Casual or Colors cycle sometimes is intended as Delicate.

nunyabiz1: The 5101 model was $799 at Home Depot, Sears (in Peabody, MA), and Best Buy. The 5001 that I bought was $649. I bought at HD. The sale was a week ago. I'm in Eastern MA. Best Buy said they would still sell to me for the sale prices.

I feel like I made a mistake buying without the heated water and the steam dryer, and not having the delicate cyle is throwing me over the edge!.. I was going to ask HD if I could switch to the 5101 model (W/D). The are now at $875, but would ask if they would sell for the $799. The price you got is fabulous!

I don't know if I would use the steam in the dryer, or the heated water in the washer? Someone online said that the heated water (sanitiize) only works with 2 cyles and they both run for 3 hours! I need to get these in right away so we can move in, but I'm on the fence and don't know what to get. It's an extra $300 for the 5101. $649 each vs. $799 each.

Is the delicate cycle in yours just a cold wash, and the wool cyle could be cold or warm?

The internal heater in the washer is the ONLY way you can get a true HOT water wash with ANY HE/Energy Star rated washer today.

About the only thing we use HOT water for though is whites and very dirty greasy things, other than that totally unnecessary to use anything more than warm.
But it is nice to have it available when we need it.

The Sanitary Cycle is just one cycle and it starts at 2hours 56 minutes and goes up from there if you add water and add up to 2 Rinse cycles I am sure it is over 3 1/2 hours.
HOT water can be in several cycles if you choose it.

The Wool Cycle starts at warm/cold and can do cold/cold.
Spin is low or medium or no spin at all.

Delicate Cycle starts at cold/cold and you can choose warm/cold or warm/warm also.
Spin is low.

Only thing I am not sure of is if there is a difference in water level between the two, but you can always add water if you feel its needed.

There are a ton of choices between the 14 difference programed choices plus you can change many of those several different ways, add water twice, change the temps, add 2 more Rinse cycles, add a Soak on just about every program.
Then you can make your own that works best for you then store it in memory as your own program.

I know we went out to get the WT5001 because it was cheaper BUT I am glad we ended up with the WT 5101.

When we got ours they were already 10% off, then we got another 5% off if you ordered it online which we did at the Sears store.
We wanted the Metallic color and at Sears on the machine in the showroom it clearly says right on the WT5001 that it comes in that color.
So the guy put in that number that was listed.
So after it was all said and done I looked at the PC screen, asked why it was $400 more than it was supposed to be?

He said it must have been because of the "color".
I said $400 is a bit stiff just for a different color isn't it?
So I went over to the WT5101 and looked at it and noticed that what he had to have ordered was the WT5101.
The WT5001 apparently doesn't come in the Metallic color.
But it was clearly misstated on all the literature on the machine.

So we haggled a bit, I said that is kinda false advertising.
He called the Sears corporate and after a bit of discussion, the person there said they will give us another 10% off of EVERYTHING both washer and dryer.
So we got 25% off and the last 10% she took off even included the taxed rate.
So we ended up paying $728 each.

We really did not care about the Steam on the dryer either but for basically the same price as the Wt5001 pair I wasn't going to complain.

I tried the steam out on a VERY wrinkled pair of silk shirts that have been sitting in my closet for months about as wrinkled as it is possible to get.
It took probably 60% or more of those set in wrinkles out, so I was somewhat impressed.

I can see it being a nice feature for when I want to put on a suit that has been sitting in the closet for awhile and instead of dry cleaning I just "freshen" it up in the steam dryer.

So far we love both washer and dryer.

Far as Iam concerned I think they are the best set out there especially for the price.
Cleans just as well as any FL, very quiet, HUGE tub and less of a chance of having mold/mildew problems and way less chance of having premature bearing failure and virtually no chance of seal leaks, all of which FL are prone to get.

Nunyabiz1: Far as Iam concerned I think they are the best set out there especially for the price.
Cleans just as well as any FL, very quiet, HUGE tub and less of a chance of having mold/mildew problems and way less chance of having premature bearing failure and virtually no chance of seal leaks, all of which FL are prone to get.

We would be very interested to know the empirical basis for the objectively verifiable claims that you are making here. One thinks that you may be blowing smoke.

"One thinks that you may be blowing smoke."

Thinks?? LOL ....

"empirical basis for the objectively verifiable claims"

He has yet to produce any but keeps repeating the same old song. This forum is getting old fast ... sad ...

it is my GD opinion, don't like it or agree it? don't care.

This evening I read someone's review who had just bought the LG Top Loader 5101 and she sounded frustrated to find out that the internal heater can only be used in 2 cyles and both are 3 hours long!!....so I called LG and asked what cycles the internal water heater can be used with. I had to make 2 calls to get an answer (they aren't all knowledgeable, but I find that in any kind of company). They said that the internal heater is only used in the "Sanitary Cyle" which is a 176 minute wash! The tub clean cyle is in both machines,(the 5001 and the 5101). I don't know if I would ever run a 3 hour wash.

Then I went online and read something that said that the internal heaters are best for FL machines, because they use so little water that they have a hard time maintaining the heat through a wash. The FL machine's internal heat kicks in most of the different cycles to maintain whether temp that wash should be.

QUESTION FOR ANYONE: I like these LG TL machines, ...I think it's just whether to get the internal heat or not, if it can only run for 3 hours? ...And can clothes withstand 150 degree heat? Does anyone think it is worth it to have a heater that doesn't kick in at least a few of the different wash cycles to help heat the water to a regular 120 degree hot range .... and not have the only option be to wash clothes in 150 degree water for 3 hours?

Nunyabiz1: it is my GD opinion, don't like it or agree it? don't care."

Bernard Baruch: Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.
-The Deming (New Mexico) Headlight, 1950 January 6.

I have the LG wave force with the heater. I dont know where people get their info from but the washer uses it on two cycles, bright whites which is 1hr 33 min and sanitary which is 2hr 56 min and you can max it up from there. The water plus on my machine is the same button that is used for the extra rinse cycle. The 5001c model has the water plus on it too. No difference in wool and delicate other than wash temps.

"The FL machine's internal heat kicks in most of the different cycles to maintain whether temp that wash should be."

I would check that statement. I don't believe that is true for most FL machines. Miele is the only brand I'm aware of that maintains temp in all cycles (except normal).

My mother bought a new LG FL this year (first FL ever). Even though I highly urged her to get one with a heater she did not. She's been perfectly happy with her machine. Her machine sits very close to her hot water tank and she feels she gets a wash hot enough.

I'm much more OCD and got the Miele so I know that I am washing in the temp I select. It is true that machines with less water will have a hard time maintaining the heat. The cold drum and clothes will obviously take some of the heat.

On a side note: scary to think readers here will think @Nunyabiz1 actually knows something about FL washers. He keeps failing to point out it's his opinion and based on no real life experience whatsoever.

I mean, he's owned his new machine for a nano second but declares it the best machine on the market ... sure ...

Yeah not sure how people get such wrong information on this machine, especially from LG themselves.
I have seen so many people complaining about the "hot water" or lack thereof because they don't see or feel it coming into the tub hot.
There aren't ANY HE/Energy Star rated washers today that put straight hot water into the tub from your water heater.
If you want a hot water wash you get an internal heater plain an simple.

Yet I keep seeing these people complaining about hot water and then the so called repairman comes out and has no freaking idea what he is doing obviously because they tell them the same thing, they replace control boards and mess with everything then tell the customer well that is just the way it is, this machine does not have hot water.

When in fact is has as hot a water as you will ever need, it just because of regulations and requirements the water that comes into the tub is about 90 degrees, first COLD water comes in, then the hot water at the end but even then if like most people you do not have a hot water recirculator system then the first 30 seconds or so of hot water is still COLD water that is sitting in the hot water line.

It gets heated to 122 degrees while in the tub and I find it inexcusable how so many "repairmen" are ignorant to this fact, either that or they damn well know and just taking advantage of the customer.

The Sanitary cycle is 2 hours and 56 minutes, it is ONE cycle. You only use when you REALLY want to sanitize the hell out of something.

You can add various options to make it longer and it is 158 degrees of which is heated IN the TUB, the water coming in is warm at best.

HOT wash is around 122 degrees, it is standard on the Bright Whites program.
But you can use a HOT wash on several cycles if you CHOOSE it.
(Bulky/Bedding, Heavy Duty, Cotton/Normal, Baby Wear, Towels, plus you can basically create your own program and add HOT wash as an option, so at least 7 cycles you can choose HOT wash)
Also HOT wash in Normal/Cotton is 51 minutes, it is between 47-132 minutes depending on what cycle you choose, most are under an hour.

Internal heater is exactly the same in either a FL or a TL there is not a HUGE difference in amount of water used in most normal cycles.
In Bulky Bedding there is a a lot of water used and if you add water in other cycles.
But in just a normal cycle the HE TL still uses very little water.
Plus no matter what, in some cold stainless tub filled with clothes and lots of water it will be cold by the time a 1 hour wash cycle is over unless you have an internal heater.

It was "LG Customer Line" that told me the internal heat only works with the Sanitary Cycle (at 147 degrees) and runs 176 mins.

But as I said, I had to call LG more than once. ...Different people there can say different things! But that info was right, except that they should have said that it also works in the Bright Whites Cycle.

GATES 1: You say that the heater also works in the "Bright Whites" cycle, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT TEMP THAT RUNS AT??...If you don't know the temp,...is the water extremely hot, that you can't touch it (like over 130 and higher) like the Sanitary, or does it just go to around 120?

Actually I have stated that my OPINION is solely from just research and that I have NEVER owned a FL MANY TIMES.

So far I have seen no information that would ever lead me to buy a FL, so never have.
I have gone on the advice, info, reviews, etc of OTHERS, LOTS of them that have owned FL and have seen so many making the same complaints that I find it hard to believe they are all delusional and wrong.

So I stick with TL which have worked great for me for 35 years.
and FL have a design flaw that makes them more susceptible to bearing failures, seal leaks and mold.
That can be clearly seen and is very evident by the hundreds of complaints & law suits that state so.
Those same things come up in review after review after review and have for decades with little to no change.

and that is MY OPINION.

Bright Whites along with 7 other cycles is HOT wash if you choose hot wash.
HOT is 122 degrees.

I guess you didn't bother to read what I said earlier, cant imagine how I could have explained it any better.

The LG customer line is apparently manned by fool's that have no idea what they are talking about.

Don't bother with LG customer service to answer questions about how their washing machines work because they have no clue.

I have an LG FL with an internal heater. The heater kicks in for most cycles when the water temp right after the fill is lower than selected for that cycle. So for example, if I select Perm Press Hot and do not run off the cold water from the pipes the temp right after the machine finishes filling is about 85-90 F. The heater kicks in and heats the water at about one degree per minute. So at the end of the wash portion of the cycle, my wash temp is about 105-110 F. I use that setting when I want true Warm wash. Because the heater is not able to reach 120 or 130 F in the time alloted for the wash portion in that cycle, LG tells its customer that the heater does not work in that cycle. That is not true. The heater works but it may not be able to reach the temp selected. If I want to get true Hot in my washer I have to select a cycle with a longer wash portion - in my washer it's called Baby Wear but in most washers it's some type of Bright White cycle. That cycle in my washer is 1 hour 51 minutes (includes an additional rinse), so the heater has enough time to heat up the water to true hot. I use the sanitary cycle for my towels and some bedding, but I would not use it for other laundry as that temp is too high for most items.

As to your question regarding delicate cycle - in my washer the wool and delicate cycle have different tumbling and spin sequences. The wool cycle involves a lot of soaking and very gentle tumbling. The delicate has more tumbling.

@livebetter, I'm curious if you measured the actual wash temps in your Miele washer and if in fact the washer does achieve the temps it claims to achieve. The heater in Miele is not more powerful than in other washers (I'm assuming that you do not have a 220V version), so unless their ATC works differently than in other washers with a heater or the wash time is extended, you may not be getting the temps stated in the manual.

BTW, I am not trying to dispute that Miele is a great washer. I am just curious if and how Miele was able to deal with the limitations of ATC and 110V service to make their washers work right.

Honey333 yes the heater does work in the bright whites cycle, it takes the water to 120 degree's. This is clearly stated in my owners manual and I have confirmed the heater comes on with the use of of Kill-o-watt meter. The meter will show an increase of amps when the heater comes on.

Another thing, you cannot compare the heaters operation in the LG HE TL next to a LG FL, the are two seperate machines and do not operator the same. LG customer service will give out wrong information when it comes to heater operation.

Wash temperatures are thumbed down in all HE machines, this is true of most manufactures. Mieles have the ability to take the use of the heater in most cycles and heat the water to a true warm or hot wash. Yes it takes more time to do this, long cycle times occur and so forth. Since most people complain when a wash cycle goes over 45 minutes, so if they had a miele, they certainly would not be happy with the wash times on that machine. I have a thread on here that I started when I got my machine "My new LG waveforce review" It is a very indepth look at how the wave force performs and answers a lot of questions that are showing up in this thread.

Nunyzbiz 1: Okay, yes, I did read what you wrote, but LG says different. Four different reps at LG said that the internal heater works only with the Sanitize Cycle.

Just to re-check that AGAIN, I just got off another very long phone call with LG. They gave me a specialist, and I told them about this controversy, & that there are people in GardenWeb, who have the 5101 machine, and are saying that the internal heater works also with other cycles to keep the temperatures hot. They said..."they can think what they want, but it doesn't". They said those other cycles are working the same way as the 5001 model (without the heater). They said "Even the bright whites cycle runs off the house water heater in both machines". I asked if they was positive of this, and they said they were sure that the internal water heat in the 5101 model only works in the Sanitary Cycle, and said "It is just not designed to work with any other cycle".

@honey333, that matches what LG Canada told me months ago when I was researching new machines.

It's one of the reasons I went with Miele over LG (guaranteed temps in all cycles - except normal).

Although, it's still a mystery to me how people who work for these companies are not better trained on their products or at least trained to pass you onto someone who WILL know the answer.

What are you thinking of doing now that you have a (hopefully) definitive answer?

LOL.

Even though we can clearly see that it is and BTW it clearly states that it does in their own manual for the washer? ROTFL

The water that comes into the washer in Hot wash is mostly COLD, that is a fact.
It will get "warm" to about 90ish degrees as long as you flush the cold water from your hot water line prior to washing.
The INTERNAL HEATER then heats that water up to between 120-122 degrees so raises the temp about another 30 degrees.
another fact that I personally have checked by simply raising the lid and putting a thermometer in the water.

When the water is about 85-90ish at the beginning of a wash load and it is 120ish towards the end of it I just wonder what it is that raised the water temp another 30 or so degrees if not for the internal heater? DOH!

So they obviously have no clue what they are saying.

If the internal heater did not work in the HOT cycle then there wouldn't be a hot cycle.
The machine would only have "Extra Hot" (Sanitary) and then "luke warm" depending on how hot the water is in your water heater 120-150, what time of year it is and how far your machine is from the water heater OR if you happen to have a rcirculator pump attached to your water heater.

If you call those idiots again ask them why their own manual says very clearly that the HOT cycle of which there are MANY says that the Internal Heater is what heats the water.

IF only hot water came into the machine from your water heater then this machine would also not qualify for an Energy Star rating.
On page 7 it CLEARLY states that the heater works on both Sanitary AND Hot water cycles, just says "Brite Whites" on page 7.

On page 20 it CLEARLY states and I quote.

"""Your washer features a HEATING ELEMENT to boost the hot water temperature for "extra Hot/Cold" AND "HOT/Cold" settings"""

No wonder I have read so many people confused about the hot water on the washer they are getting misinformation from LG themselves.

Again, Cold is obviously just cold.
Warm/Warm cycle is first COLD then last a bit of HOT water towards the end and your warm cycle will be anywhere from 80-95 degrees depending on variables that I mentioned earlier.
The HOT wash ONLY comes from the Internal Heater, PERIOD.
You can measure the water coming in and it will be about 80-95 degrees once the tub is full and no more water is being added.
You can then check the water temp towards the end of the load and it will be around 120ish.
Water does not heat up all by itself it cools down, so if anything the water temp after 40 minutes or so would be like 65-70 not 120ish.

They have no clue what they are talking about or even apparently what their own manual says.

I suppose I should say I have only checked the temp of the hot water in the Bright Whites and Sanitary cycles though.
Was 155 in Sanitary Extra Hot and 120 in Bright White, Hot.

But the Bright White is just a "Hot" wash and it without any doubt uses the internal heater.

I am making the assumption that when you choose "Hot" for other cycles that it is the same because I doubt the water will come into the tub HOT from your water heater.
IF in fact it does then it is still hot wash, as hot as what your water heater is set to. If it doesn't just use straight hot water then it is NOT a hot wash by any means.
But I seriously doubt it does that.
I don't think we have used "Hot/Cold" setting on any load yet except for the few loads of whites we have washed which were all in the Bright White cycle.
80% of our laundry is Cold wash, 10% in Warm and 10% in Hot.

BUT I will check that out on our next load we do in one of those cycles.

This is all so complicated! One should assume that a Hot wash is a Hot wash - pretty much regardless of what cycle one uses. I think gates1 once said that the Towels cycle uses straight hot water. Yes, please run a non-Bright Whites cycle on hot and tell us what you find out.

Other than that... I'm glad to live in a 230V country. Just set the temp selector to whatever number you wish and that's it. My Duet can run a wash from cold to 95C (203F) in 1:45 hrs.

I will state this again for those on here who cannot read what a manual says or chooses not to read it. The Bright whites and sanitary cycles use the hot water coming your YOUR home hot water heater and boost it to the temperature for the cycle. If Honey333 chooses to listen to what LG says and not what is CLEARLY written in my owners manual, and been verified with a kill-o-watt meter plus a digital thermometer, than I do know what to tell you for advice.

Whirlpool trainee, you have agood memory LOL. My towels cycle did add straight hot water the time I tested it, but I did notice the last time some cold water was added too. Maybe the ATM kicked in and cooled off the water some on the second check.

I have had this washer for 11 months and have put it through more tests than the LG QC department.

You are all too funny. Why are you so concerned about temps? Most things come clean in cold water. A two to three hour wash cycle just so it's washed in hotter water (maybe). Yikes. No wonder so many people feel like their lives are on overdrive. They can't do a simple load of laundry in under four hours!

rosesstink hot wash water , doesnt put my life in over drive, not less anything else. It just kills me, when people try to tell me how a washer works that they dont even own, in spit of them calling customer service. Im my experience, whites do not come clean in cold water wash, it doesnt make a difference if it is a conventional tl, he tl, or FL, soils has been left behind on all machines that I have owned. Thats why I am concerned about temps. I dont have or wear donkey ass colored whites.

agree with gates1, most things do not come clean in cold water. And especially not towels, bed linens, kitchen towels, underwear, etc. I use hot and extra hot settings on my washer often and with great results (that I have never achieved when I owned a front loader without a heater).

After washing my first load of dish towels on a sanitary cycle, I had to take all the "clean" ones out of the closet and wash them too. Despite having been washed in "hot" in an agitator TL washer, with liquid Tide detergent, they were slimy and dirty in comparison. A side benefit is that now we can use dish towels to clean up spills on the floor. Before, we would use paper towels instead, which don't do as good a job, because if we used a dish towel it would never be the same again.

@suburbanmd, haha, I did the same when I got my washer with an internal heater last year - I rewashed all of my dishtowels, linen tablecloths, bed linens (esp. pillowcases), mattress pads, towels.... All set in stains, yellowing and smells are gone. I have also switched to using fabric napkins because I can wash them and the stains actually come out! I wash my towels on sanitary every week and finally have soft towels that don't smell after getting wet.

I have been seriously thinking about getting a 220V washer as a second washer in the house just so that I can do higher temp washes. If I only could find a simple and inexpensive one here in the US....

I did the same thing when I got a washer with sanitary cycle, rewashed all the clean stuff too.

Its time for me to do pillows again, how I hate washing the ones that float. Anyone got some tips on this or can recommend me just going out and buying non floating machine washable pillows.

Honey33: I have the 5001. For delicates, I use the speed wash, set on cold, with low or no spin, depending on what it is.

Gates1: My down pillows don't float. The polyester (or whatever the non-allergic material may be - definitely synthetic), I put sideways around the outside of the tub, so that their ends meet. Not sure if I explained that well, but they don't really float when I do that. It does take a while to saturate, tho.

We just washed a Cashmere Sweater Friday and did it on the "Wool" setting and it worked perfectly.
Used cold/cold, low soil, low spin, Woolite HE.

It had more than plenty of water and was very gentle wash.

Put it on the rack for the dryer on rack dry low heat laid out flat and overall was better than hand washing.

I'm so confused. I went to Sears and the salesman there (who seemed like the more knowledgeable type) said the same thing, that the element only works on Sanitary.

But, Nunyabiz1, it sounds like you've tested the water with a thermometer so that should be accurate... But, even if that is actually the way it works, ..I don't feel comfortable buying the Model with the Internal Heat, if LG itself, who makes it, knows nothing about it, or how it runs? And it sounds like the servicemen don't know about it either, so how would it get serviced properly? ..if the heater stopped working in the other cylces they would just say "that's the way it's supposed to run".

Also, even if the heat works in other cycles, the washes have to run a long time for the coils to get the water to the temp. Long cycle times aren't convenient in my life.

suburbanmd: I would never use a dish towel on the floor! That sounds gross, even if I washed it at 200 degrees, I wouldn't use it for anything else after that. But, paper towels or sponges are much more readily absorbent than a dish towel is. Why not just "dispose" of a mess wiped up off the floor?

And I think I'd rather pay the extra for a 5 year service plan. Even with the 5001 model, there are so many digital buttons that look to me like they could break easily.

rosesstink: I agree with you, that I don't know what all the obsession is with this dangerously hot (150 degree) water. No one ever thought of using that kind of scalding water before these HE machines were made. It seems like HE machines are causing more engergy loss than savings. ...The washes are 2 or 3 times as long as the conventional style machines, and the water is being heated with electric coils for hours at a time. .. And then we use "water plus" to add the missing water back in.

honey333, He machines, both FL, or TL use WAY less electricity than a conventional TL. Even with the longer extended wash times and the use of a heat taken into considersation, a 2-4 hour cycle on santitary stil uses less than a 30 cycle on a TL. I have a LG repair manual for my washer, and it too clearly states the use of the heater in the bright whites cycle. I have used a kill-o-watt meter on my machine that you plug the washer into and then plug it in the electrical outlet. The heater is 1000 watts in the machine and when the heater is on, you will get a reading of around 200 watts of power being used. This confirms that the heater is on. When I used it last week, the heater shut off during the Bright Whites cycle. I tested the water with a digital thermometer and the water was at 122 degrees, right in line with what it is suppose to do in the bright whites cycle. Your listening to customer service reps who only read what is printed on a info card and they are not detailed at all as to the questions people like us ask. If my heater failed, LG would know how to fix it and what cycles it works in.

As far as log wash times, that where the delay start comes in, just set it to start and finish before you wake up or get home from work. Easy enough huh.

Water plus is for people who want to add extra water to satisfy themselves that there is indeed enough water in the washer to complete the job.

honey333, if you don't see a point in using hot water for doing laundry and are bothered by long cycle times, then I think your original choice of a washer without a heater is fine for you. Just don't come back here in a few weeks or months and complain that the washer doesn't clean well, that stains don't come out or that you have a moldy smell coming out of your washer ;-)

Seems to me like you are not comprehending what people here are telling you at all.

The heater works in EVERY wash cycle that uses HOT water, most of those cycles are only a little over an hour or so long. If a 1 hour cycle too long for some reason then do as Gates suggest and set the timer, or just use nothing but cold/cold single rinse and use speed wash and your done in 40 minutes.
ONLY the extra hot (158 degree) Sanitary cycle is 3+ hours long.

In fact the washer actually has a special button "Cold Wash" that shuts off the heater so that ALL programs EXCEPT Sanitary run straight cold/cold and will not allow the heater to turn on.
Now why would they have a separate button on the washer to "shut off the heater" unless the internal heater worked on EVERY cycle that calls for HOT water?

It wouldn't.

Next time I am in Sears I am going to stroll over to the Appliance section just to see what they say.
If they tell me the same spiel as you are getting I will make him sound like an idiot by pointing out the obvious.
I think I may call LG just for the hell of it and see what they say also.

Doesn't even make sense that none of these repair people and LG phone lackys have no idea what the machine does.
But then again for the past 20 years or more it appears as though repairmen and personnel that answer phones are dumber than a mud brick and have no desire to learn what the hell they are talking about.
I think a lot of that has to do with the way people are treated at most corporations now, longer work hours for less pay AND the cost of living has gone up tremendously while pay has not so most people are stressed and frankly just don't give a shyte anymore.
The best most experienced employees get laid off so they can hire 2 people that know nothing to replace them.

Why are we making this so difficult? The heater in the LG 5101 operates on the "Bright Whites" and on the "Sanitary" cycles ONLY. Even if you choose a "Hot" wash temp on other cycles, the heater only works on the previous two. Period.

The "Sanitary" temp is limited to 140 degrees in spite of the advertised 158 degrees on LG's website. Period.

You just stated BS.
Sanitary reaches at least 155 and Bright whites gets to 120+
both checked with thermometer.

I have yet to check just a plain "hot water cycle" yet but I seriously doubt that the internal heater in not activated when HOT is selected.

and why would they have a "Cold Wash" button whose sole function is to turn off the internal heater if the only time it does anything at all would be on just one cycle/program (bright whites)?
I have heard that the internal heater will actually activate on a COLD wash if the water temp for cold is not what it should be, like winter time well water.

I will check a regular like Cotton/Normal cycle and run hot wash next laundry day and check it out.

I love this. Almost 2012 and the b*stards still won't tell you what the d*mned machine actually does.

Will be interested in learning the truth of it.....if there's any means by which to learn it.

I am reading page 7 of the LG WT5101HV manual. It states very clearly,

"WATER HEATER
The heater inside washer increases water temperature and provides better cleaning for SANITARY and BRIGHT WHITES cycle."

@Nunyabiz1, are you saying the LG manual is completely wrong?? No where does it say that is uses the heater in all cycles.

I have been told by several different sources that what the LG manual states is correct.

"but I seriously doubt that the internal heater in not activated when HOT is selected"

Why do you "seriously" doubt it? Because you "know" better?

"I have heard that the internal heater will actually activate on a COLD wash"

From whom?

There are no Periods involved here. These machines are controlled by software, which the manufacturer can easily revise to change the operational characteristics ... and the model number doesn't necessarily have to change on a software revision. A specimen of model XYZ123 produced in June 2011 may have different operating characteristics than a unit XYZ123 produced in November 2011. Replacement control boards may also be revised from the original.

The ONLY way to confirm heater function and target temps on any given specimen is by TESTING it for wattage/amperage draw and water temperature readings on all the possible cycle and option combinations. If so-called "fuzzy logic" is involved, the results may not even be consistent from one load to another.

ROFL!!!! And I own one....for which I had to "pull teeth" in order to learn the mfg's actual nominal temps per-cycle...confirmed via my own measurements because I didn't trust what I was told.

The good news is that they WILL deliver their nominal temps. The bad news is that for ANY cycle that does not engage the heater, they haven't a clue. That depends on your home situation. "Hot" or "warm" means nothing unless you've chosen a cycle that engages the heater.

@Nunyabiz1
You are so full of S**t it's amazing! Are you incapable of reading and comprehension? The owners manual clearly states which cycles use the onboard heater. And those would be "Bright Whites" and "Sanitary". If you've actually watched either of those cycles, you would be aware of when and how the heater engages. In case you haven't, let me spell it out for you.

After fill and approximately a three minute agitation, the washplate and tub lock together, the heater engages with an audible click, and the tub rotates at approximately 25 rpms. When the thermostat has been satisfied, the heater disengages (again with an audible click) and agitation begins again. This sequence can occur several times during the wash cycle and is dependent on load size and the incoming water temperature. Agitation and heating NEVER occur together.

As far as the temp on the Sanitary cycle, I think you need to measure the temp again. Mine would never go over 140 degrees. LG replaced the entire control board and thermistor at my request. The temp still remains at 140.

markb, the LG manuals are woefully inadequate and inaccurate, as is information given by their support staff.

I have an LG front loader with an internal heater. The manual doesn't address the heater operation so I asked the support staff at LG who informed me that in my machine the heater engages in Sanitary cycle only. However, I have verified that the heater engages in all cycles when Hot (or Extra Hot) is selected and the fill water is below the temperature specified for that cycle. I have confirmed that the heater works in cycles other than Sanitary by pausing the washer and measuring the actual water temperature in the drum with a digital thermometer.
That's not to say that an LG TL washer works the same but that just shows you that both the manual and the people at LG do not give correct information about the operation of their machines.

Ok guys, I will resolve this on Friday when I am off of work and have a new therometer. I broke my old one. To my knowledge so far, if you wash on a cycle whether it is hot warm or cold, the heater DOES NOT come on. Only like we already confirmed, Bright Whites and Sanitary. It does not come on when you select stain treat either. Only on the kenmore version does it do this. TO get the cold water warm enough, the washer will add hot water to the tub, the heater does not boost cold or warm water. I will see how hot my sanitary cycle gets too. Keep in mind that in the owners manual it states the the incoming water must be 120 degrees for the heater to reach optimum temperature, so if that is not happening, then your inlet water may be too cold to begin with.

@izeve, can you cite actual temps you are referring to. What temp is your hot water heater set at and what temp are you measuring in your washer?

I'm not doubting you, but I'm finding it really hard to believe. What model LG do you own? I would agree that the LG staff (heck most company's staff) are not knowledgeable enough on their products. I say if they don't know at CS, they should be redirecting you to the person who actually knows.

I did a lot of research on LG last year when I almost bought the WM3885 and I was pretty confident the heater did not work in all cycles.

One of many reasons I picked the Miele.

Woa ... we are all way too obsessed with the heater .... LOL.

Like I have stated several times I have only checked the Sanitary and the Bright Whites with a thermometer so I KNOW what those were.

Yes I seriously doubted that when HOT was selected that the heater would not come on.

BUT I have just checked like 5 minutes ago I ran a small load just to check on a "cotton/normal" cycle and put it on Hot/Cold.

The heater does NOT come on, what it does is allow more hot water to come into the tub than normal is all.
I did not flush my hot water line because I wanted the starting temp to be as low as possible to see if the heater worked.
After checking the temp it read 94 degrees.
That is without flushing the hot water line and our water heater I thought was set to 120 degrees but I checked that also and it read 126degrees and the cold water is 55, probably would have been 96+ if I flushed the line.

If I flushed the line or had a recirculator and set the heater to 145 I would assume the Hot wash in all hot/cold cycles other than Bright Whites (which IS 120+ degrees confirmed) would be somewhere over 100 to 110 since the hot water going into the tub would be 20 degrees warmer.

So here is FACT and has been confirmed and tested.

Sanitary IS 155-158 degrees tested and confirmed in MY machine.
Bright Whites IS 120-122 degrees tested and confirmed in MY machine.

Hot/Cold wash in at least cotton/normal is what ever your particular set up is.
Which could be anything between 90-115+ degrees for "Hot" wash, totally dependent on time of year, like February cold water is probably in the 40s, August cold water is probably high 60s or more.
Mine was 94 this morning without flushing the line. I am certain that I can get it higher if I cared to by simply flushing the line and turning up the water heater to 140+.
But I don't care because we use very little hot water washes, when we need it I will just use Bright Whites and get a guaranteed 120+ degrees.

So factor your water heater, how far away from your washer, what the temp is set to, whether you flush the cold water from the hot water line or have a recirculator and so forth.

and apparently what the "Cold wash" button does is stop any and all hot water from your water heater entering the machine.

Now that is over and everything is confirmed, I don't care what the repair man says or what LG says or anyone else.
What I just stated is confirmed on at least my machine which is all I give a shyte about.

@ Nunyabiz1....

I commend you for this personal testing/confirmation. That's exactly what I had to do 6+ years ago with my machine after finding stupidness in the manual and conflicting information from CS. I share your opinion about knowing what MY machine is doing.....that's all I care about, too.

I remain perpetually annoyed at the continued obfuscation of this basic data by the mfgrs. It's a travesty in our "service" economy that unless the consumer does this for himself/herself, they can't know what's going on in there.

"The heater works in EVERY wash cycle that uses HOT water"

You did tell the OP the above on Dec 12, 11 at 11:39. You were pretty clear on that post about what you thought.

Thank you for checking and posting actual info.

Livebetter, here is what I posted earlier in this thread:

"... if I select Perm Press Hot and do not run off the cold water from the pipes the temp right after the machine finishes filling is about 85-90 F. The heater kicks in and heats the water at about one degree per minute. So at the end of the wash portion of the cycle, my wash temp is about 105-110 F. I use that setting when I want true Warm wash. Because the heater is not able to reach 120 or 130 F in the time alloted for the wash portion in that cycle, LG tells its customer that the heater does not work in that cycle. That is not true. The heater works but it may not be able to reach the temp selected. If I want to get true Hot in my washer I have to select a cycle with a longer wash portion - in my washer it's called Baby Wear but in most washers it's some type of Bright White cycle. That cycle in my washer is 1 hour 51 minutes (includes an additional rinse), so the heater has enough time to heat up the water to true hot."

I have confirmed multiple times in multiple cycles with temperature set to HOT that the water temp does go up during the wash portion of the cycle. The only way the temp can go up inside the drum is if the heater engages. Keep in mind that it may not reach the maximum temp in the time alloted for that cycle. I think that is the reason LG says the heater doesn't work in other cycles - because they cannot guarantee the temperatures other than in Sanitary.

I will check out another cycle also, one that is longer.
I purposely chose about the shortest cycle just to check it out.
In Cotton/Normal I noticed no discernible difference in temp from start to end of wash cycle.