Low quailty from days of old

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RONALD
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by RONALD »

Around 1938, my parents bought a Fridgidare to replace the ice box they had used for many years. It was in full use into the 1960's.

It was a great improvement, because you no longer had to put the sign in the window for the Ice Man, and have him carry the dripping ice into the kitchen.

That ~ 77 year old Fridgidare still runs, but is used today only to cool pop cans in the summer; meanwhile, since 1975, I'm on my second Sub Zero.
rrnut-2
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by rrnut-2 »

hammermill wrote:as a general thought freezers,refrigs and washer dryers seem to have a life of about 10 to 15 yrs. if it has a microprocessor board in it I doubt if you will see it last that long. lots of failures due to lack of cleaning drains,coils etc.
And for us, we get struck by lightning all the time. Even with a ton of surge suppressors, stuff still gets hit and we will lose something.
We unplug computers, DRO's, the new washing machine (yes, it is microprocessor controlled) stereo and tv. I wonder about the new
refrigerator that we just had to buy. Does it have a microprocessor? I am assuming so, so it will probably be short lived.

Jim B
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by warmstrong1955 »

rrnut-2 wrote: And for us, we get struck by lightning all the time. Even with a ton of surge suppressors, stuff still gets hit and we will lose something.
We unplug computers, DRO's, the new washing machine (yes, it is microprocessor controlled) stereo and tv. I wonder about the new
refrigerator that we just had to buy. Does it have a microprocessor? I am assuming so, so it will probably be short lived.
Jim B
Had the same thing happen, and it murdered a computer. One thing I found out, after....was that surge protectors are far from equal. The higher the joules, the better, although that's no guarantee that it will work, just that it's a lot better odds that it will. The last couple I bought were over 2000 joules.
FYI, a UPS with surge protection won't necessarily save you either.

I read an article in Consumer Reports about whole house surge protectors. Sounded like a pretty reliable way to protect from lightning, but I never researched them past the one article. I moved.... :wink: Might be worth looking into. I recall that they were not all that expensive, and a lot less than a new computer.....and alarm clock....and toaster oven.... I could go on..... :roll:

Bill
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SteveM
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by SteveM »

warmstrong1955 wrote:I read an article in Consumer Reports about whole house surge protectors. Sounded like a pretty reliable way to protect from lightning, but I never researched them past the one article.
It's a small box that wires into the panel. I had the electrician install it when we upgraded to 200A service.

Can't tell you if or how well it works, but we've never had anything get fried.

Steve
rrnut-2
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by rrnut-2 »

Yup, we got them. They also can blow up pretty good too!
So far, the shop has three ground rods, the house has three just for the electrical pane,
the ham radio antennas have three, and the phone line has two. The biggest drop in
activity came from a neighbor down the street drilling an artesian well. Now there is two
of us with artesian wells. And now he gets hit as well. :D

This year, we have only lost one item; the broadband modem.

Jim B
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Steggy
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by Steggy »

warmstrong1955 wrote:FYI, a UPS with surge protection won't necessarily save you either.
Not the ones sold to consumers, most of which are junk (especially ones made by APC). My office is protected by an Eaton ferroresonant UPS, a big sucker that weighs about 200 pounds. We've never had any surge-induced damaged, even when a lightning strike was close by.
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by SteveHGraham »

The last time the fridge gave out, I asked the repair guy if there was a brand that actually lasted. He said, "They're all junk."

I specifically asked about Sub-Zero, and he said they were awful.

Maybe the answer is to stick with commercial stuff and put up with the noise and the lack of ice dispensers, water dispensers, LED screens that give stock market quotes...
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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Steggy
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by Steggy »

SteveHGraham wrote:The last time the fridge gave out, I asked the repair guy if there was a brand that actually lasted. He said, "They're all junk."
Welcome to "Made in <anywhere but the USA>".
Maybe the answer is to stick with commercial stuff and put up with the noise and the lack of ice dispensers, water dispensers, LED screens that give stock market quotes...
I can live without the ice maker and water dispenser, but the stock quotes feature is non-negotiable.
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by rrnut-2 »

We bought the new washer and then found out about Speed Queen which is built the old fashion way, with mechanical timers and
no microprocessors. But, they are a little noisier.

Jim B
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Steggy
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by Steggy »

rrnut-2 wrote:We bought the new washer and then found out about Speed Queen which is built the old fashion way, with mechanical timers and no microprocessors. But, they are a little noisier.
Better that they make some noise than to fail and make no noise. :)
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Music isn’t at all difficult.  All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!  :D
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by warmstrong1955 »

We had a 2000 watt APC, with an additional 48V battery pack, at a job I worked a few years ago. At least 200 lbs all total.....a lot of batteries. Bought it to back up all our computers & electronic goodies that go with it.
Our problem there was low voltage....generally caused by two many welders running at once, or some serious air-arcing going on. Low voltage can be murder on computers & electronic gear.

Lucky we didn't have a lightning problem. The surge protection was only rated for 450 joules. Pretty puny for a big beast like it was.

Bill
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warmstrong1955
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Re: Low quailty from days of old

Post by warmstrong1955 »

rrnut-2 wrote:We bought the new washer and then found out about Speed Queen which is built the old fashion way, with mechanical timers and
no microprocessors. But, they are a little noisier.
Jim B
I bought a replacement toaster oven that was old school for that very reason, after our fancy digital one got fried. You can hear the timer clickin' away after you twist the dial....and has that good ol' mechanical "DING" when it's done. Nothing solid state in it. Just solid.

Still kickin'....and it's gettin' past 25 years old.

Bill
Today's solutions are tomorrow's problems.
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