I was dead wrong about those universal drain pumps

Been fixing washers for 12 years and always told customers to avoid the off-brand drain pumps. Last month I had a Samsung that needed a pump and the OEM was gonna take 3 weeks. Stuck a $35 universal in there just to see, and that thing has been running 40 loads without a peep. Guess the aftermarket stuff has come a long way. Anyone else had good luck with generics lately?

2 comments

2 Comments

hollym124d ago

Oh man, you're totally right about this! I had a similar experience with a Whirlpool that was making this horrible grinding noise, and I figured the universal pump would die in a week. Nope, it's been almost a year and it's still going strong, even handles the heavy loads with towels and jeans just fine. The thing that really surprised me was how quiet it runs compared to the old OEM one.

ben_lopez254d ago

Only thing nobody mentions is that universal pumps usually have a slightly different impeller design. That grinding noise you heard? Pretty sure that was the old OEM pump's plastic impeller getting chewed up by a stray screw or piece of glass. The universals often use a metal impeller or a stiffer composite that just doesn't crack as easy. Had a Samsung that sounded like it was eating rocks for months, swapped in a generic pump and the noise stopped completely. Turns out the metal blades just shatter the debris instead of getting stuck and grinding.