tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post6687668904179987301..comments2010-06-21T09:24:21.892-04:00Bradhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11377679284360826383noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-46069159878719412222010-06-21T09:24:21.887-04:002010-06-21T09:24:21.887-04:00Speed Queen have told me, in writing, that their spiders are made of an aluminium alloy, with a forged steel shaft.<br />Meile have not responded to my query.<br />I have not found a machine readily available in North America that does not use an aluminium spider. Staber use stainless steel for their &#39;axles&#39; but they are not, to my mind, a front loader.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-87166769232745032732010-03-23T00:51:22.457-04:002010-03-23T00:51:22.457-04:00I&#39;m pretty sure all manufacturers except Meile and Speed Queen use the aluminum spider. Sad. That&#39;s called planned obsolescence. What a shame! I mean, it&#39;s an OBVIOUS defect!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-1727894460060758702010-02-15T12:15:05.716-05:002010-02-15T12:15:05.716-05:00I have a GE washer and dryer and I&#39;m here to tell you they are pieces of crap. The washer need a front door gasket seal after owning it a year. I have replaced it again and I am about to replace it as of today. I have replace the heating elements in the dryer twice since i had it. I don&#39;t appreciate my appliances breaking down after having it for a short period of time. I really hate to say it, but our american company are no longer the engineering force they once was. Everything is like a fast food restaurant quanity, but no quality. Products like this could but the reason why people buy other countries products. I paid over 1800.00 for a washer and dryer and within three years another 1000.00 trying to keep them running. what a world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-29531144629811820812009-12-12T16:46:06.516-05:002009-12-12T16:46:06.516-05:00I have a six year old kenmore that I took apart and found 2 of the arms of the spider assembly completely broken. To buy the part it would cost around 200, forget that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-55338242993176337172009-11-18T16:45:23.149-05:002009-11-18T16:45:23.149-05:00What amazes me is that Frigidaire still gets high dependability from those clowns at Consumer reports! After so many years you&#39;d think they&#39;d have figured out that quality is far more than the bells and whistles or performance when new.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-66403811779663904282009-11-16T09:55:49.560-05:002009-11-16T09:55:49.560-05:00Having just disassembled my GE Model WSXH208A1WW to find the same crappy design flaw I have to wonder why there is no class action law suit here? My washing machine actually sits in a vacation home and gets very little usage perhaps 50 loads per year! Add insult to injury in that GE could offer a replacement spider assembly made from stainless steel at a reasonable cost as the repair parts outrageous costs make replacement the only sensible solution.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-89178678734846284842009-10-27T00:50:37.105-04:002009-10-27T00:50:37.105-04:00Is anyone but us looking at these questions? Why am I not reading about this in the NY Times? Where is the Better Business Bureau? I am on my third year of doing battle over a Sears Oasis washer and dryer and I am sick of being made to feel like a sucker. These manufactured breakdowns that everyone is experiencing from every appliance company reminds me of the arrogant and unreliable way American cars used to be. I want a Japanese washer! Where is Toyota when you really need it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-21659326794102263852009-10-11T21:39:06.566-04:002009-10-11T21:39:06.566-04:00I believe you are on the right track but if it is galvanic corrosion I do not believe it is between the stainless steel drum and the aluminium spider but between the steel shaft in the spider and the aluminium of the spider. Galvanic corrosion will be the most severe where the two metals are in contact and as you can see in the photograph the ends of the spiders spokes are relatively undamaged.<br />I believe the damage is largely chemical corrosion. Aluminium is normally corroded when immersed in an aqueous solution with a pH below about 4.0 and above about 8.0 (nitric acid is an exception).<br />A lot of detergents have a pH above 8.0.<br /><br />All I can suggest is to review the contents labels of any laundry detergents and aids you use and then go the the internet and look up their respective Material Safety Data Sheet (e.g. sodium hypochlorite [NaOCl) otherwise known as &#39;bleach&#39;) and find out what has a pH above 8.0 and what they are not compatible with. Some will just say &#39;metals&#39; others will list the metals. Then alter your laundry habits accordingly. Not I would think a highly popular solution.<br /><br />Strangely, within the last couple of weeks, I passed the query re aluminium corrosion to Frigidaire and received a relpy from Electrolux saying that had passed the question onto their design engineers. The very people who would have specified aluminium in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349948438771019643.post-67660944814390195642009-09-29T12:24:10.261-04:002009-09-29T12:24:10.261-04:00I have a 3 year old GE - model wcvh6260fww - with the same problem.<br /><br />Jim (whitejj99@hotmail.com)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com