From George:
"Just found your blog tonight after buying a GE front loader set tonight to replace my Kenmore (Whirlpool) HE3 Elite that self destructed this week after almost six years of use. The spider assembly that holds the drive shaft to the basket apparently is made of aluminum and corrodes in the presence of detergent. When it blew at 900 RPM it took out the drum and the water pump. Found several web pages where the same thing has happened to others. As you seem to know, neither Sears nor Whirlpool seems to have any sort of failure analysis department or any interest in possible design problems. When I called the Whirlpool Corporate office in Michigan they told me that they have no access to their Engineering or Production departments. Making a critical part out of a reactive metal is just stupid from an engineering point of view. I could not find anyone that would tell me if this part is common to some or all of their brands of washers. I’ll send you picture of my corroded basket for giggles.
"Keep up the good work"
George then includes the picture below.
George then follows up with another email:
"Brad,
"I have an update for you. I sent an Email to Whirlpools CEO Mr. Fettig and to my great surprise he had some one call me back this week. They were very interested in my photos of the damage. I got a call back telling me that the damage was caused by the reaction of chlorine on the metal. Who knew that a washer might be exposed to chlorine?!! They said that most front loader manufacturers have had this problem in the past and that they are now using a different alloy to make the spider assembly. I got an apology for the trouble I’ve had and was offered a free countertop appliance from their Kitchenaid line of products. None of which I really need or want. They thanked me for my concerns about their products and assured me that they follow up on all customer complaints. I did mention the trouble I had trying to find someone at Whirlpool customer service that had any interest or knowledge that would help me figure out what happened to my machine. I was told that Whirlpool no longer has a technical help line due to liability issues. I guess if I hurt myself repairing a machine following their techs advice, they would be worried I would sue them. I made sure to let them know that because I did not get a timely reply to my questions I went out a bought a GE laundry pair hoping that it used a different spider assembly.
"So I guess they do have a group that checks out issues but it takes a lot of time frustration to find them. I should not have to contact the CEO of a company to get action on a product issue."
I decided to look into this a bit further and was surprised that I had not heard of this problem before. I was also surprised that some engineer (or, evidently, several) thought it a good idea to mate stainless steel and aluminum together for prolonged submersion in detergent and chlorine bleach solutions.
I found the following video on YouTube made by a gentleman who deconstructs his wrecked Frigidaire washer. This video provides a wonderful insight into how crappy some products are manufactured.
UPDATE 7/11/09: I was curious about this issue, so I emailed Electrolux with questions regarding the spider assemblies of Frigidaire and Electrolux washer. A day later, I got a response (the first I have ever received from Electrolux) saying "The material for the spider was changed to a new alloy in 2004. We do not have problems with failure of these parts."
So there you go. If you buy a Frigidaire or Electrolux frontload washer, you can rest assured the washer will not self-destruct due to galvanic corrosion caused by two dissimilar metals being mated together.
Now to see if Whirlpool and others will respond...
From Melissa:
Dear Brad,
First of all I have to tell you that your blog has been a tremendous help in getting to the bottom of the pesky F1 code I have been getting on my Maytag Bravos machine. I called a for a repair last week and I wish I would have found your blog before he came. He told me that the cause of the F1 code was partially the fact that I was not using h/e detergent, I make my own powder formula of borax, washing soda and fels naptha, but also the fact that I was using too much and the soap was not completely cleaning out of the lines. The build up was causing the F1 code, he said he saw this with people using too much h/e detergents also. He suggested running more hot water through the lines and using less soap. I have done along with cleaning with vinegar and store bought washing machine cleaner for the past week and its still coding. That was when I went searching for answers and found your blog. My first question is what causes this code? Is it bad manufacturing or my using the wrong/too much detergent? Can it clear itself or does it need to be repaired? What are the consequences of not getting it repaired, will it cause worse damage to the machine? This code only comes up on the first load of the day. If I have multiple loads the other loads usually don't code.
Thanks for your help and I look forward to hearing back from you to get an idea of what I should do next regarding this problems.
Sincerely,
Melissa
My response:
Melissa,
It is possible that the F1 code was caused by your laundry habits (detergent), but I think that is unlikely. Too many of these machines have problems with the F1 error code. There is a known problem with the Oasis / Cabrio / Bravos machines. However, I thought that the Bravos had been introduced by the time Whirlpool was aware of these problems, and would have had them sorted out. Silly me.
I do not know if changing your habits will fix the problem. I would try to run a few loads of towels with just water (no detergent or anything) to try and flush out any excess detergent residue you may have. I don't know if you are able to set your own water level on this machine, but if you are, I would just run an empty load or two. The objective in doing this is to see what the machine does. If the machine continues to throw the code even after you have run some empty loads to rid the machine of detergent build-up, then the problem is not your detergent.
You did not say whether the machine is still under warranty. If it is, I would find another Maytag servicer in your area. The guy who has been out there has already made up his mind that the problem is with you, not the machine. If it is no longer under warranty, call the Maytag customer service line and explain the situation. Be firm, but be polite. Drop the words "recall" and "class action lawsuit" and see what they say. I suspect they will agree to fix the problem.
Let me know what happens. This is not a problem you should have to live with. Thanks for writing!
~Brad
