I voted for the whirlpool D.D, which should be the dual action agitator, which in my opinion is the best. I miss my Kenmore with dag.

I personally hated machines when they went to the corkscrew type agitators. That’s when sheets started coming out all twisted up. I bought a new Kenmore that had it, unknowingly.

Thank you for the input guys. I honestly wish I was an adult when they were producing some of these gems. I would grab one in a HEARTBEAT if I could.

Maybe you'll find a used one these washers and you can keep it for a back up in a garage or storage shed.

SEA SEA, I'd love to one day. The only modern top loaders I'd even consider next would be the Maytag/Whirlpool Commercial or a Classic 2017 Speed Queen.

I so wish I would've known about them when I first moved in to my new place back in the Fall of 2019. Live and learn I guess...

I believe the new Speed Queen classic has gone back to the 2017 model with a belt driven agitator. I'm getting rid of my front loader for this "classic" model.

beaglenc, my mom has a 1996 Kenmore/Whirlpool 70 Series Direct Drive. Besides the cold water valve running super slow, it's been impeccable for almost 25 years now.

I tell my mom all the time to NOT get rid of that washer and to hold on to it as long as possible! Thankfully she isn't considering it.

If you are handy, I'd go for one of the other used ones. I have a 2016 SQ and we all love this thing, but I've had quite a few washers in my life. Many of them the gems thought so highly of from the past. The SQ is a little bit below the old washers in that ime, the others washed a little better while being more gentle on fabrics. I got my SQ instead of a used old timers washer because we are not handy and have to have a repair man for every little thing. Pretty soon, you've paid the equivalent of a new washer. But, if you are handy...

Design Girl, that's correct. the 2019 models have gone back to their roots. I think there's some slight differences but it's not what the dreaded 2018 models were, that's for sure.

SEA SEA, unfortunately I'm also not handy as well. However, I wouldn't mind learning the inner workings of the machine and work with someone who knows what they are doing. Instead of restoring a classic car, I'd rather restore a classic Washer lol. But yeah I completely relate to you not being handy.

That's not completely correct about Speed Queen.

There are four models. They have not all "gone back to their roots."

TR7, TR5, and TR3 introduced in 2018 are the new "agitub" design without a transmission. They are still on the market.

TC5 introduced in 2019 is a re-upping of the "old-style" design with transmission, the only model they offer as such.

All of them have two computer boards, including the three models (TR5, TR7, and TC5) with rotary controls. One in the console to take the user settings and control the cycles. One in the base to operate and provide power to the drive motor, pump, and water valves.

Dadoes, the 2019 TC5 was the one I was referring to. I wasn't referring to the other models. Just wanted to clarify :)

I believe the TR line is in its third revision, and TC is in its second.

I am not impressed by the TC5 due to lack of water level control. Crazy that SQ (and WP/MTG on some models) have eliminated water level control in favor of excess usage for small loads.

dadoes, I completely agree! I really do wish these companies didn't do away with the manual water level selector. Auto Sensing is a joke... such a pointless concept in my opinion

Auto sensing works nicely on my Fisher & Paykel toploaders, both agitator (which also have choice of 5 manual levels) and HE/impeller models (which don't provide manual choice other than a deep-fill option which is also auto-sensing). F&P pioneered auto-sensing (AFAIK) on toploaders 20+ years ago with introduction of their SmartDrive design.

If I could not have my current 2017 analog SQ repaired if something happened, I do not know what I would replace it with. I agree with SEA SEA, the agitators on these are not as gentle as those of old, so I make certain really nice things are washed on the gentle cycle. If I had my druthers, I would find a Kenmore or Maytag that is 30 years old or older, but I wonder if the capacity would suffice. If I had a basement then I could set up shop down there and have several machines for different purposes. My last TL before I spent 16 years owning front loaders was a 1996 GE Profile which I really liked a lot. I liked the agitator design and the washer overall was a good machine for me, though I only owned it for 4 years.

My grandmother had a 1973 Whirlpool washer with the standard Surgilator agitator. Nothing, I mean nothing, could stop that agitator from doing an excellent turnover of the load! The machine was a standard capacity model and she would stuff a king size thinish quilt in it, and it would easily turn over that quilt multiple times during the wash and rinse portions of the cycle. Nothing else could compare to it.

I own a 2011 Speed Queen. My son-in-law took a clothes pin, slithered in the back and fifteen seconds later I could stand and watch it do its thing with the lid open. So satisfying. I've also owned Kenmore washers but if I recall, it had the agitator that looked like the GE.

armjim was the '96 GE Profile a belt driven or direct drive model? I'm curious.

tideman_59, it's a shame they don't make them like that anymore 😞 it really is.

MWJ'90, They still know how to make them, they just don't want to for some reason.

I realize that this is an old discussion, I just wanted to say that Danby makes a portable washing machine with an agitator. Model number

DWM17WMB.

had a portable Danby with an agitator about 7 or 8 years ago and it was great. I don't know about this new model yetordering it soon.

peed Queen still makes the Perfect Wash and Classic Clean.