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Speed Queen stack unit opinions

peegee
9 years ago

Really wanted the old fashioned-built SQ top loader but new house has a first floor (yeah!) laundry closet with room only for a stacked unit. The SQ ATE50 is pretty darn pricey at around $2,400., and has electronics, so I am hoping to hear from those with experience with this full-sized front loader combo. I am also nervous about two units in one should one be ruined...any opinions and especially experience with this model? Any complaints? Thanks all!!!!!

Comments (9)

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That is in my opinion the best stack unit on the market. I have not owned it but I have owned the front loader on its own and it is excellent. Same build quality and reliability as the top loader but better performance, more gentle, and less water/energy usage.

    Don't worry about electronics, in fact all the commercial units they sell use electronics, and they are phasing out timers; the next generation of top loaders coming out soon will use electronics. It is not a matter of electronics vs. manual controls. It is a matter of component quality. Older machines lasted longer not because they lacked electronics but because they were built better. Well built timers are better than most of the cheapo electronics we find in most appliances nowadays, but the well made electronics found in Speed Queens are not failure prone.

    Unlike most front loaders the Speed Queen has a front service access panel should anything go wrong. For many other brands if you stack the dryer on top it needs to come off for even the most basic of service procedures (for example cleaning the trap or changing the drain pump).

    Speed Queen front loaders, while very reliable and excellent performers, have some cons you should know about before buying. They have a smaller capacity than competitive units. They do not have an internal heater (though this is less of an issue because they use true tap hot water temps). They do not have fancy balancing routines before the spin cycle. This is part of their commercial heritage. It means they will finish faster than most front loaders, but it also means they need to be installed on a STURDY floor. If you can't do that than you will be better served with a different front load stack. I would not recommend any of the top load laundry centers on the market today; they use reduced fill levels and dumbed down water temps, and many are not good quality. For a closet install a front loader will serve you far better.

  • SparklingWater
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I bought the SQ ATE50 stackable in early 2012 and have nothing but good reports. hvtech42 summed up the unit well. The SQ replaced a twelve year old Maytag Neptune washer whose bearings went out. I just re-cycled the dryer.

    I paid closer to $2000 for this W/D unit. I shopped around on ID who sold SQ and luckily had one within twenty-five miles who had a very competitive price. It included delivery and installation I believe, just not taxes. You may wish to search around and try to bargain with them.

    Our SQ ATE50 has been well used and has never required service. Heavy soiled clothes come clean with proper HE efficiency detergent and water choice. For example, I'll bump the dirty whites to "hot/cold" selection and add an additional rinse, while using Tide HE FL to level 2. I may spray with Oxyclean on occasion but usually do fine with the above alone. The whites come out incredibly clean, no holes, nicely spun, nice smell and thus dry faster than my Maytag. It reeves up to 1000 or 1100 rpm on the full cycle, which really wrings the water out.

    Bulky items go on a lower rpm cycle (600 rpm, I think): this would be a queen comforter or sweaters, large towel load , etc. My machine does not "walk," nor sway even at 1000 rpm. I have never nor would I try to wash a bulky king comforter due to machine interior size.

    I'm pretty meticulous about drying the rubber with paper towel post use: Maytag instilled that in me. I leave the frond door open for a bit, and always leave the closet door open for make up air when the dryer is on.

    When nickels or change come out of pockets, none have seemed to escape the steel drum. I check pockets before, but occasionally one will slip in.

    The electric dryer is good too. In general, clothes need less heat and less time as they are spun of water so well. There is a delicate, permanent press and regular cycle. I shake the wet clothes before putting them in, and I shake them upon finishing the drying and hang shirts, skirts, pants etc right on hangers so many times no touch up is needed. I have had no mysterious holes in any clothes or towels/sheets.

    We did spend quite some time prepping for the Speed Queen stackable. We made sure our wood floor was level. We thought about re-enforcing it, but nixed that idea and it wasn't necessary to avoid bad vibration. We triple checked the space specs and let the store do this too as we didn't want a return situation. We put in new plumbing prior to use, new valves, new long life hoses, new clip for return water. We did a flush electrical box. We followed manufacturer instructions on the venting to a tee. We were fortunate to have such a good and experienced SQ installer.

    I called SQ headquarters ahead of purchase. I always call manufacturers to see what customer service is like. I had a question so I talked with technical. I complimented them post purchase so I talked with management. They are great professionals and there to help you.

    I truly hope the EPA doesn't constrain SQ on water usage in the future. Ours is Energy Saver rated. I say the EPA should leave well enough alone as this machine saves water and electricity by cleaning with HE soap, low water, rare second rinse, high spin and quick dry. Plus it's made to last, needs little service, is obvious how to use and will decrease appliances in land fills.

    OP, no one likes the idea of $2400 out. Having had the SQ ATE50 now for over two and a half years, with less energy use and greater freedom for work, I can say I would buy it again. It is a true remaining American appliance wonder.

    Thank you Speed Queen!

  • peegee
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wow!! Thank you both for your detailed responses - I feel quite a bit better now! I will have to contact the company re: the venting - didn't know there might be a problem. In this set-up, vent drops to the basement then 180's back about 11 feet to outside to the backyard. There may be a shorter possibility if absolutely necessary, after dropping to the basement going straight towards the front maybe 6 ft with a 90 angle towards the side entrance door. Not ideal....Hopefully will work out. Glad for the reminder about the prep - had a plan to call a plumber for assessable shut offs and had forgotten- can't believe the previous owner did not have them, or that they are hidden beneath the cheapy stack washer/dryer unit. BTW, does the dryer need a 220 outlet? THANKS again!!!

  • lee676
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Are there any single-piece stacked W/Ds still available besides this one? Frigidaire discontinued theirs years ago (loved how the top of the washer was left exposed for folding clothes etc. - that is a great design that everyone else should have copied). The Maytag disappeared after they were bought out by Whirlpool. LG had a separate stackable washer and dryer where the dryer's control panel could be placed below the dryer door, but that's gone too. It is convenient having an easy-to-reach central control panel for both machines.

    Yes the dryer needs a 220v outlet unless you get one with a gas dryer. Which makes the washer's lack of an internal water heater all the more frustrating, since ample electricity for a powerful heater is there.

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    ^I was referring to top load stack units. I don't think there are any front load stacks besides this one.

    Re: electrical requirements, stack units have separate plugs for the washer and dryer. You would need 2 240V outlets to take advantage of a powerful heater which most don't have.

  • lee676
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Bosch and Asko both use a setup on their stacked machines that include 240 volt washers where the dryer has an outlet on the back you can plug the washer into, and the dryer than plugs into a standard, single 240V/30A outlet, thus powering both machines with a single plug in the wall outlet. This arrangement also allows the washer not only to have it's own internal heater, but also for it to work much faster (and sometimes reach hotter temperatures) by typically being 2500 watts rather than about 1000 watts in a 120V washer. You can even attach them to only a cold water tap, since they heat the water so fast.

    Of course, the larger Speed Queen dryer needs a 240V/30A outlet all for itself, rather than the 15A dryers used by Bosch and Asko since they're smaller. Still, being a single machine, the SQ W/D stack could have been built so the washer "borrows" heating power from the dryer only when needed, and this wouldn't even be an issue at times only the washer was running, or when the dryer wasn't using max heat. Dryers typical use only about 5500 watts of the 7200 watts available to them, so there would always be some power available for both parts even if they shared a plug - and the washer could have had a powerful 240v heating element to improve washing performance without taking much extra time. Speed Queen is just being lazy and indifferent by not designing specific electrical parts for their one-piece stack rather than sharing them with their non-stackable machines.

    This post was edited by lee676 on Mon, Aug 4, 14 at 13:55

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's a neat setup. Too bad there aren't any more US size machines from the Euro manufacturers. Then again, someone on another forum I follow owned both Miele (which is supposed to be the best of the Euro machines) and Speed Queen front loads and thought the Speed Queen was significantly better quality.

  • lee676
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The large US-size machines sold by those all the European companies in the USA unfortunately all use the US-standard 120V/15A for the washer, 240V/30A for the dryer. Miele and Creda used to sell 240V washers with a slightly different setup - a separate box with two 240V/15A outlets, each with their own circuit breaker, for the washer and dryer to plug into, with the box plugging into the 240V/30A wall outlet. Miele has regrettably since changed to 120V washers (except on one very expensive W/D set where both machines require their own 240V/30A outlet, and work super-fast because of it). Creda changed corporate hands and doesn't sell in the US anymore.

    I have one of those older 240V Mieles (W1926) and it is the best-built washer I've ever seen (including Speed Queen). I wish you could still buy one. Solid construction, reliable, and wonderfully intuitive and easy-to-understand controls. Just wish the door opening weren't so small. The larger "US size" machines they made a few years ago didn't feel as well made as the one I have, or the smaller ones they still make.

  • laundryvet
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    lee676

    "Dryers typical use only about 5500 watts of the 7200 watts available to them,"

    Power = Voltage x Amps = 30A x 240V = 7200 W

    I'm thinking the National Electric Code, and U.L. among others, only lets you use 80% of the rated circuit breaker size lest you want to stand there next to the machine while it runs at top circuit breaker rating and keep flipping it back on everytime it stops for tripping the breaker. Might make laundry a bit of chore. So no, there isn't 1700 watts available, more like 500 watts at 240V, and probably more like 0 at 208V, since almost all 3 phase US made units are rated 208/240 and the code requires you to list the highest voltage rating for the machine, and you probably know that at 208V, with less resistance, that unit draws more amps.

    One power cord appliance. Kind of a good idea for ease of installation. I'm pretty certain Canada allows only one power cord per appliance, so the washer and dryer do have to use that full circuit breaker and I would guess that the heating element is smaller and takes longer to dry versus the US equivalent because of the smaller element. Maybe worth a google query to confirm.