Last night this POS leaked. I pulled it out and mopped up the stinky mess, shut the water valves, unplugged it and went to bed.
Today was my day off. The choice was to call a repairman and then listen all stinking day to the lovely Miseries whine about how she needed to wash clothes, don't scratch the floor, etc., or to go ahead and tackle it.
So I ripped the front off the GE Model POS and started digging around. I never did find where the leak was coming from. Was not from the tub overflow tube. No connections were wet. But the bottom of the POS washer was covered with dried water residue and black specks, which turned out to be to from rubber parts and something around the agitator connection to the pulley.
Anyway, I could see thru the outer PP tub that there was a really mess between it and inner SS tub. So I ripped the top off. I was not gentle with these parts -- figuring if I accidentally ruined something it would make getting a new one that much easier. Unfortunately for me, the cover panels came off easily -- most were only held on by 2-4 fasteners or clips.
I spent some time tracing each and every tube and cheap plastic pipe end to end and still did not see any evidence of leakage.
Moving the tub back and forth I could hear water and saw thru the translucent outer PP tube about 1/2 gallon of water still in the bottom.
That's all I could find. So I replaced the top cover, set it for medium load and turned it on leaving the front panel open. Poured in about a cup of bleach with no clothes (in the washer -- not on me).
I watched it during the filling and draining. This machine really is a
100% genuine POS. When it drains, it spins and at the same time the pump comes on. The pump drains most of the water right way, but keeps running. Then the pump stops and starts over and over, I guess as it senses water in the inlet pipe. It's still a stupid design and I would expect the pump to burn out soon, if it's not already damaged.Each time the tub drained, it still left about 1/2 gallon in the bottom. So before starting the next operation, the tub started spinning and water poured into the tub. So the water went straight out the bottom and the pump off/on cycle started again. I assume this was to dilute the dirty water in the bottom and flush it out again. Really, really, stupid design to leave dirty water (any water) in the bottom of the tub like this.
I could see where it did need cleaning out. The inner SS tub was clean, but the inside of the outer PP tub had a brown ring at the same height as the 8-in high agitator stub. It was obvious that grease floating on the top would stick to the PP tube at that point and not drain out. Another world class design job, typical of products designed in one country and then manufactured in another country with no dialog between them. This is called "technology transfer" in big bidness circles, but in reality the designers don't give a rat's ass if it works or not since their jobs will also be moving to China soon anyway.
I did like the simple way the motor/pulley worked. That and the pump would both be easy to replace if needed. The pump was $79 and stocked locally (I checked that yesterday just in case).
Anyway, where was I....
After the cycle, the smell was almost gone. Will run another cycle tonight with 1/2 gal of vinegar in the water this time and see if that will knock out the last of the stink.
It did not leak this afternoon and I never found where it had come from. So I got a piece of foam board cut the size of the bottom, put some rags on top and slid it underneath. Will check that each time and maybe that will help locate any leaks. Although if it leaks from inside, the bottom is made so that it fills up the bottom of the case all over before leaking out of holes.
End of story. Except that this is still a POS because it's impossible to fill up the tube enough to wash a large load. Even so, the wife still is happy with it, even though it doesn't get the clothes clean.
Next time the lovely Miseries goes on a trip, it's going onto Craigs list and when she come back there will be a brand new simpler washer in its place.