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They Used To Last 50 Years
251–260 of 877 posts
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#252When we moved into this house 12 years ago, I got the cheapest, simplest, most "mechanical" washer and dryer set that Lowe's offered (I think it's branded GE). Haven't had a single problem other than the light inside the dryer eventually burned out when a housemate left the door open. I know that when one of them eventually fails, it will hopefully be a cheap and simple mechanical fix. I have no desire to own a "majo…
My problem with the current market is that it's next to impossible to determine the quality of a machine. I would gladly pay $3000 for a washer if I could somehow tell that it will be better built, with higher quality metals, inner parts, and overall longer lasting. But it seems that the extra money these days just buys more flashy bells and whistles that just increase the chance of failure. Sadly my strategy has bee…
"would gladly pay $3000 for a washer"
Miele. https://9to5mac.com/2011/03/07/how-steve-jobs-picks-a-washer...
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#253Earlier quoted context omitted.
I remember seeing on HN a year or two ago? About Samsung smart fridges calendar app not being updated when Google phased out the API it was using. Also Blu-ray players don't get updates after a long while too I've heard as YouTube and Netflix changes their APIs - the devs of these devices don't keep them up to date. I would prefer a dumb TV, and just buy a replaceable box with the computer part. The only way I could…
That's what I do. I bought the "dumbest" TV I could find; I just want a display with speakers and HDMI inputs. Give me something I can plug the latest smart streaming box into and change that box as needed.
That's where we have a huge gap in device ecosystem. If you want one of the best displays on a TV, it comes "bundled in" with "smart" features. It's a shame that appliances industry doesn't let us customize exactly what we want (that lasts longer and hence would be comforting to pay a good price for).
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#254Earlier quoted context omitted.
A really long warranty only helps if the company remains solvent. I would be happier with something the manufacturer was confident was serviceable. Control boards that approach the cost of a high end smartphone are unreasonable, but also common.
I always had this dream of starting a company where my disruption to whatever industry, say home appliances, or cars, isn't that I'm doing something new, per say, its that I'm engineering everything the company would sell with DIY easy access fixes in mind, and actually publish (and ship with the product) the repair manual so people can just order the parts (with some margin, nothing crazy i'd think) and be on their…
I don't think you need to make it easy enough for an average person, but easy enough for a repair person to do repairs in about 30 minutes, so the service call is kind of reasonable.
Combine that with trying to keep parts compatible over years and you would develop a following.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#255I'd love to replace my nearly 20-year-old fridge, but there is literally no fridge on the market with anything approaching its build quality, not even for thousands of dollars. Everything is pot metal & cheap plastic, and I know that even if I spend quite a bit of money, I'm going to end up with something which breaks in just a few years.
I don't really know what to do. The current one isn't very energy efficient, isn't laid out very well — but it's better than any of my other options.
Is there some small bespoke fridge maker out there?
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#256Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this true? I bought a (new) washer I never understood front-load anyways. Topload fails safe. Front load fails in a giant puddle all over your floor.
Uh, no, a top-loader should certainly lock while it's running. When that thing spins to drain all of the water out, it moves dangerously fast. You should double check that there's not something wrong with it. Also, after growing up with a top-loader, and having a front-loader at my current apartment, I'm amazed at how much water is used and wasted by a top-loader. It's like filling a damn bathtub.
> a top-loader should certainly lock while it's running.
By law, though, as GP mentioned? That surprises me, given my recent purchase...
> You should double check that there's not something wrong with it.
I'm 10000000% sure that the thing isn't designed to lock.
> When that thing spins to drain all of the water out, it moves dangerously fast.
Sure. We don't have any kids or pets, and it's in the basement where visitors have no reason to be. NBD, for us.
> I'm amazed at how much water is used and wasted by a top-loader
I'll definitely keep this in mind if I ever move to a water-poor region or a city with bad infrastructure debt.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#257While this would remind one of planned obsolescence, this could very well be something less sinister- the sheer scale at which manufacturing happens. Families have grown manifolds since the golden age of quality manufacturing. More demand in the market leads to reckless research / planning / manufacturing, and therefore degradation in quality. There's a reason why craftsmanship is dying, and the reason might very well be that lesser and lesser number of people want it anymore.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#258Earlier quoted context omitted.
I always had this dream of starting a company where my disruption to whatever industry, say home appliances, or cars, isn't that I'm doing something new, per say, its that I'm engineering everything the company would sell with DIY easy access fixes in mind, and actually publish (and ship with the product) the repair manual so people can just order the parts (with some margin, nothing crazy i'd think) and be on their…
Many cars are largely DIY-friendly already. I do all of the work on our cars except tires, exhaust, bodywork/paint, and manufacturer recalls. In the last 15 years, I can only recall one time a car went into a shop for a reason other than the above and that was an independent shop where I was too busy to deal with the job. That's across a Mercedes, a Jeep, a Honda CR-V, and Alfa Romeo, and some classic Mustangs. There…
Perhaps. However I don't think they were built in mind for maximum owner repairability. I suspect they wouldn't be fighting the right to repair so hard otherwise
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#259When we moved into this house 12 years ago, I got the cheapest, simplest, most "mechanical" washer and dryer set that Lowe's offered (I think it's branded GE). Haven't had a single problem other than the light inside the dryer eventually burned out when a housemate left the door open. I know that when one of them eventually fails, it will hopefully be a cheap and simple mechanical fix. I have no desire to own a "majo…
My problem with the current market is that it's next to impossible to determine the quality of a machine. I would gladly pay $3000 for a washer if I could somehow tell that it will be better built, with higher quality metals, inner parts, and overall longer lasting. But it seems that the extra money these days just buys more flashy bells and whistles that just increase the chance of failure. Sadly my strategy has bee…
But it seems that the extra money these days just buys more flashy bells and whistles that just increase the chance of failure.
Gresham's Law / the market for lemons.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#260Earlier quoted context omitted.
Compare the average Meanwhile my cheap apartment-scale fridge was made with chewing gum and hope.
A deep freezer is a very different beast. It is a simpler appliance with very basic components. Far fewer things to break than your combo which has to precisely regulate the temperature and has auto de-icing. I grew up with fridges that needed to be de-iced every few months. Those didn't break much either.
Sub Zero is a brand, it's not a deep freezer.