Rant: Modern household appliances are of poorer quality

[Fuddyduddy1952]

At my business there was an old (50s?) GE like this. It worked perfectly but I had to defrost it a few times a year. I left it, I'm sure it wasn't efficient and needed a new door gasket.

 

[Oaktree]

Those 1950s refrigerators used to come with two ice trays that unlike today's plastic multi-divided trays, were aluminum with no dividers. There was an aluminum assembly that divided the tray into sections with a lever that was used to pry the little chunks of ice apart from one another. If you over filled the tray, it would break the aluminum divider thing. I'd be surprised if any of the aluminum trays are still around in working condition.

Had totally forgotten about those, my parents had that kind when I was a kid. By the time I was a teenager they'd been replaced with the plastic kind.

Those old 50s refrigerators never had much freezer space in them...a couple shelves for an ice tray, maybe space for a couple packages of frozen vegetables. Certainly nothing like what came along in the 60s thru today.

At my business there was an old (50s?) GE like this. It worked perfectly but I had to defrost it a few times a year. I left it, I'm sure it wasn't efficient and needed a new door gasket.

I dunno...when I bought my first house in the mid 70s it had one of those 50s vintage refrigerators in it. When I replaced it in the early 80s my electric bill went up maybe 10%. Granted, the new one was larger and had a real freezer in it but still...

I don't miss the mechanical latches those old fridges had. The modern magnetic ones are safer, and seal just as well if not better.

 

[JethroB]

I have a 7 year plain Jane GE refrigerator with top freezer in my cabin. 16 cu ft?Sometimes the cabin would go unused for several months. My power bill would consistently be 30 kWh per month. Pretty amazing.

I wonder what a 60 year old model uses. Not knocking them though. Nostalgia.

 

[mike0000]

I have a 7 year plain Jane GE refrigerator with top freezer in my cabin. 16 cu ft?Sometimes the cabin would go unused for several months. My power bill would consistently be 30 kWh per month. Pretty amazing.

I wonder what a 60 year old model uses. Not knocking them though. Nostalgia.

No idea on the efficiency of mine, Probably not great, it gets plugged in about the same time the pool gets opened. I definitely use more electricity those months, seem to drink more beer then too.

Mike

 

[MossRoad]

So a water bottle won't freeze in the fridge if ambient temp is 0?

Fridges aren't heaters, so yes, if you have the thermostat in the fridge set to 40, and your garage is 0F, the fridge will never come on, and eventually, it, and anything in it will get to 0F.

 

[MossRoad]

These things?



You can still buy them new. We see them pretty often at antique/flea markets.

 

[2manyrocks]

yes. I had no idea you could buy them new.

 

[JasperFrank]

If you take a refigerator, place it in a small insulated space, turn it on high with the doors open, that space will become warmer, not colder.

 

[MossRoad]

I hated those things!

When I was a kid, and we knew we were going to have people over, we'd have to make ice for a week, bag it, and store it. Anyone remember freezing their fingers to those things? Or pulling the lever and pinching your finger?

 

[MossRoad]

If you take a refigerator, place it in a small insulated space, turn it on high with the doors open, that space will become warmer, not colder.

If dad catches you doing that, he's not gonna be happy.