Gas clothes dryer

[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. Their service department is not the cheapest by any stretch but it’s a huge part of their business. 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 already 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.

[Steve Miller]

From what I can tell there is no physical reason not to install a “commercial” dryer in a house. The difference between their resi and commercial lines appears to be mostly dealer protection and perhaps energy efficiency regulations. Maybe warranty differences.

Dryers are pretty simple, and while SQ washers are a lot tougher than other brands I’m not convinced that the dryers are worth the extra $ or a long wait. The two I had at the Huron house worked fine but no better and were noisier than other dryers I’ve owned.

If you’re going to go with a new unit you might like this video. Chip seems to be a straight shooter and I’d trust his advice

Link to video

He has new vid on freezers as well.

Link to video

Dryer noises are usually pretty easy and cheap to fix. If you have the time you might want to check a few YT videos to see how yours comes apart and how to change what are probably a couple of nylon rollers.

Barring that it would probably be worthwhile to bring in a tech from an independent shop to have a look at it. If you have a neighborhood Facebook group or Nextdoor you can probably find recommendations there.

[wtg]

Thanks, @steve-miller !

I didn't watch the whole freezer video yet, just the beginning....but....we have an upright freezer that's in the basement. A very undemanding environment. Had a chest freezer years ago and gave it away to a friend. I know chest freezers are much more efficient and run like tanks, but not having to unload twenty things to get to the bottom where the one you want is located is the huge advantage for us and why we switched to uprights. We had a manual defrost upright and got tired of the whole defrosting thing so replaced our old upright with a frost free. Have been really happy with it in terms of function. Reliability, not so much. The one that died is 4 1/2 years old. Abt does extended warranties. A five year costs $175. If the thing craps out again, it's cost me $175 to use it for five years. Oh, and the warranty lets you claim $200 of lost food. I hate the concept of throwaway appliances but try to make up for it in other ways. We drive our cars for 20 years!

Thanks for the info on the dryers. Between you and Claude, you've convinced me it's worth having it looked at before buying new. We do indeed have a local guy, George's Appliance CPR. Turns out he started out at Abt. My neighbor has used him and said he's great and reasonably priced. I got his number and texted him. We'll see what he says!

Thanks much. Will keep you posted!

[wtg]

And the diagnoses are in....the freezer is a seized compressor, so it's a goner.

Dryer is suffering from arthritis of the rollers and an ancient belt. Worth repairing; he has those parts on the truck. We don't want one of those newfangled electronic wifi dryers....

edit: He didn't charge for diagnosing the dead freezer; it only took him five minutes.

[Mik]

OK. I was going to chime in with "If you have an old Maytag, repair it if possible. Even if it's near the cost of new you'll likely get more use out of it.".

Incidentally, I was in Maytag's hometown this week, Newton, Iowa again. Sadly, Maytags are no longer produced there but there are a lot of spaces and magnificent old buildings that the Maytag legacy built. We stayed a block for this dining/entertainment area utilizing the courtyard and buildings by the old Maytag HQ and factory.

https://yoursourcenews.com/2023/03/new-mission-for-maytag-hq/

[wtg]

@Mik said:

OK. I was going to chime in with "If you have an old Maytag, repair it if possible. Even if it's near the cost of new you'll likely get more use out of it.".

Cost me $250 to have it fixed. Definitely less that a new one.