GE Profile Ultrafast 2in1 Combo Washer Dryer 6 Month Teardown, inspection & cleaning of the heatpump

[@retrotechandelectronics]

An add-on to this video with more information and refined procedues during maintenance has been published. Link Below... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGiVn6uln617mq8

[@Michaelguaylambert]

The video is just amazing. The quality of it is unbelievable.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thank you, Im glad you found it helpful.

[@gray4141]

This is by far the best how-to video I have ever seen. Very well done, thank you.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad it was helpful! The sequel was just released.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGiVn6uln617mq8

[@f.j.minney1402]

Excellent tutorial video. Just completed my teardown & reassembly. Felt like you were here with me. Thanks!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@amaliagodinez4602]

We have the same washer dryer and my husband was having trouble with it but because of your video he was able to open it up and fix the issue. Thank you so much for this video

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad to hear it helped. A second video with more maintenance discoveries is coming out shortly

[@ChaJ67]

With my unit, I just went down to the local hardware store and picked up some weatherization foam tape right away after getting the unit and put it around the lint trap, creating a nice seal. $5 roll of foam tape in order to try to avoid heavy maintenance / a dryer that doesn't dry on a machine that costs a lot more than $5. Also, to install, just pop out the lint trap, run the tape around with the paper left on top, and cut when the front of the trap is reached again. Takes just a couple of minutes to do and is really easy. While the machine is still really new, several loads in and the foam tape is staying in place and the coils are staying clean.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Good tip, im looking into such solutions.

[@annievoss3580]

Do what now? Picture or drawing?

[@mconwell]

Sorry for the second comment, but I just want to encourage you for more of these GE combo videos. They are by far the most comprehensive I have seen.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

More to come as needed.

[@SusanDennis]

This was fascinating from start to finish. I am a 75 year old woman who would be hard pressed to take apart a flashlight but I was captivated. And learned so much! I also went right to GE>Bodewell and bought a service plan. thank you

[@DaMo-Studios]

I’m about to purchase this unit. I’ve been looking for this kind of info. I’m an HVAC Technician and this video is gold. Thank you!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad it helped. I have a part 2 to this video on my channel.

[@Hagemann666]

I have this unit and I am largely happy with it. I'm also pretty comfortable with tearing down complex assemblies. But this is right at the edge of my comfort zone so I'm happy to know this video exists in case I need to refer to it. I've made a few modifications to the lint filter assembly to minimize lint getting past it and into the heat pump coils. Then I picked up the brushes and vacuum cleaner hoses that can reach inside there and I feel like that should be enough to keep things clean for many years to come. I've only had this unit for about a year. I hope it lasts as long as a conventional washer/dryer combo but much remains to be seen. A heat pump dryer is kind of a whole new paradigm. If you're the type of household that does all its laundry on Sunday this thing is NOT for you. It's not as fast a conventional dryer and you (obviously) can't be washing one load while drying another. But if you wash small loads throughout the week and you don't have a lot of family members (it's just me and my girlfriend) this thing is a perfect solution. The best part is I was able to install a handy utility sink in the mudroom since this occupies only half the space of a conventional combo.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thanks for the write up. For us besides space the greatest feature was moving the machine out of the humid garage indoors as no ventilation g is needed.

[@Copperflowerz333]

This is the best video!!! Thank you for posting!!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

You're welcome.

[@michaeltaylor551]

Thank you for the video. Help a lot and went smoothly! It is about a 4 hr job. Would have been a lot longer without your guidance! Thank you again.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad it helped!

[@shou635]

All I can say is your are great at what you do. Keep it up!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@wesleydill4743]

Thanks!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thank you very much.

[@JoshuaMartin-f4u]

Thank you! Your video was outstanding and very helpful

[@CBRFFan]

Awesome video by far the best I've seen so far about cleaning this machine . Thanks please keep up the great work! 👍👍👍👍👍

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thanks, will do!

[@geeval3910]

Awesome teardown details. I personally added some foam around the filter and has done a satisfactory job keeping the lint in check. The biggest flaw of the filter is the rear, larger than desired gape there. Need to clean that lint from the filter screens after every cycle time to reduce forced air through the cracks. Great job and detail explanation sir.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks for the tip!

[@andreabarsomian-dietrich5432]

Clear, concise tutorial. Very helpful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge,

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad to help! The sequel was just released kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGiVn6uln617mq8

[@theicequeen4076]

That is not alot of lint build up for 6 months, especially with the pet hair. If people took their dryer hose off, they would be shocked. I can see how that would build up year after year. However, I'm still a fan of this machine. Every appliance needs to be maintained. Maintenance is not excessive for this machine. I love it!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Its not a lot for a gas dryer, but for a heat pump, covering those metal fins wity a thin layer of dust will quickly reduce the efficiency of the drying process. and a little dust will quickly grab more dust.

[@JOURNEYMADEBYJAI]

I agree. It’s a dream compared to the standard separate units.

[@AtlzBestM26]

This machine's heat pump is sensitive to lint build up. Even a little clog doubles dry time while regular dryers run so hot that you don't notice a performance drop

[@theicequeen4076]

@@AtlzBestM26 I have this model. I do maintenance as it says to do and my performance has not dropped. I do 20 loads a week so, it is definitely being used. Regardless, the amount of lint is way less than with a traditional dryer. I have more hair and pet hair that it gets rid of than lint. I love this machine and would repurchase it again.

[@MatthewSlaymaker]

So having to employ surgical precision and specialty tooling to clean the heat exchanger is not excessive maintenance? Think about why didn't the R&D team at GE just design an effective filter? There is no way that this immediate lint buildup (without the use of special brushes to clean the heat exchanger) wasn't known by GE engineers before this product went to market. LG came out with a similar model to this product just this year, which another youtuber took apart after only two loads and found large portions of the heat exchanger to be caked in lint. This is a designed failure point of these types of units, if not excessive ignorance and neglect by the designers of this product. Please do not reccomend products that are designed to fail. The practical longevity and reliability of the appliance are the most important aspects to consider for a well-informed buyer.

[@Timshels]

Brilliant. Thank-you.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Hope it helped.

[@Lunafilms12]

Fantastic Video! Thank you!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Glad you liked it!

[@TheReviewPigeon]

Great video on the breakdown, I've done a few quick videos of this machine and yours has significantly better time and effort put in. Well done

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thanks! Glad you liked it.

[@mikeray4002]

I called and told them about filter and the fix as i have modified mine. lol This is an awesome video you should sell it to technicians lol I really appreciate your videos and I love my machine regardless of the lint cleaning lol Also wanted to note it is very important that you take the filter housing out and clean it with Dawn dish soap regularly. I just got the dreaded 365 error code and it was due to buildup on the screen from fabric softener. As soon as I took it out and cleaned it with dish soap took all of three minutes is perfect again so I will make sure to clean housing once a month as well

[@retrotechandelectronics]

My wife regularly cleans and washes the filtre element.

[@killer5846]

I was considering this model and the LG combo units when our dryer began to go out a few months ago. > After I got a good look at the videos like yours and others and then saw both units in my local home Depot I decided against either one. > The filter design seems to be one of the weak points of both machines as well as where they decided to locate the coils. > The LG all-in-one combo has a similar system but a very different type of filter. > The LG unit has a similar problem but it doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as the GE unit. > Everything I read says the LG is fairly manageable and LG even tells you how to take out one screw out of the filter compartment to get easier access to the coils to clean them. > After seeing both the GE and LG combo units in person and looking at their filters I decided against getting either combo unit. > The concept is absolutely fantastic!, but in reality if your tasking one machine to wash and pull the lint out and also drying and trying to get rid of that lint, I think until somebody comes along with a far, far superior system this is always going to be an issue. > I also think if you have more than a couple of people in your family especially people that tend to shed hair or the worst case scenario, pets, this just adds to and compounds the problem. > I decided to go ahead and get the new LG heat pump dryer and did a tremendous amount of research on it before purchase. > LG goes about lint removal very differently on their large capacity heat pump dryer than they do in their combo washer. > With their heat pump dryer, they use a very large two-stage fine mesh filter, one inner, one outer, that is in the front like many conventional dryers. > They also have an automatic coil cleaning system that uses water it pulls from the clothes to clean the internal coil system. > The coil system on the LG standalone heat pump dryer is located in the bottom of the unit inside of a tub with a separate pump and a spray system that can clean the coils. > LG also thoughtfully provided an access port on the front of the dryer that you can open easily and have access to the coil directly to vacuum out anything that might get past the filter system. > I do exactly what the maintenance suggest from LG, which entails cleaning the inner filter on every cycle and the outer filter every 10 loads, although I tend to clean the outer filter sooner than that if I see any kind of visible build up at all which tends to be about every two or three loads. > I also noticed that the automatic coil cleaning system seems to run at every load and I have ran a manual coil cleaning about every 10 loads, which involves pulling the lint trap out and pouring about 1 liter of water through that hole and then running the manual cleaning cycle. > After having this unit for a couple of months running around 50 loads and sticking to the maintenance religiously, I can say with confidence that I believe LG has a winner on their hands with this standalone heat pump dryer. > I have checked the access panel and inspected the coils several times since I've got the unit and have Been extremely happy with zero, not a little, but zero lint build up on the coils! > The heat pump is smaller than the GEs but it does the job pretty well, the drying times are longer than the GE's but The fact that it's a separate unit and they rethought the lint system so it seems like a more reliable machine than either the LG or GE combo units. > Plus I think until they significantly change the design of both combo units that lint buildup is going to be a huge issue. > Thanks for doing this video, it was very informative and helped remake my decision.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I agree, The combo unit's lint issues are a big concern and I think until they get that solved, they are always going to have problems. Thanks for watching and the feedback!

[@user-pn8ke3kf5f]

It's honestly crazy that they don't make a few changes to provide a large panel on the top that comes off and allows access to the coil. Lint buildup is such a known problem on these combo units that that should be one of the top priorities when designing one.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

So much wrong in the design of this machine.

[@edwardromana]

I like the tape and marker technique for the screws. Thank you

[@retrotechandelectronics]

youre welcome

[@ags10ags]

Amazing. Now I know why this machine is so expensive...we have a radiator inside of it😮 VERY COMPLEX ASSEMBLY. Great job!!!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

You’re welcome.

[@frumpd63]

This is a great video and I'm sure was a lot of work. That said, I have seen dozens of videos talking about tricks to try and make this machine reliable,. IMO, this type of thing is orders of magnitude what should ever be expected from a consumer. GE should have either integrated a coil wash system like Samsung or made the exchanger easily accessible for maintenance.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

True story, GE did a lot of failing on this one.

[@peters4219]

Thanks for the video this looks so complicated to maintain I would never want to take on this project! GE should have designed a simpler design to clean and maintain

[@retrotechandelectronics]

At a minimum, they should have addressed the filter by now.

[@sivagame]

Wow. That is a lot of work. I wish GE had designed this so that it was easier to service.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

No doubt. Not only does it need to be cleaned twice a year but designed so that most people can’t easily perform it.

[@scotts4125]

A couple made a video about the left side buildup. The G.E. tech took one of their long brushes and put a couple bends in it to reach that corner where the down spout is. You could also use a borescope with the bent brush.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Just dont brush it right into the port coming up from the drum...

[@RodgerMudd]

A great mold and mildew machine for sure.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Door open and filter removed during non-op helps with this

[@RodgerMudd]

@@retrotechandelectronics Good to know.

[@tighecrovetti2844]

BRAVO

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thanks!

[@gnewt75]

How long did it take you to disassemble, clean and reassemble this unit?

[@retrotechandelectronics]

The camera slows things down. I could disassemble in about 45min. 15 min to clean and 45 min to reassemble without recording

[@pinkakagreen]

Awesome

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Thanks!

[@Danellr007]

It would have been interesting to see how the filter fits with the top off to see how to improve the seal in the back.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Good idea, In the next one i do when its open ill be sure to add that.

[@christopherkeyes1742]

Where did you get the brushes at the start? Thank you kindly.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

amzn.to/3Pern8r

[@colossusxmen8626]

Where did you get that brush and hose from

[@retrotechandelectronics]

amzn.to/3PMeJ0Z

[@av1204]

Could I take a sprayer and shoot water through the coil without taking the lid off. Most the sprayers have a 90 degree spray tip. But where does that water go

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I spray mostly top down after vacuuming. So I can’t speak to the effectiveness of doing so.

[@jamesshelleywijnhamer19]

Thank you for the video. Have you checked any fault codes? I started to get the 353-fault code. Called GE and they had to send out a GE certified technician. They had to replace a part. It took the technician about 4-5 hours. The technician ran the machine to get it to reset. After it finished, I got the fault code 354. We ran a small load of laundry and now will not go into drying mode and giving the error code 353. I cleared the fault code and tried to run another small load. Again, stopped after the washing of the clothes. Would not go to drying and fault code 354. Now we have a really expensive washing machine.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Generally the balance code.... I think its silly as a fault code, it should be an on screen error with a continue option.

[@mikeray4002]

We have found that if you run light small loads like underwear by themselves, it will have a tendency to not want to finish the cycle and balance out so we make sure not to run small light loads and we’ve had no issues since

[@fluxwood]

I made a foam tape mod for the filter assy to stop the lint from passing through.

[@chipherold204]

Can you recommend where to purchase a brush? I have a vacuum attachment I bought a fees years back to use with my old dryer

[@retrotechandelectronics]

The one i use, that was in the video amzn.to/4j4N48W

[@chipherold204]

@@retrotechandelectronics Thank you and Happy Holidays

[@retrotechandelectronics]

@@chipherold204 to you as well...

[@ChrisEpler]

Nice teardown video! Thanks! Not sure I'll have enough vertical clearance to get that heatpump cover off though :-/ And washer is in a stainless drain pan so not easy to get it out...have a second one next to it as well sooo, ya, fun... GE, why didn't you make a nice user accessible door into the condenser area and inlet duct? Bonus points for a hose hookup that sprays jets on the condenser to clean it, or heck, why don't you just integrate that as a cleaning function?

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Sounnd like half of your battle is removing the two machines from their perch before the work even begins.

[@tsicby]

I just bought the new, cheaper model and awaiting delivery. It does seem like a maintenance routine like I have on my HVAC or my pool filter is needed. I plan to modfiy the filter screen like folks have suggested and will probably create a PVC vacuum attachment/s to hit those interior spots. Seems like a cottage industry could develop for that if GE doesn't modify their design.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

It doesnt have the auto detergent/softener so maintenance should be easier...

[@ADOENDRA]

May I ask you what software you use adding those green dots in your video? Thanks.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Final Cut Pro

[@ADOENDRA]

@@retrotechandelectronics THANKS!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

@@ADOENDRA no problem

[@ADOENDRA]

The filter is a problem. The cooling plates should be horizontal for cleaning, and the filter slots do need a re-design.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

The filter and the airflow left of the filter

[@ADOENDRA]

100% The problem with plastic is that it will get a static charge with the airflow, and it will attract dust. Maybe a ground connection would solve that problem.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

@@ADOENDRA if the section were metal, it could be grounded. Or an artistic, mildly conducive plastic

[@annievoss3580]

Amazing video, but Holy Hannah, why is all this required to be able to get left in that filter area to clean it properly? We have pet hair like yours, clean the primary removable filter with every load.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Sadly... Yes..

[@BillWard420]

Love the content brother. Quick question, sorry if you already covered it in another video. What are your thought about some people adding weather stripping along the top, back and bottom of the lint filter to prevent lint from finding it's way through?

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I think it may be a possible remediation. I'm looking at that at this time but have not built anything yet.

[@BillWard420]

@@retrotechandelectronics Appreciate the reply brother.

[@mconwell]

I’d love to see a future video of what you try, what works and doesn’t work and how it performs.

[@j.v8947]

Hello and thank you for the videos they have been super helpful. Hear me out and tell me if it’s something that could be done without causing damage to the machines. Noted that everything done will have to be in low pressure and not blasting like a pressure washer. Using a 2 foot long 90° L shaped garden mist sprayer with an adjustable tip for spray to fan connected to a garden hose, one would remove the lint filter and insert the sprayer with the nozzle adjusted to a soft fan like spray pattern, spray all coils multiple times to get the particles to flow downward to the bottoms filter of the machines. Then removing the bottom filter or already have it open so that any and all water that flows down gets removed along side and lint and dust that has bypassed. Last would be to run a self clean cycle for the machine and call it a day. My only concern is that I don’t know if water has a free flowing way of making it down to the bottom or if it may pool up somewhere up there using this method. If you know or can tell us if water can flow all the way down from the right side of the coils just as on the left side with the big hole opening. If it does and can flow after passing by the coils then it shouldn’t pose any problems. Thank in advance and sorry for the long post. Here’s an example of the mister I’m thinking of using for maintenance Mist Watering Wand For Hanging Baskets,25 Inch Spray Wand With Adjustable Nozzle, Car Pet Window Cleaning Tool, Great For Watering Seedbeds, Hanging Plants, Deck Plants.（90-degree curved nozzle） a.co/d/3tGzLhR

[@j.v8947]

Oh forgot to mention that using this method one could T from the cold water supply of the machine and have an 8ft section of hose to perform this easily right in the laundry room where it’s located. 😅

[@tsicby]

@@j.v8947 That's a cool idea.

[@brianhope5853]

We're screwed Batman. 40 times over I reply. Also notice Robin that it's a 30 minute video, which means in real life, it's 8 hours for mere humans.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Not sure I understand this Batman robin stuff, just say what you mean.

[@brianhope5853]

@@retrotechandelectronics I was simply dazed that there are 40 screws to get in and 40 screws to get back out of the unit. 80 screws and probably 6, or more, hours to service. Blows my mind after 40 years of servicing my own personal washing machines and dryers. Being 63 years old now makes me wonder if I really want a unit that will force me to pay someone else to service. Hell, I even service my own heat pump/gas furnace dual fuel HVAC. Not sure I would pay for this unit.

[@dmn62]

The Bosch ventless dryer has a front removable radiator assembly. I'll wait until they make a combo system, or GE really redesigns their system.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

It’s a cool design but I’m curious as to how the exchanger couples to the gas tubes effectively

[@dmn62]

@@retrotechandelectronics it's possible that you can't actually do this for a full closed-circuit heat pump. I think we'll see a couple of iterations, but it's great to see two heavy hitters getting the ball rolling.

[@nextjin]

This is fairly absurd tbh. While I’m probably going to get this or the next model they should have had a top door that can be removed with a few screws in order to access that entire area easily. That and having a gasket around the filter needs to be a thing in the next model.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I saw the next model. Its a reduced price version of this one and they didnt fix any issues.

[@fhrswa]

Aww, I wanted to see what the blower's insides looks like 😅

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I’ll have a look and see in the next video

[@mconwell]

This video is great. Thank you for posting. Now that you’ve seen the areas of build up, what changes to your “per load “ cleaning will you be making? It seems like a vacuum attachment that can reach around into the blind spots might be nice. Also, how difficult would you rate this cleaning/assembly/reassembly? Do you feel, that GE could tell that you took it apart thus voiding your warranty?

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I will not be making any more changes than I current do, except that I plan to open it now every 6 months for cleaning.

[@talononeguy]

I feel like I could save more time and money by just drying my clothes on a clothesline!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I think ive found the primary issue and will release another video when the machine is reassembled.

[@dustup2249]

Yikes. Tearing that machine down to clean it twice a year defeats spending $2,500 for convenience. All that technology GE used and then leaving it vulnerable to poor filter design seems intentional so the consumer will either buy a new machine every 12 months or pay twice a year for a housecall by a minimum wage teenager who immediately sets his smartphone up with music as he takes his sweet time padding the labor charge... This will be an all day job with the smartest of the service call techs.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

Given the accessibility, they should have had some sort of automated heat pump cleaning system with a cleaning agent that would be added for this purpose.

[@4468861989]

No way that thing is going to last 5 years without disassembly and cleaning

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I agree 1000%

[@deborahbender5333]

The water drain and use a cookie sheet..its ridiculous. Surely they could do a better job in the design of that monstrosity. I have seen several KZbin channels and no one seems 100 percent happy with there unit.Ill just keep my old fashion washer and dryer.👍Easy up keep it Amazon has a hose that is made to use on your vacume to deep clean filter area.Once a month...Good luck. To everyone with there 2 in one units.

[@vainexp3481]

It's clear from the videos I have seen on this GE model...which I own as well...pet hair and no high maintenance cleaning of ur machine will be its inevitable doom...fortunately I have no pets in my home...so the cleaning requirement is not as intensive...

[@retrotechandelectronics]

It wasnt hair I found in the heat pump. The filter actually did well to catch that. It was dust from lint.

[@mitchellbarnow1709]

I would definitely not buy this brand because way too much is not caught by the large filter. I wonder if the LG or the Samsung is any better and if not, I’ll stay with my separate washer and dryer.

[@retrotechandelectronics]

I saw the LG filter, its different.... I cant say if its better.

[@mrbigstuffbsa]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@retrotechandelectronics]

You’re welcome!