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Appliance Repair Tech Tips

A blog by Son of Samurai in General

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GE Washer Never Fills All the Way -- Is There a Problem?

Son of Samurai

Entry posted by Son of Samurai

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One of the Appliantology Brethrens presented a small head-scratcher for us the other day about a GE GTWN4250D1WS top-load washer:

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The customer says it only fills up half way even when on super load size. Is this inherent to this type of machine or is it a problem?

Sounds like a real problem, doesn't it? Back in the good ol' days, when you set a top-loader on maximum fill, it would fill that sucker all the way up. But wait -- before you start tearing things apart to take a look at the pressure sensor, let's listen to some words of wisdom from Brother @sh2sh2:

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Normal, these machines are low water usage, most they fill is 2/3 the only thing I can make sure of is that they have good water pressure and flow

Ahh, well now, looks like we were about to get tricked! And just to confirm our suspicions, we can do a quick search on the web for that model number. Sure enough, you'll see it listed as a High-Efficiency washer.

HE top-loaders use far less water than old-skool washers in order to comply with regulations, even when you set them to fill as high as they can. However, customers aren't usually aware of this when they buy the machine, so calls like this become customer education jobs. By the way, because HE top-loaders use so much less water, they tend to get pretty poor wash results as well. So if you get a customer calling you about their HE top-loader leaving their clothes grimy, odds are that's also a situation where you'll have to break the bad news about the quality of the customer's machine.

Knowing this, you can save yourself time and money by recognizing these calls when they come in and fielding them on the phone. Fewer junk service calls means more time for the good ones!

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mvtvnc

On these GE washers using the Deep fill or bulky setting does put in a little more water.

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Raynormensk

This has been an ongoing issue with all HE topload washers for quite a while now, can't tell you how many brand new warranty calls I've went out on because of low water level, and had to tell the customer that their brand new machine can not be filled up with water like their old one. The Whirlpool VMW was the most common to be complained about, but they all do it to some extent. I tell people to buy the non computer controlled Speed Queen machines if they ask about what can have a full tub of water, but they are pricy.  

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Ol' Lonley

Ol' Lonley

Posted (edited)

It is important in your education process that you tell the customer that their clean results improve dramatically if they do smaller loads.
 

Not an easy conversation when the customer bought that 5 cu ft washer so they could fill it to the max every time.   1/2 to 2/3 size loads will see a 30 to 40% improvement in cleanliness.  

 

Also.  HE top load washers come in 2 styles.  Traditional agitator and impeller style models.   The agitator models perform dramatically better on the clean scale than the impeller models do.  (important note   They are harder on fabrics than impeller and front loaders)  

 

Edited by Ol' Lonley
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Matthew Brundage

Matthew Brundage

Posted

Would lengthening the pressure tube allow more water to come in?

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