5 ms·

I have a whirlpool top loader laundry machine, just under 20yrs old, couple of months ago it failed, and the part is a plastic sacrificial part and it's obvious

by alliao 7y ago

I have a whirlpool top loader laundry machine, just under 20yrs old, couple of months ago it failed, and the part is a plastic sacrificial part and it's obviously designed so it'd sacrifice itself to save the more expensive motor. I loved it, $5 part later (or $75 in New Zealand because New Zealand) it is back up and running again. I loved all the old American white-ware, they were built with respect to consumer nowadays not so much.

grecy 7y ago
My family still uses the clothes dryer Mum and Dad bought 39 years ago.
war1025 7y ago
Twenty years ago I was entering 5th grade (damn, time flies). In my mind manufacturing quality hasn't changed significantly since then. Has it? I though that's when the offshoring of all manufacturing was already in full swing?
- alliao 7y ago
  I suspect being in New Zealand, this was older stock... I'll try and find manufacturing dates but I vividly remember at the time we had 2 choices, a more sensible sized one by Whirlpool that was already made in Korea, or the bigger one but still made in USA; needless to say we opted for the USA model. We actually had whirlpool fridge and washing machine in the late 70s and early 80s and was really impressed with them, hence why when we migrated to NZ we still seek out this brand. I still have a double door whirlpool fridge that's made in USA, just over 15yrs now too; though I can see it's going to leak some refrigerant soon with a copper rust spot on the line to an Embraco motor...sigh
  - exhilaration 7y ago
    FYI - our dishwasher died and we called a local appliance repairman, unaffiliated with any manufacturer. He told us it couldn't be fixed and suggested we buy a Whirlpool to replace it. So that particular brand seems to command at least some respect.
    - mrguyorama 7y ago
      Brand new Samsung dishwashers have a water quality sensor that gets blocked up and kills the dishwasher. If you figure it out, it's just a $50 part and not hard to replace.
- daniel-cussen 7y ago
  Yeah back then I remember it was toasters that were incredibly shitty.
- mrguyorama 7y ago
  Indeed I have the exact same experiences with a Kenmore washer from 2005, including the exact same cheap plastic replacement part, along with a few other cheap switches breaking more than once. I'm not convinced things are that different. Hell, you can buy Samsung mainboard or powerboard components on Ebay for $300 and $70 respectively and bring a broken TV back to life with nothing more than undoing a few plugs and sockets and maybe some soldering skills if a capacitor has popped. Is this really different from not being able to replace or repair the electron gun in the picture tube of a 1950s TV?
imglorp 7y ago
This. I bet you're talking about the agitator pawls been there. Or the rollers in a clothes dryer. Or an impellor blade in a dishwasher. Or the element in a heater. Done this a bunch of times. So many of these machines can be fixed with a few dollars and an hour of your time if you're not afraid to read up a little, watch a youtube, then tear it apart and look up the part number on a website. A pro visit would be $150 trip charge (or two), another $150 labor, and a big markup on that part. Or they'll just tell you to replace the whole thing. This is one thing that can actually be worth your time, so give it a try to save it.

by alliao 7y ago

grecy 7y ago

My family still uses the clothes dryer Mum and Dad bought 39 years ago.

war1025 7y ago

Twenty years ago I was entering 5th grade (damn, time flies). In my mind manufacturing quality hasn't changed significantly since then. Has it? I though that's when the offshoring of all manufacturing was already in full swing?

alliao 7y ago
I suspect being in New Zealand, this was older stock... I'll try and find manufacturing dates but I vividly remember at the time we had 2 choices, a more sensible sized one by Whirlpool that was already made in Korea, or the bigger one but still made in USA; needless to say we opted for the USA model. We actually had whirlpool fridge and washing machine in the late 70s and early 80s and was really impressed with them, hence why when we migrated to NZ we still seek out this brand. I still have a double door whirlpool fridge that's made in USA, just over 15yrs now too; though I can see it's going to leak some refrigerant soon with a copper rust spot on the line to an Embraco motor...sigh
- exhilaration 7y ago
  FYI - our dishwasher died and we called a local appliance repairman, unaffiliated with any manufacturer. He told us it couldn't be fixed and suggested we buy a Whirlpool to replace it. So that particular brand seems to command at least some respect.
  - mrguyorama 7y ago
    Brand new Samsung dishwashers have a water quality sensor that gets blocked up and kills the dishwasher. If you figure it out, it's just a $50 part and not hard to replace.
daniel-cussen 7y ago
Yeah back then I remember it was toasters that were incredibly shitty.
mrguyorama 7y ago
Indeed I have the exact same experiences with a Kenmore washer from 2005, including the exact same cheap plastic replacement part, along with a few other cheap switches breaking more than once. I'm not convinced things are that different. Hell, you can buy Samsung mainboard or powerboard components on Ebay for $300 and $70 respectively and bring a broken TV back to life with nothing more than undoing a few plugs and sockets and maybe some soldering skills if a capacitor has popped. Is this really different from not being able to replace or repair the electron gun in the picture tube of a 1950s TV?

imglorp 7y ago

This. I bet you're talking about the agitator pawls been there. Or the rollers in a clothes dryer. Or an impellor blade in a dishwasher. Or the element in a heater. Done this a bunch of times. So many of these machines can be fixed with a few dollars and an hour of your time if you're not afraid to read up a little, watch a youtube, then tear it apart and look up the part number on a website. A pro visit would be $150 trip charge (or two), another $150 labor, and a big markup on that part. Or they'll just tell you to replace the whole thing. This is one thing that can actually be worth your time, so give it a try to save it.