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

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

#211

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

amluto wrote: post #157
Levitz wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> new stuff that came out in the last 20 years. There isn’t really that much of this. Let’s consider an oven: Good temperature control: accurate, precise and reliable temperature sensors (e.g. thermocouples) have been around for a long time, as have switching devices that are plenty high speed to make an excellent oven. PID control would be easy with 1980 technology or current technology. Ovens with good temperature…

> The only thing $7k buys you is a nice brand name and maybe slightly more solid construction than a much cheaper unit.)

Typically you also get: more BTUs, better simmer control, easier repairability (due to construction design).

I'm not arguing it's worth the money (which is why I got my $15k stove from craigslist for $2k :)

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

#212

Post by BeetleB »

JumpinJack_Cash wrote: post #85
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.

> > This reminds me of the same types of complaints around air travel now versus the 50s/60s The huge difference compared to banck then is TSA, for cultural reasons I don't think many people would complain about not being able to smoke on board or the fact that planes are a tad slower. Air travel completely changed because for some reason ill intentioned people decided to bring their ill intentions to fruition on a p…

I think what GP was referring to were the larger seats, more leg room, free meals, and a few other perks.

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

#213

Post by LorenPechtel »

veave wrote: post #73
bombcar wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is it - high quality stuff is often still made, but it's expensive and/or has other downsides that you really do need to be aware of. For example, commercial equipment is often bullet-proof and long-lived, but it can be louder than you'd want in a home kitchen. Commercial dish washers have no noise insulation, get hot, but can wash dishes so fast they can crack them from the temperature changes. Commercial ovens…

Surely high quality stuff is cheaper than it was 50 years ago when adjusted for inflation.

Except in many cases it's simply not available.

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

#214

Post by PaulDavisThe1st »

trwired wrote: post #70
Levitz wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Which is fine by me. I need a fridge to cool things down, oven to heat them up and TV to show moving pictures, all without access to wifi and other bells and whistles modern appliances come with. Just the basic stuff that those appliances could handle 20 years ago. More doesn't always translate to better.

> TV to show moving pictures, all without access to wifi

You watch network TV ??? In 2023 ???

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

#215

Post by LocalH »

Modern capitalism is about figuring out exactly how much you can enshittify something, and how much money you can charge for those enshittified products.

The old ideal of "make really good, quality products and you'll prosper" has given way to "make really shitty products that people will pay for anyway, and you'll prosper more"

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

#217

Post by not_the_fda »

seer wrote: post #160

A side not I always wondered why don't we have refrigerator models that are "split system" as we have with ACs. As it stands now it's a heat pump that pumps the heat from your refrigerator into your home. Wouldn't it be possible to create way more energy efficient model that has an outside body? Or even better connects to the AC body you already have outside? Like in the summer it would "help" the AC by being another…

Because you have to worry about cycle times. Central AC is sized to cool the entire house and is only used when its hot outside. Tying a fridge to the central AC would give frequent and very short cycle times because it doesn't require the removal of as many BTUs. The AC system's life expectancy would then be shortened.

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

#218

Post by someguy7250 »

I recently found my old HTC phone and it had a "fastboot" feature. The boot time is just 4 seconds.

I hope old tech gets a comeback. I hope it creates more local jobs for phone repairs and software customizations. But it's probably just me being stupid.

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

#219

Post by wil421 »

masklinn wrote: post #91
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.

A lot of those features also seem quite debatable. - The big pile of fruits and veggies is a good way to pressure-bruise them, and also to trap ethylene, and you can usually get the crisper drawers out so not sure I see the difference. - Special compartments for butter and cheese are a completely unnecessary lack of flexibility. - Metal roll-out trays / drawers exist in high-end fridges, there are also drawer fridges…

My fridge came with a 3rd drawer in the middle for veggies or fruit. It has pouches that absorb ethylene gas and works very well. You have to replace them every few months but they aren’t too expensive on Amazon. You can buy a plastic stick on piece and install it in on an older fridge.

The drawer is in the middle above the freezer in a French style fridge. You can set the temp to things like fruit, meat, or cheese but we prefer a dedicated produce area.

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

#220

Post by julian_t »

arethuza wrote: post #174
firesteelrain wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree. Mine lasted 6 years. Replaced with a Whirlpool. Lowe's sales rep told us at the time that the Samsung's were great. I went back 6 years later and told him that we bought a Samsung from him 6 years ago when he told us 6 years later not to buy a Samsung. Needless to say, he was apologetic. Now, my Bosch dishwasher has been solid. No issues.

The Bosch dishwasher in our house lasted about 15 years and was fairly repairable - ultimately it got an electrical fault that I wasn't confident fixing so we got a new one and chose another Bosch.

For us, it's Miele. Washer and dryer are >20 yrs old, and the tech who came to fix a leak said they'll keep going. Dishwasher is about 10 yrs old, also going good.

The Panasonic microwave/combo ovens, though, last about 3 years before expiring.

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