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

Post by vineyardmike » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 8:15 PM UTC

Night_Thastus wrote: post #424

cududa wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean even when you buy an expensive appliance, the majority of them still tend to break way too quickly and are just more costly to repair. I'd happily pay more for something well made, but, unless it's like commercial kitchen quality, it's still not "great"

You might happily pay more, but 99% of consumers won't. They just look at the sticker price + features and call it a day. And with the prices this low and trying to meet energy goals, reliability goes out the window.

Post by sokoloff » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 8:19 PM UTC

maccard wrote: post #435

sokoloff wrote: post #326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it looks like today's fridges are _orders of magnitude_ more efficient to run than those from about 15-20 years ago 15-20 year old fridges are about 35% less energy efficient than the best modern fridges, not 100x. We just haven't made that much progress in refrigerants, compressors, nor insulation. It looks like very efficient fridges today use about 400kWh per year. Those are the best (not the average). In the la…

> 15-20 year old fridges are about 35% less energy efficient than the best modern fridges, not 100x I apologise that you took orders of magnitude literally. I'll settle for an entire order of magnitude really. I think it's _way_ more than 35%, though. > It looks like very efficient fridges today use about 400kWh per year. Those are the best (not the average). Where did you get that number from? Here's [0] a $220 frid…

Post by Night_Thastus » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 8:27 PM UTC

Naijoko wrote: post #413

ASalazarMX wrote: post #410

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consumers are actually the problem, just as voters are the main cause of bad politicians. Most people will say they want one thing, but actually want another. They want robust appliances, but they will buy the 199.99 ones, which forces even the most honest manufacturer into a race to the bottom, unless they target the luxury segment. An airline which I can't recall, found the same: people say the want more leg room o…

if consumers are the problem. Where can I buy one of those fridge that works for 50 years? Seems like the market is missing quality good.... could this be the problem?

Post by Night_Thastus » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 8:30 PM UTC

vineyardmike wrote: post #441

Night_Thastus wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might happily pay more, but 99% of consumers won't. They just look at the sticker price + features and call it a day. And with the prices this low and trying to meet energy goals, reliability goes out the window.

> They just look at the sticker price + features and call it a day This thread makes it clear most people think all models are unreliable or that a consumer can’t search based on reliability. If you accept everything is equally unreliable or unreliability is equally unknown, what else but price and features would you use to make a decision?

Post by bombcar » Mon, Jul 31, 2023, 8:31 PM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #388

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…

Commerical dishwashers are better called dish sterilizers. Unlike home dishwashers they are not built to get dishes clean (other than what a minimal rinse does). You have to pre-wash everything if you want it to come clean.