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akrogirl

Question for Miele Little Giant owners

akrogirl
14 years ago

Our dryer has finally bitten the dust, so we are looking at replacement laundry sets. Since we definitely want a 220V washer, we are trying to decide between the Miele Little Giants and the Asko integrated models (we currently have Asko units that we have been very happy with).

The Asko washer is quieter and has less vibration, but the drum in the Miele is a few inches larger in circumference. That extra volume, the largest in an under counter model so far as I know, comes in handy when washing larger items like saddle pads (a significant factor in our household, lol).

However, the dealer, who sells both makes, tells us that several of their customers have complained about the loudness of the Miele dryers, and most of their staff have chosen to go with Askos.

Our local Miele Gallery does not have a working Little Giant dryer available at the moment (they are in the process of switching out their vented model for a condenser unit), and all they could tell me was that the Little Giant was a little louder than the standard model they had hooked up which, in turn, was louder than my old Asko.

The Asko would, obviously, be an easier installation, but I was very impressed by the washing performance of the Miele - the staff at the Gallery actually did a test wash on one of my dirty saddle pads, and the machine passed with flying colors ;-)

So, after all that, my question is whether or not any Little Giant owners find the noise to be objectionably loud, or if the louder noise is a small price to pay for the level of performance and quality of construction? FYI, the machines will be going in the pantry/laundry room immediately adjacent to our kitchen and family room.

Comments (17)

  • wajrk2000
    14 years ago

    I have the Little Giants, and have had them for about a year now. We really like them, and wouldn't trade them for anything else. They are commercial duty machines and built like tanks. The dryer is a little loud- mainly the fan noise, cause it has a huge squirrel cage blower in it, and drys clothes with lots or air and not so much heat. Is it so loud I wouldn't buy it again? No. But thats an individual decision you need to make for yourself. My research suggested that Asko quality is sketchy, but I have no direct experience with them.

  • akrogirl
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Hi, warjrk2000 - thank you so much for your response. It sounds as if the noise factor isn't a total deal breaker. I actually like the idea of more air and less heat for drying, so I guess I can put up with a little more noise :-)

    I must say that I have been very impressed by Celeste Kopyscianski at Miele headquarters and Joel Goodman in California, who have gone out of their way to answer my questions regarding available non-standard wash programs.

    I am also very fortunate in my timing in that the Miele Gallery in our area is brand new and hasn't even had its official opening yet, so I probably got one of the first test washes, lol. I highly recommend a visit to anyone considering Miele products.

  • mysteryclock
    14 years ago

    What's the approximate capacity of the Little Giants? IIRC they are smaller than the big 48xx series -- have you found their size to be an issue at all?

  • akrogirl
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    The capacity for the Little Giants is given as 15 lbs. / 6.5kg, with a drum volume of 17 gallons / 59 liters. The actual drum dimensions are 18.9" diam. x 11.8" deep.

    The volume of the 4800 series is given as 4 cubic feet, which converts to 113.26 liters. No drum dimensions given in my literature.

  • wajrk2000
    14 years ago

    Ours are immediately adjacent to our master bedroom, so we don't do laundry after bedtime! I work in a hospital, and killing germs on my work clothes was a priority. The washer is absolutely amazing in its ability to set custom water temp, water level, number of rinses, spin speed, and wash intensity. It has about 20 preprogrammed cycles, from delicate to sterilize- even pillows and kitchen linens. I have even "wet cleaned" dry clean only trousers using special detergents and the wet cleaning cycle- works great. It spins so fast the clothes are almost dry when you remove them. Ours are stacked, and tend to shake the house a little on 1400 rpm spins, but mainly on the ramp up to full speed. We use persil, and ecover dry bleach for whites, 1 tablespoon of each, and the clothes come out amazing. Are they worth the money? They cost about 2x as much as the LG or Kenmore super capacity front loaders, and hold less laundry than the domestic super capacity FL's. But for that money, you get a highly energy and water efficient, 100% stainless steel, commercial machine that weighs a ton and should last 30 years. And a 220 volt washer which can quickly heat the water to near boiling. And complete programming flexibility. And 20 or so presets if you just want to push a few buttons. The dryer has an absolutely huge lint filter, and is supposedly more gentle because of the low heat, high airflow design. And the dryer drum automatically changes rotation direction several times during the dry cycle to keep your clothes from tying in knots. Down sides are noise, capacity, and high cost. Upsides are quality, durability, flexible programming, energy efficiency, effectiveness of the cleaning, and high wash temps. I think for what you pay you should get a longer warranty- its 2 years, but I think it should be more like 5 or even 10. At this point, I would buy them again, esp since there isn't a lot of choice anymore in 220v washers, and to get up over 170 degrees or so, 220 v is a must. I wash my work scrubs and cotton socks at 200 every time to kill MRSA and other nasties, but it quickly ruins the elastic in underwear!

  • bestefar
    14 years ago

    I saw your post about the 220v washers. Are they still available from Miele? We have a 1113 that is 220V. I thought Miele discontinued all of their 220V machines in the USA. We may move and I would like to keep the 220V (and high temp.) capability. Not to mention that I love the washer. Thanks for your help.

  • Cyberspacer
    14 years ago

    If you're willing to do some legwork, I'm sure you can find discontinued 220V washers on Miele dealers' floors and get a great deal while you're at it.

  • numb-chin
    10 years ago

    I have purchased the stackable little giant. We are having trouble finding a transformer to achieve the 208V
    requirement. Can someone suggest a manufacturer, style number, etc.

  • wildstar7
    10 years ago

    I'm in the same boat as you, numb-chin. Have you found what we need? I am being quoted some very high prices and even being told its not possible to convert 240 to 208v.

  • numb-chin
    10 years ago

    Windstar7,
    Miele has advised to go with McMaster-Carr item #70525k76 transformer.
    Good luck
    num-check

  • wildstar7
    10 years ago

    Thanks for your response numb-chin. When I look at the McMaster-Carr website, it looks like the item number you gave me converts 100 to 120. Is it possible the model number you have is wrong? It looks as though this one might work: 70525K83 ? Here's the link to the list of step-down transformers they have: http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/119/929/=mhe4vw

    Any further clarification you could give me will be appreciated. Thanks again!

  • wildstar7
    10 years ago

    Oops, looks like the one I posted is a 3-phase transformer, while we would need a 1-phase I believe...

  • jkenzie
    9 years ago

    That McMaster Carr part number is correct, I can attest because it's sitting up in my attic right now. It works for either single phase or 3-phase. It comes with a detailed wiring diagram that your electrician needs to follow. I consistently have 250V coming into the house, so I followed the chart and got it stepped down to 224V, which is just within the +10% voltage tolerance allowed by Miele. My Little Giant pair have been in service for 3 days now without any problems of their own (I got the dryer stuck in "Laundromat" mode, so be super careful in Supervisor Mode to avoid a $275 tech visit to reset!)

    BTW, if you call Miele technical service and follow the voice prompts for "Professional Equipment" and then "Professional Laundry for the Home" it will route you to people who can send you some documents about the electrical requirements that will make life easy for your electrician regarding the dryer's electrical requirements.

  • jkkline1
    7 years ago

    Question about capacity:

    Will the Little Giant dryer dry three queen size sheets and three pillow cases? And without making a tangled mess? How long will it take?

  • Alex Chicago
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Condenser or vented? I have the former and wouldn't expect great results with more than two queen sheets. That just seems like asking for balling (but not twisting or tangling). Larsi can give you his guess on the vented model (no longer sold residentially).

  • larsi_gw
    7 years ago

    I dry a CA King fitted sheet, CA King top sheet and 4 pillowcases in my Little Giant VENTED dryer in about 30/35 mins. Miele said to roughly double the time for a condenser, compared to a vented.

    Condenser pros....NO venting needed, LOL and for you colder states, the added warm & moist air is a welcome thing in the cold, dry winters.