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Compare the average <$1000 fridge/freezer combo, with a Sub Zero model. My mother has one she's kept running for over 25 years... Meanwhile my cheap apartment-

by M_Grey 10y ago

Compare the average <$1000 fridge/freezer combo, with a Sub Zero model. My mother has one she's kept running for over 25 years... Meanwhile my cheap apartment-scale fridge was made with chewing gum and hope.

IgorPartola 10y ago
A deep freezer is a very different beast. It is a simpler appliance with very basic components. Far fewer things to break than your combo which has to precisely regulate the temperature and has auto de-icing. I grew up with fridges that needed to be de-iced every few months. Those didn't break much either.
- M_Grey 10y ago
  Sub Zero is a brand, it's not a deep freezer.
x0x0 10y ago
That 25 year old refrigerator is almost certainly very expensive to operate. Look at the energy use over time: 1990 -> 2015 saw a halving of power usage (1000 kWh/y -> 500 kWh/y) -- over a ten year lifespan with CA electricity at $0.19/kWh, that's $950 in increased energy expenditure as compared to a new refrigerator. ie it would be close to free. http://aceee.org/blog/2014/09/how-your-refrigerator-has-kept-its-co http://aceee.org/blog/2014/09/how-your-refrigerator-has-kept... For refrigerators at least, it doesn't make sense to make them robust enough to last more than 10-15 years since it's worth it to replace them over that time period. My understanding is the vast majority of refrigerators are then recycled. All those metals are valuable.
- kalleboo 10y ago
  When I moved in with my wife, we replaced her 10-year old bachelor-sized fridge with a new one that was over 3x bigger and the new one had nearly the exact same power draw...
  - masklinn 10y ago
    That makes a lot of sense though, a bigger fridge can have better circuit and insulation and will have a significantly larger "cold inertia".
- DanBC 10y ago
  > All those metals are valuable. And all those refrigerants need to be collected to prevent release to the atmosphere.
rconti 10y ago
I believe Sub Zero still has sub-average lifespan. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18176916/ns/business-consumer_news/t/want-reliable-appliance-do-your-homework/#.WM_3kxiZOwI http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18176916/ns/business-consumer_news...

by M_Grey 10y ago

IgorPartola 10y ago

A deep freezer is a very different beast. It is a simpler appliance with very basic components. Far fewer things to break than your combo which has to precisely regulate the temperature and has auto de-icing. I grew up with fridges that needed to be de-iced every few months. Those didn't break much either.

M_Grey 10y ago
Sub Zero is a brand, it's not a deep freezer.

x0x0 10y ago

That 25 year old refrigerator is almost certainly very expensive to operate. Look at the energy use over time: 1990 -> 2015 saw a halving of power usage (1000 kWh/y -> 500 kWh/y) -- over a ten year lifespan with CA electricity at $0.19/kWh, that's $950 in increased energy expenditure as compared to a new refrigerator. ie it would be close to free. http://aceee.org/blog/2014/09/how-your-refrigerator-has-kept-its-co http://aceee.org/blog/2014/09/how-your-refrigerator-has-kept... For refrigerators at least, it doesn't make sense to make them robust enough to last more than 10-15 years since it's worth it to replace them over that time period. My understanding is the vast majority of refrigerators are then recycled. All those metals are valuable.

kalleboo 10y ago
When I moved in with my wife, we replaced her 10-year old bachelor-sized fridge with a new one that was over 3x bigger and the new one had nearly the exact same power draw...
- masklinn 10y ago
  That makes a lot of sense though, a bigger fridge can have better circuit and insulation and will have a significantly larger "cold inertia".
DanBC 10y ago
> All those metals are valuable. And all those refrigerants need to be collected to prevent release to the atmosphere.

rconti 10y ago

I believe Sub Zero still has sub-average lifespan. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18176916/ns/business-consumer_news/t/want-reliable-appliance-do-your-homework/#.WM_3kxiZOwI http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18176916/ns/business-consumer_news...