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Goodbye non-KISS appliances

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Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#71

Post by encom »

Modified3019 wrote: post #39
msadowski wrote: post #5

I’m about to buy all the appliances to a new place in Europe and could use some more horror stories and learn which brands to avoid. So far I’ve been told to stay away from Samsung ovens. Anyone has any regrets on appliances?

One useful resource for gathering experiences is r/BuyItForLife/, the term is useful for finding other places of discussion as well.

Reddit is the most astroturfed website on the planet. Be extremely critical of anything you read there. A sub like that is especially fertile.

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#72

Post by darreninthenet »

arter4 wrote: post #52
brodsky wrote: post #25

When we upgraded our appliances, the "smart" or "wifi-enabled" ones were specifically avoided like the plague. "Dumb" appliances - especially fridges, for some reason - are becoming hard to come by, but they do exist. Electrolux, KitchenAid, even LG all make some no-frills models that can save both money and frustration. Hopefully those companies continue serving the "luddite techie" market.

Yes, I agree. I'm not a luddite per se - heck, I make a living out of making stuff talk to one another on a network. But I don't get the appeal, from a customer standpoint, of having all physical objects talk to you or to the Internet. Like, why? I get it when it comes to alarm systems. Being able to get a notification when someone breaks in is nice, because the alarm system is mostly doing its job when you're not at…

Fridge/freezer one is handy for temperature and door open alarms

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#74

Post by userbinator »

All my appliances are mid-century or older. Parts are simple and easily fabricated if necessary. Having a restored 85-year-old refrigerator (compressor and refrigerant still original) in active use, it's amazing how efficient it actually is. It's manual defrost, but doesn't need defrosting all that often either.

Reading about the failing condenser fan and compressor reminded me of these items, worth watching again:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32462954

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20856036

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#75

Post by Twisell »

Solortho wrote: post #32

In France, we have a name for French-door fridges, it's American fridges...

It seem even funnier. From my research.

The "side by side" standard US frige is what we call in France American fridge because it has two door and look so oversized and fancy compared to the standard fridge in france.

The US "french-door fridge" take the oversizing a step further by adding a third door on the bottom of the "side by side" design. We don't even have a name for theses fridges as nobody buy theses, so I guess we'd call them big American fridge.

Symmetrically EU "regular fridge" probably don't sell in the US because it's perceived as too small. An thus is probably called small/tiny fridge.

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#76

Post by sircastor »

I've done more than my fair share of washer repair over the years. I have benefited from Whirlpool reusing the same basic design in a half-a-dozen brands and 40 years. There are some minor differences in the last washer we had and the current one, but it's basically the same wash basin, the same agitator, the same gearing system. I've watched enough videos on youtube that have taught me the ins and outs of that machine. I don't want it to have any more features. I just hope they don't stop making parts for it.

My oven on the other hand - it's a GE Cafe slide-in dual-oven. I'm very happy with it. And I know how much people here rail against it, but I like being able to preheat it, turn it off remotely. Of course, baking is a hobby for me, so I wanted the extra oven.

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#77

Post by beAbU »

darreninthenet wrote: post #72
arter4 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I agree. I'm not a luddite per se - heck, I make a living out of making stuff talk to one another on a network. But I don't get the appeal, from a customer standpoint, of having all physical objects talk to you or to the Internet. Like, why? I get it when it comes to alarm systems. Being able to get a notification when someone breaks in is nice, because the alarm system is mostly doing its job when you're not at…

Fridge/freezer one is handy for temperature and door open alarms

Why? Just close the door properly. Ajust the feet so the fridge stands on a slight angle, so the door swings shut on it's own.

What help is a temperature alarm if you are away. A fridge is used daily, surely you'll notice if the temperature is not what it's supposed to be.

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#78

Post by userbinator »

ljf wrote: post #58
spdustin wrote: post #3

I just replaced the condenser fan (was squealing) and the evaporator defrost heater (it wasn't working at all, leading to the coils icing over) on my 20-year-old GE fridge. I threw in some SwitchBot BLE temp sensors that I monitor with Home Assistant, with alerts set to fire if it can't hold temperature or if the defrost cycle doesn't seem to be working, as measured by the swing between the "pre-chill" before defrost…

I cannot speak for that fridge as I don't know the energy usage. But the sad fact is that often buying a brand new machine will pay for itself in only 2 or 3 years over a 'free' older fridge or freezer (at least here in the UK). I have a 'keezer' - a chest freezer I run at fridge temps to store and serve homebrew beer. Buying a new A+ rated chest freezer cost me £199 but only costs £35 a year to run. A friend scored…

Did he clean the condenser and replace the door seal? Dirty/clogged condensers and leaky door seals have a huge effect on efficiency.

Also, if his is not a chest freezer, that's another big difference --- a chest freezer is inherently better if opened often, since the cold air stays at the bottom, whereas in an upright one, it spills out.

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#79

Post by acd »

I had the same experiance after a automated home espresso coffee machine broke down.

I compared many machines to that of a mocca spanish/italian espresso maker. Simple design as simple can be.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moka_pot

Advocate US navy KISS design principle.

Are a smart phone smart when it distracts you from close ones?

Smart devices can get hacked Dumb devices much harder. Which is more secure old CRT or new smart tv?

Same goes for IT shiny new complicated thing or simple kiss thing.

Re: Goodbye non-KISS appliances

#80

Post by iforgotpassword »

jgrahamc wrote: post #61
msadowski wrote: post #5

I’m about to buy all the appliances to a new place in Europe and could use some more horror stories and learn which brands to avoid. So far I’ve been told to stay away from Samsung ovens. Anyone has any regrets on appliances?

I have had Miele appliances forever and have been very happy with them. My current fridge, dishwasher and dryer are both almost 20 years old. The fridge has never had anything wrong with it, nor has the dishwasher, the dryer needed a new thermostat which I replaced myself. I opted for the simplest models that Miele make.

Want to add a story from my parents here: they also are diehard Miele fans, and when their dishwasher broke a few years ago, they went Miele again. Unfortunately it broke six months in. The Miele repair tech came in, asked what program they usually run, and they replied they just turn it on and press start. That meant they always run the ECO mode that's taking ages because it's running at low temp and little water.

The repair guy told them that the thing breaking was their own fault since the manual clearly started you need to run one of the other modes every X cycles if you normally do ECO, otherwise all the internal tubes gunk up. They got a rebate on a new one, but they refused to replace it. I'd been done with Miele at that point, but they just bought a new one. How a company known for quality and engineering can't implement a simple logic that the device would automatically use more water/temperature every X runs, or at least show a warning on the display, is beyond me.

Oh, and the new one, according to my parents at least, occasionally just stops in the middle of the washing cycle and they need to restart it. But I wouldn't rule out that this is some sort of user error. Maybe you just shouldn't go with the model that has a dozen buttons and knobs when you're 80. :)

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