Considering buying Whirlpool WFW9200SQ Washer

[jch]

I'm in the market for a front-loader washer (here in Canada).

Saw a 2-day sale on the Whirlpool WFW9200SQ:

http://tinyurl.com/2m4lj6

Any advice oh wise one?  Is this machine bound to be trouble?  Or would it get the Samurai Seal of Approval?

Thanks!

.../j

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Go to your linked page and click for the larger view. Note the conspicuous absence of knobs, discreet mechanical controls. Now please direct your attention to this post, paying particular attention to the editorial diatribes and less attention to the technical aspects of the article. Therein ye shall find wisdom. Let us attend!

[jch]

Thanks for the speedy reply, knowledgeable one...

What front-loaders would you recommend that:

- have mechanical controls

- have a built-in heater (because we run our water heater on the cool side because there are young children in the house)

- are available in Canada

??

.../j

[Pegi]

Are their any front load washers available without electronics???  Not sure if I know of any right off hand....

[jch]

The only one that I can think of is a Staber although, technically, it's a top-loader.  Getting them here in Canada is very expen$ive.

Any others??

.../j

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

Well, sadly, I know of no FL washers today that meets all those criteria. How critical is the self-heat feature? A good quality detergent should be able to wash clothes with very satisfactory results in 60F water.

Additionally, this washer also violates the 5th Law of the Prophecy. So, it could never get the Samurai's blessing, even though all the other FL washer's may bear this same fatal flaw. It just means they all suck and the manufacturers are making crap, and they know it. And they'll keep doing it because they know people will still buy them (possibly because they have no other choice, as may be the case here).

And the beat goes on...

[jch]

Okay, which one would you recommend more:

- a top-loader with mechanical controls?

- a front-loader with electronic controls?

- something else?

.../j

[Samurai Appliance Repair Man]

I would opt for a front-loader with mechanical controls. There will still be a motor control board in a any horizontal axis washer you buy because it's needed to control the forward and reverse rotation of the motor. But the user controls should be mechanical.