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So, my heuristic for appliances: Find a vendor that targets customers who lose money if the appliance fails, and is unable to be quickly repaired. So far, thi

So, my heuristic for appliances: Find a vendor that targets customers who lose money if the appliance fails, and is unable to be quickly repaired. So far, this has been a good way to locate Vulcan Ranges, SpeedQueen washers/dryers, and True refrigerators. Now...there are drawbacks to this approach. Many of these brands don't target the price-point, convenience features, or aesthetic that consumer brands do. But, if the price is right, you may find something reliable you can live with. https://true-residential.com/ https://true-residential.com/

ALittleLight 5y ago
This is smart. I wonder if you could get more of a consumer aesthetic and feature set if you looked at the appliances in luxury apartments. The apartments would have to replace the appliances if they fail, so the apartment company has presumably done research and has experience. The end user is still just a consumer though.
- runnerup 5y ago
  Apartments don't generally lose much money when appliances fail. They pay "unskilled laborers" low wages to replace the unit within a reasonable time frame. During that time, the tenant continues to pay rent as normal. There aren't any apartments that compete based on "Our super reliable appliances won't fail!" so any tenants unhappy about this have no marginal benefit to moving somewhere else. Therefore, apartments usually provide the cheapest appliances which fit the aesthetic of the rest of the build. Or, these days, whichever appliance is available for purchase because there's been a massive shortage of durable goods.
  - ALittleLight 5y ago
    Presumably the apartment complex has to replace or repair their appliances. If the appliances failed a lot that would incur high maintenance costs. I don't understand how the complex employing unskilled laborers would reduce the cost of replacing or repairing failed appliances.
    - tylergetsay 5y ago
      It's easy, they have a lot of units with the same appliances and in the basement they have a lot of spares. When one is replaced the broken one is used for parts to repair where possible.
    - nunez 5y ago
      they do but afaik most complexes get deep discounts from purchasing cheaper, high-volume units in bulk from hotpoint or whirlpool (for example) that they wouldn't get from buying more "reliable" models
    - technobabbler 5y ago
      I really doubt there's much of difference between brands and models. Old tech built by a few OEMs with some plastic molding thrown on and white labeled every which way. Cheaper to just replace the rare failure than to find an entirely different higher quality refrigerator pipeline if the MTBF of those things are measured in years regardless of brand.
gruez 5y ago
>Many of these brands don't target the price-point [...] >https://true-residential.com/ https://true-residential.com/ You don't say. I checked one of their basic refrigerators ("REFRIGERATOR WITH BOTTOM FREEZER") and the quote came out to $18,499. At that price, I have to wonder, is the increased reliability worth it? For a refrigerator that lasts twice as long, I'd only be willing to pay 50% more compared to a regular refrigerator.
- jazzyjackson 5y ago
  > is the increased reliability worth it? If, for some reason, you lose $10,000/day when a refrigerator fails, yes. (maybe, judging from the marketing materials, because you can't AirBnB your château without a working freezer). In a residential situation, I guess that would be some Imperial caviar or life-saving medicine... worth it to someone out there I suppose

ALittleLight 5y ago

This is smart. I wonder if you could get more of a consumer aesthetic and feature set if you looked at the appliances in luxury apartments. The apartments would have to replace the appliances if they fail, so the apartment company has presumably done research and has experience. The end user is still just a consumer though.

runnerup 5y ago
Apartments don't generally lose much money when appliances fail. They pay "unskilled laborers" low wages to replace the unit within a reasonable time frame. During that time, the tenant continues to pay rent as normal. There aren't any apartments that compete based on "Our super reliable appliances won't fail!" so any tenants unhappy about this have no marginal benefit to moving somewhere else. Therefore, apartments usually provide the cheapest appliances which fit the aesthetic of the rest of the build. Or, these days, whichever appliance is available for purchase because there's been a massive shortage of durable goods.
- ALittleLight 5y ago
  Presumably the apartment complex has to replace or repair their appliances. If the appliances failed a lot that would incur high maintenance costs. I don't understand how the complex employing unskilled laborers would reduce the cost of replacing or repairing failed appliances.
  - tylergetsay 5y ago
    It's easy, they have a lot of units with the same appliances and in the basement they have a lot of spares. When one is replaced the broken one is used for parts to repair where possible.
  - nunez 5y ago
    they do but afaik most complexes get deep discounts from purchasing cheaper, high-volume units in bulk from hotpoint or whirlpool (for example) that they wouldn't get from buying more "reliable" models
  - technobabbler 5y ago
    I really doubt there's much of difference between brands and models. Old tech built by a few OEMs with some plastic molding thrown on and white labeled every which way. Cheaper to just replace the rare failure than to find an entirely different higher quality refrigerator pipeline if the MTBF of those things are measured in years regardless of brand.

gruez 5y ago

>Many of these brands don't target the price-point [...] >https://true-residential.com/ https://true-residential.com/ You don't say. I checked one of their basic refrigerators ("REFRIGERATOR WITH BOTTOM FREEZER") and the quote came out to $18,499. At that price, I have to wonder, is the increased reliability worth it? For a refrigerator that lasts twice as long, I'd only be willing to pay 50% more compared to a regular refrigerator.

jazzyjackson 5y ago
> is the increased reliability worth it? If, for some reason, you lose $10,000/day when a refrigerator fails, yes. (maybe, judging from the marketing materials, because you can't AirBnB your château without a working freezer). In a residential situation, I guess that would be some Imperial caviar or life-saving medicine... worth it to someone out there I suppose