Modern appliances, grumble, grumble,

[Ridgewalker]

Great thread!

All the LEDs light my way thru the house at night too. I wish there was a way to turn them off.

We recently moved and had to get a new fridge, it's a Samsung with a control panel on the door. When it was delivered the panel didn't work and the door was replaced. I am hoping I get 10 years out of it but I think I am dreaming.

Everything these days is made to last 5 years or so it seems. I do my best to find old stuff before I consider buying new anymore. Heck I just picked up an old Cat 1 Dearborn plow and disc that need a little love but are mostly in fine shape.

 

[om21braz]

When I sat with my engineer to build my current retirement house, he flat out told me to get all Bosch or Thermador commercial units

My Bosch range has done well over the last 2 years- but the first year was tough. A extended warranty thru Sears was rendered useless as they didn't have a repairman that could fix it. First one they sent exclaimed "Umh, I've never saw one of those before" - boy, doesn't that give ya the warm & fuzzy feeling! Finally Bosch stepped in and repaired it, Thanks Bosch!, and I've got a new $800 control panel setting in stock for the next time it happens.

 

[jinman]

For a washer and dryer I decided to go with Speed Queen. The technology is "outdated" (toploader) but the machine has all steel gears, almost zero plastic, and according to the salesman is designed to be run every day for the next 20 years! The fact that Speed Queen is the brand that many laundromats use was a big selling point for me :thumbsup:

Jonny, if you bought a Speed Queen for less than $1000, you got an Amana washer. Commercial Speed Queens are $1500 to $1600 for the top-loaders. These machines have simplified cycles (only 4) and no gizmos like fabric softener dispensers or soap dispensers. Their simple cycles and heavy duty construction are what made them common in laundromats.

Through high school and my first few years in the military, I found laundromats and fixed Speed Queens for the owners. The designs have changed radically because today's washers have direct drive transmissions and don't use belts, clutches, etc. that the old washers did. Even the consumer grade washers have a swing-up front cover for easy servicing and inspection, but the added complexity with non-heavy duty construction means the home washers cannot compare to the true commercial grade machines.

I have a Speed Queen/Amana dryer and used to have a top-loader washer. My biggest problem with that washer was that the tub seal started leaking after just one year. I got it replaced under warranty and then it started leaking again a few years later. At that point, I replaced the washer.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Hmmm, yet very high end stoves like commercial units are still mostly mechanical...looks like "consumer grade" stuff is where the junk is.

I know where there's a gently used Wolf range for $500. The only electronics are the clock. It's one of the old standing pilot light models, so nothing you can't fix with a wrench and a screwdriver.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Just to chime in on the other side, I remodeled my kitchen in 2005 and installed all new appliances. They have been trouble free except for the magnetron in the microwave, which burned out, probably because I was boiling half a gallon of water at a time. The dishwasher is so quiet you can hold a conversation in the kitchen, the refrigerator is so well insulated it only uses a fraction of the electricity, and the range is self-cleaning with a full size conventional/convection oven and a smaller pizza/cookie oven above it.

 

[jonyyuma]

My son has a 3 year old Maytag Washer, front load...I walks and does a dance with med loads. He had the top off to check the springs and braces. the Inner workings, mainly tub appeared to be made of bolted together Nylon or some type of hard plastic. he is sick of the noise this machine makes while running?

 

[Fixemall]

My son has a 3 year old Maytag Washer, front load...I walks and does a dance with med loads. He had the top off to check the springs and braces. the Inner workings, mainly tub appeared to be made of bolted together Nylon or some type of hard plastic. he is sick of the noise this machine makes while running?

All front loaders should be placed on a stall mat or similar material to eliminate vibration transfer, especially if they sit next to a gas dryer with a flex line. Front loaders are sensitive to balance as well, I've had best luck when the front is 1/16-1/8 inch higher than rear and left to right is dead on.

 

[jmurray01]

I need another coffee too!

Somewhere here on TBN I wrote up a spoof about Vacuums as "house tractors", I wonder if I can find it... It was a trifle funny...

Mostly I am a worry wart. I LOVE our new appliances, but I fear they will not last.

Same with my new car, I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, but I'm not sure I can see it still driving in 25 years. My buddy had a computer problem in his mini-van recently and it was messing up the throttle, turn signals, tranny, weird stuff as he was driving even! He replaced the computer motherboard... it got a little better...

I was also grousing about the underlying attitude of "disposableness = goodness".

I'm just being negative today. I promise to shape up...
Be well,
David

PS - It is very cool to have a Buddy in Scotland...:thumbsup:

It's very cool indeed, my blood almost turned solid when I stepped outside this morning.

 

[Pilot]

Update:

The guy who runs a local appliance parts store walked me thru a troubleshooting process and it came down to either the temp probe or the clock (I presume "clock" means some kind of board, since I see no reason why a clock would control temp). Set for 350, the oven kept the broiler burner on well beyond 350 and went to 649 by the time we shut it off.

Since the probe was $34 and the clock was $219, he suggested to start with the probe. Made sense to me. But his parts book shows 2 screws holding it in and we don't have screws or screw holes. So you have to pull the stove out and get to it from the back. That leads to complications from the way it is installed and I gave up and called a repair guy.

FWIW, the model # prefix is 790 and the repair guy says our "Kenmore" is a Frigidaire. I wonder if there is a list somewhere telling who makes what based on model number? Didn't really want a Kenmore but there were only a couple makes and models that would fit.

 

[ustmd]

Update:

The guy who runs a local appliance parts store walked me thru a troubleshooting process and it came down to either the temp probe or the clock (I presume "clock" means some kind of board, since I see no reason why a clock would control temp). .

Yeah, the "clock" is the PCB that has the clock display mounted in it.

 

[jonyyuma]

All front loaders should be placed on a stall mat or similar material to eliminate vibration transfer, especially if they sit next to a gas dryer with a flex line. Front loaders are sensitive to balance as well, I've had best luck when the front is 1/16-1/8 inch higher than rear and left to right is dead on.

Thanks for the tip. that machine cost him a lot and should do better that it does? I passed your info to him...he had it on the tall stand they sell, and it sounded like it was going out the back door. It was put back on floor last week. THX. JY.

 

[ultrarunner]

My Grandmother was so happy to get rid of her front loader years ago for a top loader...

When I worked in Europe... Front Loaders were the standard and some folks imported American Make Top Loaders and ran them with converters... same for American Refrigerators.

I think the best features of the front loader is it can use much less water... the European models require no hot water hook-up as they make their own hot water.

I bought a German combo machine in 1985... it has very small capacity. Space was tight and I really wanted a Dryer... so the front loader washer is also an electric dryer...

One pair of jeans is all it can handle without getting out of balance... smaller items could be stuffed full... large items could be too much...

Most of my rentals have old Wedgewood Gas Stoves... picked them up for nothing and they are just about bullet proof as gas ranges...

 

[jonyyuma]

I had a free top loader washer for about 5 years from MIL?. it was made by GM and bragged of really cleaning clothes due to their aggitator system??? It turned legs of jeans very tight then made streaks thru them. Twisted sheets into tight ropes?? You had to unwind them before hanging or drying?We ditched it to soon as we had the money for a top-load maytag.

 

[LBrown59]

Quote:
Originally Posted by tallyho8
I just installed a new oven today after my 30 year old rusted out. My wife and I are reading the manual now and in about an hour I think we will be able to figure out how to turn it on.

Well, that's not as bad as my new TV. It took me about 3 hours to figure out all the controls on it.

**You figured out the controls in 3 hours.
Heck you must be an electronic engineer!

[/quote]
**:laughing:

 

[grsthegreat]

Funny thing... my GE front load dryer and washer are the ONLY appliances that have given me NO problems......

 

[ultrarunner]

Funny thing... my GE front load dryer and washer are the ONLY appliances that have given me NO problems......

I believe all the problems I have heard about are with the Maytag units... especially with the first generation.

 

[General Lee]

Here is my experience so far with my appliances. My house I bought almost 5 years ago had all Kenmore appliances, they were about 8 years old at the time. within 1 year of moving in, Fridge wasn't acting right so bought a new one and moved the old into the basement for future disposal. A year later I needed extra fridge space so I plugged the old fridge back in and so far its been running fine. Go figure?? 2 years of moving in I replaced the washing machine. Old one started leaking oil. We are slowly updating the kitchen and just put in a new Kenmore stainless gas range. Old one was gas as well and still worked though. Dish washer and fridge is next but the fridge is only 3 years old. Kenmore dryer is still kickin at 12 years old.

 

[CurlyDave]

I had a free top loader washer for about 5 years from MIL?. it was made by GM and bragged of really cleaning clothes due to their aggitator system??? It turned legs of jeans very tight then made streaks thru them. Twisted sheets into tight ropes?? You had to unwind them before hanging or drying?We ditched it to soon as we had the money for a top-load maytag.

Many long years ago my Grandparents had one of those washers.

Eventually decided to replace it with a different type. My Mom argued that we should give the old one to "some needy family."

My Dad put the kibosh on that by asking: "Some family that needs its clothes tied in knots?"