those out too.

Mark40511, I agree with you. "Matching" in the case of style or color is silly to me. They're down next to the oil burner... anyone who gets to look at them won't care that they match! What I was more worried about was capacity matching. I don't want to overload the dryer 'cause I got a larger washer (and therefor do bigger loads.) And it sounds like I should worry about that.

I probably should have been clearer that my price point wasn't hard, it just seemed like $1,000+ was too much for a washing machine. Now, if there are good reasons why the more expensive ones are better, I'd certainly consider them. For example, if they (on average) lasted longer, I'd be happy to pay more up front to avoid the hassle of getting a repair man to come by. I doubt they'd last twice as long, but you get my point.

I see a range of 9200 & 9400's but I think they only differ based on color (and price!) Very interesting. I'll dig deeper - 'course I gotta decide soon.

Eric