5 ms·
Worked in an appliance warehouse. We had two types of fridges coming back as carry-outs for new purchases: ancient models that were probably as old as I was, an
by yterdy 3y ago
Worked in an appliance warehouse. We had two types of fridges coming back as carry-outs for new purchases: ancient models that were probably as old as I was, and models from a few years before the pickup date. Very little middle ground.
Also, without being an engineer or technician, it did always seem to me that fridges were like cars in that you had "luxury" models that were standard frames with fancy (often less-than-useful) features, and then actual luxury with brand names most people had never heard of, which had normal features implemented to a high standard and with excellent support.
- justinpombrio 3y ago> Also, without being an engineer or technician, it did always seem to me that fridges were like cars in that you had "luxury" models that were standard frames with fancy (often less-than-useful) features, and then actual luxury with brand names most people had never heard of, which had normal features implemented to a high standard and with excellent support. As a consumer, would there be a way to tell the difference between the two when buying?
- j4yav 3y agoIf you’re paying a lot and there aren’t goofy touch screens or other pointless things to break, it’s a good chance it’s high quality. But always good to talk to someone who repairs them to know what’s actually good. Miele is one of these brands, maybe the most well known.
- asquabventured 3y agoAvoid shiny plastic
- bryanlarsen 3y agoIt's like laptops: the commercial ones that come with onsite service vs the consumer ones that have the cheap price and all the bling. Maytag consumer model vs Maytag commercial. The ones you buy at the appliance store vs the ones you buy at the commercial restaurant supply store.
- fulladder 3y agoThere is still a lot of value in reading reviews. People have grown cynical because there are a lot of fake reviews online these days, but that just means you have to think critically about what you are reading. Try to extract concrete facts from the text of the review, and as you identify each factual assertion that's being made, consider whether it seems like something that's believable and written by a real person, or something that's primarily an emotional appeal written by a bot or third world person employed by the manufacturer. At some point, we're going to hit a tipping point where no authentic human being ever writes any online review, and then they'll become totally useless, pure noise. That doesn't seem to be the case yet, though.
- singleshot_ 3y agoTell the vendor you are equipping a restaurant?
- bombcar 3y agoThis works for some things, but not others. For example, commercial laundry equipment comes from VERY FEW manufacturers, and you may never have heard of UniMac https://unimac.com/product/washer-extractors/uw-series-high-performance-hardmount-washer-extractor/200lb-capacity/ https://unimac.com/product/washer-extractors/uw-series-high-... but you probably have heard of their little brother, Speed Queen. Blendtec is another example. But some things are vastly different between commercial and residential. Commercial ovens often have no heat shielding at all (because they're meant to be installed in a commercial kitchen and used all the time) and so the sides can get very hot. Not what you want in a home kitchen! You can find some names, and check what they offer in residential versions. But the surest way is to find people who work with them talking about them.
- nunez 3y agoAbsolutely LOVE our Blendtec blendeer. That thing can chop up almost anything! My only regret is not getting the variant that came with a heating coil for making soups.
- danaris 3y agoThat's what Consumer Reports exists for.
- theideaofcoffee 3y agoWhat are some of the brands that you’ve seen that have those implemented-to-a-higher-standard features? I’m in the market for a new set of everything and would appreciate the insight.
- timthelion 3y agohttps://www.mieleusa.com/e/refrigerators-and-freezers-1022129-c https://www.mieleusa.com/e/refrigerators-and-freezers-102212... has few bells and whistles but is a superpremium brand. I bought some of their stuff used and while expensive it has very high quality materials...
- pintxo 3y agoNote: Miele just rebrands Liebherr fridges. At least in Europe, guess the US is no different.
- MrMan 3y ago[dead]
- nagisa 3y agoLiebherr fridges & freezers are known to be very good too, if only a slightly cheaper due to carrying a less fancy trademark.
- bombcar 3y agoThis is another trick, find out the high quality brands and find who they're OEMing, and get those. Parts websites for appliances can be good hints.
- DrinkWater 3y agoThat’s not entirely true. They are manufactured by Liebherr but so heavily tweaked by Miele that „rebranding“ is not exactly the right word. That doesn’t mean they are better or inferior than regular Liebherr products though.
- xyzzy_plugh 3y agoThis just sounds like an ordinary bathtub curve. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_curve
- skywhopper 3y agoHonestly, this is exactly what I would expect to see always. There's some percentage of complex appliances that are going to fail early in their lifetime, and the ones that last longer than a few years will probably last for decades. The fridge that's been working for 12 years with zero problems is far less likely to fail than a 5-month old fridge or a 40-year old fridge. So I'd be surprised the the pattern hasn't always been like this to some extent. The particular rates might vary over time, but the pattern of failing appliances being either relatively new or really old is probably very consistent.