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girlfromsplit

Speed Queen AWN432SP113TW04 rinse-water exiting like fire hose!

girlfromsplit T
3 years ago

We've had our Speed Queen AWN432SP113TW04 for 2.5 years (top loader with regular dials), bought in Nov 2017, and all that time we've been finding small puddles on the floor under the trash can between washer & dryer. We couldn't see any water under the washer so didn't give it a whole lot of worry. Recently we started searching out the problem and after A L-O-T of investigation, we found out that the wash-water pumping out comes out at a regular rate, but the rinse water like a fire-hydrant-hose making it impossible for our pipes to handle the volume per second. We have 2" pipes all thru and a plumber was at my house over 2 hours, cut the wall, cut the pipes, cleaned out everything over 10 times, finding nothing. I proved to him by using a huge can, that when the rinse water comes out that it's crazy-fast. I called Speed Queen and they said "it's a commercial washer, but any household pipes should be able to handle it". Now it's up for sale so I can buy a cheapest GE that has less powerful pump. This house is 30 years old and we personally had 2 other washers in this house with no problem.

Has anyone out there had any problem like this with the Speed Queen and what did you do? Thank you.

Comments (29)

  • socks
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago
  • girlfromsplit T
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    AJ Madison (appliance dealer) who has this machine on their website has the description as "150 G-Force High Speed Water Extraction" They are not kidding!!

  • kaseki
    3 years ago

    Before I bought an inferior washing machine, I would extend the stand pipe higher above a 'Y' fitting, put a vacuum break at the top, and attach the washer hose to the other branch of the 'Y' in a manner that won't leak. The pump will now have to work against some modest reaction pressure in the drain between the 'Y' and where the 2-inch pipe meets a larger DWV pipe, but I doubt it would fail due to this brief condition. A check valve in the washer branch could be used to assure no backflow into the washer. (Normally with a standpipe any backflow ends up on the floor, as observed.)

  • wdccruise
    3 years ago

    You said there's a trash can between the washer and dryer. Perhaps you could remove the trash can, push the washer towards the dryer, and install a sink. You'd drain the washer into the sink -- instead of directly into the drain pipe -- which would fill as necessary to buffer the rapid flow of water from the washer and emptying capacity of the drain pipe.

  • dadoes
    3 years ago

    It's not an uncommon occurrence. I worked for an appliance dealer years ago when the Whirlpool direct-drive design was introduced. They drain faster than the older belt-drive design. Wasn't unusual that we'd deliver a new machine to a customer, replacing an old-style unit, and the drain standpipe would overflow on the test run.

  • formulaross20
    3 years ago

    Simply install a restrictor in the washer drain hose to slow down the high velocity discharge.. Buy a plastic pipe nipple whose outside diameter just fits inside the washer drain hose. Insert the nipple into the drain hose and then put a hose clamp around the outside of the hose to hold the nipple in place. This will slow down the high velocity discharge sufficiently that the drain will not overflow and it wont hurt the other drain cycles.

  • girlfromsplit T
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    That actually sounds like a good idea! It comes narrowed, about 3/4" but a little less won't hurt to try at least! :) Thanks!!

  • socalgal_gw Zone USDA 10b Sunset 24
    3 years ago

    I have a different Speed Queen model. It drains fast but isn’t a problem. I like to think of it as a good way to keep the 88 year old waste pipes under my house clear!

  • girlfromsplit T
    Original Author
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    So it looks like "MAYBE" the problem is that the ending of the drain-hose (installed by manufacturer) where the water exists is too narrow, about 3/4", and the narrower the ending the harder the water shoots out. They only way to slow the amount of water is to make that narrow ending very long (several feet at least), which it's not, it's only like an inch. Being it has to go around TWO 90-degree angles (the trap and again to waste stack - everyone has both), it creates such turbulence that it can't go around the bends as fast, causing it to back up. This is per 2 senior engineers in my office. I'm going to cut the ending where it tapers to the narrowest, so to get to the wider part, test it and see what happens. I'll let you know in a day or two :)


    NO it did NOT work! crying (:( It's a goner!

  • Jake The Wonderdog
    3 years ago

    I know it's not really the answer you are looking for... but a front loader uses so very little water that it's not an issue. I love my LG front loader and would never go back.

  • ci_lantro
    3 years ago

    I have to drain my Speed Queen (and the Whirlpools before) into the laundry sink. 1.5" standpipe, though. The upside of the situation is that I can use a lint sock on the washer drain hose and keep a lot of lint out of the sewer line. I would be afraid to use a lint sock if the washer drained into a stand pipe.

  • girlfromsplit T
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    My pipes are as clean as a whistle. Plumber was at my house 2 hours and cleaned them over 10 x. It's not the issue.

  • mrb6228
    3 years ago

    It's not really the pressure of the water, but the quantity.

    What happens if you use the PermPress cycle?

    It should pump out the final spin at low speed and effectively solve your problem.

  • dadoes
    3 years ago

    "JasonAndBranka T: My pipes are as clean as a whistle. Plumber was at my house 2 hours and cleaned them over 10 x. It's not the issue."

    That's strange. Shouldn't be any backflow if everything is clean as the plumber claims ... apparently either there IS still an obstruction somewhere, or the drain route piping is too small to handle the flow volume.

  • OldSchool 88
    3 years ago

    Don't sell your old Speed Queen just yet, you'll likely be disappointed in modern (post-2018 EPA regulations) washer performance. If your drain hose is forming an airtight seal at the standpipe, this will cause overflow issues as you're describing. You can trim back some of the rubber seal on the hose to create an air escape route. We had this problem with our Maytag Atlantis after we installed it, whereas the prior Maytag had a metal extension at the end of the drain hose which was smaller diameter than the home's standpipe. The Atlantis had a rubber seal ring molded into the rubber drain hose and it made a real mess during spin draining...until I used a razor blade and cut away two sections leaving just enough to hold it in place inside the pipe. That was 15 years ago and no issues since then.

  • John Tan
    3 years ago

    Hmmm, I'm thinking that it could be an issue of a blockage in your washing machine. I've had a similar issue in one of my Bosch washing machines and had it repaired but found that it was just a blockage causing this so maybe its the same for you. I was told to use Borax to clean and repair the washing machine after a cycle

  • girlfromsplit T
    Original Author
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    It''s NOT the washer. We even bought a different washer and problem persists in all cycles that water is being pumped out of the washer.

    We found the issue. There is a slight narrowing inside the standpipe trap. To compensate, we found out that for every foot the standpipe is raised - the washing machine pump pumps out 1 less gallon per minute, meaning the higher you raise the washer hose with the crooked neck on it that the dirty water comes out of, the less water/ slower the water can come out of it.

    We raised the pipe temporary till we can fix properly. No more leakage.

    Thanks for all your suggestions.

  • M Flo
    2 years ago

    I am having the same issue. After using this machine for almost a year with no problems, I am now having an overflow issue. I have spent almost 500 bucks on plumbers and having my septic pumped trying to fix this issue and it is still flooding. I am now having the service department at the appliance store do some research. If this started as soon as we got the machine, I'd say it was my pipes but I have been doing at least 5 loads a week for almost a year and now it is an issue. Did you ever find a solution for your problem? My machine drains fine on the wash cycle but as soon as the rinse cycle starts to drain, it is at an extremely high pressure and overflows within seconds.

  • girlfromsplit T
    Original Author
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    I found out that the higher you raise the drain hose, the less power the pump has and less water comes out. I raised my stand-pipe by a foot and now there is no problem. I know almost all of us have our stand pipes inside the wall in the laundry room, so you have to break the wall, cut the pipe, add extension and new housing. You maybe able to just test it by somehow adding a slighty narrower 1 foot long pipe and taping it into the existing stand pipe and that will raise it enough to bring down the gallons-per-minute power to the level your pipes can handle without overflow.

    ....Took a lot of pain to get this valuable info! I even got rid of/sold my Speed Queen and bought an old Kenmore Elite, and that one not only has the powerful pump when it pumps out rinse water like SpeedQueen, but also when it pumps out wash water too! I was out of my wit's end!

    Yep it works great now :) See there are 2 U-Turns at the bottom of your stand-pipe, inside the wall just above the floor level and I think the physics of the water rushing thru, makes the water flow slow too much and it backs up with these crazy-power-machines. It wouldn't happen if those 2 U-pipes weren't in there, but the state laws mandate they have to be there so sewer gases never come in. The only way to lower that power is by raising the stand pipe, the higher the the hook of the drain hose, the less power the pump has to get water out as fast. Best to you

  • girlfromsplit T
    Original Author
    2 years ago

    Not every house has space unfortunately. Things are very compartmentalized in track houses, and small track houses. I have a tiny laundry room enough space for washer and dryer next to each other and that's it.

  • dadoes
    2 years ago

    A factor that may be in play on these Speed Queen washers is that some of their models run at low speed for the spin/drain after the wash period ... but at high speed for the rinse spin/drain (depending on the cycle, Delicate would reasonably run all spins at low speed). Models that have the pump attached to and driven by the main motor thus would be running the pump at a slower speed for the wash drain.

  • kaseki
    2 years ago

    I'm pretty sure my SQ FL has an electric pump.

    In any case, whenever this happens I clear the problem by cleaning the standpipe trap and its associated interface with the main DWV pipe. The latest cleaning was successful using just Chlorox a few times. I suspect, but didn't have any on hand, that Drano would work. (NOT AT THE SAME TIME!)

  • dadoes
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    All frontloaders of all brands, for the past 20 to 25 years if not longer, have electric pumps separate from the motor that drives the drum. Many toploaders nowadays also have electric pumps. Some Speed Queen toploaders have electric pumps, some don't. Depends on the model. The models that don't are the ones to which I am referring.

  • HU-952949907
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Hi GirlFromSplit T,

    I'm having the same problem. Have had a towel wrapped around it for months. Slows it down but still need the bucket which is a pain to drain every couple weeks. Went to the dealer to get a belt to fix my dryer and he said Speed Queen knows of the issue and the newer models are better. He sold me a plug like thing to keep water in, but just ran first load...did not help. I have 2 washers (one personal and one work) an old one that works perfect and a new one that makes a mess. i'm going to try your higher drain hack. Lets see....

  • HU-436068178
    last year

    Took the advice of another’s post and put a 1/2 inch copper coupling inside the 3/4 onch opening of the drain hose, secured by a hose clamp. Fixed the problem, works fine.

  • Glenn P
    last year

    After a couple of years of service all of a sudden it seemed like my drain couldn't handle the water volume these machines pump out. After a somewhat lengthy investigation (internet and physical exam) I found out that the Standpipe Adapter (large rubber grommet P/N 36878) had vibrated its way off the end of the drain hose and went down the drain pipe a little way. I use a wire hanger to fish it out, cleaned the Standpipe Adapter, put it back on the end of the drain pipe (takes a bit of effort and strength) and then put everything back into place. Problem solved at no cost unless you count my time and effort.

  • HU-106696
    3 months ago

    SpeedQueen top loader which I love, but water all over the laundry room everytime I did a Large or Extra Large wash. Just finally raised my standpipe from 45" to 60" and NO MORE water coming out. Can't believe it took me a zillion years to get around to doing this.

  • Ray Lindner
    22 days ago
    last modified: 22 days ago

    After 7 years of using my same model Speed Queen I all of a sudden have an issue with Stand Pipe overflow due ot the Reqular and Perm-Press cycles pushing a significantly higher volume of water / sec out of the hose vs. handwash or soak cycles. Had a plumber out also and confirmed there is no blockage in the pipe. This is so strange. Had a appliance repair pro look at it and he was shocked by the rate of discharge on these settings with the issue. This issue started after I had work done to fix an out of balance tub. We love the washer but this issue starting up out of the blue seems is really frustrating.

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