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O Holy Crap

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Re: O Holy Crap

#201

Post by eternityforest »

mschuster91 wrote: post #193
eternityforest wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reliability now isn't done with the same methods as it was then. Back then, the good stuff might have been good because the motor was big. The modern good stuff probably has a brushless motor that can prevent stalls. It doesn't matter if it's big or small, the computer won't let it overheat, so they can make it smaller to save money that they can spend on whatever part is the actual failure mode. The trouble is findi…

> The trouble is finding manufacturers that actually do that, rather than just using a tiny motor with no computer and plastic gears with no torque sensing. If you design things with old fashioned methods, you need to use old fashioned heavy parts. Oh yeah. Like Surefeed smart cat feeders. They don't use end reed or contact switches to control the lid motor - they use current sensing on the motor and stop it when the…

One of my general rules is not to buy anything that uses disposable batteries, unless battery life is measured in years. Not only does NiMh always seem to be a hassle, it usually seems like rechargable-based devices are more up to date in general.

They probably wouldn't even need a reed switch, just a wad of foam for some buffering plus a more sensitive stop algorithm. Or better yet, don't give the motor enough current to shred gears even at full stall.

Re: O Holy Crap

#202

Post by JoeAltmaier »

ejb999 wrote: post #189
JoeAltmaier wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Throw it away! It is costing more in annual electricity than a new one. Never mind it's old; it's insulation is worthless and its compressor is very inefficient.

baloney - what is the cost to the environment of producing, transporting and then throwing away a refrigerator every 7-10 years? How about the gas used for the service calls? My old fridge is running perfectly, and costs me less than $10-$15/month. A typical modestly price refrigerator these days cost $1000 at home depot (and easily more) - even if I could cut electricity by 50%, saving 7.50 a month in electric, a ty…

70 years old? Really?

Re: O Holy Crap

#203

Post by hammock »

jtbayly wrote: post #119
taldo wrote: post #32

Besides echoing the survivorship bias warning in other comments, I'd like to point out that just a bit of skill and will can turn the fate of a lot of this 'crap' around. Dull peeler? Sharpen it. Now you have a sharp peeler that can probably last 10 years with occasional attention. Dead grinders? I'm sure at least one of them could've been fixed and extended its life significantly. Sure, things are getting less and l…

We got a hand (immersion) blender. Plastic gear to the metal shaft. Stripped out. Non-repairable. Can’t find one without a plastic gear. Meanwhile, mother-in-law’s is metal and who knows how many years old, still working fine.

Weren’t 3d printers supposed to solve this problem?

Re: O Holy Crap

#204

Post by CadmiumYellow »

cfeduke wrote: post #61
wincy wrote: post #7

My $4000 GE refrigerator has broken twice now in the five years we have owned it, both times in the exact same way. The way the fridge works seems simple: the cold freezer is on the bottom, and then a fan blows air up through a shaft to the relatively warmer refrigerator as needed to keep it just above freezing. Instead, the failure state is that the fan that handles this broke with no warning. I lost a bunch of groc…

I have the original refrigerator the previous owners installed when we purchased the house. It's from the 1990s. It is sometimes loud, but I am afraid to replace it. I am sometimes awed by the new, sleek fridges in the home improvement store but then Admiral Ackbar's voice rings in my head and gives me a +8 to my Will save. So far so good. Every 2-4 years I replace the dishwasher, dryer, and washing machine. The firs…

Every 2-4 years?! That's wild. I live in a rental house that still has all of its appliances from the 90s. They definitely look dated - all white, lots of plastic, no stainless steel or water dispenser or anything - but they all still work perfectly. I haven't had a single problem with any of them since I moved in several years ago, with the exception of the dishwasher coming unplugged and having to be removed so it could be plugged back in. This post is making me grateful for my shabby appliances (and the fact that I'm not on the hook for fixing them if they do break)!

Re: O Holy Crap

#205

Post by docandrew »

Tepix wrote: post #89
winReInstall wrote: post #70

Would suspcription based applicances be better? Softwar supscription definitely did lead to a quality decline in software, as there is always a channel to fix even the sloppiest of implementations.

Juicero you mean? That was a great success... /s

Funnily enough, Juicero is a great example of a rugged product. It had ridiculously over-engineered mechanicals and a very beefy motor. The whole concept was silly and the business model was ridiculous, but it was built to last!

Re: O Holy Crap

#206

Post by Maxburn »

rightbyte wrote: post #145
Maxburn wrote: post #24

The downward spiral of shopping by purchase price. If it can be made cheaper it will sell and here we are. Commercial kitchen equipment is out there and available if you want it, designed to last. It will seriously cost you to get it though.

Is it just me getting older or has this trend reversed? I don't the cheap brags anymore when people buy crappy cheap stuff you could hear in the 00s.

Perhaps a little, people who knew had higher end options for plenty of things. Now with a inflationary recession ongoing I fear we are back to initial purchase price.

Re: O Holy Crap

#207

Post by plastiquebeech »

bitexploder wrote: post #28
bambax wrote: post #8

> Many blamed these problems on the government. They believed it had crippled certain products (major home appliances, especially) This is a claim that was already present in Death of a Salesman . Here's the quote: > I am always in a race with the junkyard! I just finished paying for the car and it's on its last legs. The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when…

Check out the history of light bulbs, an actual amazing conspiracy few people know about :)

Might be worth mentioning the name of the conspiracy: the Phoebus Cartel.

It sounds cartoonishly evil, but "cartel" is just an economic term for a market where a small number of participants collude to control supply and pricing. Like OPEC.

https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/the-l-e-d-quanda...

IMHO, we should be more aggressive about converting industries which gravitate towards cartels into regulated natural monopolies, like power/water supplies. Some kinds of markets really are more efficient with fewer participants, and we should find ways to encourage that efficiency without letting the lucky winners indefinitely dictate the terms of the market.

Re: O Holy Crap

#208

Post by CadmiumYellow »

cfeduke wrote: post #42

The thing in this space that has always bothered me was the simple can opener. (For those not in the US, yes, in the US we still need can openers.) The new ones which can be purchased in the grocery store break within a month or two. I don't even want to think about modern electric openers. I found a used vintage can opener from the 1970s on eBay six years ago and use it practically every day; as it was used it cost…

Ikea actually makes really amazing can openers. I've had the same one for 8 years and it's still going strong. No signs of weakness at all.

Re: O Holy Crap

#209

Post by philwelch »

wincy wrote: post #176
cfeduke wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the original refrigerator the previous owners installed when we purchased the house. It's from the 1990s. It is sometimes loud, but I am afraid to replace it. I am sometimes awed by the new, sleek fridges in the home improvement store but then Admiral Ackbar's voice rings in my head and gives me a +8 to my Will save. So far so good. Every 2-4 years I replace the dishwasher, dryer, and washing machine. The firs…

Ah yeah I paid for Consumer reports and instead of buying an expensive dishwasher got the $500 Bosch that they claimed washed as well as the $2000 Thermador dishwasher. It has been going strong for a few years, no complaints here. I know Consumer Reports can’t really account for durability although I think they survey their members to see what’s still working, so it’s better than most places.

CR and Reddit seem to agree that Bosch is a solid choice, which is why I went with Bosch.

Re: O Holy Crap

#210

Post by pharmakom »

There are still great products out there, but how can we find them?

Reddit was once a strategy, same with Amazon reviews. Sadly it’s a never ending battle against stooge accounts.

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