Miele Washing Machine.

EarthWindandFire · Post by **EarthWindandFire** » Thu. Dec. 01, 2011 3:14 pm

I just bought a used Miele W1903 washing machine off of Craigslist. The funny thing was, when my wife knocked on the door the lady selling it was an old friend of hers.

Does anybody have a Miele washer or dryer?

The main problem is that even a washing machine from Miele uses the 4-prong 220 volt outlet. It's because the washer has an internal water heater that can heat the water to 170 degrees and the machine doesn't even have a hose for hot water, just a cold water hose.

So what do I do about the electric?

I guess I should just convert my GE dryer over to the "new" 4-prong cord and then keep switching them out as needed.

Sting · Post by **Sting** » Thu. Dec. 01, 2011 4:41 pm

open the dryer plug --- ukhem -- you may wish to pull the breaker first -- and over wire the "modern" plug into it

now there -- just use one or the other - or "watts" the worst case = the breaker will trip

guess where that "fourth" wire gets tied to

Post by **coaledsweat** » Fri. Dec. 02, 2011 12:41 pm

There is some info on the plug here. http://www.miele.ca/miele/canada/OperatingInstruc ... 190-00.pdf
I personally would run a 220 outlet for it. No sense having a world class piece of equipment limping on one leg.

Coalfire · Post by **Coalfire** » Fri. Dec. 02, 2011 1:00 pm

coaledsweat wrote:. No sense having a world class piece of equipment limping on one leg.

World class until it breaks than you better have a world class bank account to pay for the repairs

, kinda like a BMW or MB

Eric

EarthWindandFire · Post by **EarthWindandFire** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 9:24 pm

Well, I actually installed the washer the correct way. I opened the main electrical panel, made some improvements to the lousy job done by a previous electrician, and installed the proper 15 amp/240 volt double-pole circuit breaker required for this German washing machine.

Eventually I'll repair the Staber, but for now the Miele is purring away like a German Tiger tank.

SMITTY · Post by **SMITTY** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 9:27 pm

Coalfire wrote:
coaledsweat wrote:. No sense having a world class piece of equipment limping on one leg.
World class until it breaks than you better have a world class bank account to pay for the repairs , kinda like a BMW or MB

Eric

Explains why I've never heard of one before.

theo · Post by **theo** » Sun. Dec. 04, 2011 8:28 am

Same here !!

EarthWindandFire · Post by **EarthWindandFire** » Sun. Dec. 04, 2011 5:04 pm

Well, I bought the most American made of all washing machines and it failed me after just three years.

And before the Staber, I had bought the Whirlpool Duet which lasted less than a week before it broke. So, I am giving this German made machine a chance.

Coalfire · Post by **Coalfire** » Sun. Dec. 04, 2011 6:12 pm

EarthWindandFire wrote:Well, I bought the most American made of all washing machines and it failed me after just three years.

And before the Staber, I had bought the Whirlpool Duet which lasted less than a week before it broke. So, I am giving this German made machine a chance.

Where did you buy the whirlpool?

EarthWindandFire · Post by **EarthWindandFire** » Mon. Dec. 05, 2011 1:04 pm

According to this older Wired.com interview with Steve jobs, even the Apple CEO owned a Miele.

Steve Jobs: "Design is not limited to fancy new gadgets. Our family just bought a new washing machine and dryer. We didn't have a very good one so we spent a little time looking at them. It turns out that the Americans make washers and dryers all wrong. The Europeans make them much better - but they take twice as long to do clothes! It turns out that they wash them with about a quarter as much water and your clothes end up with a lot less detergent on them. Most important, they don't trash your clothes. They use a lot less soap, a lot less water, but they come out much cleaner, much softer, and they last a lot longer.

We spent some time in our family talking about what's the trade-off we want to make. We ended up talking a lot about design, but also about the values of our family. Did we care most about getting our wash done in an hour versus an hour and a half? Or did we care most about our clothes feeling really soft and lasting longer? Did we care about using a quarter of the water? We spent about two weeks talking about this every night at the dinner table. We'd get around to that old washer-dryer discussion. And the talk was about design.

We ended up opting for these Miele appliances, made in Germany. They're too expensive, but that's just because nobody buys them in this country. They are really wonderfully made and one of the few products we've bought over the last few years that we're all really happy about. These guys really thought the process through. They did such a great job designing these washers and dryers. I got more thrill out of them than I have out of any piece of high tech in years."

EarthWindandFire · Post by **EarthWindandFire** » Tue. Dec. 06, 2011 10:26 am

I bought the Whirpool from Sears and it was NOT a reconditioned or scratch and dent. So, as soon as it broke I called Sears, packed up the washing machine in the back of my truck and drove it back to the store.

EarthWindandFire · Post by **EarthWindandFire** » Thu. Jan. 14, 2016 6:48 pm

The Miele has finally stopped working. It seems to be a repairable fix, something that I can do myself. According to the service manual, the water level sensor has failed. The two motors and drum bearings are still good which means that the machine is worth trying to fix.

Sadly, Miele the company has succumbed to us Americans and dumbed down their newest machines sold here. They now have automatic controls and no longer use 220 volts to heat the water etc etc. They still do make a commercial-quality washing machine called the Little Giant but it costs four thousand bucks.

For those that like to buy American and still get high-quality, the Speed Queen machines are very good. I've spent about a hundred hours reading about and researching washing machines (member of washing machine chat board) and came to the conclusion that my next new washer will be a Speed Queen. The consumer can buy the same washer and dryer sold to commercial laundromats for residential home use. Each and every Speed Queen is the same unit as the commercial model minus the coin-box and vandal-proof cabinet.