BLACK+DECKER4.5 Cu. Ft. Front Load Washer, Full Size Washing Machine with 12 Cycles, ENERGY STAR certified Washer Machine, Hot & Cold Inlet Hoses, LED Display, 120V, BFLW45M, White

So I specifically bought this to bucket fill… I live off grid and don’t have any water source to directly hook it to. I have also had the Japanese style ones where there’s a wash cycle on one side and a spin on the other and they’re AWFUL. This is much much better. I had seen a couple reviews stating that they bucket fill this one, but not much info about water usage doing that or how it works, so here’s what I’ve learned so far (please note, this is for the largest model offered):The system seems to be weight based. Given that it’s hooked up to nothing I can hear the intake pump running at the beginning of a cycle. This will continue until the unit has enough water in it, but how does it know? I played around a lot and decided it’s gotta be weight based, which correlates with the size of load you’re running. So, I put my wash settings on “normal”, change the load size to small, add about 8 gallons of water + the drum 3/4 filled with clothes will get it to start. You’ll see the time for the wash drop from 37 minutes to 34 as soon as it’s got enough water. The cycle size you choose will affect how much water it wants, so I always choose “small” for size and this cuts down on how much water I use.The same thing happens on the rinse cycle. It drains the water from the wash cycle and wants another 8 gallons to do the rinse cycle. At this point it really depends what I’m washing if I choose to do this or not. I have a geriatric dog that makes a whole lot of laundry throughout the week, and for those items I don’t really worry about the rinse cycle. I’ll let the system run through the beginning of the rinse cycle where it is draining most of the wash water off, pause the program, turn the washer off and back on, and then put it on the “spin only” cycle. This cycle is automatically 27 minutes but I usually run it for about 10 and then stop it again. I use those little $3 Walmart micro fleece blankets for him and after 10 minutes in spin only they come out almost completely dry and smelling super fresh. I’ll hang them on a rack in front of a box fan and they’re bone dry within an hour. I also have a regular household pillow for him as a dog bed and that will spin out and dry super fast (2-3 hours) with the same method. This machine will hold two of the fleece blankets and the pillow at the same time, and get everything very clean on the normal cycle, small size.For my clothes I do want a rinse cycle so when the washer changes from wash to rinse I’ll let it drain the wash water, add another 8 gallons, and let the rinse cycle run. The main thing I listen for is if the inlet pump is trying to run. If it is, add more water. You’ll have to pause the system every time you’re adding more water or you’ll get an “E3” error, which just means the lid is open.So, all in all, it is kind of hands on if you’re a bucket filler. It uses between 8-16 gallons of water on small cycle depending on if you want to do a rinse cycle.Based on other reviews I was cautious to have the drain inlet at the proper height. I drain it to my bathroom sink and it works great. If it’s too low it won’t hold water, too high and the pump isn’t strong enough to drain. The drain hose has a nice moveable gooseneck on it and the power of the pump has yet to be so strong it kicks the gooseneck out of the sink, which has been my biggest fear.Despite the hands on nature of it, I really love it. It took me about a week of use, using it 2-3x a day to where I felt really comfortable not just standing over it staring and learning the sounds it’s making to know when it needs my attention. Living in a small space I can just attend to it while I’m doing other chores and it doesn’t feel like a pain. This may depend on how much you hate the laundromat or how much access you have to one. There’s only one laundromat nearby but this woman runs a wash and fold out of it and will tie up all the machines until about 3 pm, and then the rest of the community has a mad dash to try to get their stuff in so it feels like sometimes there’s a laundromat nearby, but it’s a huge source of stress to try to time my day around it’s availability.Other pros: it is really really quiet. I’ll run it at night while my s/o is sleeping and it doesn’t bother them at all. Whether you use the rinse cycle or not everything comes out smelling incredibly fresh. If you want to soak anything, just put it all in with water, soak as long as you want, then run the cycle as you see fit. Will definitely be keeping.

** I was suspicious at first BUT THIS WASHER PROVED ME WRONG*** I live in an apartment 2 bed 1.5 bath. This washer fits perfectly inside of .5 bath and the closet that I store it in. It was bigger than I thought, but it fits my queen sheets and queen comforter in it perfectly. The settings are amazing for this washer. If you need to pause it and accidentally hit the off button, the sensor in the washer knows not to overfill it. It will start from the beginning is the only thing. The water hook up to the sink adapter fit perfectly (it is included with the washer.) If you are worried about this I would run to your local hardware store, its pretty easy to find another adapter. You can use cold or warm water with cold water hose. You don’t even need a hose to fill it, you could use jugs of water but you have to fill it until the sensor tells you there is enough water. It makes the same sounds as a normal washer. It’s not too loud. The washer rings out the clothes really well. Literally the exact same as a normal size washer. I got to 2 year protection plan just in case but I have no leaks as of right now. The lint trap is really useful. It catches so much lint. (I have two dogs) If you are worried about your sink clogging you can always put a panty hose at the end to catch the extra security but the water is clear with no lint every time I observed it draining. Just make sure your drain is not slow flowing because it pushes out a lot of water at one time. You could drain it in the toilet or a tub rather than a sink. I highly recommend buying a dolly. It is very heavy for one person to move round the house. I wouldn’t leave this washing unattended due to the drainage hose. Just make sure something heavy is propped up on top of it or you tape it down when in use. Also, the plug is a three prong plug. Don’t worry that you are keeping the facet on the entire duration of the wash, the water does stop when not in use of the washers function. Overall I see me keeping this for a long time. Even if I were to move into another apartment, it is easy for me to hook up to a regular washer and dryer hook up. If you are having doubts about buying this, I wouldn’t. It is worth the money. It seems like it will last a few years. The money for laundry mat gets expensive it evens out in the end. You are able to do your own clothes in your apartment and not have to take extra trips. Plus there is always a risk people will steal your clothes at a laundry mat or even in your apartment building. I don’t notice a difference in my water or electricity bill. It’s that cheap! There is a sticker that comes with it that says how much it will cost. Igor the 1.6 and my estimate is 9 dollars for the year.