6 ms·

Speaking of fridges, they along with other large appliances, seem like the perfect products for repair rather than replacement. I imagine that most fridges that

Speaking of fridges, they along with other large appliances, seem like the perfect products for repair rather than replacement. I imagine that most fridges that stop working do so because of the cooling system. Yet fridges, especially the higher end ones I see in stores, have a ton of large, precision machined metal pieces. The same can be said for washers/dryers. It seems like such a shame to throw something like that out when the cooling or motor breaks down. Edit: I went to an antiques market in Long Beach a few months ago and there was a vendor displaying meticulously restored, and fully functional, fridges from the 50s-60s along with similar era stoves and ranges. They were fairly expensive, I assume the resto work is quite labor intensive, and since the target market is people who are restoring mid century homes in Socal and want a period correct kitchen, but it was great to see them continuing to function.

agumonkey 9y ago
Minus one detail, old fridge might be using illegal cooling fluid/gas. So it might be a complex job to fix it.
- Inconel 9y ago
  You're right, I hadn't considered that. This thread makes me curious how hard replacing and modernizing the cooling system of an older fridge would be.
  - agumonkey 9y ago
    I understand your point though, minus legal/toxic issues, I like the idea of repairing/repurposing things. Much of our machines have tiny motors that can be reused in about anything you want. Fridge compressors too.
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    Google. "R12 to R134 conversion" People do it on cars all the time. It would be harder on something that isn't designed to be disassembled but it's nor hard.
- Neliquat 9y ago
  Aside from 20s ammonia gas systems, it is rather trivial, and accomplished by anyone with recharge and recycle equipment. Not complex in the least, as far as refrigeration systems go.
chrisseaton 9y ago
> I imagine that most fridges that stop working do so because of the cooling system What else is there in a fridge that could stop working except for the cooling system?
- Inconel 9y ago
  Well, that was kind of my point. I doubt many fridges break because the metal corrodes or the doors fall off. A fridge is made of quite a bit of material that isn't comprised of the cooling system, and it seems like a shame to throw it all out when the cooling system could be replaced.
  - agumonkey 9y ago
    That's a very particular spot to discuss. I often wonder what the hell is in a new washing machine. I suspect that most of the new machines mostly give you a bit newer dashboard and a few program options. All in all, if house appliance were designed to be modular, you could keep a piece and use another one with it. Alas I don't want it to end up like the computer world where standard competes and forces other problems. Maybe a middle ground with blocks that aren't too coupled/soldered and more modder communities to discuss how to adapt etc
  - logfromblammo 9y ago
    You would need standard form factors. Like my ATX tower computer case, which hosted a grand total of three different motherboards before I ended up with some free cap-rot era Dell workstations. After re-capping their boards, I discovered they were not ATX compliant, and couldn't be moved to any other case. My high-quality ATX case thus sits idle, awaiting the day when I get a new board for my newer mini-ITX case, and make it my backup machine. Those non-standard Dell cases and power supplies will go into the trash.
- beobab 9y ago
  The little light that helps you decide what delicious snacks you can munch on at midnight. :) And on a less frivolous note: the rubber around the doors can perish/tear.
gambiting 9y ago
>>the target market is people who are restoring mid century homes in Socal and want a period correct kitchen Apart from the looks, why the hell would you want 60s kitchen appliances? Clunky, loud as hell, inefficient washing machines and dishwashers are something that people not only actively search for, but are willing to pay premium for?
- Inconel 9y ago
  >Apart from the looks I'm pretty sure the main reason is aesthetics. And to be clear, I only saw fridges and stoves/ranges, no washing machines or dishwashers. There are actually quite a lot of very nice smaller MCM homes in the area, Long Beach specifically has some great ones, and they are becoming fairly popular to renovate while keeping the original design. Some are quite small, by modern standards, and I think maybe the smaller size of the appliances are also attractive, but I haven't been appliance shopping much and I've never done a kitchen renovation so don't take this as gospel. Edit: messed up formatting
  - gambiting 9y ago
    Hmmmm ok, fair enough. I just think that if someone has the money then a company like AGA makes cookers which I'm sure have looked exactly the same for the past 60 years - so you get the vintage look but modern efficiency: http://www.agaliving.com/aga-range-cookers/range-cookers http://www.agaliving.com/aga-range-cookers/range-cookers
    - Inconel 9y ago
      Those AGA stoves do indeed look great. This was a few months ago so my memory is a bit hazy, but I believe the prices for the smaller 24" cast iron stoves were around $3000, which I found to be pricey. The AGA cast iron stoves in that size range seem to be $7000+ here in the US, although this was a quick look at pricing so I may be off. I can see why someone looking for that style might go with a restored stove. On another note, I can definitely see that modern appliances like dishwashers or washing machines/dryers would be much better and more effective than older versions. I do wonder if there's any noticable difference in comparing something like an old cast iron gas stove to a modern gas stove?
Freak_NL 9y ago
It's more economical to recycle the metal parts and built new appliances than to reuse existing bodies. There is no technical uniformity in refrigerator designs, so retrofitting each one becomes bespoke engineering rather than simple assembly. Costs would skyrocket. It would probably be more efficient (from an economic as well as an environmental standpoint) to force manufacturers to design appliances that can be fully disassembled and recycled with a minimum of effort (in terms of labour and energy). That way the raw materials used stay in use with minimal loss, and buying a new one won't be a waste at all.
- crispyambulance 9y ago
  People will not fork over loads of money for restoration and bespoke craftsmanship because they think its economical. Restoration is purely a design/aesthetic choice for a rarefied high-end market.
  - agumonkey 9y ago
    Not necessarily. In my own case, if I had known, I'd have hacked my now dead fridge. The new ones are below it in every department. The market can aim at stupid if it provides sales and profit; while old models were designed to be actually useful. We even asked with a two doors large fridge was the same price as vertical-stack slightly thinner one, the salesman ended up admitting that it was because it's designed to be more practical (better volumes).
maxerickson 9y ago
I'm pretty sure the parts are mostly stamped. The parts that come out of the process are high quality, but it is a rapid process. This How It's Made for a fridge starts with the forming of the body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE-TqX-FBeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE-TqX-FBeI
- Inconel 9y ago
  Yeah, "machined" was an embarrassingly poor choice of words on my part. Cool video.

agumonkey 9y ago

Minus one detail, old fridge might be using illegal cooling fluid/gas. So it might be a complex job to fix it.

Inconel 9y ago
You're right, I hadn't considered that. This thread makes me curious how hard replacing and modernizing the cooling system of an older fridge would be.
- agumonkey 9y ago
  I understand your point though, minus legal/toxic issues, I like the idea of repairing/repurposing things. Much of our machines have tiny motors that can be reused in about anything you want. Fridge compressors too.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  Google. "R12 to R134 conversion" People do it on cars all the time. It would be harder on something that isn't designed to be disassembled but it's nor hard.
Neliquat 9y ago
Aside from 20s ammonia gas systems, it is rather trivial, and accomplished by anyone with recharge and recycle equipment. Not complex in the least, as far as refrigeration systems go.

chrisseaton 9y ago

> I imagine that most fridges that stop working do so because of the cooling system What else is there in a fridge that could stop working except for the cooling system?

Inconel 9y ago
Well, that was kind of my point. I doubt many fridges break because the metal corrodes or the doors fall off. A fridge is made of quite a bit of material that isn't comprised of the cooling system, and it seems like a shame to throw it all out when the cooling system could be replaced.
- agumonkey 9y ago
  That's a very particular spot to discuss. I often wonder what the hell is in a new washing machine. I suspect that most of the new machines mostly give you a bit newer dashboard and a few program options. All in all, if house appliance were designed to be modular, you could keep a piece and use another one with it. Alas I don't want it to end up like the computer world where standard competes and forces other problems. Maybe a middle ground with blocks that aren't too coupled/soldered and more modder communities to discuss how to adapt etc
- logfromblammo 9y ago
  You would need standard form factors. Like my ATX tower computer case, which hosted a grand total of three different motherboards before I ended up with some free cap-rot era Dell workstations. After re-capping their boards, I discovered they were not ATX compliant, and couldn't be moved to any other case. My high-quality ATX case thus sits idle, awaiting the day when I get a new board for my newer mini-ITX case, and make it my backup machine. Those non-standard Dell cases and power supplies will go into the trash.
beobab 9y ago
The little light that helps you decide what delicious snacks you can munch on at midnight. :) And on a less frivolous note: the rubber around the doors can perish/tear.

gambiting 9y ago

>>the target market is people who are restoring mid century homes in Socal and want a period correct kitchen Apart from the looks, why the hell would you want 60s kitchen appliances? Clunky, loud as hell, inefficient washing machines and dishwashers are something that people not only actively search for, but are willing to pay premium for?

Inconel 9y ago
>Apart from the looks I'm pretty sure the main reason is aesthetics. And to be clear, I only saw fridges and stoves/ranges, no washing machines or dishwashers. There are actually quite a lot of very nice smaller MCM homes in the area, Long Beach specifically has some great ones, and they are becoming fairly popular to renovate while keeping the original design. Some are quite small, by modern standards, and I think maybe the smaller size of the appliances are also attractive, but I haven't been appliance shopping much and I've never done a kitchen renovation so don't take this as gospel. Edit: messed up formatting
- gambiting 9y ago
  Hmmmm ok, fair enough. I just think that if someone has the money then a company like AGA makes cookers which I'm sure have looked exactly the same for the past 60 years - so you get the vintage look but modern efficiency: http://www.agaliving.com/aga-range-cookers/range-cookers http://www.agaliving.com/aga-range-cookers/range-cookers
  - Inconel 9y ago
    Those AGA stoves do indeed look great. This was a few months ago so my memory is a bit hazy, but I believe the prices for the smaller 24" cast iron stoves were around $3000, which I found to be pricey. The AGA cast iron stoves in that size range seem to be $7000+ here in the US, although this was a quick look at pricing so I may be off. I can see why someone looking for that style might go with a restored stove. On another note, I can definitely see that modern appliances like dishwashers or washing machines/dryers would be much better and more effective than older versions. I do wonder if there's any noticable difference in comparing something like an old cast iron gas stove to a modern gas stove?

Freak_NL 9y ago

It's more economical to recycle the metal parts and built new appliances than to reuse existing bodies. There is no technical uniformity in refrigerator designs, so retrofitting each one becomes bespoke engineering rather than simple assembly. Costs would skyrocket. It would probably be more efficient (from an economic as well as an environmental standpoint) to force manufacturers to design appliances that can be fully disassembled and recycled with a minimum of effort (in terms of labour and energy). That way the raw materials used stay in use with minimal loss, and buying a new one won't be a waste at all.

crispyambulance 9y ago
People will not fork over loads of money for restoration and bespoke craftsmanship because they think its economical. Restoration is purely a design/aesthetic choice for a rarefied high-end market.
- agumonkey 9y ago
  Not necessarily. In my own case, if I had known, I'd have hacked my now dead fridge. The new ones are below it in every department. The market can aim at stupid if it provides sales and profit; while old models were designed to be actually useful. We even asked with a two doors large fridge was the same price as vertical-stack slightly thinner one, the salesman ended up admitting that it was because it's designed to be more practical (better volumes).

maxerickson 9y ago

I'm pretty sure the parts are mostly stamped. The parts that come out of the process are high quality, but it is a rapid process. This How It's Made for a fridge starts with the forming of the body: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE-TqX-FBeI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE-TqX-FBeI

Inconel 9y ago
Yeah, "machined" was an embarrassingly poor choice of words on my part. Cool video.