Product review (1 stars): Poor Functionality
I just bought this machine after my old reliable 15 1/2-year old Kenmore extra large capacity washer broke due to an unfortunate imbalance situation.  I never had any problems with that machine, ever.  In terms of functionality, this Speed Queen machine is horrible.  I had a continuous water level option in my old Kenmore washer and wasn't restricted to some preset factory water level as this Speed Queen has.  (I am appreciative of the fact that I have some control over the water level at all, though, given what has happened with other brands.)  In my Kenmore machine, I had both a Delicate and a Handwash setting to select unlike this new machine which only has the Handwash setting.  And, I was able to open the lid during the operation of my Kenmore so that I could view the agitation speed and make necessary adjustments to the wash cycle.  This Speed Queen prevents me from seeing what's going on because the machine stops running when the lid is raised.

Contrary to the description above, there are only three wash settings to choose from.  The Normal ECO setting is a joke.  It's supposed to use less water and it does because there's no rinse cycle though it's listed on the control panel.  What you get in this rinse is two sprays of water along with continuous spinning.  How is that rinsing the soap off of the clothes?  Ironically, the machine has an option for a 2nd rinse on the Heavy Duty and Handwashing setting for those with sensitive skin.  I'm thinking that anyone who uses the Normal ECO setting will develop a new sensitivity to the soapy residue that will inevitably cling to their clothes after not having it rinsed off with a full immersion rinse.  Stupid design.

And the Rinse cycles in the other two wash settings appear to be very brief in duration.  I will have to shut off the machine to allow the clothing to sit in the water longer in the hopes that more soap will be removed than otherwise possible with a short exposure to the rinse water.

The inability to view the wash in progress to ascertain if the agitation speed is too fast, too slow, or just right is a big negative for me.  I will have to blindly select a wash setting and hope that it does the job without destroying my clothes.  I tried the Heavy Duty setting on my old Kenmore once and it was so powerful that I had to abort the cycle and switch to Normal agitation.  I have no good way of determining if this Heavy Duty setting in the Speed Queen will be too fast or not until after I try it out.

Finally, this new machine is so much smaller in capacity than my old Kenmore was.  I will have to do two loads with the Speed Queen just to approximate one load in my extra large capacity Kenmore.  I'm not saving on electricity or water usage.  I suppose if they made them bigger the weight would become an issue.  They weigh 195 lbs.  with the stainless steel drum.

Bottom line is that I will have to monitor the machine during use in order to stop it while in the Normal ECO or Handwash setting and move the dial to another setting to try to achieve the results or performance that I had with my old Kenmore.  There isn't going to be any "automatic" set it and wait for the washing machine to finish anymore.  I'm going to be irritated every time I do laundry.

It's clear that the washing machine industry has been decimated by the water restricting regulations of the Dept. of Energy that will be fully implemented by 2017 and by the fact that too many, if not all, of our appliances are being made in China.  I was looking at the offerings in the space heater sector a few months ago and the extensive list of complaints about shoddy performance and unreliability among all brands is a call to action, in my opinion.  It's great that Speed Queen is made in the U.S.  and that it's a supposedly reliable machine, hopefully.  Now, if other brand manufacturers would heed their customers' complaints and stop importing crap from China and start making their products domestically, things might improve for the consumer.  I can't afford to keep replacing substandard appliances on a regular basis.  Not only that but broken appliances, etc., litter the landfills and that's not good at all.  So, speak up, people if these are issues that concern you too.