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Thread ID: 84777	2007-11-18 01:15:00	Washing machine woes	beetle (243)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
612685	2008-01-12 17:01:00	We have some poorly built washing machines here too . . . and F&P are the bottom of the barrel . . they only sell at double discount stores and have no warranties as they are out country (off-shore suppliers) and the only responsibility of the retailer is to replace them for 90 days in the event of catastrophic failure . No repair shops here will touch them . As far as the spin cycle problem . . I've typically seen the suspension devices (varies from manufacturer to manufacturer) fail and allow the drum to sit low, drop or not have any resistance to off-center loads . Some cheaper models require a complete drum replacement to repair this trouble . Good machines are built with a little fudge zone capacity to allow some moderate off center loads, but too much will trip the sensor and shut the spin down prematurely . . . which sounds like what you are experiencing . Try this: with the machine empty, gently pull the BACK legs off the floor by reaching into the opening in the top and with your hands pull the top of the machine toward yourself . . . . . . leaving the front two legs in place and not letting them slide, and gently put the machine back on the ground . This allows the self-leveling rear legs to reset and that takes leveling out of the equation . If you still have troubles, grab a book, a chair, a six-pack and an umbrella and just sit there and watch and listen to the machine run through it's normal cycle . . . . trying to imagine what's happening at each change in cycle . . etc . Make a note when you hear something wrong . . . like if it shuts off early or with a wet load . . and report back at what position- or cycle it fails . :annoyed: The water ejection pump is really quite simple . . either it works or it doesn't . Running dry won't hurt it as it's designed as a centrifugal pump and can run without water for long periods of time . It is not a positive displacement pump and will not burn up without water . We bought a new machine a couple of years ago . . it will hold 16 pairs of jeans or six-foot long Turkish towels in one load . Standard models hold about 8 or 10 and then there are the apartment units with the capacity to hold 2 or 3 pairs of jeans or towels . Our old machine was 25+ years old and still running good . . . just too small for us . It was NOT and F&P . . . so we gave it to my wife's married kids . I just found a F&P Expert . . and I assumed he's in your part of the world . He's not! Obviously there's enough traffic in F&P pumps to warrant his attention . Try him here: . com/wp/2007/10/11/fisher-payke;-washing-machine-parts/" target="_blank">fixitnow . com When you click that link . . there's a silly promotion . . it'll tell you that you hit a bad link and there's a reward . . but if you want, you can disregard that and just cruise the site for the info you want . Scroll thru the site and see for yourself . This guy says the pump replacement is a 7-minute affair on a bad day and is one of the easiest pumps to change . Tipping it over is the correct thing to do, by the way . F&P has a consumers' repair line too . . . . 1-800-863-5394 . . . but it's a US number . . . I can call if you like . They are trying to enter the market here and are willing to bend the rules a lot to help repairs and service to their machines . So far, not too many people will fall for their stuff and their market share is dismally small . The quality is not up to what the US buyers want . Enjoy .	SurferJoe46 (51)
612686	2008-01-14 07:28:00	I've heard of a new F&P machine with a bowl which was unbalanced, because of manufacture. So the load / balance sensor cannot work properly and the clothes never spin dry correctly similar to beetle's problem	Antmannz (6583)
612687	2008-01-14 08:42:00	We have some poorly built washing machines here too . . . and F&P are the bottom of the barrel . . they only sell at double discount stores and have no warranties as they are out country (off-shore suppliers) and the only responsibility of the retailer is to replace them for 90 days in the event of catastrophic failure . No repair shops here will touch them . You do realise that they are a NZ owned company and this is a NZ forum . F&Ps head office is also based in NZ . F&P are reasonably reliable and rank quite highly in NZ, and are probably more reliable than more expensive European machines . I don't know if they sell US made washing machines in NZ, but if they are anything like US made cars I wouldn't get one .	robbyp (2751)
612688	2008-01-14 09:15:00	You do realise that they are a NZ owned company and this is a NZ forum. F&Ps head office is also based in NZ. F&P are reasonably reliable and rank quite highly in NZ, Not any more. We have a F&P fridge, that has a broken shelf, a washine machine that has needed fixing twice. Go back 15 years, then yes they were reliable. Now... Nah.	bob_doe_nz (92)
612689	2008-01-14 15:53:00	You do realise that they are a NZ owned company and this is a NZ forum . F&Ps head office is also based in NZ . F&P are reasonably reliable and rank quite highly in NZ, and are probably more reliable than more expensive European machines . I don't know if they sell US made washing machines in NZ, but if they are anything like US made cars I wouldn't get one . I actually saw my first F&P washing machine in Home Depot about two years ago when we were in the market for a new machine . It was placed next to an RCA/Whirlpool unit . . which was an "entry-level" display for people with only limited amounts of money . The comparison was unbelievable . F&P: the sheet metal was so thin that it had oil-can ripples in it, the knob was flimsy and on the display model was stripped and would not turn the shaft to set the cycle, the drum was small and had a very suspect coating on it that did not look like baked enamel but might have been painted on by a spray can with runs and bubbles in the coating, the overall appearance was one of poor quality, bad materials, and looked like a grammar school shop project in execution . The graphics were childish and had skips in the silk-screen process . . . . if they even used a silk screen process and didn't add them freehand . I never saw a country of origin . . I stopped looking at it after just the cursory inspection . Had I known it was NZ, I'd have been on here telling youse guys that some dirt hut consortium was making inferior goods and putting the NZ-COA/COO on them and that youse should be finding out who was counterfitting them . I have to imagine that this floor display model was the best of what they had in stock . . and if it was truly representative of the manufacturer, then they are indeed junk . The bottom line RCA/Whirlpool on the other hand had much more substantial sheet metal that wasn't wrinkled, the timer knob was hefty and stout, the drum was coated in a fine dark grey baked-on enamel with a 10 year warrantee and the aesthetics were pleasing to the eye and overall it didn't look like a cheap-o unit at all . We bought an RCA/Whirlpool, but up-graded . . . . . . but not to the top-of-the-line stainless steel front loader . They are just exquisite . . . but over $1,000! When I pick up some supplies at Home Depot this week, I'll take a few pictures of them for you .	SurferJoe46 (51)
612690	2008-01-14 17:46:00	\ The graphics were childish and had skips in the silk-screen process . . . . if they even used a silk screen process and didn't add them freehand . It sounds like the states got the model required .	plod (107)
612691	2008-01-14 21:37:00	Buy a simpson washing machine but make sure you get a mechanical one these new F and P washing machines are crap the electronics get hot they get steamed up when you do a load with hot water and after a while the electronics board craps out because of water residue despite the fact they are meant to be water and steam proof they are crap. A mechanical simpson goes for years and years never had a prob with one of them.	Hitech (9024)
612692	2008-01-14 21:48:00	What about Simpson - anybody got an opinion about them? Might have to buy a new washing machine soon as the old F&P is leaking again.I've got a Simpson Enviro 090 front loader. Had it for about ten years. It's brilliant! [edit] should also mention it's been through five house moves, so has had a bit of knocking around. Never had a fault with it.	Greg (193)
612693	2008-01-14 23:16:00	F&P Gentle annie (am I spelling it right?) are pretty good, well the old ones at least. The washing machine that we have always had is a gentle annie, brought second-hand, before I was born (1991 was the best year ever). It's still going strong. It's had a few problems (control board died once, had flooded the bathroom a couple of times, to this day we still don't know why), but I think it'll eventually die of rust and collapse in on itself. Solid as rock in my opinion. They don't make 'em like they used to.	ubergeek85 (131)
612694	2008-01-15 00:36:00	I actually saw my first F&P washing machine in Home Depot about two years ago when we were in the market for a new machine . It was placed next to an RCA/Whirlpool unit . . which was an "entry-level" display for people with only limited amounts of money . The comparison was unbelievable . F&P: the sheet metal was so thin that it had oil-can ripples in it, the knob was flimsy and on the display model was stripped and would not turn the shaft to set the cycle, the drum was small and had a very suspect coating on it that did not look like baked enamel but might have been painted on by a spray can with runs and bubbles in the coating, the overall appearance was one of poor quality, bad materials, and looked like a grammar school shop project in execution . The graphics were childish and had skips in the silk-screen process . . . . if they even used a silk screen process and didn't add them freehand . I never saw a country of origin . . I stopped looking at it after just the cursory inspection . Had I known it was NZ, I'd have been on here telling youse guys that some dirt hut consortium was making inferior goods and putting the NZ-COA/COO on them and that youse should be finding out who was counterfitting them . I have to imagine that this floor display model was the best of what they had in stock . . and if it was truly representative of the manufacturer, then they are indeed junk . The bottom line RCA/Whirlpool on the other hand had much more substantial sheet metal that wasn't wrinkled, the timer knob was hefty and stout, the drum was coated in a fine dark grey baked-on enamel with a 10 year warrantee and the aesthetics were pleasing to the eye and overall it didn't look like a cheap-o unit at all . We bought an RCA/Whirlpool, but up-graded . . . . . . but not to the top-of-the-line stainless steel front loader . They are just exquisite . . . but over $1,000! When I pick up some supplies at Home Depot this week, I'll take a few pictures of them for you . I don't know of any F&P washing machines that have knobs, they all have soft touch electric buttons, and they mainly do top loaders . I think they also do some frontloaders, but I think they are built by another company and rebadged, which may be the ones you are referring to, but I don;t think they sell those in NZ . I also think that F&P build some stuff in the US solely for the US market . But certainly the toploaders that they make here in NZ don't have knobs that you turn .	robbyp (2751)
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