A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now • Hacker News Board

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#21

Post by phren0logy » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:53 PM UTC

dustincoates wrote: post #7

This reminds me of the same types of complaints around air travel now versus the 50s/60s. Both ignore the relative costs and the fact that you can still buy high-end fridges or first class tickets if you are willing to spend the same amount of money that you would have had to back then.

True, but even most high-end brands these days are more about fashion and high markups for the illusion of luxury than actually better quality. Though at least they generally have far better customer service, which makes a big difference.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#22

Post by epolanski » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:53 PM UTC

And how much power did it consume? What were the materials used for those fridges and paint? How much did they weight? How stable was the temperature in the freezer and refrigerator? Did those fridges had any mechanism to avoid frost formations? How much did they cost?

Point is, the needs of a fridge barely changed in 70 years, the only real expectation we had was that they would become cheaper to buy and run and easier to operate and maintain, all things modern fridges achieved to do.

I would also argue that the ice cube breaker is a non-feature and that shelves being so easily removable is a minus rather than a pro. The ones on the door would easily break and the other ones could be easily pulled (sending every other thing on that shelf on the floor) if something got stuck.

The door shelves also having all of those compartments lead to much poorer local cooling and are arguably worse for hygiene.

In other words: there's reason why we moved from these designs, they had pros and cons and the focus was price and power efficiency.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#23

Post by imchillyb » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:53 PM UTC

dustincoates wrote: post #7

This reminds me of the same types of complaints around air travel now versus the 50s/60s. Both ignore the relative costs and the fact that you can still buy high-end fridges or first class tickets if you are willing to spend the same amount of money that you would have had to back then.

There is no real world comparison between air travel in the 50’s with anything else, except perhaps rampant enshitification.

Double decker airframes, a standing lounge, smoking on board, unrestrained pets at the lounge…

Nothing compares to the removal of these standards on all domestic flights. No industry did the consumer as dirty.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#24

Post by Levitz » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:54 PM UTC

starbugs wrote: post #3

> Thing is, producing crappy, cookie-cutter, uninspired, overpriced junk that falls apart within 5 years (generously speaking) pays more to the shareholders. That's how we got from there to here. This summarizes it quite well for me.

It's also a consequence of constant R&D improvements.

We can make appliances that last for 20 years or more, sure, but then when 20 years pass you have an appliance that is 20 years old and doesn't have any of that new stuff that came out in the last 20 years.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#25

Post by quartz » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:54 PM UTC

Wait is this actually better? It's well presented in the ad but:

- that removable veggie holder in the door looks crazy heavy and super awkward to put back in place (lining up at a sharp angle while gripping likely slick sides)

- you have to open the refrigerator door to get at the freezer

- the door compartments are narrow and probably can't handle odd sized containers

- the shelves have holes in them so anything that drips off that uncovered plate of food gets all over everything below it

- the ice ejector is completely unnecessary in our current world of ice makers. I doubt that fridge has a water line coming into it

- the shelves don't look like they have adjustable height so you're stuck with 3 shelves that can't fit a gallon of milk

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#26

Post by _fat_santa » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:55 PM UTC

My grandfather had one of these fridges that still worked in his basement. While it had those cool space saving features like slide out shelves, it was also significantly smaller than modern refrigerators (and I'm talking about a "basic" fridge, not those fancy french door fridges that are even bigger).

The other thing is the freezer section was not a separate compartment from the fridge. This meant that if you stored anything on the top shelf it would freeze just like the stuff in your freezer, not to mention all the cold you lost every time you opened the door (and speaking of the door, it was effing heavy).

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#27

Post by vsareto » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:55 PM UTC

marricks wrote: post #5

Some of those fridges are refurbished and still around[1]! It's my dream to own one someday when my fridge from the 90's dies. Every couple years there's a HN link to a blog post about how those appliances were built better in the day. Couple highlights I remember were: - Parts were dipped in paint rather than sprayed leading to fuller and thicker paint coverage - Motors had some changes so were actually built to las…

>Parts were dipped in paint rather than sprayed leading to fuller and thicker paint coverage

Hopefully not lead paint?

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#28

Post by nathancahill » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:55 PM UTC

Just today I was using my soldering iron passed down from the 1960s. Heats up to full heat in 2 seconds and has fantastic flow control. Nothing similar exists today under $600 (although that's likely the inflation-adjusted price).

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#29

Post by rwultsch » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:55 PM UTC

rascul wrote: post #4

A lot of those features are available in today's fridges. Also, they use less power today. And you really don't have to get one with wifi and a touchscreen.

I am getting a Sub-zero in a few weeks which is damn near the most expensive fridge. It does not have nice pull out shelves or the veggie compartments.

I expect the sealing and ethylene scrubbing will keep veggies fresh linger.

Re: A fridge from 70 years ago has better features than the fridge I own now

#30

Post by nimajneb » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 1:56 PM UTC

faitswulff wrote: post #12

rascul wrote: post #4

A lot of those features are available in today's fridges. Also, they use less power today. And you really don't have to get one with wifi and a touchscreen.

I just really want that vegetable box. Any recommendations?

You could get a clear plastic shallow bin with relevant dimensions to fit on a shelf in your fridge. Then you can take it out and put it back as needed. I just use the vegetable drawer in my fridge though.