7 replies to this topic

[edwardh1]

who makes the front loaders in Laundromats? I told a friend about the discussions here about which is the best front loader and he said who makes the ones in laudromats.

Are they bigger than home ones?

Are they all made by one company? - seems they wouldbe/have been already the testing ground for front loader design reliability????????

[TerrysApplianceRepair]

 

visit for some brands.

http://www.comlaundry.com/

[edwardh1]

looks like speed queen just went into the home business.
seems they would have done it years ago

anyone own one?

[dbiberdorf]

I live on a graduate school campus. They put in some of the Speed Queen Horizon front-load washers (coin vended) in our building, to share among the 16 or so families. Supposedly they're the same as the "home" use ones they're selling.

My own opinion is that, while far better than a typical agitator, vertical
axis top loader, they don't do as good of a job cleaning the clothes as the Frigidaire Gallery front-loader (from ca. 2000, when I owned my home) did. They also don't extract as much water as the previous Frigidaire, although they still extract a lot more than a vertical axis machine.

Personally, I find the Speed Queen drum to be pretty small. A typical front loader can easily take a comforter, but not these. At least not if you want it to get clean (it fills the drum so completely that the contents can't tumble.) They hold no more than the non-super-size top loaders they replaced did.

I've not torn into one to see how heavy duty it is. It could be worth a peek.

Personally, I'm looking hard at the Staber for when I move out of here in a couple of months, simply because I'm tired of buying super high-tech garbage. I wish the Staber had a couple more cycles, but I think the basic idea they've gone with (simple, accesible, robust components) is a good one.

[edwardh1]

are stablers on display anywhere around the US?

[dbiberdorf]

You can send email to sales@staber.com to get dealers "close" to you. Include your zip code. They responded to my request within 3-4 hours.
More details here: http://www.staber.co...aber Dealer.htm

[dbiberdorf]

Some more research shows the Speed Queen home units to have a larger drum than the Horizon vended units, by about half a cubic foot. In thinking further about the vended units here, I *am* actually impressed with their construction quality, etc. I may be considering them after all.

[RandyR]

Wascomats are popular in laundromats in my area; made in Sweden, I think, and one of the Electrolux companies.

I rebuilt an old "Junior" W-74 and it is one tough, durable dude. It has to be bolted down to a substantial foundation, and has to have a drain in the floor (unless you install the pump kit they have).  bought two of them for $300, they are 1984 models. approximately 18 lb machine, just right for a family.

parts are available on-line. I recommend