More on planned obsolescence

[Conan The Librarian]

I used to expect 20 years service from major appliances like stoves, washing machines and air conditioners. Now the expectation is 10 years. Ugh.

Also, beware when buying high efficiency furnaces and air conditioners because they become obsolete so quickly it's hard to get parts for them after about three years.

[ironglow]

Yes; that is getting to be a real problem...especially in the electronics field.

   I don't have much of that problem in my blacksmith shop !   

[Conan The Librarian]

We've got a stove that's about 10 years old and it's falling apart right on schedule. It's a pretty basic stove, but it has a computer circuit board that faiiled and we had to have somebody come out to the house and replace it. It was pretty expensive to fix.

[SHOOTALL]

Up until a few years ago heat pumpes were expected to last 5 years and AC units 10. Now HP's are 10 so they got better. Warranty has gone from one year to 5 years or 10 years in some high end equp. When looking at the cost of equipment you should look at the total cost of heating or cooling your home. In some cases the savings in elec. cost coupled with power company discounts on your bill will offset the higher cost.
Parts got expensive , it cost alot to put the smoke back in the box ( control module) . Parts in many cases are not on trucks anymore they are at distribution centers sometimes in other cities. Why , well when the warranty was 1 year We knew if we stocked a part on out truck we would start selling that part in 1 year now it could be 5 - 10 years . When a control board cost $500 + and motors with DC control can reach $800 its not cost effective to stock all the brands and sizes. There are very few one fits all anymore . The govt. mandated preformance minumins and gas applinces , HP's and AC's all got expensive to build. The tech's who repair them had to get smarter and had to have expensive gauges and meters .
In todays market 15 seer is a good unit, most combustion chambers have 20 year to life of org. buyer. Some things are better really even though parts are a day or two away.

[Sourdough]

We had a Sears Kenmore Washer and Dryer.  Both were 20 years old, nothing wrong with them, just the wife was tired of them and wanted new ones.  Got new Maytag Washer and Dryer.  One year later washer quite, called repair man.  When the control panel was opened instead of contact switches that usually just needed cleaning and put back together, then would work for another ten years, this thing is full of electronic control modules.  Modules not in Alaska, nearest one was in Seattle.  Took a week to get module.  Then out new Refrigerator quite, (Old one was avacado green and in the house when we bought it over 25 years ago, it worked fine, just wanted a new stainless steel one.  In fact old one is in her office now and still works fine after 39 years).  Mother board on new refer had gone out.  Cost of new Mother Board was half the cost of a new refer.  Luckily, it was under warranty.  Repair man told me they had gone away from old contact switches, because they could not make money with them.  Washers and refers lasted too long.  These new control modules (there was seven of them in the control panel on the washer) would usually last five years then they would start failing.  After two or three failed the owners would usually opt for a new appliance instead of repairing the old one.

Had a talk with the manager of the service department at Ford a few years back.  He explained how the auto manufacturers had it down to a science as to how long a part would last.  They had built obsolesce into everything on a vehicle.  The warranty on my Aerostar Van was for 100K.  At 120K the radiator burst, then a head blew, the heater motors quite (two each), the alternator quite, the starter went out, then the transfer case went bad at 130k.  I got rid of the van.  I pointed out to my old 1985 F-150 with the 300-6 and, 350K miles.  I mentioned how reliable it was.  He said Ford had quite making that engine because they could not make money with it, it lasted too long.  They wanted to sell you a new car every 100K, so they built new vehicles to start failing right after 100K miles.     

Now the other manufacturers have taken a page from their book and started building parts to fail.

[SHOOTALL]

The guys that build HVAC equipment can tell you how many will quit each year , how many will be DOA etc.

[powderman]

Mom just bought a new freezer, the rubber gasket wore out. They bought it in 1956. A Sears Kenmore. Made  when quality meant something. I can't even imagine all the game that thing held over the years. POWDERMAN. 

[Sourdough]

I had a Montgomery Wards Freezer that I had bought back in the early 70s.  Replaced the gasket twice.  First time I reused the plastic pins that held it on.  Second time they had the gasket in stock, but no pins.  Several had broken taking the old gasket off.  Then I found out the wanted a dollar each per pin, I needed somewhere around 25 to 30.  I stopped by Toys R Us and picked up a whole bag of fifty for $1.50.  They were used to hold toy bins together, same pins.   That old freezer finally quite two years ago.

[LunaticFringeInc]

Its a sign of the times.  I dont think they build much of anything that can be considered a durable product or one that would be cost effective to repair.  I have a much newer, more fuel efficient car sitting in the drive way, but what it saves me in gas over my much older chevy truck, I give up the first time I need to repair it.  Hence the reason its sitting in the drive way!

[Shu]

Planned obsolesence is nothing new. Chevorlet when it first started was the master of it. The idea was to sell more cars. Welcome to 20th century buisness.

[Bugflipper]

I have to buy the stacked washer and dryer due to space.  That's real bad news. Going on 8 years and those suckers aren't cheap.

My grandfather had an upright freezer from the late 40's. It made it until the mid 00's. It still ran. No one had room for it so I think his son  scrapped it.