Real Water Savings With Neptunes?

[JimW]

Have those of you out there who have replaced top-loaders with Neptunes really saved on your water consumption as the advertising suggests? The specs say you can save a lot, but specs and advertising are sometimes very different from real life.

[fluffy]

Yes. There is significant savings - this has been discussed many times. Some operators like them, some don't. You can search for a number of threads on this.

[Gary C]

Yes I agree with JimW. I have one store that had 16 tops and one that had 17 Neptunes The store with tops did 1/3 less biz than the other but had a wtwer bill of 1/3 more. Needless to say almost all the tops are now history. I hate then. I left 3 in for some old timers that where used to them. And when I say old timers I mean it these two guys ar in their 90's. I did not want to give them heart falure.

Gary

[BartA74]

New Owner here bought a store 4 months ago.

I had 15 tops when I bought the store. 5 are less than a year old. I replaced 5 older tops with 5 neptunes. What I found was my sales on my remaining ten tops went up. I then purchased 5 speed queen horizon machines. so now I have 5 neptunes/5 horizons and 5 maytag toploaders. my tops and my horizons beat my neptunes by 2 to 1 on the turn ratio. I have found people dont like the neptunes because they cant see their clothes getting cleaned. I have also gotten phone calls during non attended hours from people complaining the neptunes arent working because they cant hear them as well as the tops. My overall experience coin op wise with the neptunes is they havent worked for my customers. They have become my delegated WDF machines mostly. For that I have no complaints. They work well use less water and cut down on dryer time.

Bart

[Gary C]

That is the only thing that bothers people. For some reason they like to see them turning. But once they get use to it they will use them. In one place I have there are 3 tops and 11 neptunes and they now run pretty even in turns. I kept the tops for some old timers that come in. Two of them are in their 90s and I didn't want to put them in shock or worse.

Gary

[pete f]

Have those of you out there who have replaced top-loaders with Neptune's really saved on your water consumption as the advertising suggests? The specs say you can save a lot, but specs and advertising are sometimes very different from real life.

My Neptune's have the lowest TPD and highest complaint rate at all the stores I have them in. The complaints being as mentioned, people don;t think they are running because they make no noise, and the other is because they will not spin out if to much soap gets used, or go out of balance. The coin mech on a few seem to be trouble also. I am not sure the money saved on water is better spent on a Neptune. At one store I have tops at 1.00, Neptune at 1.25, so for only 25 cent more, or 25% more cost they can have a washer that holds 40% more. The tops get double the action. I hope by the time my Neptune's wear out something better is available. Should be plenty of time the way they get used. You may notice from my "Got the CO" post I listed my equipment from my new All May tag store....no Neptune's. For a small front load washer to replace tops the IPSO 12# soft-mount can not be beat, though they have dump valve and need direct drain like a hard mount, making it a reason why they perform well..

[laundryboy]

The Horizon also has a dump drain. No real compains about them. I have 10 in a remodle 18 months ago.

[William]

I just don't understand why anyone would buy a Neptune when the cost of a "real" frontloader is just a little more, if not the same, as the Neptune. Plus the frontloader will last 15+ years, how long will a Neptune last?

[fluffy]

I don't work for Maytag, but the cost is not close to the same between a Neptune and a hard mount "real" front loader. BTW the "real" ones have the 2 year warranties vs. 5 years for the Neptune. To start with, I saved at bare minimum $500 apiece, then there is no installation charge with the Neptunes, no special wiring, etc., and then the water savings are dramatic. I now have 15 Neptunes and 12 tops (along with larger equipment) - my tops got 4.3 tpd and my neptunes 3.7 tpd last month. The difference in my utilities runs about $300 per month savings, and my neptunes vend for a higher price. Works for me.

It's my experience that it's a customer education process with the Neptunes and it works better in an attended mat. Your results may differ.

[BartA74]

Fluffy,

I have tried having my attendants talk to my customers. I have tried putting up the signs explaining the benefits and it never fails they go to the tops 2 to 1. I am in a south shore town in massachusetts where the water and sewer rates are outrageous. I am almost at the point where I might price my tops 50 cents higher than the neptunes. Its the same logic I have one older gentleman that comes in at 5am. His whites go in one top, his colors in another, and his bed linens in top#3. 6.00 spent. he could throw in one of my triples(3.50). He brings his own liquid bleach, and buys two vend packs of tide for 1.50. He would rather spend 7.50 just to wash his clothes that way because he has been doing it for 35 years. Would doing like a neptune day, and lowering the price like an off day during the week help? just curious

[pete f]

Fluffy,

I have tried having my attendants talk to my customers. I have tried putting up the signs explaining the benefits and it never fails they go to the tops 2 to 1. I am in a south shore town in massachusetts where the water and sewer rates are outrageous. I am almost at the point where I might price my tops 50 cents higher than the neptunes. Its the same logic I have one older gentleman that comes in at 5am. His whites go in one top, his colors in another, and his bed linens in top#3. 6.00 spent. he could throw in one of my triples(3.50). He brings his own liquid bleach, and buys two vend packs of tide for 1.50. He would rather spend 7.50 just to wash his clothes that way because he has been doing it for 35 years. Would doing like a neptune day, and lowering the price like an off day during the week help? just curious

If my math is right you are getting $2 for a top load washer. You are not loosing any money at that price, so do not worry abput neptune usage, I don't. It is there if a person wants it.

[BartA74]

2.00 for a toploader 2.50 for the horizons and the neptunes. It just irks me to have machines sitting around and not being used to capacity. I guess the bright said is I can keep having my attendants use the neptunes on the WDF end.

Thanks Again

[charlie]

i have 16 neptunes and they are very popular however i will say that my mat is attended all the time. i get $2.50 per vend (although i am in canada). i now have only two tops and i vend them at $2.25 and they are there just for the people who resist change. i find the only customers who have trouble with them are the ones who have never used a front loader or who are a little challenged in most of what they do. some of my old neptunes are 7+ years old and they still run well.

charlie

[Gary C]

I just got my 2nd water bill after I replaced tops with Neptunes. They save so much on the water and electric bills that I don't care if they only last 8 years.

Gary

[Chase13]

This past weekend I went to the Toronto Home Show. The Maytag booth had a new neptune (for the home) with a nice big window.

I hope this means the Coin side willl have this option soon.

I have alway told my distributor I will never buy a neptune without a window.



Chase

[Clothes_Tyme]

Don't underestimate the savings that Wascomat provide.

[dx398]

I get $2.00 per vend on my tunes and had to label them explaining how quiet they are to avoid getting nuisance calls!