Don't be scared off by the negative reviews because we are THRILLED with this dishwasher!

Our dishwasher of 5 years recently died and we really wanted one that would LAST this time. I did a ton of online research (and interviewed some friends concerning their experiences with dishwashers) and found that the Bosch brand is one of the best as far as longevity. We got this one from the Ascenta series because it was one of the most affordable models.

I'm so glad we got it. My husband was able to install it himself without any problems. We've had it for several months (UPDATE: We've had it for nearly a year) and haven't had ANY issues. It looks nice (and the exterior doesn't seem to pick up tons of fingerprints, etc.). It has plenty of settings without being overwhelming: Heavy wash, auto wash, normal wash and half load. You also have the option to sanitize the dishes with a super hot rinse. There is a button to turn it on and off and lights that tell you if an active wash is going, if the dishes are clean, if they are sanitized and if you need rinse aide. You can also delay the start for 3, 6 or 9 hours. All of the buttons are clearly marked and nothing is the least bit confusing. The door automatically closes if it's a certain distance away from the counter and it has no problem latching. I really like the dish detergent dispenser. Unlike our old dishwashers that had a hinged door (that invariably wouldn't close after awhile or would clog with half used detergent) - this one has a slide down door that works perfectly. We use dishwasher detergent tabs and not a single one has clogged or caused problems. There is also a dispenser you can fill with rinse aide. You open a little door and just pour it in there to the fill line. A dispenser light comes on -on the front panel, when you need to refill it.

When the dishwasher is running it's very quiet. Not so quiet that you can't hear it, but you can comfortably converse and sometimes I have to check...is it still on because I don't notice it. You can hear some trickling water sounds like when it first starts and when its actively spraying.

Now for the important part: Does it clean?? YES. It does the BEST job of any dishwasher I've EVER had. The dishes come out sparkling. We have very hard water so our previous dishwashers never got our dishes very clean. The dishes always came out spotted at the very least. Sometimes we would even have to rewash dishes. You'd have to practically wash the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Not anymore. Every dish, including the silverware, comes out squeaky clean. We've never had anything plastic melt either (as we have had happen with other dishwashers where the heating element was really close to the bottom rack). You can pack dishes in (as we've done a few times) thinking it might be iffy if some of them come out totally clean due to weird angles or whatever - but no, every time everything has come out perfect! We always use the auto wash and sanitize (with rinse aide). I'm SO happy to have a dishwasher finally work the way it's supposed to, even with our horrible hard water.

The Bosch also does a great job drying the dishes. Except for the few cups with concave surfaces in the bottom, everything comes out really dry and I don't have to have a dish towel to wipe things off like I used to with our old dishwasher.

As to what other reviews have said about the dishwasher being awkward to load, my daughter would agree. However, *I* really like the layout and the prongs are spaced perfectly for my type of dishes. There are some adjustments you can make with prongs that will lay flat. The silverware holder also has some "doors" that flip up that can hold your silverware apart for good cleaning or be used to hold in little lids or things like that - that would otherwise fly around the dishwasher. This dishwasher has no problem holding all the dishes for a family of 4 for dinner plus some from earlier in the day like breakfast/lunch.

I'm so glad I spent hours of online research and went with this dishwasher. We are extremely happy with it.

UPDATE: After having this dishwasher for nearly a year, it still is performing wonderfully, even with our hard water issues. The interior has NOT scaled up with minerals as our previous dishwashers have and the dishes still come out sparkling and clean every time. This is truly the best dishwasher we've ever had.


My situation related to the cable breaking on one side only.  What I received was the old style cable with the hockey stick shaped attachment on the cable ends with the red striped cables.  The cables AND connector were pretty much an exact match with the original on my 8 year old KitchenAid dishwasher.

My repair was very successful.  No squeaking or creaking.

My repair went as follows:

I was actually able to replace the one cable without having to pull out the dishwasher since only the cable needed replacing. I took the advice of others and did not replace the rollers, left the old ones on since they were not broken.

1 - I first turned off the circuit breaker to the dishwasher at the panel.  I checked that the dishwasher would not operate.
2 - I then removed the bottom front panels to gain access to the underside of the dishwasher while it was still installed.
3 - I was able to see fairly well under the dishwasher to where the spring was (it had actually come unhooked from the hole in the frame), as well as to fish out the broken cable and connector.
4 - In my case the cable connector broke (the plastic tab) and not the cable itself.  Had to replace the whole cable attachment of course though.
5 - I was able to reach my arm under the dishwasher and hook the spring back onto the hole in the frame.  At the same time I hooked the end of the new cable onto the other end of the spring (the end closest to the front of the dishwasher of course).  So now the new cable end is hooked up to the dishwasher and I need to find a way to pull the cable around the pulleys and hook it up to the dishwasher door hinge.

  **So from this point forward, the new cable end is already hooked onto the end of the spring.**

6 - Then (and I think this is an important part) I used some string to stretch the spring to give me some slack to hook the new cable around the wheels and the connector onto the door hinge!  I didn't grab the cable itself with Vise Grips!

7 - I looked at some other reviews where people said they used vice grips to grab the cable itself to give them enough slack to wind the cable around the wheels.  I don't think this is a good idea at all !!!!  I have to believe you might damage the cable itself from the teeth of the vise grips.  Plus it has to be pretty tricky to hold the cable and thread it at the same time (basically impossible if you don't pull the dishwasher out as well, which was my situation).

8 - So what I did was take some garden twine and double it up so that I had an open loop on the end  ( I didn't put a knot in the end of the loop since I wanted to cut it later to pull the string out) .  I actually used a double thickness of garden twine so that I had two separate open loops of twine (two loops of twine mean the twine is less likely to break when you pull on it).
9 - I then tied a closed loop in the other end of the garden twine such that I could put a screwdriver through the loop and form a T-shape that you could pull.  You don't have to tie a loop, but I found it held all the string together nicely on the end and made a nice small hole to put the screwdriver in.
10 - I then reached under the dishwasher and placed the open loops of the twine around the end of the spring just above where I had looped the new cable onto it, and fed the rest of the length of the twine out to where we could get our hands on the closed loop.  We then put a thick screwdriver through the closed loop to form the T-shape and my wife gently pulled on the twine, stretching the spring.
11 - This gave me enough slack to wind the cable successfully around the wheels and fit the connector over the dishwasher hinge point without any effort at all!  Easy as pie.
12 - My wife then slowly released the tension on the twine and the spring relaxed and the cable stiffened up.
13 - I was then able to cut the open ended loops of garden twine and pull them out from under the dishwasher.
14 - Closed up the bottom panel on the dishwasher and flipped the circuit breaker back on.

Total time about 45 minutes.  30 minutes trying to figure out how to tension the spring successfully.

In all honesty, I did get a few scratches on my arms reaching under the dishwasher, but nothing of any consequence.  I would wear long sleeves if I did it again.  Suggest you remove watches and rings as well if you want to try this.

Hope this helps.


This Bosch  DW replaced a brand-new GE  that was basically DOA with failure to close, three service calls with a fourth pending. It was cheaply made and rather than replacing it after the second service call we were pushed to accept a third and fourth call for the same exact issue. Terrible customer relations. I would never buy another GE dishwasher.
Bosch SHE3ARF2UC pros:
1. Made solidly. You can tell the engineering was well thought out and implemented unlike the GE.
2. Stainless steel tub with polypropylene bottom and a manual filter. This aspect eliminates noise of the grinding and pump  to achieve the 50 dB it advertises.
3. Cleans dishes amazingly well. You can set the amount of jet dry solution from off to 5. We have our set 3.
4. Superb selection of wash cycles. We love the express as it only takes 30 minutes. In a two-person household with minimal dishes throughout the day, the unit is only 1/2-3/4 full by the evening. As one reviewer commented, you do not want to use excess amounts of dishwashing powder. 1 tablespoon suffices for this size load. Never fill the cup unless it is jammed full and the dishes and pots are heavily soiled. We always prerinse and scrape our dishes.
5. After the Express 30 minutes cycle, we allow the dishes to dry with the door closed for the first half hour then open up and pull out the racks to dry overnight. There is always a little water on the bottom of the cups turned upside down. A quick dab with a dishtowel prior to replacing in the drawer/cabinet is all that is needed. Silverware is sparkling clean and glasses are spot and streak free. It is probably best not to use any of the DW gels in this unit.
Cons:
1. Capacity may be a little small for a household of 4-6 people. You would likely have to run this unit twice a day. You may want to opt for a bigger cabinet.
2. While some bemoan the lack of a track for the wheels on the bottom rack, that's simply a matter of getting used to. There is a nice convenient handle that sticks up in the center of the rack and you should use that to pull the rack out and push it back in. It tracks perfectly well that way. It would appear to me that trying to engineer some tracks for the wheels would introduce crevices that reduce the efficiency of the washing and allow for moisture accumulation and therefore odors. I like it the way it is. The present design therefore is not a con in my opinion.
3. The only beef we have is the design of the racks. It is supposed to be "the European design" whatever that is. There are very narrow tines and some that are not so narrow at right angles. The upper rack has an indentation in the front that actually removes some of the capacity. It is designed as a handle to pull and push the rack in and out of the cabinet. The upper rack in the back has female openings into which male openings in the back of the cabinet would fit for introducing the water pressure to spin the spray arm underneath the upper rack. It is really an ingenious design and apparently works quite well if the upper rack is restored to its proper position before closing the door.
All in all, a terrific machine. Hinges have some springs on it to allow positional opening as well as rapid closure of the door. The clasp for closing is secure and engineered beautifully compared to that GE dog with it's plastic clasp and the cheap hinges attached to thin metal frames. Take it from us, get a Bosch but don't buy a $1500 model with all the bells and whistles. $600-$800 is plenty of machine for most of us.
Well we did not buy it through Amazon, we got it through a local bricks and mortar, privately held appliance Center but even then paid over $350 more than we should have as we got no benefits from installation rebates or store credits as we would have from a local big box store. Mom-and-pop appliance stores want to compete and what they have to offer is superior service and personal interest in its customers. When they fail in that respect and in getting your repeat business, they are not worthy of your future business. Such was our scenario for nearly 4 months dealing with the defective GE DW with the local dealer. Finally we got the unit removed and a replacement ordered and installed only after many weeks of dealing with GE customer (non-) service and the local dealers business office.


This defrost thermostat was relatively easy to install once I was able to access the part.

Our refrigerator was not maintaining the correct temperature, even though our freezer was staying cold.  We have the Electrolux Ikon french door refrigerator, model E23BC78IPS0.

First I pulled the refrigerator out of the cabinet and carefully removed the back panel to take a look.  The condenser coils were free of dirt and dust.  The condenser fan was running.  In addition, the compressor was vibrating and warm to the touch.  I assumed the start relay switch was ok since the compressor was on.

Since everything seemed to be working well in the back,  I decided to take a look at the evaporator coils and evaporator fan in the freezer.  The parts are located at the back of the freezer, so I had to take out all of the food.  I used the following hand tools to access the compartments:

- phillips head screwdriver (to remove panels)
- 1/4 nut driver (to remove panels)
- 3/8 nut driver (to remove the bottom freezer door which allows better access to the parts)

I found the evaporator coils frozen over (see photo) and the defrost thermostat looked busted (see photo).  In addition, the evaporator fan wasn't running so at first I thought that might be broken as well.  But, the fan turned on after I pushed the button that senses if the door is closed, so that wasn't the problem.

At this point, I ordered the new defrost thermostat and unplugged the refrigerator and let it defrost overnight.  Once the freezer was defrosted, I cut the two wires about an inch from the defrost thermostat.  I unclipped the defrost thermostat and removed it.  One of the wires had a white molex on its other end which connected to the defrost heater (on the right side of the freezer).  I pushed the molex tab to disconnect it.  The other wire had a pink Gardner Bender fully insulated disconnect.  This male/female pair does disconnect, but with a little effort and care not to pull the wires out.  Once disconnected, I stripped 1/4 from the wire end of each of these wires, keeping the connectors to be reused with the new defrost thermostat.

Note that I didn't check the defrost thermostat for continuity before removing it because it was obviously physically ruptured.  But, if you weren't sure if it was bad, you could check it for continuity first.  You would need to do that before defrosting the freezer or you would need access to a freezer to put it in to test it as it needs to be at 25 F in order for it to activate (47-22 as indicated on the part).  Ice water does not work for testing as it is not cold enough.

While I was waiting for the new defrost thermostat to arrive, I also checked the defrost heater (attached to the defrost thermostat at the molex end) and the thermistor (located on the left of the freezer behind a small plastic cover) for continuity.  Both were fine, but I am glad I checked them because I didn't want to go through taking everything apart again if the defrost thermostat wasn't the only problem.

To install the new defrost thermostat, I needed the following:
- wire cutter/stripper
- 2 wing nut wire connectors
- silicone sealant

The new defrost thermostat wires need to be spliced to the wire with the molex and the wire with the GB disconnect.  To do this, I put one of the wires from the new defrost thermostat and the wire with the molex into a wing nut wire connector and twisted it to connect.  I put the other wire from the new defrost thermostat and the wire with the GB disconnect into a wing nut wire connector and twisted it to connect.  I put just enough silicone sealant into the wing nuts to cover the wires to protect them against moisture from the freezer.  I had to wait 30 minutes for the silicone sealant to set.

I installed the new part by attaching the GB disconnect side first, then clicking the molex into place on the other side.  Finally, I clipped the default thermostat into place.  Ive added a photo of the new default thermostat installed.

I ended up deciding to do this myself because the first refrigerator repair person that we contacted came over and said that he didn't know what was wrong and couldn't help us and the second repair person that we contacted said he wouldnt be able to come by for 3-4 days.

I hope this helps!


This machine is surprisingly quiet compared to our previous Whirlpool Gold (Quiet Partner III) tall-tub model (about 10 years old), and the capacity is about the same. We are pleased with it overall, but having lived with it for a few months, we note the following quirks (or maybe they are actually ingeniously designed "Features" that should have names?)

- "Rinse them Yourself" feature. In other words, shockingly, there is no traditional Rinse and Hold feature. This is surprising given that this machine is almost at the top of Whirlpool's line-up. It's also difficult to "make your own" rinse-and-hold, (ie., let the dishwasher fill, rinse and drain, then cancel the whole cycle), because it's too quiet to know for sure what it's doing.
- "Mystery Pulse" motor/pump. It's probably "okay," but the motor runs in several "pulses" (about half a second each) before starting the cycle. Probably it's priming the drain pump, or centering the motor shaft, or something...but the fact that it never seems to pulse the same number of times twice, or at the same times, does make you wonder what the heck it's doing. In the case of the beginning rinse cycle, the various pulses are then followed by a bizarre pattern of starts/stops. Hard to believe it can rinse better by constantly interrupting itself...but...the dishes do come out clean.
- "Auto Fall" silverware basket falls automatically, and spills its contents, if you try to pull out the bottom rack by the attached silverware basket. Very tempting to do so because the basket's great big handle is front-and-center when you open the door. You have the option of mounting the basket on the door, much more securely, but then the silverware doesn't get as clean because one side of the mesh basket is blocked.
- "Mystery Attach" silverware basket provides hours of brain-teasing amusement as family members try to reattach it to the front of the bottom rack, by two tiny positioning pegs. The rack and the basket are not perfectly square, so you have to "flex" the basket a little while positioning one peg at a time--making this operation a painstaking, two-handed effort every time. And every time is "often" due to the "Auto Fall" feature described above. Everyone in the family, from know-it-all teenagers to frail grandmothers, have complained about this "feature."
- "Find the Slot" silverware sorting game. The top of the basket has snap-in guides to hold various pieces of silverware--evidently to keep them from "nesting" and not getting clean. Given the limited number of slots, and the fact that silverware with slightly large handles only receive a few slots, you will probably tire of this game soon. To end it, you can snap out the guides and toss them aside--just like the stemware holders in the top rack that take up way too much space on a day to day basis.

This is an Energy Star model, so if you choose any of the "eco" friendly settings, be prepared for lesser levels of performance, especially in drying. When researching a new dishwasher, I saw a lot of reviews for all makes complaining about slow wash cycles and lack of dry dishes. Well, that appears to be "life with Energy Star efficiency." You must use the scorch-the-earth, "high heat dry" option to get anything near traditional dishwasher results, and even then, Whirlpool's literature tells you that you MUST use a rinse aid to get anything near satisfaction in drying.

Also, if you're an owner of an older model, be prepared for marathon run times (necessitating the great sound insulation). Like most low-water consumption models, this thing will run for MANY HOURS (6 or more is possible) while using a small amount of water and high-performance detergent to wash your dishes. That's true of any make, but if you haven't bought a dishwasher in a while, be prepared! If you rinse your dishes well and want them done in a hurry, there is a one-hour wash cycle, but again, expect to dry them yourself for the most part.

The build quality is very good, with the exception of the silverware basket, and the stainless steel tub liner is very nice. My DIY installation was a snap, although I had to convert an old 1/2" water supply line with compression fittings to the new, apparently standard 3/8" fitting. An elbow fitting is provided. Your Home Depot or Lowe's will have whatever parts you might need for such conversions from older type supply lines/connectors.


The "Ides of March" (well, one day later) is a perfect time to warn anyone considering the purchase of this washer about the multitude of problems it will introduce into your laundry routine (which you can read about in reviews of other Whirlpool Cabrio models on Amazon and elsewhere). But here is a quick summary, which should be all you need to run screaming from this machine: 1) Clothing wrinkled like aluminum foil that has been balled up and opened (If you prefer to hang the majority of your clothes like I do, you'll want to get your iron ready); 2) Items coming out of the washer with dirt and stains remaining, as well as with lint and even, possibly, small holes (like the one in a fleece blanket I washed on the "delicate" cycle, or the one in my daughter's shirt that I made the mistake of washing on "normal," even though that is the appropriate setting for a sturdy cotton fabric; 3) Cycles that take at least an hour on average (so forget squeezing in a load before heading out the door or to bed); 4) The need to carefully load your clothes "doughnut style" around a washplate without letting any fall into the center; 5) A moldy smell that can develop if you don't run a special cleaning cycle every month or so--or, as I've heard, even if you do; 6) Operational problems and poor customer service from Whirlpool.

I can't comment on the last two items personally, since I am one of the people the reviewer above refers to, who fortunately replaced my disappointing Cabrio with a Speed Queen, the only fully mechanical, American-made (to last!) washer left on the market. (Speed Queen's main competitor used to be Maytag, until they were bought by none other than a company that begins with W.) My Speed Queen AWN412 is a complete 180 degrees from the Cabrio in every way. It looks and sounds like my grandmother's circa 1960 washer (complete with simple dials and a pull knob) and it functions like it, too, washing clothes thoroughly, without undue wrinkling and in half the time the Cabrio would take. Just beautiful.

Like my fellow reviewer said, don't be fooled by appearances and a fancy platinum panel of electronic buttons that are far more likely to malfunction--or the quiet, high tech noise that belies new but unimproved technology. It doesn't matter what your washer looks like--just that it cleans your clothes well. If you can't stand the traditional sounds of an agitator churning away, just turn up some music or sing Hallelujah that you don't have a high efficiency washer attempting to spin the dirt off your clothes at warp speeds. The bottom line, as I learned the hard way (and paid for, with a steep 20% restocking fee from a local appliance dealer--despite being oversold on the Cabrio), is that you simply need a tub full of water and an agitator to clean clothes properly (and there are multiple settings on the Speed Queen so that you can match that water level to your load size).

The government regulations that led to this new "green," low-water technology may be well-intentioned, but they are nonetheless misguided. As much as liked my previous Maytag, it died after 7 years--which is probably longer than I would have gotten out of the Cabrio. So to echo what a Speed Queen reviewer wrote on Amazon, the savings on energy and water with high efficiency washers is completely negated by the energy from manufacturing plants polluting our environment as they create appliances that break so quickly and end up in landfills. Not to mention having to rewash clothes that aren't clean, doubling the amount of water/energy use, and having to prematurely replace clothes that are destroyed. Or the increased use of your dryer--and iron--to remove wrinkles. Or the need for toxic cleaning agents to prevent mold (which undercuts the use of natural and organic products). So, it turns out, "high efficiency" does not equal "green" when it comes to washing machines, and it certainly doesn't equal "effective."

To those who are in the market for a new washer, do yourself a favor and pass on the flashy HE models. And to those who are stuck with one--Good Luck and God Speed (Queen)!


The wavy metal washer goes on the dryer spindle first, then the drum roller, then the beige fiber washer, then the snap ring.  You are then done.  The dryer drum does NOT need to be completely removed from the machine in order to access the two rollers (and yes replace them both) you will be replacing.  Simply lift the drum up and forward towards you slightly until you see the rollers, then gently lay it down in the dryer.  When you have replaced both rollers, just gently lift it back up and back onto the felt at the back of the machine.  Check the drum belt to make sure that it is in the running position, which is 2 inches in FRONT OF (towards the front dryer door) of  the mounting groove on the dryer drum, SMOOTH side of belt down.  If the belt has slipped into the groove, pull the belt out of the groove towards you and on to the drum.  The spindle, although it is supplied, should not need to be replaced unless yours is badly grooved.  If it is slightly scratched, gently sand it with some very fine sandpaper or emery cloth EZ-FLO 45205 Waterproof Emery Cloth, Blue , then clean the spindle thoroughly with a rag and rubbing alcohol.  Clean the dryer spindle thoroughly before mounting your new drum roller even if you do not sand.  DO NOT lubricate the spindle at all, it should be clean and free of debris.  To get the old snap ring off of the spindle, use a flat tipped screw driver and pry it off - you will not be using it again.  Also, the snap ring supplied with the assembly bends easily, and then does NOT snap back closed well (it needs to be very tight) - I recommend 300-Piece Snap Ring Shop Assortment - 18 Sizes, and I used one of these snap rings instead of the one supplied, as they are much sturdier and the holes are big enough to accommodate the tip of a snap ring plier which you must have, or else the job will be a mess.  Use the one supplied as a guide to select one from the other assortment I mentioned, that way you'll know which size to use (use it as a template).  I purchased this snap ring plier set a year ago TEKTON 3576 Internal / External Snap Ring Pliers Set, 4-Piece and I have used it quite a bit in addition to the snap ring set assortment.  My 21 year old Maytag dryer now runs like new and is perfectly quiet.  Before, it was squealing horribly, and lubricating the rollers will do absolutely nothing - it stops the noise for awhile, and then it comes right back.  The wavy metal washer supplied is exactly the same used by Maytag when I bought the dryer, and I would stick with the wavy metal washer as supplied in this kit.  The wavy metal washer lasted 21 years.  Also, keep your older dryers and washers, especially if they are Maytag, and fix them up.  They will last for at least another 20 years, as the tubs were made of steel, and now they are plastic.  Simply write the model number from your machine on a piece of paper, type just the model number into Amazon, and click search.  Most of your parts needed will come up, with their pictures.  This company also had this part assembly to me in only 3 days.  A wonderful experience all around.


I've owned a Max Burton 6000 induction (1800 watts) for over 2 years; it's a much better option.  I mainly use a portable induction burner for cooking outside; if you are cooking something stinky like deep frying oil or it's summer & you're craving pasta but don't want to warm up the kitchen or you're grilling and want to warm a sauce or side dish.  We also like to use it on the deck in the summer for making pancakes.  We eat breakfast outside frequently & it's really convenient to set it up on the table while cooking batches of pancakes.

So to test this Nesco (1500 watts), we took it out on the deck to make pancakes.  We use a Lodge cast iron pancake skillet/griddle.  This skillet is 10.5 inches outside measurement/10 inches inside cooking measurement so should be a good test.  To test the evenness in cooking, we poured pancake batter to near the edge of the pan, leaving a little space for turning.  This Nesco did a terrible job at cooking evenly.  Even though the circle (cooking zone) is 10 inches, the pan did not get hot enough to the edge so we had a gummy/white pancake & a very overdone center where the element is under the pan.  We tried again, fiddling with the temperature level & making a small pancake in the center.  That was better but this would be annoying to make 1 small pancake at a time & it needed constant watching/adjusting of the temperature.
**See photo of pancake above.

There is very little fine tuning in the temperature selection.  You choose between 5 "Cooking Modes"; Melt/Warm, Simmer, Boil, Fry & Sear.  My Max Burton has 10 cooking levels which I discovered is important if you're doing anything other than boiling water.  On level 2 (Simmer) it is too cool and on level 3 (Boil) it is too hot; the food burns.  Having only 5 cooking levels is not enough for items that need specific heat control.  Even though the circle (cooking zone) is 10 inches, the pan did not get hot enough to the edge to cook evenly.  With a strong backlight, I could see and measure the induction element; it is approximately 7 inches in diameter.

When no pan is present, it beeps at you, a helpful feature.  However, after initially beeping quickly at me, it behaved oddly and after I held a pan away from it for 30 seconds it never beeped.  Either it wasn't actively heating (on level 2) or it decided not to beep.  I started to question the beeping accuracy /effectiveness.

I also tested it boiling water & in that it does a very good/fast job.  So if you're just using this to warm liquids such as water, soup, oil for deep frying; it will probably suffice.  If you want to cook something evenly, look elsewhere.

Induction cooking requires a magnetic pan.  To test your pans, put a magnet on the bottom.  If the magnet sticks, your pan will work on induction.  If it doesn't stick, it won't get hot & you need to choose another pan.  A cheap refrigerator magnet is included with this cooktop.  Handy if you're going shopping for new pans but most people probably already own a magnet or two so not really a selling point.

Max Burton 6000 1800-Watt Portable Induction Cooktop, Black A much better choice.
Lodge Logic L9OG3 Pre-Seasoned 10-1/2-Inch Round Griddle My cast iron pancake griddle; works great on other cooktops.


This is a dishwasher part which connects the dish rack to the chassis of the machine.
First, the part snaps onto the rack.
Next, the connection is made via two plastic wheels(on the part) which ride in an aluminum rail(attached to the inside of the dishwasher box).
The fitment is fine and the part works as promised.

Failure!  The entire part is made of plastic.  The wheels are attached to the part with plastic prongs.  The prongs break and the wheels come off the part.  Now your dish rack is sagging and you're scratching your head, "Why?".  I literally go through 2 of these parts per year.  In fact, I buy one in advance and keep it for the next eventual failure.  I can change that thing out faster than the Maytag man!
A man knows no fury like a woman whose dishwasher is broken!  But I digress.

If you need this part, you probably need these parts also!  I have found that if you replace the part with broken or missing clips, IT WILL FAIL QUICKLY.
positioner
W10195840
http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-W10195840-Positioner/dp/B00DZUB24A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404307408&sr=8-3&keywords=W10350376
$15

adjuster
W10195839
http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-W10195839-Adjuster/dp/B00ECV65W0/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_zS
$16

clip lock adjuster arm
W10250160
http://www.amazon.com/Whirlpool-Part-Number-W10250160-CLIP-LOCK/dp/B008DJNMLO/ref=pd_sim_hi_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=03357F2BD3JNA6CH5237
$16
**********
The rest of this is my rant and experience with dishwashers.
I have a Kitchenaid KUDS301XWHO dishwasher.  I have had nothing but trouble with it since I bought it.  Although we wash the dishes before loading them into the machine, they have never and will never, come out clean.  Every year the machine pretty much stops working and needs a repair.  If you buy one, I definitely recommend the extended service contract.  I'd buy another machine tomorrow if I thought it would be better.

Sadly, our government and the manufacturer nations have conspired against us.  Not so long ago, you could buy a Kitchenaid machine and it would last at least 20 years.  It was loud.  You could hear it all through the house.  Indeed, you could feel it rumbling under your feet!  You couldn't hear the TV when it was on, LOL.  It ran for an hour, the dishes came out too hot to handle and they actually came out clean.

In contrast, our new machine is very quiet.  While you can definitely hear it while it's running, it's not much louder than the refrigerator which stands next to it.
First and foremost, the "dish washer" doesn't!  When the cycle is done, the dishes come out crusted and dirty.  Any water the machine saves is surely lost by our pre-washing the dishes by hand.
The new machine is always broken.  I have already done more repairs on mine in three years than we did on older models in 25 years time.  Ditto, my comments from above.  The cost for the 4 parts above(to replace one side of a broken rack)total about $75.  These parts are not covered by the warranty.  I repaired the food chopper myself and recently, we had the touch pad, pump and motor replaced on our 3 year old machine!
The new machine's cycles run forever!  This is especially annoying when I'm entertaining and need to run a wash between courses.  Impossible.  Also, the machine has no rinse/hold cycle.  I like the rinse/hold cycle because it does what it says . . . rinse the plates to wash them later, or tomorrow.  So, I can rinse the plates by hand then load them into the machine or just run a 3 hour wash cycle for a machine that's half full or less.  Ridiculous.


The BEST $200 (including shipping) I've ever spent!  Wish I'd found and done it sooner.  The day it arrived I washed everything even remotely considered dirty because I was so glad to finally get clean clothes.  Let me tell you, the rinse water was gross for at least 2 rinses.  I know my clothes are clean and I'll be using this for as long as it lasts.  I should make my money back in 5 wash-days, as I don't have a car, so I had to take a cab to the laundromat.  Between the cab there and back, and the rolls of quarters, I probably spent $50 every time I went.  I've never been so excited to do laundry!  Yeah it's a girl thing!
Ok, here's the scoop on all the tips out there; believe me, I read every single one to make sure I wasn't buying a piece of junk that was going to break in one or two uses.
If you follow these instructions, you'll be all set: (These are a compilation of all the good reviews and helpful tips out there)
I fill the washer with water(only half way up the blue filter) and add 1 Tablespoon HE detergent ONLY (and bleach if I have whites), place the clothes in, wash for 9 minutes, drain wash side, spin dry the clothes for 3 minutes, fill the washer again with plain water (and add fabric softner if hang drying), add the spun dried clothes again to the washing tub, wash again for another 9 minutes, drain, spin dry again for 3 minutes, then finally hang dry them.
A tip on how much detergent, bleach and fabric softner to use: I add one tablespoon (15ml) of detergent, 1/8 cup (30ml) of bleach and 1/8 cup (30ml) of fabric softner. I know this does not sound like much but if you add too much detergent the water will just "sud up" and when you drain the washing tub it will be full of suds. If you add too much bleach you clothes will smell all "bleachy". For the fabric softner you could add more but I feel it is enough and would be a waste if you use more. Last tip get a lint brush, the lint trap traps little lint and that is if it stays in place.
After you put some clothes in the spin dryer as instructed, attach the hose to the RIGHT HOLE... yes, we are going to use this mystery hole if its the last thing we do!! and turn on the water..add a bit of fabric softener (optional) and close it. Keep the water running... that's right.. running for a couple of minutes.. this will get out all the extra soap. Now , shut the water off and let the spin cycle continue, adding extra time if needed. When you set the unit to drain, water in both basins will drain out.
I run the wash cycle, and move the fill hose to the dryer side. I then run the 5 minute dryer cycle, and add water a couple of times during the process until the run off isn't soapy or dirty. Then I run another 5 minute dryer cycle.
On to spin rinsing. When a load is done washing, distribute it in the spinner, turn the spin timer on with the door open (starts the pump) and run faucet water into the spinner for a minute. Then close the spin door and let it spin until water stops coming out. For some users the job is done. I prefer an agitation rinse, back in the wash tub briefly with fresh water then back in the spinner.
Put delicates or anything with long arm sleeves or legs into a sturdy/durable wash bag.  I bought the 220 Micron Zipper bag for 5 gallon Mini Washing Machine, available here on Amazon. They get badly tangled otherwise, or worn too easily from the hard agitation.
You also want to purchase a Floating Washing Machine Filter Bag to collect all the lint that would otherwise stay on all your nice clean clothes.  The blue plastic filter doesn't do such a hot job.
That's it folks.  Easy peasy and you've got clean clothes.  They honestly mean when they say 1 tablespoon HE laundry detergent.  Otherwise you'll have too many suds and be rinsing forever til the water comes clean.
Oh, and the machine is bigger than I expected, which was a nice surprise but did not fit under my bathroom sink like I thought it would.
I hook up the water hose to my kitchen sink, and hook the drain hose over my tall kitchen trash can for the water to drain into.  Then I just dump the trash can water into the sink after each load.


Many reviews; the favorable ones are right, the unfavorable may have misunderstood what they were buying.  Manual washer supplies the power, the operator supplies the attention.  Tucks away when not in use, almost anyone can pick it up, machine is small (tape-measure the dimensions to get an idea).  The spinner is not a "dryer" as some seem to have expected, it spins water out like any washer only more effectively than most.

I bought the XPB45, half again greater capacity, identical design and operational characteristics.  I hope Amazon makes this model available in the near future, I much prefer buying from Amazon than other online retail platforms.  Since the only difference between the -36 and -45 is a couple t-shirts, the use 'tips and tricks' are the same for both.  Few are familiar with twintub operation.  The included instructions are skeletal.  I learned from Grandma on her Easy in 1953.

First, tape the drain hose to the sink with packing tape.  Or clamp it under the toilet seat.  Guess why I said that first, LOL.  The pressure will make it want to escape.  It won't hurt anything but can make a mess, might as well avoid that.

Next, UNDERload the washer so everything moves freely.  Much better results with 2 small loads than one excessive one.  (Actually true of any washer, particularly evident with a small one.)  Use HE/low suds detergent.  Use body-temp water (100F) unless fabric says 'cold'.  The temp limit for these machines is 120F.

Some reviews mention lint.  The washing action is very vigorous.  Let the detergent do the work.  Use short (1-min) agitations with long soaks between.  UNDERloading will also minimize lint, as the fabric is free to move.

Contrary to the instructions, it is not necessary to drain the wash tub before spinning.  For light soil you can reuse suds and still spin each load as you go.  The 'spin' switch starts the pump independent of the 'drain' switch.  If the wash water becomes dirty/brown/scummy, drain and refresh.  This is where the operator supplies the attention for best results with varying soil.  'Automatic' washers can't replace human judgement and guidance.  Twintubs can produce superior results with supervision.

OK, I'm starting to sound like holy grail.  Sorry.  I'm a scientist and laundry is science.  On to spin rinsing.  When a load is done washing, distribute it in the spinner, turn the spin timer on with the door open (starts the pump) and run faucet water into the spinner for a minute.  Then close the spin door and let it spin until water stops coming out.  For some users the job is done.  I prefer an agitation rinse, back in the wash tub briefly with fresh water then back in the spinner.

All these options are yours to use as needed.  The Panda performs them at your direction.  With decades of laundry experience, I am completely satisfied with Panda.

Appendix:
'New washer smell' is butadiene, same thing a tire store smells like.  Dissipates rapidly with use, just like it does with new tires.

'Puddles'.  I find the rapid reversal of spinning water can splash water out the right front edge of the wash door.  More so with large single-piece loads like sheets.  A kitchen sponge can be placed below that point to catch drips.  Strategically-placed household weatherstrip tape may prevent them.

'Prewash'.  Like with any washer, some soils/stains may require extra treatment.  Pretreat with stain release sprays.  If first wash water is especially dirty, spin items (for dripless handling) then rewash.  You will probably find that heavy-soil items benefit from a prewash.  They can be set aside and all be rewashed in the same fill, as the bulk soil has already been removed.  Prewash/normal should be 100-105F so stains don't set.  Second wash should be 120F, do not exceed.

'Detergent dosing'.  Detergents have no instructions for the small volume of a twintub.  Dosing will be tablespoons instead of cups/fractions.  2 tbsp should be right for normal use.  For heavier soil use up to 4 tbsp.  Powders are preferable to liquids (Consumer Report verifies.)  I recommend 1 tbsp STPP detergent booster (available from Amazon, ~$3/pound) for every fill.


I cannot attest to the quality of this specific part, aside from the fact it is an LG part and is no doubt the same quality junk that you are looking to replace.

I did want to assure anyone looking to repair their washer who finds the nuts just spinning on the old spider, that they DO NOT NEED A NEW DRUM. LG will tell you otherwise as will most parts suppliers but it simply isn't true. Let me explain.

First let me clear up a misunderstanding about what's covered by Lg's lifetime stainless steel drum warranty. According to Lg's reps that I spoke to, only the stainless steel part of the drum is covered, and not the carefully designed and planned obsolescence parts like the spider and lifter assemblies. Surprise!

LG (and I assume other manufacturers) design their washers to fail. It's as simple as that. They warranty the parts that they know have a very low chance to fail like the motor and stainless steel drum but surround them with inferior parts that will just squeek by the 5 year store warranties and then crap out. Mine lasted 5 years 3 months. My extended warranty from sears... 5 years. Surprise!

These companies are counting on people weighing the repair time/cost against just buying a new machine. They want at the very least for you to be forced to purchase expensive parts from them or even better, to just go purchase another unit.

Look inside the tub, those plastic agitators are called lifter assemblies. These lifters cover another plastic piece. The plastic pieces the lifters cover are what the spider part is anchored to. That's right, the part that holds the drum to the spider which connects to the motor are plastic.

What is worse, those pieces are designed to never be replaced and is why LG and other suppliers will tell you, you need a new drum. The reason why the old bolts are spinning when you try to remove the old spider is the bolts were sprayed with lock tight and then screwed into nuts that are housed in plastic. So when you go to unscrew them the nuts break or bend the plastic constraints they are housed in and just spin inside the lifter assembly because the plastic cannot endure the pressure needed to break the years of corrosion and lock tight. Surprise!

Actually what surprises me more is that any of the bolts unscrew at all considering the deck is masterfully stacked against them.

So that brings me to what you need to do. You need to try to keep as much material out of the land fills as possible and don't let the companies win by buying a new drum or unit.

How? Drill out the bolts that spin. I grabbed a large drill bit a bit (hehe) smaller than the head of the bolt and chewed it down to the washer until the threaded shaft was all that remained. Then I took a punch and punched the shaft down so the lifters fell down inside the tub. Make sure you bend up the stainless tabs on the outside that help keep the lifters in place first. And make sure you keep it centered so the head remnants and lock washer breaks away when the bit reaches the washer level. This will save time and keep you well away from the stainless tub.

Once the lifters drop down you will have access to the nuts and can repair the plastic frame they sit in. I used JB weld to set the nuts back in and also strengthened the few nuts that didn't spin with JB weld for when I have to replace the spider in five years.

Buy six 8mmx45mm stainless steel bolts with some stainless washers and lock washers. You will need them for when you connect everything back together.

So all in all, I have invested 70 for the spider, and 80 for the bearings,  seal and outer tub gasket. Roughly 10 for the stainless hardware. 160 IS cheaper than a repair man, cheaper than a drum and way cheaper than a new washer. Win! Right?

Now add the time it took to teardown the washer,  the frustration involved with every step of the too-many-to-count step process and the realization that the front loading washers are filthy just by their nature. Gunk gets trapped in every nook and cranny (behind the lifters, all up in the seal, the tub lip, the outer tub etc. Multiply that by the realization that the same parts will fail the exact same way in the future.

It doesn't feel like I won. Suprise!


BUYER BEWARE!

I purchased this product. It arrived BROKEN -- it runs but produces NO HEAT!!  (as well as the Sonya washer, which ALSO ARRIVED BROKEN). Can you believe that the seller requested me to remove the back cover and take a picture of "the problem"?  How on earth can you take a picture of the absense of heat?  Yes, I took the pictures and sent them to the seller, but of course nothing came of their trying to trouble-shoot the absense of hot air by looking at a photograph of it. (???)

I have phoned the toll-free number asking for contact information of Sonya-authorized repair persons in my area.  I received the sweet and sincere-sounding outgoing message requesting the caller to leave a message and someone will return the call.  No ... no one EVER returned my multiple calls.

"Sonya" and I have exchanged MANY emails through Amazon, and the seller simply apologizes profusely but does not address the problem of the broken products ... except to say "return them."

I kept the shipping in case I would need it, so I was prepared to return both products, BUT each crate requires professional (plastic?) strapping to hold the top of the box to the bottom (more like a platform) of the box.

I have no way to STRAP the shipping cartons together, and I have no way to transport the machines and shipping crates to a professional shipper.  Sadly, the expense to professionally strap the cartons falls to ME and is not covered by "Sonya."  Additionally, I based on my experience I do not trust this seller any farther than I can throw it -- How do I know they will ACTUALLY refund my $750?

Also, I have found ZERO "authorized" repair persons ... in the entire United States. The authorized repair persons ARE IN CANADA AND ASIA, not in the U.S.

BOTTOM LINE: "Sonya" has taken $750 of my money, provided me with two broken machines, will not return my phone calls, has no authorized repair persons so I can maintain their warranty (rendering the warranty USELESS if you live in the USA), and I am unable to ship the machines BACK to "Sonya" because to do so I would have to HIRE a trucker to transport the machines/cartons to a professional shipper PLUS PAY for each carton to be STRAPPED together (the top strapped to the bottom "platform").

RETURN SHIPPING EXPENSE NOTE:

The seller CLAIMS that it will pay for the "postage" expense to return faulty merchandise, but what they DO NOT TELL YOU is that the BUYER PAYS for transporting and re-packaging (strapping) the faulty merchandise ... which is VERY espensive.

The Amazon problem-solvers "can only say that the seller is willing to refund your expense if you will kindly return the merchandise."

I contacted my attorney about being RIPPED-OFF by an international company. His response? Legal attempts to recover my financial loss will cost me MUCH MORE than what I paid for the merchandise.

MY ADVICE BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE IS THIS:

 - DO NOT PURCHASE FROM THIS SELLER.
 - THERE ARE NO SONYA-AUTHORIZED SERVICE REPS IN THE USA SO IF YOU CAN FIND SOMEONE (UNAUTHORIZED IN THE US) TO REPAIR THE PRODUCT, THE WARRANTY IS INVALIDATED.
 - IF YOU GET BROKEN MACHINES, YOU MUST PAY TRANSPORT AND PROFESSIONAL STRAPPING IN ORDER TO SEND THE MACHINES BACK.
 - SONYA's EMAILS DO NOT ADDRESS MY QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS; THEY DO GUSH WITH SO-SORRYs AND RECOMMENDATIONS BUT THAT'S IT.
 - The seller is not in the United States and is not a U.S. company, so taking INTERNATIONAL legal action to recover your purchase price and shipping is likely to cost several times what you have already lost, AND your chances of successful INTERNATIONAL recovery of your funds is practically ZERO.

GOOD LUCK TO HAPPY BUYERS:

I have read the positive reviews of these products, and made my purchase based upon them.

Apparently, there are buyers who have received merchandise in working order, and good for them ... but ... when the machine breaks, I wish them luck in finding an appliance repair person who is either "Sonya authorized" or even not "authorized" but willing to attempt repair.

I have contacted several major appliance repair service companies in my area and each refused to attempt repair because the internal workings of the machines (Sonya washer and Sonya dryer) are not standard in the U.S. and for that reason the repair service reps have no experience or knowledge of "where to even begin."

So, I repeat ... BUYER BEWARE!


We wanted a cabinet depth refrigerator as we don't like our fridge sticking out too far from the cabinets.  We had a GE prior to this one and I swore I would never buy another GE refrigerator again.  It was about 10 years old and was their top of the line cabinet depth back then.  Thank goodness for extended warranty as we had numerous calls on it which unfortunately continued after when we had to pay about another $400 to keep it running.  Ferraris have this sort of maintenance needs, not GE appliances....

I was looking at Samsung and LG options and was sold on going that route when my wife found this model online.  I was not thrilled about it, but agreed to look at it since she liked the looks and features.  A local large box home appliance retailer said they could get it for me and the price was right - with their 5 year extended warranty - so I went ahead with it.

So far it has been a very nice refrigerator.  I really like the LED lighting.  It really lights up the interior so much better than the old incandescent bulbs of the past.  And it gives it a rich look.  The LCD panel on the front is an attractive feature and does things like tell you how much water you're dispensing in ounces.  Very nice, for example, if you want need 8 ounces of water.  It counts it off for you.  It also has a neat animated background when in use.  Just a nice detail that makes it feel "rich" without being gimmicky.

The hot water dispenser is a very unique feature I have not seen on any other refrigerator. It is good for tea, soups, etc.  It takes several minutes to warm up, as you may expect, but is more convenient that boiling water on the stove.  So far we've only used it a few times, but I can see where this would be a handy feature once you remember you actually have it.

It runs quiet and efficiently.  The ice maker works very well.  It took about 8 to 12 hours before ANY ice was made so don't be alarmed if you don't see any ice making activity for the first 6 or 8 hours. I was ready to call service on this but it must take time for it to get started. (Yes, I know ice doesn't freeze instantly....  It just seemed to be a long time until ANY was made.)

The freezer has multiple levels and 2 pull out drawers, so organizing your food should be easy.  Going from a side-by-side to this will take some getting used to, but we don't have a ton of freezer stuff and we have a second refrigerator in the garage where we keep items less often used, so ours is still mostly empty. You will have to judge this based on your own habits.

The "fun" feature is the ability to use the LCD panel as an electronic picture frame.  I am a gadget person so I tried this out.  There is a USB port under a rubber cover where the ice/water dispense.  THIS IS NOT documented in the manual so I had to find it on my own. It immediately recognized the USB drive and uploaded the pictures.  Note, it only does a full overwrite of what is on there, so you can't simply add or delete pictures. Load your pictures on a USB drive, plug it in, and it simply replaces everything on the fridge with what is on your drive. When you use the panel for water or ice, it will then display your pictures for some period of time as a slide show(not sure how long - 10 minutes maybe?)  Unfortunately GE engineers don't allow any customization of this feature. It's just an upload and display item; you can't adjust anything about how they display.  There is NO documentation in the manual that I could find so if you like this feature you will have to sort this out on your own. (See my reply below with a more detailed explanation of this process!)

Overall our first month has gone well.  The store explained that the manufacture of GE refrigerators has moved from Mexico back to the US and they've seen an uplift in quality. (I did look and my old GE was made in Mexico and this one is made at Appliance Park in Kentucky.)  So will see how that plays out long term.  Given the Cafe line is supposed to be their best, I anticipate much better service than the Artica model I had before.


LOVE the new Nina Soft Spin Dryer &  Wonder Wash combo!

We live in a fifth wheel and have an on-board washer and dryer. Sometimes it takes the tumble dryer up to 4 HOURS to dry two bath towels even though they'd been through the spin cycle in the washer.  Since we don't always have full hook-ups and some park laundry facilities are up to $3.25 to wash and dry a load, I'm now using Laundry Alternative's Wonder Wash and the Nina Soft Spin Dryer.  The Nina Soft pulled nearly 3 quarts of water out of EACH of two towels, after which the tumble dryer finished drying both in 40 minutes.  Woohoo!

Other remarkable drying times:  Nina Soft followed by the tumble dryer = Queen sheets dry in 20 minutes; 4 pair of jeans shorts, 20 minutes.  Nina Soft + line dry on a hot day = 20-30 minutes total drying time for T-Shirts /Shorts.  Pretty amazing.

The spin dryer's earned a permanent place in my RV kitchen because I use it almost every day.  I'll still be using it even when I have full hook-ups and can return to using my regular washer.

I dealt directly with Laundry Alternative and they were great to work with... answered many questions by phone and email before and after receiving my products.  My only regret is that I didn't order them a year ago.  I could have saved so much time drying my clothes, and money at  park laundry rooms.

RVrs:  The Laundry Alternative people told me it's BEST THAT NINA SOFT TRAVELS UPRIGHT v. stowed on its side.

BOONDOCKERS, I asked the Laundry Alternative people how much water would the Wonder Wash be putting into the grey tank for washing and rinsing?  Here is their reply:

"It takes a little over a gallon of water to wash the clothes. Rinsing depends on the method used. If you refill the machine to rinse, you can use up to 3 gallons of water" [total, wash + rinse water]. "You can also rinse by hand, and perhaps use less water. The best way to use the least amount of water is to use a spin dryer...it's not commonly known, but a fast spin cycle removes a great deal of detergent suds...most people assume you must use water to rinse, but fast spin speed also does a great job of rinsing."

For what it's worth, I'm making my own low suds powdered detergent from recipes found on youtube, and I'm getting great results with only 1/2 - 1 TEASPOON of powder per load in the Wonder Wash.  Makes rinsing easy and the water extracted via the spin dryer is coming out nearly clear.  If you have to be super conservative with water while boondocking or managing your grey tank level, it is easy to recapture the rinse water from the Wonder Wash and the Nina Soft and re-use it to wash the next load.

The photo compares the Nina Spin Soft to my counter height and a one-step folding stool.  Hopefully it will give you a good visual comparison for size.  Believe me it's worth the space.  And the price for the Laundry Alternative combo.

BTW, my husband was fussing that these were just "gadgets" before I made the purchase.  After watching me keep the laundry clean this last month and my neighbor schlepping off to the laundromat with 3 weeks dirty laundry, I got a welcome, "Good decision, Babe."  Can't beat that.  Unless he did the laundry.  LOL

UPDATE 10/20/15:  STILL LOVE THE WONDER WASH/NINA SOFT SPIN DRYER COMBO

Have only had full hook-ups about 2 weeks out of the last 4 months, but the laundry situation isn't a hassle any more.  The combo works - clean clothes in less time.  Was able to use my regular washer this week, but only used it for 3 big loads.  Found I prefer the Wonder Wash for small loads of like things, plus the quick turn-around time of just a few minutes to wash and rinse a load.  Used the spin dryer after each of the regular washer loads, too, and it was remarkable how much soapy water was extracted.  Thanks, Laundry Alternative, for great products.


Addendum DEC 2015:  Have lived with the fridge for about a year.  Our experience has been good.  Fridge is quiet and problem free so far.  The addition of a 20 pound CO2 tank has been great. Copious amounts of very fizzy water. Did not have any ice maker leaks that other reviewer had.  One little issue arose when quests came and somehow the fridge was placed into showroom or demo mode, shutting off the compressor.  Absolutely no help from the manual.  Fix was to simultaneously  long press top two left buttons, ie., Freezer and Alarm, which turned the compressor back on. Thanks to all the people on the Internet! Why this isn't stated in the manual is idiotic.

Original review:

We bought the counter depth model.  Just the two of us, so it is plenty big.

So the important thing is my wife loves  sparkling, fizzy, gassy, water by any name.  The original. little, tiny, soda stream CO2 tanks just wouldn't do, so I had a look at it and have now attached a standard  20 pound CO2 tank with regulator, to the refrigerator, stashing the tank in an adjacent cabinet.  Works well !

So far great fridge, we haven't had any problems, but see other reviews,  all the rest is about CO2:

If any one is interested, I used 6mm PU tubing, a CO2 regulator and two connectors, to go from the 20 pound CO2 tank to the fridge. Surprisingly simple.  It seems that the soda stream regulator is built into the metallic gas bottle connector, so I just by-passed it, connecting my 6mm tubing, from my regulator,  right into the push to connect fitting in the fridge,  where the tubing from the soda stream originally connected to the fridge. Only a couple of screws need to be removed to access the carbonator and fittings in the fridge.

The tricky part was routing the tubing through the top of the door.  There is a plate on top of the door, above the dispenser, which when removed, reveals plenty of space, and I drilled from the edge of the door above the handle [ not the hinge side], into this space, through the plastic, down to above the carbonator, and ran the tubing down. All I hit with the drill was foam, but yes, i was a little nervous.

I then ran the tubing back to the hinge along the top of the door,  and underneath the plastic piece on top of the fridge and back to the cabinets.
The tubing is covered completely from sight, though if I was to do it again, I would use black tubing instead of orange. Would make routing easier.

Set my regulator to 80 psi originally, but bumped it up to 100 psi.  Works well with about 14 feet of 6mm tubing.  The PU tubing can easily handle these pressures, but is surprisingly flexible.  All parts were bought on Amazon, except 20# tank which was bought locally, filled with CO2, but everything was  about $200. I see Amazon  sells several sizes of CO2 tanks, though, of course, they are empty.  5 or 10 pound tanks may fit cabinets better. Tank has to be upright to get gas out of the top.

This review is only for educational purposes, and I would never suggest that anyone actually do it.  There is some confusion about CO2 out there though. CO2 is not under the pressures SCUBA tanks are, at least in beverage tanks, maybe 600-800 psi, and after the regulator, about 80-100 psi is used. Beverage type of CO2 is a liquid with an overlying gas phase, and not as dangerous as a SCUBA tank, which is 3000 psi gas [air].

You have to get a beverage tank, which dispenses gas from the overlying gas phase, and not a "siphon"  tank, which dispenses liquid CO2, from the bottom, which the paintball people use to refill their smaller tanks. Under no circumstances should you ever get a high pressure compressed gas CO2 tank.

The beverage tanks are sold everywhere. Always use a nylon washer between your tank and regulator. Also use flare washers on all flare fittings on the regulator. I went from a flare fitting directly to a 6mm push to connect fitting at the regulator.  Not as complicated as it sounds.  Some companies are making money off of "food grade" CO2.  Not necessary. A clean tank is all you need.

I am now looking into a small, post carbonator, sparkling water storage tank, to fit into the original Soda Stream tank space. Haven't figured it out yet.  This space is other wise wasted.


I have a Whirlpool Side-by-Side Refrigerator/Freezer, Model ED2YHGXLQ01. I kept finding the refrigerator door open slightly (~1/4") and thought it was people in a hurry & not bothering to shut the door completely. We made an effort to make sure the door was closed each time; however, I continued to find the door ajar, which caused the refrigerator temperature to be warmer than desired and led to spoiled milk. I also noticed that the top of the refrigerator door was ~ 1/4" lower than the freezer door. After doing an online search for this problem, I ascertained that I needed to replace the closing door cams on the refrigerator door. I vaguely recalled sweeping up some pieces of broken black plastic at some point and wondered where they'd come from. Its easier to replace the closing cams than one might think.

Remove everything from the shelves in the refrigerator door. Unplug the refrigerator. Remove the refrigerator door by first removing the 5/16" hex head screw that holds the white plastic cover over the top door hinge parts on the top of the refrigerator. Next, remove the three screws that secure the silver metal plate under the white plastic cover. Do not remove the center screw. Lift off the metal plate, which has a metal post pointing downward that inserts into a hole at the top right of the refrigerator. The door pivots around this metal post. Lay the refrigerator door on a flat surface like the ice chest that you put the food in from the refrigerator door.

The upper closing cam (P/N W2182179) is located *underneath* the refrigerator door at the bottom right. The black tubular part sticking out of the upper closing cam inserts into a hole at the bottom of the refrigerator door. There is a 5/16" hex head screw that goes through the hole in the flat part of the closing cam to attach it to the refrigerator door. Once you get the part, you'll be able to see that there are plastic "teeth" on the other side of the cam from the black tubular part. The side of the cam with the teeth face downward; these teeth will sit on the teeth of the lower closing cam. I found that there was no longer any upper closing cam on my refrigerator door--mystery of the broken plastic pieces solved. This also explained why the refrigerator door was lower than the freezer door.

The black plastic lower closing cam (P/N W10329686) is attached to a metal bracket at the bottom right of the refrigerator, just below the refrigerator door. The metal bracket is screwed onto the refrigerator frame (not the door). I did not need to remove this bracket since it was accessible by removing the refrigerator door. The hole in the lower closing cam with the teeth around it slips over the metal post sticking up from the metal bracket. (Teeth side facing up.) A 5/16" hex head screw goes through the plain hole in the cam without the "teeth" around it; this secures the lower closing cam to the metal bracket, which has two holes in it. The screw for the lower closing cam goes through the hole on the left of the bracket (when facing the refrigerator). I called Whirlpool to confirm which hole the screw goes into, but they couldn't provide the information. I found out what hole to use by studying how to videos on YouTube. While the lower closing cam wasn't broken, I went ahead and replaced it as well so the two closing cams were of the same age.

The how to videos recommended greasing the cams with silicone lubricant grease, which I didn't have. The rep at my local Home Depot found they didn't have any silicone lubricant grease in stock and said I could use WD-40 Silicone Spray instead. I already had some of this so I sprayed it on the cams. Unfortunately, the silicone spray did not provide enough lubrication to allow the teeth of the two cams to slide smoothly across each other as the refrigerator door opened and closed. The door made a loud clunking noise each time it was opened past 90 degrees. It sounded like something was about to break.

I didn't want to wait for an online order so I got some multi-purpose White Lithium Grease from the local hardware store. It was ~$5 for 8 oz which was the smallest size they had. I removed the refrigerator door again and squirted a big blob of white lithium grease on the teeth of the lower cam. After reattaching the door, I found that it opened and closed smoothly and quietly. Repair finally done!

How-to videos I found helpful on YouTube were:
Part Select  [...]
Appliance Part Pros  [...]


I have the Freeline Grom, which I liked so much that I got the OG as well.  First I'll discuss Freeline skates in general, then I'll discuss the difference between Grom and OG.

The OG is very tough.  The deck and truck is one piece cast aircraft-grade aluminum.  It can bear up to 3,000 lbs.  My minor complaint is that the griptape isn't very grippy.  I replaced mine with Vicious Black griptape which I'm pleased with.

Learning to ride Freelines is not as difficult as it may seem. In terms of difficulty, learning Freelines is definitely harder than a casterboard but I found it easier to learn than Orbitwheels or the Skatecycle. It just takes persistence, and a little thought. The trucks don't move so you need to pivot (more like steer) the skates in and out. You should also coordinate the pivoting with the direction that you push each skate. For example, if you're riding regular, and your toes are pointed in, then your left/front leg should push "up" (from a birds-eye view) while your right/rear leg should push "down" and vice-versa. It took me 3 days of 2 hours each to learn the Freeline to the point of not needing a wall to launch or propel myself, and be able to turn and stop. To be fair, I had been practicing with Orbitwheels for 8 hours total before that.

I found Freelines to be fun to ride. Downhill, it feels a lot like snowboarding, except your feet move independently. Some skates feel squirrelly going downhill, but the Freelines feel stable and I have confidence in their traction. On flats, they also feel good. However, on flats, you do need to maintain a brisk walking speed, or else they will feel hard to pivot. That requires learning techniques to start moving from a standstill ("zero start"). I found FLSTeamBushi's video tutorials most helpful.

Freeline skates do take more strength and endurance to ride than let's say inline skating. On inline skates, I can skate for a long while before needing to stop. On the OG, I can currently skate for only a couple of minutes before needing to pause. At that point, the soles of my feet are sore, and my quads are burning (as though I did one long set of many reps). Hopefully, as my technique improves and my muscles grow stronger, I can skate longer.

As expected, Freelines feel best on smooth surfaces. You can still ride them on rough asphalt, but it's much harder to propel them.

BTW, I also got a pair of fake Freeline skates (branded Sui Xin). The deck looks tough enough (aluminum, but not the same kind as the OG) and it even has optional straps, and flashing wheels. However, the wheels and bearings are absolutely horrible. It takes far more effort to propel them, to the point where I can only go for a few feet (whereas on the Groms and OG, I can skate for a couple of minutes before stopping). They were so bad that I tried changing the bearings to Bones Reds. It was a huge improvement but one of the wheels still would not turn smoothly, and the other wheels would turn only about as much as the Groms' wheels (on normal wheels, Bones Reds should spin more smoothly than ABEC5). With bearings replaced, I can skate only about 30 seconds on the fake Freelines before running out of momentum and leg strength. It still takes much more effort, and it's not as fun as riding the OG or Groms.

GROM VS. OG VS. CRUISER
As mentioned, I started out with the Grom and now have the OG as well. I can confirm that the Grom is much easier to propel than the OG. I wasn't sure why (is it the decks? or the wheels? or something else?). I put the OG wheels on the Groms (yes they do fit). I found that with the OG wheels, the modified Grom is actually better. It rolls more smoothly, and it is also a little easier to stay balanced on it. Based on my experiment, it appears that it is the Grom's deck that makes it easier to ride than the OG. That brings me to the Cruiser: I saw a site that showed the Cruiser wheels being 72mm (the size of the OG wheels). If so, then the Cruiser should be better than the Grom because it has the same deck, but has the OG wheels.  I haven't tried the Pro, but because its deck is wood, I suspect it is also easier to propel than the Grom, albeit less durable.


I'm really glad I bought this little dryer, though I'm not even close to the target demographic. I have a full size laundry set on the lower level of my house (in a dedicated laundry room no less!), but we got the old machines when we bought the house last year, and they were not quite up to my modern laundry diva standards. I'm a terrible housekeeper, but laundry is the only one of the necessary evils of home care that I don't actually hate. My new house also has a little laundry closet upstairs off the master bedroom with room for a compact, stackable washer-dryer set. I bought a nice compact washer for upstairs, but I had two qualms about getting a matching dryer.
1) Upstairs would be electric, not gas like the main laundry. Our utility rates are amongst the nation's highest, and I don't want to pay that much for drying clothing just because someone is too lazy to walk downstairs to the "real" machines.
2) Upstairs also has the plastic dryer venting going from the closet, through the attic, and outside in an inconvient-to-access place. Eventually, I will replace the fire-hazard plastic venting material, but I don't have the budget to do it now with so many other projects crying out for attention in the new home. Using the 110-V mini Panda dryer must produce less heat, therefore less fire hazard, so so my thinking goes.

I hang a lot of my laundry to dry for environmental reasons (and to save wear and tear on finer fabrics) and my intent was to exclusively line dry with the upstairs compact washer. When my inherited-with-the-house dryer died two weeks ago just as the school year ended, planned parties were about to happen, and my house filled with guests... I ordered the Panda dryer and hoped it could see me through a very busy time while I waited for new household units to arrive.

I would never compare this little dryer to a full size unit. I don't know that it gets as hot, but it does get hot and dry clothing. I didn't try to cram every item I washed into it, but I did have the option to tumble/fluff the stiff-as-a-board items I'd line-dried previously, and it got the job done every time.

Because it is small and less convenient, I don't think other family members will use this at all, and that suits me perfectly. It will take up less space in my laundry closet, leaving more room to put up a shelf for my detergents and letting me avoid storing those in my bedroom or bathroom.

I also felt that the luxury of having this little guy meant that I could take my time when picking out my new full-sized machines, and it meant I could afford the extra time lag of ordering them from a less expensive source. With NO laundry options at home, I would've purchased any units available for immediate delivery, because I have two messy boys who spend a lot of time outdoors.

I wish the lint filter was easier to clean, but it isn't actually difficult. My mother (one of those houseguests) tells me it is like the ones in the old Maytag dryers she remembers from decades ago.

I wish the supplied venting was metal instead of plastic, but I'm happy that they included the pieces that they did. It was easy for me to set the Panda dryer up on my own and get the vent directed out a window so I could work on my laundry backlog without waiting for help to hang it on the wall where it properly goes.

My unit came with a faint spot of rust on the exterior top at a seam. I found no evidence of interior rust (that would affect my clothing) so I just accepted it and got on with the laundry. I considered sending it back, but felt that the price was low enough, and my need intense enough, that I could deal with a non-function-impacting defect on the exterior.

I don't usually use the Panda to fully dry wet clothing, but I have done so with lightweight and mid-weight items. I haven't tried to dry jeans from fully wet to bone dry. My expectations have been met. Air dry doesn't result in warm clothes, so I'd say it works as described. Warm, which I use most often, results in pleasantly warm items pulled out. I think I've only set the dryer to hot once, just to be sure the dial worked on every setting, so I don't have a lot to say about that setting.

I wish the dial felt a little more robust, but any rotary dial strikes me as less likely to need repair than any electronic dryer.

I miss the buzzer at the end of the cycle a little bit, but not very much since I'm almost never setting and forgetting laundry upstairs, but rather tumbling nearly dry items that I intend to fold immediately.


Love my Panda portable washer with spinner. I bought it for our sailboat and it lives on the seat in the shower. We bought the gravity drain machine and I drain it into a 2 gallon bucket then when it's about 3 inches from the top of the bucket I switch the control from drain to wash or straight up and it stops. Then I pour in down the sink and drain another bucket. It's do easy and fast. I used a black magic marker and put a viable line on each control so I know when it's on wash or drain or spin. I usually wash for 3 min and spin for 3 min. It holds alot of clothes. Then after you want spin 1/2 of the load at a time. I bought a great drying rack from. Home Goods that holds a load or more. Clothes dry quickly. Yesterday z I did 3 loads. 1 white and light, one colors and 1 black. Example would be 3 T shirts 2 or 3 pair shorts and 2 Capri plus 5 pair undies and 2 boxer shorts. Only problem has been lint filter falls out. Finally figured it out. When you put it in,  raise the piece on top up with your finger and it will snap in place.  Other hints. The separate piece on the spinner is supposed to be inside the spin tub. Just put it on top of the clothes and turn it sideways to get it out. Also re the soap I learned from another review of Pandas to use 1 tablespoon. I use 2 tbl of liquid Gain  because the machine is bigger. Hint to save water. You can save and reuse your rinse water for your next load of wash. How to use the Panda.  Instructions are not clear. Fill washer 1/2 full with water.  I go to below the lint filter. I fill with the shower sprayer. Tried the fill hose but it doesn't fit the sink spigot well and slips off or I have to hold it. The washer holds about 4 gallons of water. 2 full buckets if you want to fill with a bucket. Be sure the knob is on wash and the bucket with the drain hose is below. More than once I  have left it on rinse and when I think I am filling the tub, It is draining into the bucket. Add clothes and soap and continue filling to top of lint filter. Turn the knob to the number of minutes you want. When done turn the knob to drain. Be sure the drain hose is positioned over the bucket. Since I am in a shower it doesn't matter if a little water spills but you may want this on a kitchen counter or a stool in the bathroom. After the water has drained out fill the tub with rinse water and add a little softener if you like. I use about a tablespoon. Rinse 3 min and drain. Then take half of the clothes and put them in the spinner.  Be sure the hose in in the bucket. Spin for 2 or 3 minutes until no water is coming out the hose. You're done! Takes me about 10 min total for a load.

You may be deciding which Panda to buy. I read a lot of reviews. I chose the blue one with gravity drain because it was a little smaller than the one with a motorized drain. Since it was going on the shower bench the smaller size fit better. Otherwise I would have picked the motorized drain. You could sit that one flat in the tub and it would still drain. It only cost a little more.  My Panda weighs 43 lbs, too heavy for me. It has fallen over twice in rough waters but I usually have a hamper in the shower ares so it doesn't fall completely over. My husband is going to try to secure it with a strap in the future. Caution. If yours is elevated stay with it during the spin to be sure it doesn't walk or vibrate off of its perch. Mine is also very quiet. We are coming up the ICW now. The Panda is happy on its perch in our shower on the seat. Perfect for boaters. But I recommend securing or putting it on the floor in heavy seas. It says a ton of $, time and effort over taking laundry ashore in dinghy to lsundramat that often is $3.00 per load to wash. I do take sheets and towels except for hand towels and washcloths as I prefer to fluff them in dryer. Could probably get 1 queen sheet in but haven't tried it yet. So I recommend The Panda 100%. Would love a small portable dryer.


I just washed my first loads in my Panda. I live in an apartment without hookups. The complex does have laundry machines, but laundry was costing us around $126 a month. In two months, this little guy will pay for himself. I did use these suggestions from other reviewers:

--Detergent pods diluted with 6 cups of water (I already had the pods. I put the mix in spray bottle to make it easier).
--Laundry bags (socks do become a mess of tangles)
--Wash without detergent the first round (I was AMAZED to see how much detergent residue and general filth was pulled out of "clean clothes").
--Fill above the lint trap (the lint trap works fine as long as you fill up the tank a wee bit past the filter).
--Set on an upturned laundry basket/plastic tote and fill with a hand-shower and drain in the tub (another person's review suggested this and it works great for me. My bathroom is too small to keep it in there permanently). Though, I might beg a buddy into hooking it up in the kitchen for me.

Does it smell?

There's a little off-gassing, but it was nothing worse than how my microwave smelled when I bought it.

How much does it hold?

About half of the size of a load for a regular size (not jumbo or oversized) washer. A drawer full of clothes. An 11 year old's clothes for the day (including jacket). ONE pair of work pants (because they're nasty, not because it wouldn't fit two). A dress and undergarments for a full-figured woman. More than I expected.  I haven't tried our oversized towels yet. I do believe it will do one at a time, but I'm considering donating the oversized towels and picking up some smaller, lighter weight ones. A king size sheet and two pillow cases.

How long does it take?

All loads, except the nasty work pants and the socks that needed bleaching, were done in 5 minutes of wash time, 5 minutes of rinse time, and 5 minutes of spin time. Expect each load to take 20 minutes or less to do. It's not "set it and forget it", but it is pretty close.

How much does it weigh?

About 25-30 lbs. It's totally "liftable". If you can pick up a big bag of dog food, you can pick up this little guy. I got him in an out of the tub easily, and I'm not a younger lady anymore.

How big is it?

The size of a large plastic tote. About 2-2 1/2 foot square.

What are you going to name it?

I'm thinking of naming mine Wilf. Wilf the Butler.

What kind of detergent do you use?

Homemade detergents would work GREAT in this machine. That's what I'll be using after I run out of pods. The machine specifies high-efficiency (or low foam) detergents. I used regular, diluted detergent that I spritzed in with a spray bottle. Pre-diluting the soap made it work just fine.

How strong is it?

AMAZINGLY STRONG! I was surprised by how forcefully it agitated. It is much more powerful than a typical laundry machine, which is why I guess it takes less time to wash.

How much water does it use?

I think, and this is just a guess, that I used about five gallons per load (soak, bleach, rinse, spin). Probably less on the loads I didn't pre-bleach or need extra rinsing for. USE LESS SOAP AND YOU'LL USE LESS WATER. Next time around I'll probably wash more than one load in the same water, then rinse separately. Remember, more soap doesn't always mean "more clean". Soap residue is a big cause of "dingy" clothes.

How dry do the clothes get?

I think they were quite a bit dryer than clothes are when I pull them out of a regular washer. I pinned them up on my dryer rack, pointed a fan at them, and in 45 minutes they were dry (put into perspective, the apartment community's dryers take 60 minutes and returns damp clothes).

Is it worth it?

If Wilf lives past two months, he'll have paid for himself. If he makes it a whole year, Wilf will put about a thousand dollars back in my pocket. So yes, definately worth it.


I CANNOT IMAGINE ANYONE SAYING ANYTHING GOOD ABOUT ANY SAMSUNG APPLIANCE.  OUR HOME WAS FLOODED.  WE HAD TO REPLACE ALL OUR KITCHEN APPLIANCES.  WE WERE OUT OF OUR HOME FOR FIVE MONTHS AND I DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO RESEARCH THE NEW APPLIANCE'S WE WOULD BUY.  THIS IS NOT LIKE ME.  I ALWAYS RESEARCH ALL LARGE ITEMS THAT WE PURCHASED.  BIG MISTAKE ON MY PART.  SOMEONE TOLD ME ABOUT SAMSUNG BEING GOOD.  I SHOULD HAVE NEVER TAKEN SOMEONE'S ELSE WORD.
WE BOUGHT A SAMSUNG STOVE, A SAMSUNG DISHWASHER, A SAMSUNG REFRIGERATOR, AND A SAMSUNG MICROWAVE.  WE DID NOT PURCHASE THE EXTENDED WARRENTY.  ANOTHER BIG MISTAKE ON OUR PART.  HOWEVER, THERE WAS A TIME YOU DIDN'T NEED IT.  THE APPLIANCES ACTUALLY WORKED FOR MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS.  OUR FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH HOW BAD SAMSUNG APPLIANCES ARE, WHEN THEY DELIVERED OUR STOVE AND PARTS OF IT WERE BROKEN.  OKAY, THING HAPPEN.  THEY REPLACED IT AND WE REALLY HAD NO PROBLEM WITH THAT.  NOW AFTER FOUR MONTHS OUR DISHWASHER HAS PROBLEMS.  THEY SEND SOMEONE OUT TO FIX IT AND IT IS STILL UNDER WARRENTY.  THEY FIX IT.  YES, IT WAS AN INCONVIENCE, BUT IT WAS FIXED.  THAT WAS ALL I CARED ABOUT AT THAT TIME.  NOW THE KNOBS ON THE STOVE START BREAKING.  STILL UNDER WARRENTY AND I GET NEW KNOBS.  NOTING THAT THEY WERE PLASTIC, I KNEW I WAS GOING TO HAVE A CONTINIOUS PROBLEM WITH THE KNOBS AND WE NO LONGER HAD A WARRANTY.  THE KNOBS ARE ABOUT $25.00 APIECE AND THAT IS QUITE A BIT OF MONEY SINCE THEY ARE ALWAYS BREAKING.  FORGET ABOUT THE SELF-CLEANING OVEN.  IT IS AN ABSOLUTE JOKE.  I HAVE HAD SELF-CLEANING OVENS THAT ACTUALLY DO WORK.  THE SAMSUNG DOES NOT SELF-CLEAN.  NEXT OUR DISHWASHER BREAKS AGAIN AND WE HAVE NO WARRANTY.  IT WAS JUST A LITTLE OVER A YEAR OLD.  WHEN WE BOUGHT SAMSUNG WE HAD KNOW IDEA THAT IT SHOULD HAVE A STATEMENT THAT SAY'S "ONLY WILL LAST ONE YEAR IF YOU ARE LUCKY."  WE CALLED A REPAIR MAN OUT TO FIX OUR DISHWASHER AND HE WAS VERY HONEST WITH US.  HE SAID IT WOULD COST MORE TO FIX THE DISHWASHER AS IT WOULD BE TO BUY A NEW ONE.  HE SAID HE HAD BEEN OUT ON SO MANY CALLS WITH SAMSUNG DISHWASHER'S AND KNOW ONE EVER HAS IT REPAIRED.  THEY BUY A NEW DISHWASHER.  WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF THIS GOOD NEWS OUR MICROWAVE GOES OUT ON US AND CAN'T BE FIXED.  DUE TO CONSTRUCTION OF SAMSUNG DIGITAL BOARD.  IT IS AN OVER THE STOVE MICROWAVE AND THE GLUE SAMSUNG USES LOOSENS FROM THE STEAM.  WHY SAMSUNG DIDNT THINK OF THAT, I DO NOT KNOW.  THIS MEANS YOU HAVE TO GET A COMPLETELY NEW DIGITAL BOARD.  AGAIN, WE HAD TO BUY A NEW MICROWAVE.  A NEW DISHWASHER AND NEW MICROWAVE WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF EACH OTHER.  AT THIS VERY MOMENT, I AM ORDERING NEW KNOBS FOR THE RANGE AND ONE OF THE BURNERS DOES NOT WORK.  THE SHELF TO THE REGRIFERATOR CRISPHER KEEPS FLYING OFF.  ANOTHER VERY INCONVIENT THING, BUT WE LIVE WITH IT.  IN ALL HONESTY, DONT BUY SAMSUNG.  I WOULDNT WANT ANYONE ELSE TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEMS WE HAVE HAD.  DO YOUR RESEARCH,  IT WILL BE WELL WORTH IT TO YOU.
ECA


The replacement motor worked but its day 2 and if it goes past 3 mo with no issues, I'll update this review and make it 5 stars.  Couple of things to notice - it looks like a generic not an OEM like others noticed, doesn't include the screws to connect the motor to the drain/hose or the rubber gasket (to prevent water leaking from the coupling)  - so if you are do it yourselfer, save the previous motor, the screws and the gasket. The motor arrived by USPS 2 day priority mail which was a nice touch - thanks.

Here is the learning I went thru and hope it can help someone in a similar predicament (with a Kenmore Elite HE3t). My issue started with water in the drum at the end of cycle and quickly turned into washer stopping mid cycle with door locked and SUD error on display. I tried resetting and restarting a few times but soon the washer stopped spinning with door locked an load of laundry inside.

First challenge - unlock the door, remove the laundry and drain the dirty water. I disconnect washer and put some 2x4 sections under the washer to tilt it backwards for easy access to lower panel (2 star screws (secure drill bits not part of regular drill bit sets).  Once the front lower panel is off, you feel your way behind the door lock  till you can feel a little protrusion (about 0.5") that is almost exactly behind where the lock is. It is not possible to see or target except for touchy-feely way. Once you pull on it downwards the door unlocks.  It helps to have washer tilted so water can stay back in the drum rather than gushing out (you may want a lot rags/towels and a bucket handy). In HE3t there is a wiring harness that obstructs reaching back to motor and drain easily.  If you remove the screws connecting green ground wires to the frame (star security bits) and move the tabs left or right (not up or down) they'll come off the frame.  The wiring harness will still be connected but will allow for you to easily get to the motor.  If you remove the single screw (star bit) at the base holding the motor-hose to the body, it'll come free. HE3T model has drain plug that can come in handy for draining the water into a shallow pan while connected. I removed the rubber hose and the coin trap and washed it (sometimes there is blockage that can prevent drainage causing the error and you may not need to change the motor - there are youtube videos showing how to do this).  In my case, the hose and the coin trap were quite clean which left motor or the pressure switch as the likely culprits.

I read in the reviews here about the pressure switch and the black hose  it is connected to or the clogged drain pipe as other potential culprits and wanted to see if I should clean/inspect them before ordering the motor. I opened the top panel (3 star bit screws in the back) but did not see the white plastic part some one mentioned. You may want to remove the drain hose and see if it is clogged as well. Since my coin trap and rubber hose under the drum was pretty clean, I concluded that drain hose likely may be the same way (clean).  Instead of removing the hose and inspecting I just took a chance by ordering the motor first.  The new motor was quite easy to install (rubber gasket and 3 screws from the old motor to connect new motor to the drain plus coupling, and retracing the steps to put the wiring harness back).  I then tested the drain/spin cycle to see if there were any leaks and the drain motor was doing its job before putting the bottom panel back and removing the 2x4 to get the washer even.

If you are contemplating buying a motor, you probably are somewhat of a fixer and done some research.  I tend to call repair men mostly for such issues except for I am increasingly finding having to stay home for 4 hr window and waiting for them to show us a tricky trade-off to tinkering myself.  I want to thank the community of people on Amazon and youtube who take the time to share tips and make the time to explain "how to" which have been invaluable time savers (not to mention $$ on a call - last time I paid $200 for someone to replace a creaky hinge on the oven door - for 1 min 12 sec of his valuable time).


Picked up a couple of these sets because I have a 30' long dryer vent run and the duct cleaning company I paid couldn't take care of obvious mildew that had developed in the vent. Initially, there was a really nasty smell (like something crawled up there and died) - after the duct cleaner came out the first time he didn't find anything but got a lot of lint out and sprayed bleach inside. While the really awful smell was now mostly gone, not long after, the mildew smell became pretty noticeable. I don't think the brush the duct cleaning company had was long enough to reach in to get to the trouble spots. He was running a blower and got a lot of lint out but the smell persisted even after he came out a second time and sprayed bleach into the duct with a compressed air gun.

At this point I decided to DIY it, and I'm glad I did. I initially didn't have a keyless chuck drill around when I got the Deflecto kits so I tried by hand - I put 12' (one kit) down the vent from the laundry room and sure enough as I was pulling it back up the rods were wet with that rank mildew smell. I think this was a result of lint that had gotten wet and stuck to the walls of the duct like paper mache. I finally obtained a drill from an old coworker and went to work. Setting the clutch on 4 (as was recommended by another reviewer) was perfect at least on a Hitachi cordless drill set. I first went in on low gear and from both the laundry room and from the outside exhaust. Probably made 2-3 passes in total then ran an electric 165mph leaf blower duct-taped around the vent from the laundry room. I could still detect the smell so I went in on high gear and several more passes, again using the leaf blower to blow out excess. More stuff came out but the smell was less noticeable. I went ahead and poured about 1/2c-1c of baking soda into the vent and used the leaf blower to blow it through and then hooked the dryer back up. It's been about a week now and there's barely a trace of that mildew smell. I think the combination of going through with the Deflecto kit again and then letting the leaf blower push air and dry out the duct really helped by leaps and bounds.

A few other things to note:
- There are three 90 (or close to 90) degree bends in the 30ft duct run, which runs underground. It was a bit tricky getting around the first bend the first time but after that it was pretty easy.
- I didn't tape the rods together as recommended - I felt this would be too tedious since I was screwing/unscrewing each section as I was pushing it in or pulling it out.
- Go slow but don't hold back on the high speed gear setting (if you have one) - just make sure to set the clutch low and ALWAYS drill/turn clockwise so as to not undo any rods
- I was scared I'd have issues like a couple others who took pictures, of their rods getting twisted up really badly. This didn't happen - I can only imagine that happening if you go in too aggressively and too fast without using the clutch and trying to drill in a super long section of rod (rather than going piece by piece)
- I thought with two kits I would see the brush head pop out of the exhaust but I was still 5-6' short
- I bought a 30' snake cam (by Bluefire) that I was able to use to check on the condition of the vent before/after/in-between each cleaning. This was SUPER useful - I had to attach a small LED flashlight to make it more useful for visibility. But after the duct cleaner did his thing the first time, there were MAGGOTS crawling around inside the duct!

I would highly recommend this for anyone looking to clean out their dryer vents. I should have just bought these from the get-go instead of hiring someone. Now I know... It's also cheaper buying two of these versus the Linteater kit, which runs $28 or so. The difference is that you don't get all the extras/accessories that the Linteater comes with - those extras *may* be useful especially if your ducts are really clogged up. But instead of the extras/accessories you get the extra length with 2 kits. In my case, all I needed was the brush and rods (and extra length).