Christian Ethics and Recycling & other Ecological Efforts

[Josh]

That freezer probably still works. Modern designs have a 3 year lifespan before some component needs replaced, which is a bit absurd.

[Sliceitup]

That freezer probably still works. Modern designs have a 3 year lifespan before some component needs replaced, which is a bit absurd.

What are people doing with their refrigerators that they’re needing to replace a part within 3 years? We just replaced our 19 year old fridge last summer. Granted it needed repairs along the way, but I don’t think it needed anything in the first 10 years.

[Josh]

That freezer probably still works. Modern designs have a 3 year lifespan before some component needs replaced, which is a bit absurd.

What are people doing with their refrigerators that they’re needing to replace a part within 3 years? We just replaced our 19 year old fridge last summer. Granted it needed repairs along the way, but I don’t think it needed anything in the first 10 years.

They aren't doing anything. The manufacturers have designs with a much shorter design life, and in particular, electronics have a much shorter life, which can be as poor as 3 years. The main reason for this change is RoHS design standards (which mandate using no lead or other harmful materials, which is a good thing), but it means the circuit boards fail a lot sooner.

Manufacturers don't really care because it means they get to sell more stuff.

[ohio jones]

That freezer probably still works. Modern designs have a 3 year lifespan before some component needs replaced, which is a bit absurd.

What are people doing with their refrigerators that they’re needing to replace a part within 3 years? We just replaced our 19 year old fridge last summer. Granted it needed repairs along the way, but I don’t think it needed anything in the first 10 years.

19 years ago, they lasted 19 years. Let's see how long this one lasts.

[Neto]

That freezer probably still works. Modern designs have a 3 year lifespan before some component needs replaced, which is a bit absurd.

What are people doing with their refrigerators that they’re needing to replace a part within 3 years? We just replaced our 19 year old fridge last summer. Granted it needed repairs along the way, but I don’t think it needed anything in the first 10 years.

19 years ago, they lasted 19 years. Let's see how long this one lasts.

Our freezer is now at 20 years. Hadn't thought about that until now. The only things I've had to fix on it is that the drain tended to freeze up, and the door cavity filled with ice, and we could never leave it off long enough for it to all thaw out. The first fix was to push a small gauge copper wire down the drain tube, and hook the top end over the coils inside. Believe it or not, that transmits enough heat into the tube that it prevents the freezing issue. On the 2nd issue, it defrosted completely while we were doing remodeling in the utility room. Water drained out of the door for days. We had it empty long enough that I took the door off, then removed the inside insert. (Or maybe I just took out the inside insert - it's been far enough back that I don't remember for sure.) It had a bit of foam here and there, and some batt insulation. I screwed some lath onto the insert panel (it has some shelves built into the door, not just a flat panel.) to keep its shape, then filled all of the cavities with low-expand foam. It took quite a few cans of that stuff, but it has really helped it. No water or ice accumulates inside the door anymore, and I think it has to be more efficient now, too. We bought a used refrigerator some years ago, the type with the freezer in a drawer compartment at the bottom. The ball bearings fell out of the tracks for the slide out basket-trays, caused by some broken plastic pieces. My son & I made replacement parts out of metal, and while it is a bit more difficult to run it out & back in, but it's been some years now, I think, and it may last for some time yet. (Replacement parts required purchasing the entire track assembly, more than we wanted to spend on it.)

[MaxPC]

We had one Frigidaire for 23 years and had bought it used from an older couple who owned it for 26. It was still running well when we sold the house with it. We did not take the washer and dryer with us either. They were 14 years old. Those appliances were built to last in that era.

[Ken]

That freezer probably still works. Modern designs have a 3 year lifespan before some component needs replaced, which is a bit absurd.

What are people doing with their refrigerators that they’re needing to replace a part within 3 years? We just replaced our 19 year old fridge last summer. Granted it needed repairs along the way, but I don’t think it needed anything in the first 10 years.

The company that delivers the new one hauls the old one away. What they do with them who knows. Probably the landfill. We recently replaced our fridge but it was the original Samsung that came with the house so a 2003 model and we got exactly 19 years out of it too. Or rather we and the previous owners did. I wonder if 19 is the magic number.

I rely on appliance parts pros https://www.appliancepartspros.com/ and try to do all my own repairs myself. There are endless YouTube videos and instructions out there and very good video tutorials on their web site. But I've only done that with the washing machine, dishwasher, and microwave/oven combo. Never tried to repair a fridge.

[MaxPC]

That freezer probably still works. Modern designs have a 3 year lifespan before some component needs replaced, which is a bit absurd.

What are people doing with their refrigerators that they’re needing to replace a part within 3 years? We just replaced our 19 year old fridge last summer. Granted it needed repairs along the way, but I don’t think it needed anything in the first 10 years.

They aren't doing anything. The manufacturers have designs with a much shorter design life, and in particular, electronics have a much shorter life, which can be as poor as 3 years. The main reason for this change is RoHS design standards (which mandate using no lead or other harmful materials, which is a good thing), but it means the circuit boards fail a lot sooner.

Manufacturers don't really care because it means they get to sell more stuff.

When speaking with our grown children last night, I mentioned this topic of the “Life of Appliances”. They mentioned that electrical power surges fry the mother boards of the modern digital refrigerators, microwaves, washers and dryers thus shortening the life of those appliances. The surges may be minute but multiple instances take their toll. After having to replace those appliances they now connect them to good surge protectors that can be found for less than $30. It certainly is cheaper than replacing the appliance every few years.

[Neto]

When speaking with our grown children last night, I mentioned this topic of the “Life of Appliances”. They mentioned that electrical power surges fry the mother boards of the modern digital refrigerators, microwaves, washers and dryers thus shortening the life of those appliances. The surges may be minute but multiple instances take their toll. After having to replace those appliances they now connect them to good surge protectors that can be found for less than $30. It certainly is cheaper than replacing the appliance every few years.

I haven't looked into this, but I would make sure that the surge protector is rated for the amperage load of the appliance. (In Brazil, where we often had power failures and worse, brownouts, I installed a whole-house surge protector (at the breaker box). That was fine until it did its job, sacrificing itself for the sake of everything else. If we were there when this sort of long-term brownout happened, I would quickly disconnect the fridge and freezer, but we were away to the village for months at a time, so in those cases, the appliances just took it the best they could. Those two were the only things that would be on while we were away.)