Gas clothes dryer

[wtg]

Our many decades old Maytag greeted me with screeches and groans when I turned it on to dry my first load of laundry. If I had more time and energy I might look into getting it repaired or finding a good used unit, but sadly I have little time and less energy. So am buying new.

CR rates Speed Queen and LG as the top two for reliability. Speed Queen is a four week delivery time; LG could be here in a few days.

edit: Forget this SQ model. Says it's not approved for residential installation.

There's a Speed Queen commercial version that is a bit cheaper than their others. I need to do a comparison to see what the functional differences are.

https://www.abt.com/Speed-Queen-White-Commercial-Gas-Dryer-LDG30RGS113TW01/p/90490.html

Oh, and this came up just a few hours after I discovered the freezer went south late yesterday afternoon and into the night. It's the Bermuda Triangle of appliances here.

@steve-miller , appliance and electricial guru, what say ye?

[Daniel]

Go commercial or go home.

[wtg]

Claude keeps telling me I should have someone look at the dryer, that it's probably a roller, idler, or belt fix and could be repaired.

Abt charges $199 for a home diagnostics visit, will refund half toward purchase price of new if you decide not to do repair. Problem is they are backed up till end of October for appointments.

A neighbor has used a local repair guy; I could try him, likely could be here much sooner.

[Bernard]

After my experience with the LG washer I will never buy another of their products.

[Daniel]

@wtg Google AI this to double check but I've read that there are appliance stores who will sell commercial Speed Queen washers and dryers to residential customers.

[Daniel]

@Bernard said:

After my experience with the LG washer I will never buy another of their products.

Everyone says that.

I'm in a bind.

Maybe another big box store not Home Depot both sells Danby, and does haul away.

I'll start (re-start) here.

I looked at the Asko price point for the base model. Not happening.

I might get a commercial Speed Queen.

I'm not getting a 3 years and the electronics kill the machine washer no matter what.

[wtg]

@Daniel said:

@wtg Google AI this to double check but I've read that there are appliance stores who will sell commercial Speed Queen washers and dryers to residential customers.

I checked with Claude about whether I can buy the "true" commercial dryer:

My question to Claude:

Saw Speed Queen LDG30RGS113TW01 on abt.com . I looked up this model on the SQ website and it says it is commercial and can't be installed in a residential setting. Abt listing: https://www.abt.com/Speed-Queen-White-Commercial-Gas-Dryer-LDG30RGS113TW01/p/90490.html

Claude's response:

Read a page, searched the web

You’re reading it correctly. Speed Queen’s own site says its commercial appliances are not approved for residential installation, and this model’s page carries that notice. A. J. Madison’s listing says the same for this model, and also marks it as no longer available there. Abt files it under Commercial Dryers, and its page says to call for availability ($1,058, against a Speed Queen MSRP of $1,649).

For Commercial Use Only

+4

Why that matters (general knowledge, not from those pages):

Installation approval is a safety and code question for a gas appliance. Homeowners insurance, a home inspection at resale, or a gas fitter could each object to an unapproved unit in a house.

Warranty coverage could also be affected, since Abt’s listing links a commercial warranty document. I haven’t read it, so check it before buying anything.

One discrepancy on the listing: Abt lists 25,000 Btu and a cCSAus certification, while Speed Queen’s page for the same model number shows 22,500 Btu and a cULus approval. That’s a good reason not to rely on either page without confirming with Speed Queen or the dealer.

speedqueen

Where this leaves you:

Speed Queen sells a separate residential dryer line, and that is the version approved for a home. It costs more than this model, and I haven’t checked current gas models or prices.

There two other dryer lines that SQ sells, the DC and the DR. The DC is more basic and the DR has more bells and whistles.

Claude is convincing with its arguments but I'd like to hear what @steve-miller has to say about the implications of a homeowner installing a commercial model. He has real world experience and probably knows the answer.

Steve is WTF's AI on a lot of subjects, top of the list are appliances!

[Daniel]

Agreed!

To be clear, I wasn't thinking about it being gas. Sorry.

What I read is that the commercial clothes washers are sold by some appliance stores to residential customers.

I'd like to be corrected by Steve if I'm wrong because I'm considering this option.

[kluurs]

Have you tired other dealers for the SQ home-style dryers? Grand Appliance and Ferguson also supposedly carry them. It's probably the same deal as Abt. Or check SQ's website for dealers in the 'hood.

[wtg]

@kluurs I hadn't considered that; thanks for the suggestion. I looked into Grand and Ferguson (I know of both but haven't bought anything from them) and learned a bunch of stuff. Grand has the unit in stock and could deliver in a day or two. Ferguson's lead time is a bit longer but shorter than what Abt quoted to me.

I might get delivery faster but Abt has some things going for it that the other two don't. Don't know if any of what follows is of any usefulness or interest to other folks, but here goes....

Grand does delivery and installation but I don't see a service department, so you're going to the manufacturer for customer service on warranty work and you're stuck with their authorized repair shops; sometimes those aren't the greatest. Don't know how Speed Queen is, but getting warranty work done on my Samsung washer I bought from Best Buy was a total nightmare. Home Depot is the same.

Ferguson seems to be drop shipping from the manufacturer. Freight delivery, no offer of installation, and no service department. I think they're more geared to projects where you have a contractor doing a remodel and the contractors do the install. No service department means the same issues with warranty work as places like Grand, Best Buy, Lowe's and Home Depot.

Abt is the whole enchilada. I'll get a 10% discount on price, and they are an authorized servicer for Speed Queen. They're a 15 minute drive from my house, so an easy hop to go look at the SQ and any others I might consider. They're very old school with respect to customer service and will bend over backwards to make things right if there's a problem. Plus they have the really cool attractions in the showroom. Like this thing:

https://foursixty.com/abt-electronics/261058640/

Some of the others:

https://www.abt.com/help/attractions

A month is a longish time, but our laundry is in the basement and we air dry a lot of things on a routine basis. Towels and sheets are the exception, but my friend Susan lives a block away and I can take those over to her house for a few weeks if the lead time on delivery is really out a month. Not ideal, but doable.

Anyway, I appreciate the suggestions! I learned a lot about those other major appliance retailers in our area. Definitely good choices but their services don't quite match my needs.