Huebsch & Speed Queen Model Number Definitions

 If you've ever owned a Huebsch or Speed Queen large washer or dryer, the model number can tell you a lot of information but can be confusing. Here is what the different letters and numbers mean:

Ref	Part	Description	Comments
1	-	Product Family	SC HC
2	-	Market Approvals	A (Australia ICE) D (Brazil IEC) G (International) H (China-ROHS IEC) J (Japan-PSE IEC) K (Korea IEC) L (Thailand-TISI IEC) T (North America) U (International CE/EAC)
3	-	Capacity (Dry Weight in Pounds)	080 100
4	-	Control	V
5	-	Actuation	L (Central Pay) X (Prep for Coin) Y (Prep for Card) P (Fob) C (Single Coin) D (Dual Coin) E (Electronic Drop) T (Token) F (Single Coin + CD Lock and Key) Q (Dual Coin + CD Lock and Key) H (Electronic Drop + CD Lock and Key) V (Token + CD Lock and Key)
6	-	Coin Meter	0 (Standard) 1 (CD Lock and Key)
7	-	Speed	F (F-Speed) V (V-Speed)
8	-	Voltage	B (120/60/1) W (200-240/50/1/3) Y (200-240/60/1/3) X (200-240/50-60/1/3) Q (200-240/50-60/3) P (380-415/50-60/3) N (440-480/50-60/3)
9	-	Panel	B (Chrome Door) C (Chrome Door) U (Vinyl) 1 (Stainless Steel Side)
10	-	Design	5
11	-	Heat	0 (Standard) D (Steam) E (Electric Heat) P (Prep for Steam)
12	-	Features and Options

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

5 MORE Guest Laundry Repairs Hotel Owners & Managers Should Know

Having broken laundry equipment costs your hotel money in terms of revenue generated and in repair expenses. I wrote a previous article about five repairs that you can do to save money and keep your guests happy.
5-guest-laundry-repairs-hotel-owners.html

Below are five MORE quick fixes that you or someone on your staff should be able to handle:

6. Fix a broken door handle, door trim ring, door window
I know some of you are saying there are three things in this item rather than one.
In reality on todays frontloading washers all of these parts are replaced on the door with usually the same set of screws on the backside of the door



7. Replace a broken soap tray or tray parts
Soap trays often have dividers that break, drawer stops and retainer clips that break off causing the drawer to be able to be pulled all the way out, seals that go missing or get ripped off

8. Replace a broken door hook
Own a small chassis front loading washer? At some point a customer will have an unbalanced load in it and the door won’t open causing the customer to wrench the door open somehow to get their clothes out. The door hook is the little plastic piece that fits inside the door latch. Don’t worry the tabs are supposed to break off. Better to have to repair a small door hook than a whole door!

9. Replace a water valve in small chassis washers
A lot of screws and hoses need to be moved usually to get to these but another simple repair.

10. Clean the lint screens in the dryers
Besides vacuuming the lint traps and wiping them out daily I’m talking about cleaning the gunk out of the holes in the screen that gets stuck in there. There are several ways to do this and several cleaners that do a good job.

These are the basic items that if you can fix, it will save you a lot of money on service calls and lost revenue due to machines being down for a few days. You can find out how to do these fixes by looking at your favorite blog (like this one!), or watch online videos about on various channels or the manufacturer website.

Once you fix these different items, don’t get too cocky and think you are a major league repair technician. When you start thinking that way is when you will try and do a major repair and either won’t be able to figure it out and need to call a service tech anyways, or you’ll do something dumb and fry a UI board because you didn’t turn the power off. Trust me. I've done both of those things.

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy

5 Guest Laundry Repairs Hotel Owners & Managers Should be Able to Fix

5 Guest Laundry Repairs Hotel Owners & Managers Should be Able to Fix:

Owning and managing hotels can be a constant juggling act of dealing with needs of guests and staff, while staying in budget for all expenses.

Sometimes time is stretch thin that as manager and owner you don't have time to fix laundry equipment. So you call a technician and usually these days have to wait for them to show up a few days later and then need to wait a few more days for the parts to come in, and then a few days for the tech to return. So your laundry equipment might be down for several days to a couple of weeks. While the guest laundry may or may not be a big money maker for your hotel, the invoices for the repairs are a definite drain on hotel cash flow. By fixing a few simple things yourself you can save the money on repair techs and get machines back up and running to make the hotel money and keep guests happy.

Within the first couple years a manager or an owner will probably run into most of these things. This list isn't all inclusive. We could probably expand the list to 100 things an owner needs to know how to repair. This list only applies to guest laundry. I'll deal with staff laundry equipment in a different article.

Here are five quick fixes you or your staff should be able to do:

1. Clearing coin jams
At some point early on in your tenure someone will put a bent quarter in your machine, use a foreign coin, put nickels dimes and pennies into the coin slot, or feed the quarters too fast and not wait for the coins to drop into the coin box. Maybe the coin slides will just be dirty. Whatever the reason is you will have a machine that won’t start because customers can’t put quarters into it. Learn the quick ways to dislodge these stuck coins and the proper way to clear the jam

2. Clean out the drain pump Small chassis washers will often get socks, coins, hair clips, and other junk that goes down the hose from the tub to the pump. Learn how to clear this debris otherwise your washers won’t drain and will leave the clothes soaking wet.



3. Change broken selection buttons
Customers can’t select a cycle or press the “start” button they can’t wash their clothes and you can’t make money



4. Replace a door hinge
Door hinges on small chassis washers are easy to fix. Take the old one off and put the new one on. 5-10 minute repair keeps the washer running and making money. Repairing a hinge on a large chassis washer doesn’t have to be done very often so you will be forgiven if that takes you longer to change one the first time



5. Replace a User Interface (UI) board
Most UI boards are modular units and can be swapped out easily after you get though the usual myriad of screws to get to them. A little tricky because you want to remember to turn the power off first. I know most people don’t turn the power off to the machine completely, however I’ve inadvertently shorted a board because I didn’t turn off the power. I’ll admit I don’t always turn the power off on a small chassis, however on a large chassis I always turn it off.

As I said there are lots more simple fixes that can be done.

These are the basic items that if you can fix, it will save you a lot of money on service calls and lost revenue due to machines being down for a few days. I didn’t tell you the diagnostic symptoms or how to fix these things. They are all things you can reason out or watch online videos about. To fix a lot of the problems above you can take a look at my blog to find how to do these. You can also search your favorite online video channel or the manufacturer website as they often have videos on how to do these repairs. Check your manual for troubleshooting and repair tips too.

For more tips:
5-more-guest-laundry-repairs-hotel.html

Until next time...it all comes out in the Washtub!
Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy

400g vs 200g vs 100g: Does it Matter?

I never intended for my blog to be an "Ask Ev" type of format, however I received an interesting email from two different people asking the same question on "g force." One person was building a laundry room in a remodeled hotel and someone else interested in building a laundromat.

They were getting quotes from several companies on equipment. They noticed that the quotes all had "400g" in them where mine had "200g." My prices was several tens of thousands less than the other quotes. They wanted to know what the differences were between 200g and 400g and what "g" meant. When I asked why they were interested in 400g washers their response is below and my response back to them.
I've obviously changed the names.

From: An Interested Party
Sent: Wednesday
To: me
Subject: Re: one question

I believe they were going with the soft mount because they extract the water better??

My Response:

Hi Interested Party,

The answer to your question about 400g soft mount machines vs 200g hard mount machines is; yes they do pull put more water but it is a bit more complicated than that.

Laundry equipment can be divided into typically two different ways: 

a. large chassis (like in a laundromat)

b. small chassis (like in a home or sometimes a laundromat)

and:

a. soft mount and 

b. hard mount

A typical standard hard mount laundromat washer large chassis machine spins the clothes out at 100g (for years companies talked about Revolutions Per Minute but all the machines spin out at 800-1,000 RPM now so to be different everyone talks about G force or "g").

The manufacturers did national studies on how much water spun out of clothes at the different G forces.
I included the charts on the 40lb washers to illustrate the information below. 

For example:

If you put 40lbs of clothes into a standard hard mount 100g 40lb washer, after it is done spinning 98% of the water is still in the clothes, making the entire load weigh about 78lbs. In other words you have to get 38lbs of water out in the dryer. To do that takes about 32 minutes.

Most hard mount machines are now standard 200g. If you put that same 40lb of clothes into a 40lb washer you will have 74% of the water remaining in the clothes for a weight of 70lbs. You have to get 30lbs of water out and that takes about 24 minutes.

You save 8 minutes of drying time.
That means less natural gas and electricity used and the customer gets done faster, which can help you put more customers through your store. 

For a 300g 40lb washer leaves 67% of water (67lbs weight) and to get that 27lbs dry takes about 22 minutes. A 400g (highest available currently) washer leaves 26lbs of water in the clothes and that takes 21 minutes to dry.

Notice the diminishing returns the higher up in G Force you go.

Here is the catch:

A 100g washer and a 200g washer are essentially the same price.
Depending on the distributor and brand of machines,
to go from a 200g machine to a 400g machine you could add up to 33% more on the price per washer. If you are looking at a $200,000 laundromat equipment invoice, that bill just became $260,000!

Is the extra money worth it?
Answer: It can be.

Depends on the goal of the owner and the laundry room or laundromat where the machines are being installed.
You might be thinking that sounds like a salesy wishy washy (no pun intended) answer. Explain! 

If the machines are going into a laundry room vs a laundromat it can make a big difference. 

Lets start with a laundromat.
The average person doing laundry in a laundromat is probably not going to the notice the difference between towels after a 200g spin and a 400g spin.
People load their clothes into the washer and then leave to sit in the car or come back many minutes after their laundry stops washing. They throw it into the laundry cart and then throw it into the dryer. Sometimes it might not be the same person taking laundry out of the washer as the person throwing it into the dryer.

People have a pattern to doing their laundry. If they know it takes 36 minutes to wash clothes and 36 minutes to dry those clothes that is what they are sticking with because that is what they have done for years. I've had many customers tell me emphatically "I've been doing my laundry for -- years and I know how to do my laundry and don't tell me how to do it." 

There are two times I've seen people break their patterns, one is new dryers and the other is going from top loaders to front loaders. If people see new dryers they will eventually adjust their drying time, and any time they save they give credit to the new dryers not the higher speed washers. A store switching from top loaders to front loaders the customers will give credit to the washers because front loaders spin lots more water out and they have to adjust their laundry method to account for the new style of washer.
 There is a third time people change their patterns and will give credit to the washers. That is when an existing laundromat with 25-35 year old washers in it, upgrades to go to 400g soft mount washers. Those customers would notice a difference between towels spun out in a 100g washer and a 400g washer!
11 minutes less drying after spinning out in a 400g washer vs the old 100g washer is as significant as the 8 minutes saved going from 100g to 200g washers. My question to anyone looking to go from 200g to 400g is if the extra money you spend worth the extra three minutes your customer saves?.

What if it is a brand new laundromat, should you do 400g machines right away?
You could...but...

I suggest saving the money and do not go with washers above 200g.
Saving the extra 2-3 minutes on drying between a 200g machine and a 400g machine doesn't equal the extra years of having to pay off the loan for the equipment.
If you can get a screaming deal on a 400g machine then go for it, but typically you can't get a 400g machine for the price of a 200g machine.

Moving to a staff laundry room like at a hotel.
Higher speed washers really make sense in hotels, long term care facilities, or any other place where the same few washers and dryers are constantly running.
A laundromat can spread the work load amongst several washers and dryers, but a hotel with a waterpark attached might only have two or three washers and the same amount of dryers.

The staff washing the towels will definitely feel the difference between 200g and 400g spins because it is the same people handling the towels all the time.
More importantly is the higher speed washers will add positively to their thru put.

By way if example, if their washers take 30 minutes to wash and the dryer takes 32 minutes to dry and the staff starts laundry at 6am and typically does 16 loads a day, very quickly they will have wash backed up waiting for a dryer.
If they upgrade from a 100g machine to a 400g machine they will save 11 minutes off drying time. Add that up over 16 loads and they will have saved almost three hours of labor pay and time! Perhaps they can increase the amount of loads per day to fill in the now empty three hours?!

So there you have my general explanation of why you would need 400g vs 200g vs 100g.

Laundromats it is nice to have if you WANT but you don't NEED it.
Busy laundry rooms I would say you NEED it.

Thank you for the opportunity to explain this..

You probably learned more about washers than you ever wanted to know after this email!

Everet Kamikawa  “A Heck of A Nice Guy"

MFR Door Lock Error Cause & Fix

Before starting this process,

TURN OFF POWER TO THE WASHER!!!

First remove screws above and below the door lock cover plate

Remove the panel screws on the left side and you might have to remove the ones on the right side depending on how much room you have to get your hands inside the front panel

If you have never removed the front panel, you should open the top panel and look inside. There are two additional screws holding the top of the panel in place. Remove those otherwise you will never get the front panel off!

Once the front panel is off, or at least moved enough to get at it, remove the cover plate from over the lock assembly

Remove the two screws holding the door lock assembly BUT BE CAREFUL!
SEE NEXT PICTURE FAST!

The back of the door lock assembly will have thin metal shims.
These tend to fall off. FIND THEM!
Know how many are on the upper and lower screws (usually it is two each, unless your door has been worked on then you might have more on the top screw or the bottom screw and not necessarily equal). Usually these shims are glued together. Don't be surprised if there is tape.

Unplug the door lock assembly from the big white mole plug and take it completely out of the machine.

Remove all the small screws holding the cover plate

Door lock assembly looks like this on the inside

Notice the thin copper colored metal plate. This should not be bent upwards or downwards like in the two pictures above. It should lay flat like in the picture above it. If it is bent, remove it and manipulate the metal until it lies as flat as possible. If the plate is flat move on to the next step.

Remove screws holding copper colored metal plate


Notice this spring. Don't lose it!

This is the problem on 90% of the door lock issues. It is Maytag part 23002899 Handle, Locking Part (this probably has a different number in newer part manuals or warehouse inventories). For the sake of this blog we are going to call it the "SWING ARM"

Move the swing arm with your finger and see if it easily slides behind the the metal piece in front of it. You shouldn't have to put any pressure or twist it in any way to make it slide behind the little piece of metal that it is supposed to slide behind.

It shouldn't run into the copper colored metal plate and stop either. 

It should slide behind it easy.

Odds are your Swing Arm looks like this. Bent. It should be straight.
This happens from people slamming the door or trying to open it before it unlocks. This is soft metal and can be bent back into somewhat of a straight shape until your new one arrives, but it can easily break too. You definitely want to replace with a new one, however remember this blog is about ways you can get your machine up and running in the short term until that new part arrives. Hence why the tip about bending it back into shape can work for a very short term.

Unhook the small spring from the Swing Arm and pull the swing arm straight off of the peg it attaches to at the top of the Swing Arm. 

Replace with new or newly straightened part.

Reverse all of the disassembly steps above until the door lock assembly is mounted back inside the washer. Notice the shims in  this picture behind the bottom screw. Make sure you put the shims back the way they came off.

Push the Swing Arm back and forth a few times to make sure it slides easily behind the copper colored plate and into the metal channel. If so, attach power to the door lock assembly unit, put the front panels on, turn power back on to the machine and give it a try on a service mode. You should be back up and running!

Ev
A Heck of A Nice Guy