Marriage Outlast 1981 Sears Microwave!

[Gale Hawkins]

We got married 27 Dec 1980 and moved her stuff to TX where I was in college. In Feb 1981 we took our cash wedding gifts and bought a new Sears Best microwave. Shortly after its last long distance move in 1987 the magnetron tube went out but we took it to a large Sears store and they replaced it for about $150 I think since it was less than a new one plus we loved it. For several years it has been making a loud hum and I have looked at them from time to time.

Today for $159 we picked up a 2.2 cu ft Inverter Panasonic Microwave from Walmart which was about $500 less we paid for the Sears microwave. It is nice and from what I read we will be lucky if we get 4 years out of it vs the 34 years for the old Sears.

 

[Gunny]

We had one of those old Amana Radar ranges that was several years old when we got married, it was built like a tank and weighed about the same. I think we used it for 18 years before it died. So far, we're on the third microwave since then.

I've got a friend with one of those old GE monitor top refrigerators, with the coils on top. It's been in her family since 1937 and to the best of her knowledge, never been worked on. It stays in her garage and does a great job of keeping the beer cold.

 

[vtsnowedin]

I had an original hot point refrigerator with about a four tray ice cube freezer on one side of the top shelf I had inherited it from my parents along with the house. My bride wanted something more modern of course but money was tight so I said just let it be until it breaks down then I'll get you a new one which she agreed to. Fifteen years later it was still humming away with no apparent change in the offing but I let her off the hook and bought her a new one. We have been through four in twenty-two years. That Hot Point had lasted more then fifty.

 

[davesl708]

Congratulations on the marriage and the microwave.
I have a Sharp Carousel that I bought in 1995. Still works great.
I agree if I bought a new microwave it would not be near as good quality.

 

[BKBoiss]

Between the microwave in the house and the one in the log truck my wife and I have gone through four in seven years. I hate the fact the you cannot buy something that will last 15-20 years anymore no matter how much money you spend. I did however figure out that there is a ceramic fuse inside the microwave that pops and can be replaced if you pull the whole cover and shroud off the thing. It took quite awhile to find the right one but it cost 5.99 for two so I figuered it was worth the 20 min to change it. The ones in the log truck can't seem to handle the shaking and hammering of the off road hauling and from what I was told using a regular glass fuse when it blows you risk a fire, the ceramic ones contain it. I had never known that before but hey you learn something new every day.

 

[dmccarty]

M parents took forever to buy a microwave, and ironically, I think we finally got one from Sears in 1981 or maybe 1982. :shocked: It was a huge microwave that took up quite a bit of counter space. When I went off to college my parents gave me that microwave because they could buy a smaller unit that would take up less space. I used the microwave in school, in apartments and my first house. A good guess is that I got rid of the microwave in 1998ish, maybe 2000, because it took up too much counter space! :laughing::laughing::laughing: The thing was built like a tank, and almost as large, but it still worked. We donated the thing since it was still working after almost two decades....

At one of my jobs, the microwave they have for employees to use is the same Sears model we had for some many years. The microwave at work as to be around three decades old! :shocked::thumbsup:

Later,
Dan

 

[Creamer]

We got married 27 Dec 1980 and moved her stuff to TX where I was in college. In Feb 1981 we took our cash wedding gifts and bought a new Sears Best microwave. Shortly after its last long distance move in 1987 the magnetron tube went out but we took it to a large Sears store and they replaced it for about $150 I think since it was less than a new one plus we loved it. For several years it has been making a loud hum and I have looked at them from time to time.

Today for $159 we picked up a 2.2 cu ft Inverter Panasonic Microwave from Walmart which was about $500 less we paid for the Sears microwave. It is nice and from what I read we will be lucky if we get 4 years out of it vs the 34 years for the old Sears.

You are right - you will be lucky to get four years out of it. We bought on of these Panasonic ovens two years ago and it lasted about 3 months and it just wouldn't start anymore. the one year warranty did not cover this issue. I figured I wasn't out anything so i pulled it apart looking for the switch i figured was not working. Come to find out it is the mounting of the door switch is on such a flimsy piece of sheet metal that it bent and the switch wasn't being made so i straightened the bracket and reinforced it and it has been working ever since - albeit with a door that shuts very hard. I also looked on the internet and this is a well known issue but Panasonic will not warranty it nor have they changed it to the best of my knowledge.

 

[chad22]

I've got a friend with one of those old GE monitor top refrigerators, with the coils on top. It's been in her family since 1937 and to the best of her knowledge, never been worked on. It stays in her garage and does a great job of keeping the beer cold.

I saw one of those old monitor tops get crushed by a claw when it was being lifted off a trailer. It was a few years ago and I was hauling a load of scrap metal in. I just pulled into the gate to wait to get my trailer unloaded when I saw that claw grab that old monitor top refrigerator and crush it. I was about to cry.

If I could have I would've stopped him I would've bought the old fridge. And gave him more than scrap value.

 

[davesl708]

The microwave on my boat is 30yrs old. Still works fine. Would hate to have to replace it.

 

[Silvic]

My Amana Radarrange was bought in 1977 and still going strong. My Kenmore refrigerator bought in 1978 still going. Freezer in 1979 still going strong. Yes all the data says that my electrical usage is higher on my older models than the newer ones but they work, why trash them. When they fail, and they will, I will replace but not before. Heck the Eureka vacuum from 1977 is still working as well. Boy do I feel old now.

 

[Mace Canute]

I have a small Emerson I bought in 1993...700 watts and .7 cu.ft. It has performed flawlessly except for when it popped the hidden fuse a few years ago. I pulled the shroud off in preparation to dismantling it but found the fuse holder and the blown fuse. It was a 13 amp one and identical to the old 1/4" by 1 1/4" glass automotive fuses so I found one in my stash that was a 14 amp one and used that. So far, so good.

 

[Bird]

I suppose the first time I ever heard of a Radar Range was in 1968 when I had a moonlighting job at night at a Marriott Motel. The restaurant was open all night, but the chef went home in the evening leaving just a fry cook overnight. But before he went home, the chef left a big tray of biscuits. At night they were cold and hard, but pop a couple in that Radar Range and they were just as hot, soft, and fresh as if they'd just come out of the oven.

I know we got our first microwave oven about 1973/74. And now we have a 1999 model Kenmore mounted over the kitchen range. It still works fine, is used repeatedly every day, and I hope it keeps on working.

 

[Pierrepont]

I long for the days when most anything purchased from Sears was bullet-proof.

Appliances, tools, clothing, lawn and garden and most other things in the store / catalog could be purchased with high confidence of solid engineering and durability. Store staff was knowledgable, friendly and anxious to help the customer.

It was a rock solid company to do business with.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

still using my first GE microwave from the early 80's.

 

[SPIKER]

I agree with others, been several threads on how crappy new appliances are. They ARE indeed engineered to fail shortly after the warranty expires. Hoovers run their vacuums for extended tests to determine exactly how long of a brush is needed to pass the time test then cut it back just a bit to be sure the average failure time is right at the cutoff. I'm convinced that the other major appliance MGFs also do the exact same, so that the machines fail & must be replaced with new...

I like others had SOME good appliances and find/buy OLD stuff in garage sales as I can get it cheap & lasts longer than brand new... Also I can FIX the old stuff a fuse in microwave and or the emitter gets food spatter in behind it and shorts it out. Most times a fuse and a good cleaning will make a microwave work again.

Mark

 

[ultrarunner]

The GE Spacemaker Microwave I bought mom in 1978 is still going strong... so is her cooktop and self clean oven.

I actually bought the Micro from a store that only sold Microwaves...

My friend has one of those old 1930 refrigerators in his shop to keep the beer cold... still works and keeps the beverages ice cold.

One of my friends has a microwave they got as a Christmas present from the in-laws... her husband had me look at it and I fixed it... boy was she upset!!! She had already picked out a new one...

 

[smstonypoint]

Hoovers run their vacuums for extended tests to determine exactly how long of a brush is needed to pass the time test then cut it back just a bit to be sure the average failure time is right at the cutoff.

Source???

Steve

 

[Gale Hawkins]

This 2.2 cu ft Panasonic is a tad smaller on the outside then the old Kenmore but has more space on the inside. The smaller size was 1.7 cu ft and $20 less so I just went with the larger one since we had the space. At the office we have been through 3-4 since 1995 but some were only about $50 I think. I am 64 and have seen the declining life cycle of appliances but have accepted the throw away mind set.

When I was a kid a huge dairy farmer would build cheap milking barns when others were using the nice looking colored ceramic blocks. He was asked why? He said ever 20 years the milking equipment systems changed for the better so he found it was better to just build another cheap milking barn to house the new equipment than to retro fit.

In 1882 we bought our first Kenmore frig and it was dying in about 2012. We got a new Samsung? from Sears that was 50% larger and used less energy than the the smaller one. We had been using the one in the motorhome as a back up on electric but after I computed its energy cost we stopped using it as an overflow frig since the new one was as large as both of the old ones together. Even with TVA hydro power it is getting expense and something to monitor as we are looking at retirement coming up.

 

[flyerdan]

It really is too bad that so many things have a planned lifespan anymore. Fortunately, a lot of them have just one critical component that fails, so if you're somewhat handy you can fix it, often by collecting parts donors at garage sales, etc. I have a 1997 Sanyo microwave that had a bad 8 amp door switch, the donor machine had the same problem so $8 worth of switches fixed them both. I also keep rebuilding my old Mr. Coffee as I hate the new style ones, usually it's a bad disc thermostat that can be found in one missing the carafe in the free box at a sale. Unfortunately it's cheaper to just replace them rather than take them to someplace like Emmett's Fix It Shop on the old Andy Griffith show.

 

[ultrarunner]

I miss the Sears Best advertising... I actually miss the Sears of old too.

It was a place I would save up to make a purchase... just like Radio Shack as a kid.

Times change... not always for the better.

Does having the same car from High School count?