Need Suggestions for Repair/Replacement of Washing Machine

[Mike]

Hi, when I bought my house three years ago there was a top loading Kenmore Fabric Ultra Care I washing machine in the basement. It worked OK but not great. Last night I put a load of washing in but left the lid open. a hour and a half or so later I went to remove the clothes from the washer and smelled an electrical burning smell and the found the washer w/ the tub full of water. The agitator works but the tub won't spin. I believe there is a safety switch that blocks the tub from spinning when the lid is open. It probably burned out a switch due to the lid being left open.

Question:

I wonder if it's worth while calling Sears too repair the machine or should I buy another top loading washing machine. After reading the reviews in Consumer Reports I don't want to buy a front loading machine. Where else can I find recommendations for washing machines? I failed to mention I had the original documentation for the machine but misplaced it. Still might find it though.

Should I post this message in another group?

Thanks,

Mike

[Edwin Pawlowski]

It is NEVER worth calling Sears to fix anything. They are very high priced and have a reputation for mediocre service at best. Visit you local appliance dealer. They sell at very good prices these days because they belong to co-operatives with good buying power. Most will only handle brands they are comfortable with from a quality POV because they don't want the headaches. I'd buy Amana, Whirlpool, Maytag. I'd avoid Frigidaire (and any of their brands), GE, Hotpoint.

Since you wee never happy with the way it washed, why dump $150 to make it last a little longer?

[Mike]

It's got a corkscrew agitator which seems to be hard on clothes that doesn;t clean very well unless I use the heavy duty cycle. I don't know how well new one clean compared to the one I have.

Mike

[Mikepier]

I believe there is a safety switch that blocks the

I doubt it. That switch just opens up the circuit, thus no electricity will flow. What could have happened ( and this happened to me) is that during the agitation, the motor somehow got stuck or ceased, overheated and tripped its internal thermal breaker. After a few minutes cooling off the breaker will reset. This happened to me once and has not happened since. I don't know what caused it. If you want try jumping out the lid switch to see if it works again.

[Mike]

I tried it again this morning but the same thing - the agitator works but the tub doesn't spin in spin cycle and a loud kind of grinding noise emits from the machine. Sure wish I could locate that documentation.

[DragonKnight]

Sounds like it's time for a new machine

[goldenmike4393]

If you go to a new machine (I'd fix the switch), don't get a new low water one if you have animals. It will plug.

I'd buy ESTATE which is Whirlpool House brand for half. It'll go 7 yrs for $300.

Mrs. Clean (lots of animals, five years, no plugs)

PS I tried the new Whirlpool $2,000 low water yadda yadda and it was broken down within 90 days.

[Mike]

Estate is the same as Whirlpool? Some of the Whirlppools get very high marks in Consumer Reports reviews?

Is MRs CLean a brand?

[Mike]

I'm leaning to the same decision.

[goldenmike4393]

Whirlpool, I believe, bought out KitchenAid.

[Mike]

[MRS. CLEAN]

Stay away from Calypso by Whirlpool. It was my lemon, turned into a class action and settled.

I used the NBC consumer exposer show to threaten them into my refund.

Mrs. Clean (not a brand, my hobby = cleaning things)

Mike wrote:

[hallerb]

note altough front loaders save money on water and utilities the money savings NEVER appears because the initial purchase price is so high:(

You can probably buy three regular machines for the cost of one front loader.........

Plus front load machine parts cost a fortune, loaded with high tech control boards and such...

front loaders dont save money:(

[mrsgator88]

Most large cities have stores that sell used appliances. Often they're in good shape - the ones that get carted away when you buy a new one. The broken ones are fixed and you can save a lot of $$$. True scratch and dent savings.

S