removed
Please don't.
We detached this comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13911239 and marked it off-topic.
They Used To Last 50 Years
261–270 of 877 posts
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#262Earlier quoted context omitted.
recycling in the US has to be profitable. Where I live we are no longer allowed to put glass into the recycling because it is no longer a profit center for the city. I should add that getting rid of big items can be especially difficult, but most appliance delivery includes taking away the old one to .. wherever they go.
> to put glass into the recycling because it is no longer a profit center And because recycling it is one of the most pointless things you can do. It's sand, we have unlimited quantities of it, the planet is made of it.
The reason to recycle materials made of abundant elements (steel, aluminum, glass) is to conserve energy rather than ores. (Even the energy justification would be far less significant if world energy systems were mostly non-fossil.) Though city planners should do the arithmetic to double check that the collection system doesn't waste more resources than it saves.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#263When 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…
> I would gladly pay $3000 for a washer if I could somehow tell that it will be better built
Perhaps you should check out commercial washers. The kind that you find in laundromats are designed to take a lot more punishment than the residential ones.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#264In a large class of models of global macroeconomic growth, instantaneous output grows over time relative to the integral of past output. This plausibly explains increasing "throwaway culture".[1] You wouldn't have wanted a computer from 1995 in the year 2000. And you probably don't want a phone from 2012 today. Well, everything is getting more like that. [1] https://twitter.com/clumma/status/593890418028253185
Moore's law applies to a very small fraction of tech enhancements.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#265My dad still runs equipment that was manufactured 30-50 years ago. It's all mechanical and its damn near indestructible. It's skidders and farm tractors, so its simple stuff, but yhe reliability is not to be beaten.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#266A friend put me on to this sub.
https://www.reddit.com/r/BuyItForLife/
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#267When 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…
At the cheaper end of $3000, I've heard great things about Speed Queens. The linked review below is meh, but people who love them love them because they're apparently built like tanks.
http://laundry.reviewed.com/content/speed-queen-awne92sp113t...
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#268On the other hand cars have gotten way better. I wonder why? I remember in 1990s it would be somewhat remarkable to see a car from the 70s. But in the 2010s it's pretty common to see cars from the 90s. And the paint in my nine year old car basically looks brand new.
Non-US cars lasted.
Volvo, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Honda, Toyota, especially.
American mid-to-low market passenger cars, not so much.
(Pickup trucks somewhat moreso.)
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#269There is a business here: prep appliances post-purchase to last decades: reinforce some parts, paint others, etc.
Re: They Used To Last 50 Years
#270Well, there are crazy people everywhere (don't need to understand the language, just look at the pics)
http://www.zabex.de/site/waschmaschine.html
Regarding the opening link: " I’ve bought and sold refrigerators and freezers from the 1950’s that still work perfectly fine."
This may be true but in many countries electricity costs will kill you if you run a freezer from the 50ies.