Speed Queen SF7 Stacked Washer and Dryer

[mzdrati]

Hi. I am in the market for a new washer and dryer. I have a really great Whirlpool Duet washer and dryer that while is maintained regularly, is about 14 year old. It continues to run perfectly, but I understand that these machines have a finite lifespan, and I think I am going to replace them while they are still in great condition and sell them on Craigslist and start over. I really wish I could just buy the same set over again, as it is / was a fantastic purchase, with only one or two minor issues over the past 14 years. My wife and I are doing a LOT of research, and after contacting Jake (one of the resident experts here) we have come to believe that Speed Queen, Maytag and Whirlpool (the last two are really the same company) should be on our short-list if we are looking for a high quality, reliable pair of laundry appliances. Since our laundry room is set up to accommodate a stacked pair of appliances, a side-by-side washer/dryer is not an option. We also installed overhead cabinetry over the stacked dryer, so our overall height is a concern- so we are trying to buy smart, while staying within the size constraints that we have.

We have been reading reviews on Lowes / Home Depot, as well as on Consumer Reports to determine which is the "best" washer and dryer, and LG seems to be at the top of the list these days (even though Jake advises that none of those sources mean much to guys in the field who actually see the variety of machines requiring repairs). Despite the wide variety of machines available from Whirlpool / Maytag, GE, LG and many others- we wanted t do our due diligence and at least consider a Speed Queen offering before making a decision. They only offer ONE model (the "SF7") which is a one-piece stacked washer/dryer combo unit. My mother-in-law swears by Speed Queen, and the many reviews of their products here and elsewhere indicate that if we were to purchase a SF7 that it would be reliable- so we started looking around and found that NO Speed Queen dealers have a SF7 on display for us to examine. It's tough to drop that kind of money when you can't even take a look before buying, but one of our larger concerns is whether the 3.5 cu ft wash tub can accommodate a king-size comforter- (our current Duet has a 4.1 cu ft tub, and does so easily). I contacted Speed Queen Customer Service, and they told me that it is designed to accommodate a king-size comforter, and that the reason the competitors use such an oversized tub is because the weight rating for a 3.5 cu ft tub has to be sufficient to hold the amount of water and the items being washed, and with plastic / relatively cheap components- they need a larger tub to bear the same amount of weight. Sounds plausible, but obviously I do not know for sure. We called around for pricing and availability, and my wife got a quote for this unit only a few hundred dollars over the cost of a comparable (but larger capacity) Whirlpool set. The out the door price was really close enough to the "traditional" brands we have seen for sale in appliance and big-box stores- but the fact that we cannot see and touch one of these before buying bothers me a little.

There are literally NO reviews of the SF7 online, other than on Speed Queen's website. Does anyone here have a Speed Queen SF7, and can you offer your opinion / insights on the machine?

 

[dcrugger]

I read this and I relate completely. I have now two Speed Queen Stacked washer and dryers (SF7), one in my rental and one at home.
What I had before:
I had two Maytag Neptune stacked washer and dryer units at home and at the rental. For over ten years they worked great. I had to frequently change the front door gasket due to mold and at some point the washer bearing started to fail. The repair cost was too much.

Reasons for Speed Queen SF7:​

SPACE: My laundry alcoves were limited to 30" wide by 32" deep. All FULL SIZE 27" wide stacked (or all in one body) washer dryer sets are 27" wide, but they all are too deep at 31"- 32" for my space. Add the 4" elbow for the dryer vent, and I'd have the machine sticking out of the alcove at 35"-36".
The Speed Queen SF7 is 27" wide x 27 3/4" deep x 78" tall

CAPACITY: The washer is a bit smaller than the stacked newer washer machines out there ( I saw a GE Washer with a 4.1 cu ft capacity at home depot recently). I use the bulky cycle for comforters (Queen/King size); bed linens (3 sets), towels (4 sets).

PERFORMANCE: Overall both the washer and dryer are solid and reliable. The high spin cycle and the auto balancing of the drum is impressive, when I compare to how my Maytag would sometimes shake a little bit on the high cycle. If you've ever been to a laundromat you'd seen those same size front loader Speed Queen machines perform.
The washer and dryer are also very quiet. It was surprising how when they're both running together there is little to no noise or vibration around them.

PRICE: I decided I wanted an SF7 and I shopped around everywhere for one.
NEW machines: There was little change in posted pricing with local retailers (all listed in the Speed Queen web page). They ranged from $3,000 to $3,200. The variations were between the model SF7000 versus model SF7003 (with OxiClean). Both models are nearly identical except the control panel has the OxiClean setting for a 2 hr wash cycle. If I was on the market for another machine I'd get an SF7000 with a price break (if you can still find a vendor who has one). You can tell the SF7000 from the SF7003 on the model TAG at the dryer cabinet and also from the washer control panel (the SF7003 has the button "OxiClean" on it).
USED machines: Those pop up on craigslist or facebook marketplace rarely. I ran into a vendor in Illinois once who had 20 of those machines for sale for $1,500 each. He could not tell me how old they are so I asked him to read me the first FOUR digits of the serial number (there is only ONE place that is posted: on a sticker inside the dryer door cabinet). He read the first FOUR digits of the serial number as 1403. This meant the machine was from MARCH 2014.

COMPETITION: For the space I have the ONLY machine I'd consider as an alternative is the LG Wash Tower. It is around $1,700 at home depot (last I checked). The upside is the height is lower than the Speed Queen SF7. The downside is that it is deep at 31" AND it has not been around long enough to have a good set of reviews.

OVERALL: The Speed Queen SF7 is worth the money. You're paying a premium for a RESIDENTIAL machine that is build as a COMMERCIAL solid, heavy, very well built appliance. This thing will last 20-30 years. Maintenance will be straight forward (you can tell that from anyone out there who reviews Speed Queen Washers and Dryers).
I wish the next generation will be more compact in height, as the SF7 is a front loader washer and dryer stacked on one another with a control panel on the middle. If the LG Wash Tower can make their machine shorter (by having a shorter control panel AND have a larger washer capacity, so should Speed Queen.)

I hope this helps.

 

[mzdrati]

Thanks SO much for the extremely in-depth review. A few weeks after posting my questions (to which you so kindly replied) we decided to take a chance on the SF7000. We ran one final load in our Duet washer and dryer, (a bleach load to clean the machines) and put them up for sale on Craigslist. They sold in 4 hours, and we got $600 for the pair... Not bad after 14 years of service. I loved those machines, as they took really great care of us- but I knew that if something (anything) went wrong with either of them, we were going to have to think hard about whether it's worth it to repair, and one would likely be worthless without the other. We're really happy that we sold them working and in very good condition instead of running them until they broke- then having to scramble to buy whatever was available and in our budget to replace them.

We've had our SF7 for 5 weeks now, and found that it is a great machine. We discovered that our fears regarding the overall height / fitment into our space and washing machine capacity were both unfounded. I'm still surprised that there are no reviews online for this machine. I do not participate in any social media, but I had briefly considered recording a short review and uploading it to Youtube, because it'd probably help others out there who have the same questions- but Speed Queen should do that themselves. It's a solid, well-performing machine that can handle pretty much any size item that the larger capacity mainstream brands can handle. Although the list price seems prohibitive, it also turned out to be not all that much more expensive. We were quoted a price of $2300 for the SF7000 (new) and put a $500 down payment to secure it. With tax, delivery and set up, the total cost was around $2700. That's not all that much more than what we'd have spent on a pair of laundry machines from one of the usual suspects. One of our concerns had to do with the availability of repair for this "unusual" (in our minds) brand, if the machine needed to be serviced. Turns out that we had a slight problem which had us calling a repair tech: The dryer was making a rattling noise while running. The tech came in just a few days, and there was no charge for the service call (the set has a 7 year warranty). Turns out one of the axles that supports a urethane wheel that supports the dryer drum was causing a chatter. The tech ordered a new wheel set (which comes with new axles) and he replaced the belt just for good measure as well) and I got to watch him replace the parts. It's pretty simple, actually, but after replacing those parts- it's quiet, and we think we'll be happy with our purchase in 10 years.

Well- looks like we started the only Speed Queen SF7 forum on this site. LOL.