Posted on 05/13/2017 9:10:35 PM PDT by grey_whiskers
The biggest difference is that the one you bought in 1976 will still be running, outlasting the new one while the 2017 model will be dead soon after warranty expires or you will have spent many times the original cost of the thing to keep it working.
After the third circuit board failure in my front loader washing machine I threw it out and replaced it with a nice old one that I bought used. I no longer have washing machine failures. I will make an exception for Bosch dishwashers though. They seem to be pretty well built.
Hope your $579 Profile lasts longer than my $1,300 GE Profile Advantium did. I bought all new GE Profile appliances for my kitchen twelve years ago. They are all dead and gone now. I will never buy GE again.
“In 1968, a color TV might have been 3 months salary. It was also expected to last for 15-20 years.”
That 1968 color TV needed continual maintenance to keep it running. Alignments, adjustments, new tubes. Tuner would last only of few years.
“Today, a 65” 4K TV might cost 2 weeks salary and when it breaks in 5 years, it is already outdated and cheaper to buy a new one than fix it.”
My 2k TV is 5 years old and still working perfectly. It is not 4k but I don’t consider it outdated. Absolutely beautiful picture.
“Those were the days when you did not want to buy a car built on a Monday or Friday”
I remember that now! Also remember the rusted floor boards and leaky windows.
You are likely not going to find an official ‘planned obsolescence department’ Companies are not going to admit they plan for such things for obvious reasons- Yet most people can tell you that products today are designed very cheaply and do not even live up to their ‘life expectancy’ claims because companies know that few people are actually going to go through the bother of cashing on on their warranty - When you buy products that have plastic parts that break easily after being subject to wear and tear- you can bet it was planned that way- either that or the designers aren’t very bright- and because there are no official ‘obsolescence departments’ there is plausible deniability- so there is no way to prove it- - I am simply telling you that this fella described that he worked in a department that planned obsolescence- many many products today are created with cheap plastic parts in critical stress points- they use cheaper products like on off buttons that don’t last long- their electronics panels are slapped together cheaply-
If the reason you are asking is because you are having an issue with obsolescence - your only real recourse is going to be to contact the company directly and go through the bother of warranty fulfillment- good luck with that- you likely will not find an official ‘planned obsolescence department’ nor a VP willing to admit they are screwing customers over with cheaper made, yet more expensive appliances-
“I am simply telling you that this fella described that he worked in a department that planned obsolescence- “
Nothing is designed to last forever.
more than a couple of months for expensive things like dehumidifiers and toasters would be nice- again- we have old appliances that are still running strong- heck even using an old rototiller from decades ago- There are no cheap plastic parts in key stress locations ot break prematurely- no electronics panels to with umpteen settings designed in to malfunction- again- anecdotal evidence, but with so many anecdotal evidences around, at some point it should proven experiential become fact-
“more than a couple of months for expensive things like dehumidifiers and toasters would be nice- again- “
Your exaggeration is noted.
Just replaced a 4 year old LG washing machine.
Also had to replace heating element in matching dryer last year. Not impressed at all. Life is not so Good.
no exaggeration- within several months we had several brand new humidifiers quit- had to send for electronic board for a couple- they too stopped within months-We’ve bought many toasters that didn’t last a year- don’t really appreciate being told I’m exaggerating fella- have you nothing better to do o n a sunday of all days no less than be a jerk?
“We’ve bought many toasters that didn’t last a year- “
I have never bought a toaster that ever died.
good for you- you can find all kinds of testimony all over the net of toasters and many other appliances dying within months or well before their warranty expires- people get them replaced- and again ,the new ones fail i n similar amount of time- I have also just explained that we have had the same experience- whether you do or not does not negate the fact that we have had terrible experiences with modern day appliances- we just had one die after 8 months use- using a decades old one now - refrigerator, 3 years old- motor is making all kinds of loud noises buzzes- clicks— don’t expect it will last much longer-
I’m glad your toasters last a lifetime- many folks don’t have the same experience
would this apply to our military equipment?
We are a third world country now, paying high prices for junk designed to break and needing to be replaced.
Our A/C went out after 7 years. The cost to repair it made it not worth doing. They told us the average is 8-10 years where we live, by the ocean and the salt air. So they came to replace the entire system, with a brand new Carrier right out of the box. Guess what. No matter what they did, what Tech Support told them to try, no action could get the thing to work. Now we await another brand new, out of the box replacement. Sigh.
I have talked to people where I work and they thought maybe surge protection measures might help my problems. Those I talked to should have been very knowledge but they have not done a thing for their own protection. You have given the best answer. Thanks.
The EMP proofing is what I thought about too. It woulds me an extra protection in case someone like North Korea might want to take out our Boeing facilities. We have a 7000 watt generator and after a EMP attack, I would have a generator to power freezer and refrigerator. I would not be happy if they failed to work because of EMP—not with that side of beef cut and wrapped. By the way, the previous freezer was my wife’s parents’ freezer that was bought in the mid fifties. It was built like a tank. It ran perfectly for fifty years—almost as old as I am. It illustrates how some of those old appliances were a hand-me-down to the next generation. They were heavy and a pig to move. Imagine trying to lift them on a side to squeeze them through a pesky doorway. When I inherited my in-laws’ freezer, I was smart enough to set in in the garage.
Often I do projects in the Whirlpool warehouse. The refrigerators are light enough they stack them four high. My mom’s refrigerator might be too heavy to stack that high. Sometimes a refrigerator goes out to a home and the customer will take it out of the carton. When they do, they find out the refrigerator does not fit into the space they intended or it was white when they intended for a stainless exterior. You won’t believe what happens next. The perfectly good refrigerator is brought back and will not be resold. It will not be given away to a used appliance company. It will be scrapped along with the scratched and dented.
Another thing is many appliances have manufacturing defects. What I do is perform appliance modifications to correct these defects. Things like microwave door switches, temperature sensors and control boards. Most is from off-shore parts that have problems with quality control. The automated fabrication machinery in these parts fabrication factories are poorly designed and go out of adjustment. One day’s run will put in jeopardy thousands of appliances and the defect won’t rear its ugly head until it fails in your home. The warranty costs drive up the costs of these appliances. You will notice the costs of these appliances are going up faster than inflation. You can imagine why.
Our team experienced a stainless steel wash machine drum that had a bad seam weld. These drums would go into spin cycle and literally explode, tearing through the sheet metal side and in-bed into the room wall. They would have to cut the metal apart to get the wash machine out. Our task was to do a laser inspections of hundreds of wash machines to find the defective welds. That process took hundreds of hours of labor. That illustrates how the off shore savings in labor may be offset by the cost of fixing the defects.
Well brownouts are different from power surges. Surge protectors wont help if the line voltage drops or one of your incoming energized lines goes out. The surge rotector wont trip unless a very high spike comes through, usually from a lightning strike. This may be why the fan electronics get nailed.
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