What DON'T You Care For?

[danemodsandy]

I Second, Third and Fourth....

....The previously stated sentiments about gas cooking appliances.

You can throw in gas dryers, as well.

 

[cadman]

Hear, hear!

Also, I have to mention GE. Don't get me wrong, my daily driver fridge is a '65 combination, but their cost-cutting measures occasionally border on the absurd. I know they invented "value engineering" but really, Masonite backs on washers? And especially electronics..ever dig into a Portacolor? Not that I'm complaining, merely entertained by their occasional CI ingenuity. -Cory

 

[gansky1]

The second series and later electronic WP/KM washers did sense when the tub was empty (motor load) and advanced directly into spin.

Standing pilot gas dryers are stupid. Other than for immediate flame-up on starting and selling more gas, I can't see the point. I had a 1969 GE gas dryer in the garage for a while with a standing pilot and every time I touched the machine and felt the slight warmth of the cabinet (and knew the inside of the machine was completely rusted & corroded) it pissed me off. I endured that frustration for only about six weeks and then pulled control panel and sent the rest to be recycled into three new Kias.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Greg, you are too funny!

The gas company always sold WP models with standing pilots so they would use more gas, but if you went to a regular store, you would find the same model with electric ignition. The gas expense for the pilot was probably not that great way back when. I think CU used to say the pilot used enough gas in a month to dry three or four loads, but what those fumes do to the inside of the dryer is terrible; not only the rust, but they also turn the insulation on the wiring to goo.

 

[mixfinder]

Excuse Me

Or, hoisted by your own petard. I am not crazy about gas in any form.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I love my gas--range, dryer, water heater & furnace! --And automobile as well!

Dept. store brands: It's the over-buying, over-owning of SEARS, SEARS, SEARS, that I dislike!

Mis-matched controls: The Frigidaire & Hotpoint knobs on their washers & dryers (washers, mostly!), of which the more they do, the less space that they are given, and to the point of so you can't read 'em! (Someone at MAD magazine's satires sure got the message to these brand names in the control engineering dept. eh?)

Frigidaire ranges lacking the Radiant-Tube burners--they were big & ugly, but when I saw the narrow ones replacing them, then they were truly missed; what made Frigidaire unlike any other range!

WHITE-Westinghouse, when it's not referring to the color of the appliance but simply the "ownership" by 'you-know-who'! (Same goes for Non-GM Frigidaire's that followed under the same umbrella! "Frigidaire appliances aren't made by General Motors!" said my not-very knowledgeable business class [read: Instructor] teacher in college...)

(Most likely more to come!)

-- Dave

 

[blackstone]

Belt-Driven Whirlpools

It's not that I really hate the design of these workhorses; the problem is crawling behind them, laying on a damp, dirty, moldy-smelling, partially-intact cement cellar floor, among all the spider webs and who knows what else, in order to work underneath the washers. Chances are the self-tapping screw is rusted in place from being so near to the damp floor, and needs to be chiseled off. If the pump, or any drain pipes above the pump, are clogged, get ready for a good soaking when the hose is disconnected. This only adds to the damp misery. Always fun to slide the belt past those advancing arms, too.

That being said, they were relatively easy to repair, and what's a repair job without getting dirty, anyway?

 

[strongenough78]

I've never cared for 9 minute wash times on laundromat washers. I'd like a full 14 minutes please! AND!!! I've never cared for KM/WP Direct Drives not having a spray rinse in the first spin and instead having it on the last spin. That's one thing I loved about Speed Queen, Maytag and GE washers, the long spray rinse during the first spin. I miss those.

 

[whirlpolf]

Miele

I really couldn't care less. Of course, they feature good quality (or have, until recently). Of course many like them.
But I find them simply boring.

Any decade you might look at: They just work. They just look simple. But that's about it.

No mind-bending mechanisms (such as the fantastic Maytag Neptune toploader = YES, we DO want to make toploading handling available to front-loading washing)

No Christmas-tree lighting (such as all older AEGs were)

No new rethinking design (such as the Ariston washers with their U-shaped front door and the controls IN them).

Mieles are just as square and boring to me as a run-off-the-mill glasses frame on the nose of a high-browed architect.

Workable, longlifed but boring. They just work. Nothing to convince me. Looking like neutral square boxes to me. Zero play factor. Zero appeal just by their looks. I could likewise kiss a tractor or write a love letter to a concrete warehouse. Just nothing to appeal.

 

[DirectDriveDave]

No way will I ever consider an electric stove. I have no issues with yellowing around anything with gas. Plus, I love the fact that I can still use it when power goes out.

 

[whirlaway]

Gas!!!!

When we had an ice storm in the 80s,everyone lost power.I was so glad I had my 40s Magic Chef stove I got heat and could cook at least.I have a gas fired boiler for my heat in the basement,and when it quits I will never get one with an electric pilot igniter again,I want the standard pilot light,it keeps the furnace dry year around.Mine is so rusty and my basement is not that damp.The furnace last longer with a pilot light and it uses very little gas.

 

[cleanteamofny]

Another dedicated bad engineering, car's with mute and volume buttons on the steering wheel without an on/off switch included!

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Steering Wheel Mounted Controls:

I'll never understand why they're really necessary! Is it that hard or unsafe to take your hands off the wheel to change a radio station, adjust the volume or make the car colder or hotter, when you have the controls well-placed on the dashboard & just as virtually easy to use?

(I'm picturing that 1990-something Oldsmobile Aurora w/ the steering wheel turned so I could see a button on the steering wheel w/ a "fan" icon staring right at me,that I saw!)

I don't have yellowing issues on my cookware or walls w/ my gas range either... And as for the heat, I don't think my range throws off that much; it's a hot day no matter what!

Thanks for pointing out the advantage of a standing pilot light on a furnace... Mine has one, and hopefully it's not wasting gas...

-- Dave

 

[super32]

I wasn't sure if cars were allowed but.....

I can stand a Toyota product of any kind!

 

[polkanut]

I would like a non-electronic ignition gas stove for the exact same reasons that Whirlaway (Bobby) mentioned in his post above.  I want it mostly for the oven though.  I can always light the burners on the current kitchen stove with a match, but not the oven.  We have a '98 Magic Chef gas range as our daily driver.

 

[danemodsandy]

Appnut:

"Most of each of your dislikes are pretty much illogical."

I agree completely, but I don't think there's anything wrong with that. We like what we like, and sometimes sweet reason has not a damn thing to do with it. So long as we're happy with what we like, what's the beef?

I mean, if you want to get all logical, Dick Cheney should be considered just as much of a hottie as Christopher Meloni. They're both guys with the same basic functions, right?

 

[retromania]

Oh dear....

...mercy me!!!!! LOLLL

 

[tomturbomatic]

Well, Cheney's evil soul killed his first heart then his body ran on an artificial heart and now he is on a transplanted heart so, at least in that way, he is unlike Meloni.[this post was last edited: 1/14/2013-09:49]

 

[akronman]

likes and dislikes

Like------GAS appliances of any kind. you can perfectly modulate your cooking, clothes are done quicker and far cheaper than electric, I'll take anything gas before electric.

 

Dislike---606 dryers, just too darn small, even 2 pairs of long pants come out wrinkled. That won't happen in a Whirlpool dryer.

 

Like--FilterFlo's for great washing and rinsing, and longevity. And their companion dryer are right-sized and accurate.

 

Dislike--FilterFlo's--the console with those toggles just looks cheap, and you have to bend down to read the regular cycle on the knob, and move your hand out of the light to set the damn cycle knob. But it's all worth it for the performance. And the dryer filter is too small and catches the dryer sheets.

 

Like---Norge, they turnover everything and great extraction. Who cares about noise?

 

Dislike---Maytag, just boring. My 608 will outlive me after it bores me to death.

 

Dislike on all washers-----Permanent Press cycle---wastes tons of water, doesn't stop wrinkles. As far as I can tell, wrinkling is cured by drying in a Whirlpool/Kenmore dryer, has damn little to do with washing. Other big drum dryers are good too.

 

This is a fun thread, thanks.

 

[peterh770]

What I like is the big, bold look of the classic Hotpoint washers and dryers, the simple layout and the flexibility... What I don't like is the prettiest agitator ever, the Silhouette, that just let the load ride up and down it's ramps without getting serious about cleaning... Such a disappointment!!!