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Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

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21–30 of 191 posts

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#21

our LG fridge died within two years they replaced the compressor (only due to a class action suit compelling them to), but I expect it will die prematurely again anyway I keep thermometers in the fridges and check them all the time an independent appliance repair guy told me changing brands won't help much, they are all junk now and he mostly does installations instead of repairs I responded..."even Bosch dishwashers…

[deleted]

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#22
LG and Samsung are both notoriously awful for this. Even when they come with crazy long warranties, parts will never be available.

The irony is that cheaper models are still crazy durable - less circuitry, less moving parts, less "economy" features, more off-the-shelf components. If you actually want appliances that last forever, think like a landlord and buy yourself the boring products.

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#23

our LG fridge died within two years they replaced the compressor (only due to a class action suit compelling them to), but I expect it will die prematurely again anyway I keep thermometers in the fridges and check them all the time an independent appliance repair guy told me changing brands won't help much, they are all junk now and he mostly does installations instead of repairs I responded..."even Bosch dishwashers…

>they replaced the [parts] ... but I expect it will die prematurely again anyway

This was like when Apple replaced the defectively soldered GPUs on just-out-of-warranty MacBookPros... with the same defective GPUs. In my case, it gave me almost one year to transfer to another model.

----

As for refrigerators, my kitchen design has two refrigerators, in case one is down for repairs/spills/CostCo. The one that's about to die is the newer model.

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#24
post #3

Increasing complexity to push novelty that has nothing to do with core functionality. Increasing more points of failure while incorporating second rate hardware with third rate software. Resume Driven Design/Development in hardware is hard to hide compared to software.

I wonder if Resume Driven Development is a reaction rather than a cause. For instance, you see companies laying off everyone and pushing bad products, so you decide "I might as well use some cool new tools and make myself employable".

I think many folks would focus more on their job instead of cool new tooling if their job gave them meaning.

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#27
One other thing that could impact reliability is the type of refrigerant used. Cyclopentane, propane and others (e.g. HFO-1234yf) have a much higher operating pressure compared to prior generation refrigerants.

I just checked the label in my Frigidaire and it says 300 psi for high-side, 140 psi for low-side (R600a). An R12 system would be closer to 150psi on the high-side.

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#28
How onerous are the US energy efficiency regulations on refrigerators, and how does that interact with longevity? Modern washing machines and dishwashers are famously terrible because of stringent water- and power-usage requirements, often trying to save 5% on water usage but performing so terribly that people re-wash or wash by hand, thereby wasting much more water not to mention human time. (Some court push back: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/4398456-biden-... )

Are there similar industry-wide issues with fridges, or is this just a matter of one crappy company?

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#29
It's not just fridges. Most appliances (most things in general?) I've seen at any price point are fairly awful.

I've taken to, when at all possible, buying machines that are older (20 years or more) because those tend to work well, can be reasonably repaired, and lack those crazy undesirable features that seem to be implemented instead of implementing quality.

Re: Expensive fridges are dying, leading to fraud claims

#30

our LG fridge died within two years they replaced the compressor (only due to a class action suit compelling them to), but I expect it will die prematurely again anyway I keep thermometers in the fridges and check them all the time an independent appliance repair guy told me changing brands won't help much, they are all junk now and he mostly does installations instead of repairs I responded..."even Bosch dishwashers…

MBAs did it again! Your refrigerator was too reliable, so it had to be MBAed so you can keep buying new ones each year.

Make MBAs illegal.

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