I purchased a Staber which not many have heard of and they are a bit pricy at $1,100 or so (think I paid $995 from Frog Mountain) and it is a top-loader, but behaves like a front-loader. You get all of the benefits of less water usage, less electricity, and so forth. The beauty of this machine is that nearly anyone can repair it. There is no transmission or really tricky electronics. It is the MOdel-T of washing machines. You can find more info at http://www.staber.com. My wife and I have had ours for about five years and not one ounce of trouble. I only had to oil the barings once or twice, but I think the newer units don't even require that. It really is a basic well designed machine. On Jul 10, 2009, at 5:35 PM, Philip Theron wrote:
> > > Hi I am glad that your problem is solved although it is temporarily, > let me just through my penny in the box, when you bye, think of a > top loader again, I had a front loader, and it was problems, > especially with the door sealer. A person sometimes are in a hurry, > and slam the door shut, with the rubber folded, and you are not > aware of it, and then you come back to a wet surprise. I got my top > loader for three years and not a moment's trouble. Went I was > married we bought a big top loader, fifteen years ago, and as far as > I know it is still going with out any trouble. > Philip Theron > Piano tuner > Piano Music House > Tel.: [021] 948 6995 > Cell: [083] 635 6349 > Fax: [021] 949 8650 > Email: phi...@isales.co.za > www.pianomusichouse.co.za > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Betsy Whitney > To: blindhandyman@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 7:09 PM > Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Washing machine Problems! > > Aloha Joy, > Just to get you started on your upcoming machine replacement > adventure... I bought a Whirlpool stack unit and was able to get the > Users Manual in Braille and also Braille overlays for the controls. > The technician installed the layovers. > > A friend bought a Maytag large capacity washer and was able to get > Braille overlays for it. You may not be a braille reader, but you > could probably figure out enough to run the unit. > Betsy > At 06:46 AM 7/10/2009, you wrote: > > >To report the end of my watery adventures, ... Dale you were pretty > >close in your diagnoses and what with linguistic challenges and > >missing the pointing and gesturing I was really greatful to have a > >basic understanding of what might be happening. Seems the piece that > >the hose for the water gauge connects to (Pipe was what he called > >it) broke off and the hose disconnected itself. That was the good > >news and the part that was fixed. However, it seems some sealed unit > >that contains the main baring that the tub turns on is dying and > >isn't worth the cost of replacing. So I have only postponed the > >dread time of buying a new machine. > > > >Yes Spiro, you are right four hundred is getting close to the cost > >of a new machine, but finding one that you can use if you are > >totally blind is getting more and more challenging! It was bad nine > >years ago when I started looking for this one and from all I hear > >its gotten a lot worse. So I can't say I'm looking forward to it. > >Still at least the expenditure isn't immediate (blessing) and this > >way I can take my time and try to find something I can live with. > > > >Thanks for the help and advice, I'm truly greatful. > > > >Yours sincerely, > >Joy > > > >Please take a few moments to browse and enjoy > >my original artwork at: > >www.tigerfeathers.ca > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]