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Since this seems to be getting into general questions, here's one: What are some commonly-available vacs with two-speed motors? Makes and model numbers?, and anywhere I can find pictures of any of these? Reason is, I have a Kenmore 116-4695 that's got a two-speed motor, it works well and...

We had one when I was a kid. Excellent vacuum. High intensity suction, and the dust bag design is very smart: preserves full suction right up to the point where it's full. If you suck up something you need to recover, e.g. your car keys, you can find it easily at the top of the heap in the bag...

Forty years without need of repair. That's industrial spec, utility-grade equipment there. This is an example of "lost technology." As in, the Europeans of the medieval period must have freaked out wondering how the Romans and the Egyptians built their major engineering projects: because...

Gansky, the kinds of people who buy things such as Staber washers, tend to also be people who are more capable of DIY than average. This also correlates with off-grid living: a greater degree of self-reliance than average. Understood it's not for everyone. And of course the folks around here...

The amount of energy it takes to heat water is the same whether the water is heated at the water heater, in an inline heater, or by the heater in the washer. So in fact there is no energy savings advantage to purging the cold before starting the laundry. There may be advantages in terms of...

Re. Mexico and India: I have examples of telephones from both places, and they are the equal of anything coming out of the UK or Europe. Those from India tend to have a resemblance to the UK types, and those from Mexico tend to have a resemblance to the European types. BTW, here we are talking...

Staber has a solid market niche among people who use off-grid power, which may indicate that it's a very efficient machine in terms of electricity usage. They are also popular in rural areas where professional techs are difficult to find or expensive, due to the "anyone can fix this themselves"...

I'm planning to get a Panasonic breadmaker *real soon* as in, as soon as I can find one in a local store. There's something majorly cool about the idea of measuring a bunch of ingredients into the machine, pressing a button, and having a nice fresh loaf of bread pop out in four hours. Also...

80 years old, quite a find! Does anyone who have one of these happen to know how many watts it draws when in use? I have a hypothesis about vacuum motors...

Re. why so many of us here are gay: Western cultures have a weird attitude about machines. If a machine is used outside the house, it's for men. If a machine is used inside the house, it's for women. However, guys being guys, are just naturally interested in machines, and if left to their...

BART is a good system, competently run. Would be better if it ran 24/7; as it is, it shuts down shortly after midnight, which makes it impractical for late-night recreational travel. However nothing beats the NYC subway system, with a station within a few blocks of anywhere, and 24/7 service...

I've been wanting one of those Danby countertop units for a while now, all the reviews here & elsewhere are excellent. Stainless steel interior, with a window no less. And from the eco-industrial geek viewpoint, there's a short cycle that can sanitize while still being water and power efficient...

As the house is for sale eh? Hey d00d, it's not a bug, it's a feeeature! "Quaint haunted house for sale. Has ghosts that come out and bump around at night..." -- A few years ago I had *something* in the crawlspace. Whatever it was, sounded to be about the size of a cat and made its nest...

Definitely worth it if you live in a rural area where there is no conventional refuse collection and you have to haul your own stuff to the transfer station or landfill. Compost all your wet yucky stuff or put it down the disposall, separate your recyclables, and toss everything else in the...

Better than a gun: www.thathomesite.com Start a topic under Appliances complaining about the manufacturer. Be sure to write your stuff in a way that gives you maximum credibility and does not sound like "bitching." Then call them again and give them the URL to go look up what you're broadcasting...

Most of the Panasonic units now also have a headset jack that lets you use any inexpensive cellular-type headset; many of my clients find this especially useful. Clip the phone to your belt and put on the headset, walk & talk handsfree. If you have reception problems, put the transceiver unit...

Re. shallower fins on some types: Go here: http://www.automaticwasher.org/TD/THREADS/VINTAGE/6301x14.htm and look at the interior photo, to see an example of an agitator with a smaller diameter center post and shallower fins all'round. These worked just as well as the newer ones in this...

That's what happens when you get laypeople in the media trying to talk about engineering topics. First of all, for government subsidies, nothing beats the subsidies to automobiles in the form of highway construction and favorable tax treatment for developers who build sprawl. Second, the...

No, you don't have to cut back on cleanliness or on other necessities. Yes, you can conserve plenty, with little impact on your real life. My last electric & gas bill was about $60. This is not difficult. More later...

One other point: if you get a machine that's of a different type than the one you've been using for most of your life, assume it's going to take a month's worth of learning curve or more to figure out how to use it properly. Reading the manual isn't sufficient. You'll need to experiment with...