5 ms·

To make a counterexample, my grandmother had a Zil refrigerator she bought in the 1950's (http://i.imgur.com/POw7U6R.jpg http://i.imgur.com/POw7U6R.jpg) that wo

To make a counterexample, my grandmother had a Zil refrigerator she bought in the 1950's (http://i.imgur.com/POw7U6R.jpg http://i.imgur.com/POw7U6R.jpg) that worked for over 50 years until the late 2000's. It would have probably worked another 50, if we hadn't changed it for a modern larger and more energy efficient one.

pilsetnieks 9y ago
Well, yeah - I think most of the stuff was overbuilt by modern standards so it should work for a long time, just that often the build quality would be shoddy, or had improvized components. I didn't mean that one TV example to be the definite example, that was just an anecdote to illustrate the general point.
myth_drannon 9y ago
It's not only Soviet built things would last longer. US washing machines, refrigerators made in 50-60s also last forever. The ones you buy now, the way the are made and painted will rust in couple of years and will be thrown to garbage in 5 years. And no, it's not because it's cheap to buy a new one, they are just simply bad.
- pilsetnieks 9y ago
  You can actually buy decently made appliances nowadays, it's just that the majority of people don't want to spend that much money. A $300 washing machine in the 50s was much better than a current washing machine at the same price but that amount of money in the fifties is $3000 now. A $3000 modern washing machine would probably blow the 50s one out of the water.
  - TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
    Unless you buy insane super-appliances, long-lasting appliances typically cost 2-3 times the consumer average. I bought a Miele washing machine in 1996, and it's still being used today. It was about twice the price of machines that I'd had to before that never seemed to last more than a few years.
- hexane360 9y ago
  It's cheap to buy a new one for the features. It'd definitely be cheaper to buy a washer with 2010s construction and 1950s feature set, but that's not what consumers (or environmental regulators) want. Likewise, a modern washer with 1950s construction would be outrageously expensive, not to mention material and energy inefficient. (Keep in mind that the operating cost of an appliance is a significant fraction of its total cost) I'd also like to see a good data set of real prices of appliances over time. Edit: Here's some examples of 1950s appliances: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html Washer + Dryer in 1953: $494.90 Average monthly wage in 1953: $ 3,139.44 [0] Average monthly wage in 2013: $44,888.16 So a 1953 washer+dryer cost the same amount of labor as a $7076 washer+dryer today. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnin...
  - userbinator 9y ago
    I'm pretty sure those "average monthly wage"s are not exactly per-person. The average person in US certainly did not make >$500k/year in 2013.
    - enkid 9y ago
      I think he meant average yearly wage.
      - hexane360 9y ago
        Yep, that's correct. Doesn't change the math though.
zerr 9y ago
Still running strong. Mine is from 1940s.
varjag 9y ago
It a faithful copy of a decent General Electric fridge, so no wonder.

pilsetnieks 9y ago

Well, yeah - I think most of the stuff was overbuilt by modern standards so it should work for a long time, just that often the build quality would be shoddy, or had improvized components. I didn't mean that one TV example to be the definite example, that was just an anecdote to illustrate the general point.

myth_drannon 9y ago

It's not only Soviet built things would last longer. US washing machines, refrigerators made in 50-60s also last forever. The ones you buy now, the way the are made and painted will rust in couple of years and will be thrown to garbage in 5 years. And no, it's not because it's cheap to buy a new one, they are just simply bad.

pilsetnieks 9y ago
You can actually buy decently made appliances nowadays, it's just that the majority of people don't want to spend that much money. A $300 washing machine in the 50s was much better than a current washing machine at the same price but that amount of money in the fifties is $3000 now. A $3000 modern washing machine would probably blow the 50s one out of the water.
- TheOtherHobbes 9y ago
  Unless you buy insane super-appliances, long-lasting appliances typically cost 2-3 times the consumer average. I bought a Miele washing machine in 1996, and it's still being used today. It was about twice the price of machines that I'd had to before that never seemed to last more than a few years.
hexane360 9y ago
It's cheap to buy a new one for the features. It'd definitely be cheaper to buy a washer with 2010s construction and 1950s feature set, but that's not what consumers (or environmental regulators) want. Likewise, a modern washer with 1950s construction would be outrageously expensive, not to mention material and energy inefficient. (Keep in mind that the operating cost of an appliance is a significant fraction of its total cost) I'd also like to see a good data set of real prices of appliances over time. Edit: Here's some examples of 1950s appliances: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50selectrical.html Washer + Dryer in 1953: $494.90 Average monthly wage in 1953: $ 3,139.44 [0] Average monthly wage in 2013: $44,888.16 So a 1953 washer+dryer cost the same amount of labor as a $7076 washer+dryer today. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_Indexed_Monthly_Earnin...
- userbinator 9y ago
  I'm pretty sure those "average monthly wage"s are not exactly per-person. The average person in US certainly did not make >$500k/year in 2013.
  - enkid 9y ago
    I think he meant average yearly wage.
    - hexane360 9y ago
      Yep, that's correct. Doesn't change the math though.

zerr 9y ago

Still running strong. Mine is from 1940s.

varjag 9y ago

It a faithful copy of a decent General Electric fridge, so no wonder.