MRB, Thanks for replying. If your Speed Queen front loader holds as much clothing as your previous LG - then: 1) How big was your LG (in drum volume) & what model number was it? 2) The same amount of clothes fit, but are they all clean? Just askin' 3) Any quality issues with the Speed Queen? How long you owned it? I still would like to know if the commercial Maytags differ internally from the residential, homeowner models (such as better bearings, pumps, etc)? Anyone know?

"The internal water heater only activates during the Sanitary Cycle to get the Temperature up to approximately 158 degrees Fahrenheit." "If the incoming water is colder than the specified temperature then check your Water valves that the Hot isn't on any higher than the Cold to remedy this." I think you've got trouble ahead. This sounds to me like heater comes on for single cycle only. The second sentence is so strangely worded I can't be sure but sounds like, except for that single cycle, the water temp is completely controlled by ATC valves controlling inflow from hot and cold supply lines. If that's true, be advised that ATC controlled temps on these low-fill-volume machines do not do what customers think they do. Basically, they don't work because they can't. Between pipe-length between heater and machine and the mass of the drum and clothes, the heat losses will preclude actual wash temperatures being anywhere close to their nominal 122F. For example, my five year old Duet when set on "hot" in a cycle that doesn't use the heater....with incoming water at 130F from the first drop.....delivers an actual wash temperature of about 105F in the machine. That's the kind of heat-loss you're looking at. If I want hotter than that, I have to select a cycle that uses the heater to bring it up. My machine has two of these that boost to 127F plus a "sanitary" cycle that goes to 157F. I seldom use "sanitary". I frequently use the other two at 127F. Not being able to do this would be a deal-breaker for me. Your feedback you posted sounds to me like the LG will not do this. Sounds to me like heater only activated on a single 158F cycle. Advise calling again and clarifying. You'll be living with this machine for a long time. If my suspicions are correct, you don't want these limitations.

My setup is really new, but I think the others might be right. I chose NOT to get the machine with heating because my instantaneous water heater has a remote as an option. That would allow me to bump up the water heater temperature temporarily (and thus more safely, to my mind). It costs about the same as the difference in prices between the heat/no heat washers, so I figured I could add that and have that bump-up ability for more than just the washer... *However*, the washer works quite differently from a top loader. (I knew that! That's why I chose a FL. But I didn't know about *this* difference.) When you start a load, it adds a bit of water and tosses a little and adds a little water and repeats until it decides there's enough water. It's not like a TL at all where the water simply runs until it reaches the "right" level. It seems to be based on weight. Mine's an LG (wm2140c, I think), but I'm guessing other new machines are similar.

Good morning, I knew there would be people who were as obssessed as I am with this data! To respond to the questions (in no particular order): Yes, my DH reports that we will be able to break out the machines' components (motors vs heater) individual electrical draws. My machines have at least two motors: drain pump and drum rotator/spin. It was easy to see them in the graph as it was happening, but we will need more experience to be able to accurately capture all the data. As far as the efficiency of energy used by an internal heater vs a DHW appliance, Dadoes is correct. It's a theoretical wash (LOL!). Our DHW is electric, not propane, so fuel is identical. There is also no loss of temp in the pipes (though that heat wouldn't be wasted as it's under the house, anyway). In theory, allowing for age and any scale on the calrods, it should take precisely the same energy in both appliances. Functionally as livebetter pointed out, however, beefy internal heaters fed only cold water provide the very-useful "profile wash" characteristic. (Profile washes are a deliberate stepped rise in temps that improves washing perferformance.) In addition, an on-board heater also allows the machine to maintain the desired temp throughout the whole wash phase, which I believe improves washing performance as well. As far as loopholes in the mandated energy ratings, I believe that may be at play these days, particularly for the newest generations of machines (mine are 15-19 years old). However I think heating water is less of an issue there than overall water use requirements. Nunyabiz noted my use of high temps as being atypical. I agree, but point out that I also use very little detergent compared to many. That's obviously a function of my good water quality, but I also can get away with using less partly because I use higher temps because temperature, time, agitation energy and detergent are all wrapped up together in the cleaning equation. Of course, I almost never wash clothes at 190F, just linens, cleaning cloths and pet bedding which can stand it. In addition to the profound cleaning these items get, the regular use of higher temps keeps my washer clean of bio-film and product build-up, etc. No small thing for FLs, it seems. (Overnight, I did another load similar to #2 & 3 and it's energy cost was 22 cents. But that's without the extra "starch" cycle which has to be selected manually after the progam is finished. I will check and see what it costs, all by itself.) It seems to me that heating the water, particularly for people who choose more "more normal" max temps, is not the cost driver on each load. My DH reports the machine's vampire load is a stable 3 watts; let's see, 3 x 24 x 365 = 26 KWH/year or $3.90 year. Except I have more than one washing machine .... Anyway, now that I know that, a big ole circuit-opening switch will be high on my DH's honey-do list. More data (and more details) as I organize them. L.