I am also a proponent of this idea. I bought a Sharp R21LCF microwave last year - it’s a commercial microwave and the single control is a dial to set the time. It’s great!
Goodbye non-KISS appliances
341–350 of 499 posts
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#342Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wonder if EU fridges are smaller because people buy food more frequently, but in smaller quantities. Because the grocery shops are closer.
Does food in the US not go off? The limiting factor for me isn't the size of my fridge, but the fact that after a week all my vegetables are looking sad and my milk's starting to smell. I probably wish my fridge was bigger a handful of days a year - and that's because I'm having a party and need to squeeze in more wine and beer. Quite a lot of my fridge is taken up with random jars that I'll probably never eat. A big…
>after a week
where I live the groceries are in the next town over and most people I know go once a week. At the end of the week you have improvised casserole to get rid of anything that is on the verge of funkiness. Always keep some amount of frozen and shelf stable in reserve as well.
I also do canning out of my garden and that stuff will last for ages.
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#343Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm a little confused about these fridge posts. There are refrigerators that do not have any tech that will last [most likely] longer than you stay in your home. I've had multiple Subzero basic commodity or commercial refrigerators last 15-20 years with only minor parts replacements which are easily found. Of course these are not cheap, but isn't that what everyone here is asking for? Something made well that lasts a…
I had never heard of Subzero before this post, and just looked them up. $10k-$15k for a refrigerator? I’ve only ever owned fairly “basic” refrigerators (e.g. LG or GE), that are about 1/10 of that cost, and have never had any problems with them going out or even degrading in quality (e.g. 10+ years). Maybe needed an ice maker repair, but that’s about it. Do people need to spend that kind of money for a refrigerator t…
Subzero became a "status" brand in the US 25 years ago. It's common to find them in US kitchens that are designed to impress rather than to cook in. (Just like Viking ranges.)
Subzero might in fact be a decent-quality fridge--I have no idea because I refuse to pay a status tax on appliances.
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#344Earlier quoted context omitted.
Does food in the US not go off? The limiting factor for me isn't the size of my fridge, but the fact that after a week all my vegetables are looking sad and my milk's starting to smell. I probably wish my fridge was bigger a handful of days a year - and that's because I'm having a party and need to squeeze in more wine and beer. Quite a lot of my fridge is taken up with random jars that I'll probably never eat. A big…
Having lived on both sides of the pond, you'd tend to buy different kinds of products, in USA the grocery variety pushes you towards less fresh/spoiling products and more towards various processed products which will up a fridge for weeks. And also actually food in US does somehow seem to last for longer, as probably the manufacturers anticipate this need and optimize for that (as there's no free lunch, likely at the…
Which begs the question - what not-yet-in-the-spotlight chemical crap makes this happen? Since ingredients are the same, devices are the same yet they last longer as you mention.
Maybe something about vastly different food quality standards between the sides of the pond.
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#345Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#346Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also if anyone knows a good brand for dumb TVs.
I think they’re basically extinct on the high end. Your best option will be to get a smart TV and never set it up with a network connection. You’ll maybe want to do firmware updates now and then, but you can plug it in temporarily for those. It’ll still do more than you strictly want it to, but the most invasive behaviors will be off the table. Alternatively you can get a huge computer monitor and use that as your TV…
So unfortunate that we allowed TVs to get to this point.
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#347One of the happier things I’ve done for myself lately, at the advice of this forum, was to get a rock-solid, dumb, black-and-white Brother laser printer. It sits there and just does its job and I never have to think about it. Does anyone have any tips as to the white-goods equivalents? Fridge, freezer, laundry machines, that kind of thing?
Speedqueen washers and dryers are simple and made in the US. Built like tanks. Double the cost of the cheap imports though.
Big note on this - Only the top loaders are available in the old-school "ultra-reliable" version that I think many want. Top loaders are more rough on clothes than front loaders. Many reputable repair techs claim that LG makes very solid and reliable front loaders which are more gentle on clothes than the speed queen front loaders.
I was dead set on a speed queen top loader and then my wife started showing me this stuff (specifically detailed tests showing speed queens top loaders being rough on clothes)
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#348Earlier quoted context omitted.
buy the simplest devices you can. I believe whirlpool still makes some models in the USA. Evidently (according to reddit) never buy a Samsung or LG kitchen appliance. Whateve r you do get online (reddit and other places) and look for the specific model you're looking at, never buy on a whim, do research. You can eat out for a couple nights if the fridge goes.
Exactly, simple is good. Software is not simple. Internet-connected software is definitely not simple. If you want anything to work reliably long-term, avoid devices with remote dependencies that the manufacturer will deprecate as soon as they get bored of maintaining them. Anything you want to last more than 5 years should be able to work completely offline.
Software can be simple too. I haven't needed anything more from my email client, photo editing, word processor or file manager apps for close to a decade.
As far as I'm concerned these tools are feature complete and can be used without subscriptions that phone home constantly.
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#349Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even appliances that aren't internet connected are going down this terrible UX path. My old washing machine had nobs (dials) you turn. You put the clothes and soap in, close the door and press the button. My preference of type of wash and water temperature were all "saved" by the nob position. My current washing machine, nob is type of wash, capacitive touch buttons for everything else. Keeping the nob "on" keeps the…
Also you can't operate e.g. a dishwasher with kitchen gloves now, as those silly touchscreens won't cooperate. Few brands know how to keep it simple. Even Miele and Liebherr are falling into these absurd trends.
Can't believe that none of these designers thought that one might want to use a kitchen appliance with gloves on before slapping capacitive touch on everything...
Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances
#350Buy appliances at costco, max out the extended warranty. You get 5 or 6 years of warranty. Some devices will last 20 years, others will fail multiple times under warranty, and eventually be replaced as a lemon, under warranty. It gets you out of the bathtub curve and you don't have to have a part time job repairing appliances.