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You're also looking at selection/survival bias: only the good appliances from 1960 survived that long. Likewise, some 2020 appliances are likely to survive 60

You're also looking at selection/survival bias: only the good appliances from 1960 survived that long. Likewise, some 2020 appliances are likely to survive 60 years, though not most. Every 2020 appliance you find in 60 years will be built robustly, probably in a serviceable manner. And it may last much longer. Time is a nice tool to select robust artifacts that… stand the test of time. I certainly hope old survivors help guiding design choices. If you look at buildings, that's usually the case. In any case, don't just throw these away! At least donate them to a nonprofit.

fargle 5y ago
I've considered that - and it's true in a way - the ones you see are the survivors. But it's surviving the trends and whims of size and style. And people wanting ice-makers and automatic defrost cycles. Not that like only 5% of the 1960 refrigerators were somehow built far better than the rest and they kept working. I'm 100% certain that all 1960s refrigerators need repair eventually - but it's a simple compressor and that's it, one part probably fits dozens of models for 20+ years too. No sensors, controller board, ice-maker, fans, touch screens, seals, pumps, valves, etc. The difference is that you can't, at least economically, fix the newer appliances. > every 2020 appliance you find in 60 years will be built robustly, probably in a serviceable manner. true - but that number will be very close zero. Because there is not a single brand or type that is built that way today. If there is, it's some $10,000+ professional kitchen equipment. Sure some are better than the rest, but they are all essentially un-serviceable. We can mandate right-to-repair and force the vendors to sell parts for 3 years, we can't make them sell them at a reasonable cost. But in 20 years, somethings going to break that isn't worth fixing and nobody is going to stock specialized repair parts for your exact model. > In any case, don't just throw these away! At least donate them to a nonprofit. Have you ever tried donating a broken appliance? they don't want them and won't take them. Because they can't economically fix them either.

fargle 5y ago

I've considered that - and it's true in a way - the ones you see are the survivors. But it's surviving the trends and whims of size and style. And people wanting ice-makers and automatic defrost cycles. Not that like only 5% of the 1960 refrigerators were somehow built far better than the rest and they kept working. I'm 100% certain that all 1960s refrigerators need repair eventually - but it's a simple compressor and that's it, one part probably fits dozens of models for 20+ years too. No sensors, controller board, ice-maker, fans, touch screens, seals, pumps, valves, etc. The difference is that you can't, at least economically, fix the newer appliances. > every 2020 appliance you find in 60 years will be built robustly, probably in a serviceable manner. true - but that number will be very close zero. Because there is not a single brand or type that is built that way today. If there is, it's some $10,000+ professional kitchen equipment. Sure some are better than the rest, but they are all essentially un-serviceable. We can mandate right-to-repair and force the vendors to sell parts for 3 years, we can't make them sell them at a reasonable cost. But in 20 years, somethings going to break that isn't worth fixing and nobody is going to stock specialized repair parts for your exact model. > In any case, don't just throw these away! At least donate them to a nonprofit. Have you ever tried donating a broken appliance? they don't want them and won't take them. Because they can't economically fix them either.