Fisher & Paykel WL4227J1 Washing Machine and Matching Dryer

9 years ago

Has anyone else taken the midrange TL plunge with me and purchased Fisher and Paykel's new TL washing machine (WL4227J1) and dryer? Initial thoughts? Buyers remorse?

Had time and money been limitless, I would have chosen the Electrolux 70 series; however, we had finite amounts of both and the biggest factor that excluded Electrolux immediately was who we decided to buy from...after crisscrossing multiple cities, local independents, refurbished centers, big box retailers, and Craigslist finds, we came across a rare breed of appliance store...family-run, knowledgeable, patient, no pressure, go above and beyond kind of place. Really a gem of a place, but they don't carry Electrolux.

In the end, a machine could fold my laundry for me, but if when it breaks the customer service isn't there, then it's worthless to me.

Anyway, thought long and hard over what they did have:

Speed Queen
Fisher and Paykel
GE

We recently sold our house and with it our 9 year-old pair of GE bottom-of-the-line washer and dryer. They worked fine, with only a couple of moderate repeat service-call issues in 2012.

I was close to going with the GE Right Height FLs, but the price difference was hard to justify for the couple of additional features the Fisher and Paykel lacks (overnight dry and one-item wash). I have only found a couple of reviews on it--a private buyer who loved it and a professional review that was lackluster but described it as a machine worth looking at if wanting a reliable, mid-range workhorse. For the mom of a family of seven doing at least seven loads a week...a reliable workhorse with large capacity was exactly what I wanted.

Plus, my goal is to get 10 years out of it. I just kept having nightmares about the GE breaking down on Day 2. I will gladly trade fancy for reliability everyday.

Now I just hope it lives up to my expectations. A bit of buyers remorse is setting in...I thought the dry cycle would be faster, but ultimately, I think I need more time to get acquainted.

I would love to hear from anyone who has this machine--good news and bad.
Why are appliance purchases so hard these days?

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Comments (2)

poppy214
9 years ago
Every machine line has problems and/or lemons. I've had bad experiences with HE top loaders from GE ,Whirlpool and Maytag; they don't get the clothes clean. Yes, I have over 10 years experience with HE machines both top loaders and front loaders. The European machines will be too small to meet your needs for large loads.

You are absolutely correct to avoid the GE RightHeight. Mine arrived broken and couldn't be fixed with the GE service available in my area. The machine became unbalanced with regular loads and could not remain in balance for more than 2 days after service. GE will fix, but not replace a machine as long as they consider it "repairable". Crappy customer service. Your experience may be better than mine.

The Speed Queen top loader is a workhorse with old fashioned proven technology, but will not accommodate large loads; it's only 3.3 cu ft. The trade off is the cycle is much shorter than most of the normal front or top loaders so you can do more loads in the same amount of time. The top loader is not an HE machine. Nice washer, but it didn't meet my needs for capacity.

Fisher Paykel has some loyal followers. The trick seems to be getting a machine that works consistently. I'm just not a fan of the HE toploaders with the water restrictions now in place for washers.

I have an LG 5.2 cu ft front loader because I can get service in my area. I would have liked the Electrolux too. I would avoid Samsung like the plague.

Good luck in your search.
kcred
9 years ago
Hi,
I'm unfamiliar with the model you're talking about, but we have the F&P HE TL's WL37T26D and DE62T27D.
We bought them new in March 2008 and they've been good machines. A diverter valve went out in the washer but it was repaired under warranty. This was after traveling 4,000 miles in the back of a Uhaul truck, so I attribute the problem to all that jarring.
I'd have no worries buying F&P products again.
Best of luck to you.
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