Will I be sorry? Speed Queen question - UPDATE

[klmama]

We bought a Speed Queen today - the TR5 with the moving drum, not the TC5 with the moving agitator.  I remember that someone here really liked her TR5, but others said to get the agitator.  I trust this particular salesman, as he's been very up front with us about problems with other appliances in the past, and he said they both were good.  Has anyone here recently compared the two models in actual use?  Even though it's in stock, they can't deliver until next week.  We could still change the order, if we really wanted to.

UPDATE:  For anyone else sitting on the Speed Queen fence, I just wanted to come back and say that I really like my new TR5 machine.  😊  My clothing is much cleaner than it was with our old front loader.  If you are going from a traditional agitator to this, I don't know how it will compare, but I like it just fine.  I have done tons of laundry in the past week to test it out on everything, and everything got clean.  I washed a queen-sized comforter and unlocked the machine mid-wash to see what the comforter was doing, and it was down in the water where it should be.  The clothes aren't as dry after this high speed spin as they were after the high speed spin on our front loader, but, since I didn't think it cleaned particularly well, I don't really care, LOL!  While you can't seem to advance through the cycles like you can with true manual controls, you can switch the cycle to spin, if you need to drain the machine sooner.  After opening the lid on this one, you have to push a button to restart it after closing, but that's not a big deal to me. It washes faster, the clothes are cleaner, it's quiet, and it stays in one spot.  I can definitely say that I am pleased with it.  If you are considering this or any other machine, I urge you to search online for the full, detailed owner's manual. It addresses a lot of the online complaints by explaining best cycles and temps to use, how to load the bin, etc.  It's very helpful. 

 

Edited December 11, 2019 by klmama

[matrips]

Did you google online?  I’m reading the tr5 was a bad mistake and they brought back the classic tc5 by request.  Here’s a couple links I found by googling.  My sq is 7 years old so I’m assuming it’s a tc5.  

https://www.cnet.com/reviews/speed-queen-tr5-washing-machine-review/

https://lorainfurniture.com/appliances/2019-speed-queen-washer-tc5000wn-awn632sp116tw01/

 

 

[Matryoshka]

I bought the newer 'revived' TC5 based on all the reviews here.  I wanted to believe that they went back to the one that everyone loved.  They didn't.  I kind of hate it,  but now I'm stuck with it.  Now, I don't know that anything else new would have been any better, I'm kinda wishing I'd gone with my original idea to have dh buy a used transmission for my old GE Profile on Ebay and have it limp along another few years (my old GE Profile was a full 25 years old and had worked fine until that transmission died).  I was swayed by all the rave SQ reviews and because they were offering that 10-year warranty on the thing right when my old one broke.

What I loved about my old one:

- Variable water level
- Could see where you were in the cycle and advance or change where that is - like when the transmission died mid-wash and it was full of water, I just advanced the cycle to empty the water.
- No electronics; all manual buttons and dials
- Could open the lid while filling and it would continue to fill (I used to always mix the detergent with hot water before setting the actual temp and adding clothes).
- Pre-soak as a separate cycle for up to an hour (could vary time)

The 'revived' TC5 Speed Queen has *none* of those features. 

It has not one, but two electronic boards.  Everything is a beep.  Nothing is manual.  The salesman said it didn't have variable water levels because there is a sensor. Bull - it does not.  It fills to the same level even if I only put in a few things.  The only other fill option is 'deep fill', but no option for *less* water, which I used to use all the time.  The fill water turns off when I open the lid (at least on the TC5 there's no lid-lock, which apparently is a problem on the no-agitator ones).  The only pre-soak option is 12 minutes and goes directly into a cycle.  I used to always presoak certain things with washing soda, then it got rinsed and I added detergent to a fresh wash cycle.  Now I have to set a timer for 12 minutes or open the lid (again, thanks for no lid-lock, at least) which then has it soak until I close the lid - but the water doesn't empty before the wash cycle, so it gets washed in the dirty soak water.  And all the cycles are blind - no way to advance the cycle to rinse or empty, so if it ever did break while full of water, guess I'd have to start bailing.  If I could advance a cycle, I could also force it to empty the dirty soak water, but again, can't do that because no way to advance the cycle.  Also, I heard it was quiet.  It is louder than my old one.  They took my old one away when they put the new one in, or I would have reinstalled it with a used transmission!

It cleans the clothes fine.  But my old one did too.  I have no idea what to suggest otherwise for a new machine, though.  

ETA: I just realized you'd bought the version without the agitator.  Does it have any of the features the 'revived' TC5 (with agitator) is now missing, I wonder?  I would also be nervous about not having the agitator, which is why I only really looked at the TC5.  I'm wondering if I'd give it up to have the other features back, though, if that were an option.  I know the reviews of the agitator-less version were less than stellar, hence them hacking together a not-really-the-old-TC5.  The one complaint I don't have is that it doesn't clean the clothes, lol.

Edited November 30, 2019 by Matryoshka

[PeterPan]

Did you see this article in the earlier thread? https://thewirecutter.com/blog/speed-queen-washer/

[Jean in Newcastle]

I am a fan of an agitator.  I can't compare directly to the TR5 though I can say that when I had another brand's agitator-less machine, my clothes did not get as clean. 

[klmama]

2 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

I bought the newer 'revived' TC5 based on all the reviews here.  I wanted to believe that they went back to the one that everyone loved.  They didn't.  I kind of hate it,  but now I'm stuck with it.  Now, I don't know that anything else new would have been any better, I'm kinda wishing I'd gone with my original idea to have dh buy a used transmission for my old GE Profile on Ebay and have it limp along another few years (my old GE Profile was a full 25 years old and had worked fine until that transmission died).  I was swayed by all the rave SQ reviews and because they were offering that 10-year warranty on the thing right when my old one broke.

What I loved about my old one:

- Variable water level
- Could see where you were in the cycle and advance or change where that is - like when the transmission died mid-wash and it was full of water, I just advanced the cycle to empty the water.
- No electronics; all manual buttons and dials
- Could open the lid while filling and it would continue to fill (I used to always mix the detergent with hot water before setting the actual temp and adding clothes).
- Pre-soak as a separate cycle for up to an hour (could vary time)

The 'revived' TC5 Speed Queen has *none* of those features. 

It has not one, but two electronic boards.  Everything is a beep.  Nothing is manual.  The salesman said it didn't have variable water levels because there is a sensor. Bull - it does not.  It fills to the same level even if I only put in a few things.  The only other fill option is 'deep fill', but no option for *less* water, which I used to use all the time.  The fill water turns off when I open the lid (at least on the TC5 there's no lid-lock, which apparently is a problem on the no-agitator ones).  The only pre-soak option is 12 minutes and goes directly into a cycle.  I used to always presoak certain things with washing soda, then it got rinsed and I added detergent to a fresh wash cycle.  Now I have to set a timer for 12 minutes or open the lid (again, thanks for no lid-lock, at least) which then has it soak until I close the lid - but the water doesn't empty before the wash cycle, so it gets washed in the dirty soak water.  And all the cycles are blind - no way to advance the cycle to rinse or empty, so if it ever did break while full of water, guess I'd have to start bailing.  If I could advance a cycle, I could also force it to empty the dirty soak water, but again, can't do that because no way to advance the cycle.  Also, I heard it was quiet.  It is louder than my old one.  They took my old one away when they put the new one in, or I would have reinstalled it with a used transmission!

It cleans the clothes fine.  But my old one did too.  I have no idea what to suggest otherwise for a new machine, though.  

ETA: I just realized you'd bought the version without the agitator.  Does it have any of the features the 'revived' TC5 (with agitator) is now missing, I wonder?  I would also be nervous about not having the agitator, which is why I only really looked at the TC5.  I'm wondering if I'd give it up to have the other features back, though, if that were an option.  I know the reviews of the agitator-less version were less than stellar, hence them hacking together a not-really-the-old-TC5.  The one complaint I don't have is that it doesn't clean the clothes, lol.

The TR5 water level is adjustable - you can choose a specific level or have it autofill to what the machine deems an appropriate level based on weight (autofill earned some complaints online for not using quite enough water to rinse out the detergent).  I always wash large loads, but dh and one of my dc frequently wash small ones, so this model seemed like a better fit since we could choose the correct level.

There is no presoak.  I've never used that, though, so I don't expect to miss it.  

There are dials, but they are attached to an electronic board somehow, just like in the TC5.  I don't think you can advance to a later point in the cycle.

You can't open the lid while water is filling unless you bypass the lock somehow - I read online there's something that can be done with magnets, but I'm not sure how to do it yet.  You can still pause the machine and unlock the lid to add something at any point in the cycle.

I did watch a video of how the machine actually washed by someone who had bypassed the lock.  The drum moves along with the pole up the middle (which the company calls an agitator, even though it doesn't move separately from the moving drum), and it was obvious that the clothing was swooshing back and forth in the water, but it wasn't getting tangled or wrapping around the pole  like can happen when the agitator moves separately from the drum.  I was actually pleased with what I saw there. 

My main concern is that some people online, as well as Consumer Reports, have claimed it doesn't clean particularly well - however, others have said it's fine, including someone on this board.  We don't get that many visible stains on our clothing (which is what Consumer Reports tests for), and I can always pretreat, so I'm really not as concerned about stains as I am about the ability to remove sweat and antiperspirant smell from shirts' underarms.  My dying front loader is not good about that, and I'm sick of scrubbing.

Edited November 30, 2019 by klmama

[klmama]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

Did you see this article in the earlier thread? https://thewirecutter.com/blog/speed-queen-washer/

Yes, that was the video I saw that explained the water/clothing movement during wash cycle.  I wish he would have said how much soap he used when he had a heavy load with soap stains on it - I've read online that you should only fill the measuring cup to 1 for this machine.  While I wasn't impressed with the way the comforter he washed rose in the washer so that part of it didn't stay put, I've never been impressed with how top loaders washed comforters - I've experienced tangling, tearing, etc. It seems to me that for such less-frequent types of loads it wouldn't be a big deal to stop the machine occasionally to push the comforter back into the water. 

If you have this machine or the TR7 or TR3, please weigh in!  

[klmama]

UPDATE:  For anyone else sitting on the Speed Queen fence, I just wanted to come back and say that I really like my new TR5 machine.  😊  My clothing is much cleaner than it was with our old front loader.  If you are going from a traditional agitator to this, I don't know how it will compare, but I like it just fine.  I have done tons of laundry in the past week to test it out on everything, and everything got clean.  I washed a queen-sized comforter and unlocked the machine mid-wash to see what the comforter was doing, and it was down in the water where it should be.  The clothes aren't as dry after this high speed spin as they were after the high speed spin on our front loader, but, since I didn't think it cleaned particularly well, I don't really care, LOL!  While you can't seem to advance through the cycles like you can with true manual controls, you can switch the cycle to spin, if you need to drain the machine sooner.  After opening the lid on this one, you have to push a button to restart it after closing, but that's not a big deal to me. It washes faster, the clothes are cleaner, it's quiet, and it stays in one spot.  I can definitely say that I am pleased with it.  If you are considering this or any other machine, I urge you to search online for the full, detailed owner's manual. It addresses a lot of the online complaints by explaining best cycles and temps to use, how to load the bin, etc.  It's very helpful.