Home improvement advice--washer/dryer install

[burntorangehorn]

Okay, so the wife and I just bought a brand new washer/dryer set. We got the best one on the market per Consumer Reports ( washer (http://www.whirlpool.com/catalog/product.jsp?src=WASHERS&categoryId=115&productId=218) and dryer (http://www.whirlpool.com/catalog/product.jsp?categoryId=119&productId=297) ). We ordered from AAFES, the military post exchange. It doesn't indicate whether or not the delivery includes installation, but I doubt it.

That brings me to my question: how hard is it to install a washer/dryer set? It's all-electric, as I don't know what our house in Maryland will have, so I didn't want to get stuck with a gas dryer and no gas line. Is the procedure prett simple? Could I do it myself with simple tools at a reasonable cost, or is it worth it to call Sears?

[LiveShot]

It's pretty simple especially if the previous owner had a washer, dryer. I bought the same set except my dryer is natural gas and installed them with no problem. Make SURE the washer is LEVEL as the drum spins at a very high speed and if not level you'll watch it walk across the floor when it gets to the spin cycle. The clothes are so dry you hardly need a dryer. :D

[burntorangehorn]

Good set then? Great. We were torn about the money, as unlike the majority of KFFLers here profess to be, I'm po' army folk, just became a father nine days ago, and live in one of the most expensive places in the country. But I have a feeling this set will be noticeably better than the others we were looking at, and will be worth the money when it lasts me well over a decade.

So what materials are usually involved? Our house has the hookups and everything already. It looks like there are two faucet pipes, one with a thick metal wire (about 1/4") hose hooked up to it, a PVC (I'm guessing the water drain?), a regular electric outlet for the washer, a big metal outtake (dryer exhaust?), and a European-style three-prong dryer plug. Is that the kind of plug that dryer takes?

[Big Easy Vike]

Plug 'em in. They are now installed. Attach you water line and set the drain line. Those two and the vent are pretty simple to figure out.

Just be careful with the dryer. Usually you have to buy an electrical plug separately and attach to the dryer. DO NOT, repeat DO NOT, plug it in to see if you have the right plug. If the two lines tounh, the resulting resulting blast will knock out power to the house and send you sailing. Not that I have any personal experience with that. :o

[burntorangehorn]

Uh...what's that about the dryer plug? My dryer outlet has the three big flat prong holes, rather than the standard American style. I guess that's the 220V? What's that you're saying about not plugging it in?

[lechrus2]

Simple install.

In all likelihood the 220 outlet was designed for your dryer. The three-pronged outlet is pretty much a standard in America. With the washer install, just make sure the valves or hose connections don't leak. Have had the problem a couple times. Replaced the washers.

The main difficulty lies in moving the washer into place. The washer motor is a heavy and uncentered and the washer body has no bottom panel so the hand truck move can bite. Still manageable by one man if necessary. If you got a hand truck and someone to open doors.

[BigPoppaPump]

horn, it is really very easy to do. Most of the install stuff should be included with the set you buy. If you need added length for either the exhaust of washer tubes, any hardware store has these readily available.

As for the plugs, they will be correct. If not, let me know. I have done some work on putting these in with weird circumstances before.

[Big Easy Vike]

Uh...what's that about the dryer plug? My dryer outlet has the three big flat prong holes, rather than the standard American style. I guess that's the 220V? What's that you're saying about not plugging it in?


If you already have the plug, you are good to go. No need to worry.

[burntorangehorn]

Electrical Requirements
30 Ampere, 120/240 Volts, 60 Hertz (1/second). AC-ONLY. USE COPPER WIRE ONLY. A FOUR-WIRE OR THREE-WIRE, SINGLE PHASE ELECTRICAL SUPPLY REQUIRED. A TIME-DELAY FUSE OR CIRCUIT BREAKER AND SEPARATE CIRCUIT IS RECOMMENDED.

That's what the dryer's page says. Dual voltage, it appears. I guess it'd be hard to mess it up, then.

[lechrus2]

Electrical Requirements
30 Ampere, 120/240 Volts, 60 Hertz (1/second). AC-ONLY. USE COPPER WIRE ONLY. A FOUR-WIRE OR THREE-WIRE, SINGLE PHASE ELECTRICAL SUPPLY REQUIRED. A TIME-DELAY FUSE OR CIRCUIT BREAKER AND SEPARATE CIRCUIT IS RECOMMENDED.

That's what the dryer's page says. Dual voltage, it appears. I guess it'd be hard to mess it up, then.I'm no electrician, but when a motor says it can be 120 or 240, that means that it can be wired as such, depending on how the wires are connected to the motor. It generally doesn't come with two plugs (like never). Are you sure it's wired and plugged? May need an electrician.

[burntorangehorn]

Well, it's a house I'm renting through the private company which serves the Defense Language Institute. It's O-4 - O-5 (Major-Lieutenant Colonel) housing, which means generally the previous occupants have would have had washers and dryers. It also means I got lucky on the housing :)

[lechrus2]

Well, it's a house I'm renting through the private company which serves the Defense Language Institute. It's O-4 - O-5 (Major-Lieutenant Colonel) housing, which means generally the previous occupants have would have had washers and dryers. It also means I got lucky on the housing :)I'm talking about the washer. When a washer stipulates 120/240, I'm pretty sure that means that it can use either, but not both at the same time. A decision of whether to use 240 or 120 must be made. With that choice, the appropriate connections to the motor must be made. The decsion is reversable by rewiring the connections Do you know if the washer is wired and has a plug?

[Hyped]

Burnt,

I bet operating and cleaning a M-16 is tougher than this.

[burntorangehorn]

I'm talking about the washer. When a washer stipulates 120/240, I'm pretty sure that means that it can use either, but not both at the same time. A decision of whether to use 240 or 120 must be made. With that choice, the appropriate connections to the motor must be made. The decsion is reversable by rewiring the connections Do you know if the washer is wired and has a plug?Nope, it should be delivered in a week or so.

[burntorangehorn]

Burnt,

I bet operating and cleaning a M-16 is tougher than this.Not really. The M-16A2 is a pretty simple peashooter. I have no idea why we still use that popgun. I'd take an AK-47 anyway. In fact, I liked having one of those in Samarra.

My assigned weapon for most of the Iraq tour was the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon, or SAW. It's a lot bigger, and can be fired on automatic or semi instead of just semi-automatic (one round at a time) or burst (three rounds at a time).

If you wonder why I preferred to carry one of those instead of an M-16A2, just take a look:

M-16A2 (http://www.navyseals.cz/webfoto/photo/foto_technika/palne_zbane/m16/m16a2-1.jpg)

M-249 (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/m249-3.jpg)

[KGB]

Hyped =

http://www.magma.ca/~rsarkar/Pictures/blain.gif

[Hyped]

KGB,

That's one of my all time fave flicks...especially the scene where they clear an entire forest and "Hit NOTHING"...

===========

Burnt,

To be honest, if I were handed a M-16...I'd have diffculty with it..I'd have to find the safety if there's one? Slip in the magazine...pull a lever and then aim and shoot I guess? All I know is from what I see in movies man.

I once shot a .38 and a shotgun and I was VERY uncomfortable with it..afraid to accidentally shoot somebody or something...

[GRIM]

..................EDITED BY GRIM

[Crickett]

Install a jet engine in your dryer.

*grunts three times*

[burntorangehorn]

Burnt,

To be honest, if I were handed a M-16...I'd have diffculty with it..I'd have to find the safety if there's one? Slip in the magazine...pull a lever and then aim and shoot I guess? All I know is from what I see in movies man.

I once shot a .38 and a shotgun and I was VERY uncomfortable with it..afraid to accidentally shoot somebody or something...I'm not a gun guy myself. I just chose to take the bigg'n because we went on lots of convoys and ended up supporting a few special forces missions, so my soft-sided (read: completely vulnerable to even pistols) HMMWV (hummer) was a soft and easy target.

The M-16A2 takes a little getting used to, but with a little practice, I got to where I could completely disassemble it, including a complete disassembly of the bolt assembly, in about 20 seconds. I can reassemble it in 25-30. And that's after running a quarter mile in about 56 seconds. The reason I know this? No, I'm not Jason Bourne. I ran in our PT Olympics, where there's an M-16 relay. Four guys, each has to disassemble, run a lap as fast as possible (without the weapon, of course), and reassemble, then the handoff. I practiced a couple dozen times, and it really paid off.

[burntorangehorn]

Install a jet engine in your dryer.

*grunts three times*Too bad my back fence looks over a cliff, or I could ask Wilson for some advice on how to fix things up, and maybe pick up a metaphor to butcher along the way.

[TheFog]

There's a slight chance you may have to replace the muffler bearings in the dryer hose. You use a brass magnent to coutner the... oh come on burnt - you ever plug in a Microwave? Or make a beer bong? If you've done them both, you're in.

[lechrus2]

Do you know if the washer is wired and has a plug?This washer is equipped with a power supply cord having a 3-prong ground plug. You should be good to go.

BTW, a complete and detailed set of installation instructions, including what tools are needed and what additional supplies are required if your setup is lacking, is provided on that website BOH.

As they say, RTFM. :)

[ChazzMo]

one other little tip, burnt - I like to duct tape down the washer drain hose either on the drain pipe if you have one to insert it into, or on the side of the washtub, if you're draining the washer into the tub.

Especially when the hose is new, they're very stiff, and sometimes will blow right out of the drain, or off the tub, when the washer starts to pump itself out.

And you wouldn't BELIEVE how much water can come out very fast if that drain tube pops out.

Just make sure it stays put.

[burntorangehorn]

Okay, the set came earlier. They didn't install it, and my wife didn't know to ask if they were supposed to. Distracted by baby burnt, I guess. Anyway, a couple of questions:

1. The manual recommends a rigid metal exhaust to prevent crumpling. It also says I can use one of the flexible exhausts, as long as it's still a heavy duty metal one and not cheap foil or something. Anyone have an specific recommendations? Also, are the vent clamps sufficient? For some reason a caulk gun and caulk were on the list of required parts for installation. Do I really caulk an exhaust tube, or are the vent clamps sufficient?

2. I screwed in the included water hoses for the washer. I attached them to the "C" and "H" connectors on the washer, and then I attached them to the faucets in the wall below the knobs that also read "C" and "H". Here's the weird part: the one below the knob that says "C" has a copper metal tube attached to the faucet. It looks to me like it's a heating element or something. Is it? Because that would mean the "C" and "H" were in the wrong place. Anyone know about heating elements for water?

Other than that, I have to pick up a level, a couple of vent clamps, a 3-prong dryer power supply cord, the exhaust vent, and some Twizzlers for the wife. Help is much appreciated.

[raider bill]

They may be talking about if you were putting a drier where there wasn't one before, you'd have to install one of those vent "grates" on an outside wall and caulk around it.

Worm type hose clamps are sufficient to keep the exhaust fastened. They recommend the rigid because they don't want you to use a flexible and put a bunch of kinks in it overheating the thing. It needs to breathe, so get a vent hose that is the right length and install it so that it doesnt have any ridiculous bends in it.

Cold should be on the right, hot on the left. Not sure about the tube unless it's some kind of heat tape to keep the pipe from freezing :confused: does it have a cord leading anywhere and are the pipes located on an outside wall? Or else it's the ground from your electrical panel possibly :confused:

[burntorangehorn]

It's not on an outside wall...the electrical ground thing makes sense, though. So it's not some sort of water-heating element, most likely? Good...because the "C" handle is on the right, "H" on the left, as it should be, so I guess that clears that up.

Okay, thanks fellas. I'm going to finish off the installation tonight, I think. I was too exhausted last night, as I had to do a long ruck march at 5am before work. Yeah...exhausted.

[raider bill]

Aw shoot, you're a KC fan? Forget what I said, that info was all wrong ;)

[tyke1doe]

The clamps work just fine for me. I had to install our washer, dryer in the apartment we moved to once we sold our house in October, and then install it in the house we built in February.

I had to change from a two-prone to a three-prone back to a two-prone.

It seem pretty simple to me.

Good luck, burntorange.

[burntorangehorn]

Well, it's all successfully installed. Man, those things work really well. The washer vibrates pretty intensely on the spin cycle, but other than that, we've been very pleased with the first couple of loads.

Thanks for the tips, fellas.

[Hyped]

Well, it's all successfully installed. Man, those things work really well. The washer vibrates pretty intensely on the spin cycle, but other than that, we've been very pleased with the first couple of loads.

Thanks for the tips, fellas.

So, which was harder, operating a M-16 or installing the W/D?

[CAPSLOCK]

Well, it's all successfully installed. Man, those things work really well. The washer vibrates pretty intensely on the spin cycle, but other than that, we've been very pleased with the first couple of loads.

Thanks for the tips, fellas.

Its either not level - front to back and side to side - or not loaded correctly. A piece of advice, if the washer is upstairs go to Home Depot or Lowes and spend the money on metal braided water lines. People have gone on vacation only to come back with a basement full of water due to rubber lines failing. Or, if you leave for an extended period of time close the washer valves located at the washer.

Why would you prefer the AK over the M16? The AK is very primitive and not accurate.

[burntorangehorn]

So, which was harder, operating a M-16 or installing the W/D?The washer/dryer.

[burntorangehorn]

Its either not level - front to back and side to side - or not loaded correctly. A piece of advice, if the washer is upstairs go to Home Depot or Lowes and spend the money on metal braided water lines. People have gone on vacation only to come back with a basement full of water due to rubber lines failing. Or, if you leave for an extended period of time close the washer valves located at the washer.

Why would you prefer the AK over the M16? The AK is very primitive and not accurate.You can take an AK, bury it in the sand, leave it there during the rainy season, dig it up, and it'll fire. An M-16A2 wouldn't fire if a car drove by and kicked up a cloud of dust. It's a little more accurate, but on burst, accuracy doesn't matter anyway. The M-16A2 also isn't much less advanced than most AK-47s...there are, after all, many different models in the Kalashnikov family.

[LiveShot]

The dryer will run more efficient on 220V than 120v and the motor will last forever.