The Green Thing

[Dave W]

Energy efficiency requirements are part of the reason major appliances aren't built to last as long, e.g. having to use a smaller direct drive motor to conserve energy instead of the larger belt drive setup. The problem is, when you have to scrap the appliance earlier because it will cost too much repair, the energy you saved may be wiped out by the energy used to to manufacture a new one sooner.

Another example: according to an appliance repairman I used to know, manufacturing the igniters for a gas stove uses more energy than the stove would save over a 25 year lifespan using igniters instead of old fashioned pilot lights. Plus the igniters only have a 10-15 year lifespan.

[dadagoboi]

In most of the places in the world I've been they use a barbeque lighter thingy (either butane or a flint type) which eliminates both the pilot light and the igniter,  Simple, effective and cheap.

[Denis]

People who saw my old fridge nearly ALWAYS mentioned how much money I could save on my power bill if I replaced it with a new one. Okay, that makes sense on the face of it, but if you think about it longer and figure the replacement fridge equivalent to mine would have been over $700. If it brought my power bill down from $60/month to $50, the fridge would pay for itself in what, 70 months or 5 years 8 months?

Knowing how many people have told me their most recent refrigerators have lasted anywhere between 2 and 4 years (nearly always a failed compressor was to blame) there was no way it made sense to buy a new fridge.

[dadagoboi]

Yes, but do you need that large a fridge?  I'm a one person household, a 10 cu ft fridge is perfectly adequate and uses half the power of the 70's era one it replaced.  It's paying for itself pretty quickly.  Probably didn't cost more than twice the repair bill for your old one.  A full fridge also operates more efficiently than one that's half full, another reason to have a size that meets your needs and nothing larger.  Toose giant fridges do fail quickly it seems.

[Rob]

Yes, but do you need that large a fridge?  I'm a one person household, a 10 cu ft fridge is perfectly adequate and uses half the power of the 70's era one it replaced.  It's paying for itself pretty quickly.  Probably didn't cost more than twice the repair bill for your old one.  A full fridge also operates more efficiently than one that's half full, another reason to have a size that meets your needs and nothing larger.  Toose giant fridges do fail quickly it seems.

[Barklessdog]

Yes, but do you need that large a fridge?  I'm a one person household, a 10 cu ft fridge is perfectly adequate and uses half the power of the 70's era one it replaced.  It's paying for itself pretty quickly.  Probably didn't cost more than twice the repair bill for your old one.  A full fridge also operates more efficiently than one that's half full, another reason to have a size that meets your needs and nothing larger.  Toose giant fridges do fail quickly it seems.

I know some people who have two or three fridges. One in the garage, basement & kitchen. I just have one.

[dadagoboi]

I know some people who have two or three fridges. One in the garage, basement & kitchen. I just have one.

Maybe they're eating for three.  A lot of people appear to be, where I live anyway.

[Dave W]

I'm not aware of the smaller new ones lasting any longer than the larger ones. In any case, how much more energy was used in manufacturing it to make it more efficient, vs. the older designs? As the end user, you may come out ahead with a small efficient one, and that's good -- for you. It doesn't mean that any energy or money is being saved overall.

[Dave W]

Maybe they're eating for three.  A lot of people appear to be, where I live anyway.

Ain't that the truth!

[dadagoboi]

I'm not aware of the smaller new ones lasting any longer than the larger ones. In any case, how much more energy was used in manufacturing it to make it more efficient, vs. the older designs? As the end user, you may come out ahead with a small efficient one, and that's good -- for you. It doesn't mean that any energy or money is being saved overall.

I used to have a fridge in L.A. in the 70's I hit with a rubber mallet to start and stop the compressor.  Believe me, replacing one whose only sin was running all the time and spoiling food was a big move. I researched it and made a decision based on what it would cost me and what internet reviewers said about this particular model.  I have a difficult time believing the average life of a new fridge is 2 years, if that's true it would seem warranties would cost a lot more than they do.  There must be some entity that tracks this stat.

I have a GE Profile convection oven, $1200 new, cost me $350 off CL.  When its display started flashing a few months after I got it the internet told me what was wrong with it in less than 2 minutes and how to fix it with a piece of card stock.  There's a design flaw usually fixed under warranty by replacing the entire display which doesn't fix the real problem, an intermittant short.   That was over 2 years ago, still running fine.

In general I don't buy new except for computer gear and underwear.

[Denis]

Yes, but do you need that large a fridge?  I'm a one person household, a 10 cu ft fridge is perfectly adequate and uses half the power of the 70's era one it replaced.  It's paying for itself pretty quickly.  Probably didn't cost more than twice the repair bill for your old one.  A full fridge also operates more efficiently than one that's half full, another reason to have a size that meets your needs and nothing larger.  Toose giant fridges do fail quickly it seems.

I see your point, but not getting this old one fixed meant buying a new fridge entirely. Since that fridge was in the house when I bought it in 1996 I never saw any reason to even consider replacing it. The repair job cost me less than $300.
Also, the girlfriend moved in so there's two in the house.

[dadagoboi]

Mine was here when I bought this place in '08.  The gaskets were shot so repairing it would have required more than just replacing the compressor.  My new one cost $400, used weren't much cheaper.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

In general I don't buy new except for computer gear and underwear.

I can top that. I needed an extension cord the other day, one of the 99 cent ones. Instead of getting in my truck and going to the store, I made one out of the some of the few miles of scrap wire I've scrounged over the years. If I didn't have to change the litter boxes, my wife and I would produce a full can of garbage  once every two or three months. It disgusts me to see one and two-person households put out four and five overflowing garbage cans every week on our collection day. The people who live close to me are too young, but in older neighborhoods I'd make a killing in spare parts and electronics just picking up from the curb what is, in a lot of cases, perfectly fine. ... our course I'd need the time and gas to do that, too.

[Dave W]

I have a difficult time believing the average life of a new fridge is 2 years, if that's true it would seem warranties would cost a lot more than they do.  There must be some entity that tracks this stat.

I'm sure it's much longer than that on average. But they don't generally go without needing a repair as long as the old ones, and because of design changes, sometimes it's less expensive to replace.

[Highlander]

Grass is green, that's it...

As long as money is money and desireable there will never be "green" - business dictates profit - profit dictates turnover - turnover dictates sales - sales dictates desirability

Money is the route of almost all evil...

Imagine having enough (paper) money to be a threat to the system, march up to Fort Knox/Bank of England with it and say, "Thanks, I'll have my gold now please"

You'ld never be seen again...

The biggest technological con right now is 3DTV - how many fools will it take to realise that an HD image is an HD image, it does not need a special screen to be a 3D HD image - business demands that we need to buy the next big thing...

As I said, grass is green, but business dictates that we covet the other field forever...