Would you replace an eleven year old fridge??

[danemodsandy]

Two Cents More:

We will know a politician is serious about energy savings and the environment the day we hear one propose durability requirements for white goods.

 

[DigAPony]

I don't want it to crap out unexpectedly and then scramb

In my area there are tons of used fridges on Craigslist, from lowly BOL top freeze models on up, at a fraction of their retail prices.

If possible, I'd suggest finding a clean used top freeze to place in the garage or basement as a backup, If and when the main fridge fails.

 

[travis]

It really sounds like you just want a new refrigerator and are looking for validation.  Go ahead and get one if it makes you happy.

 

[mark_wpduet]

KNOCK ON WOOD!!

For myself, I would Keep it until it dies.

I've never lived anywhere where the fridge went out....Currently, my WP side by side is EXACTLY 9 years old the 15th of this Sept....

It had an ice maker replaced but that's it.

I can say this........Definitely clean the coils.......Blow them with a blower, vacuum them, keep them clean.....This is something that most people don't and believe it or not, in my manual it says this isn't necessary.. How could that NOT be necessary????...As much as I clean I'm always amazed and how quickly there is a build up on the coils. I use my rainbow to blow them out. I think this helps with the life of the unit....at least some.

 

[DADoES]

 
The grandmother's Whirly refrigerator is on the cusp of 29 years.  Had one repair (not counting the ice maker), I replaced the compressor start relay.

I have a 16 years old KA top-freezer in my garage, no repairs thus far.

My GE Arctica SxS (came with the house) is 9 years, the motherboard and freezer evaporator fan were replaced (by me), and the ice dispenser solenoid and water valve.

 

[mrb627]

Left for Dead

In the past 20 years, I have had 5 major appliances flat out leave me for dead, requiring a service call or immediate replacement. It occurred to me earlier that 4 of them wore the Kenmore Elite badge. No wonder they are declining in quality. By the same token, none of them was a refrigerator.

Just an odd epiphany.

Malcolm

 

[repair-man]

I don't think that manufacturers are intentionally designing products to fail in less than ten years. But I can say with certainty that it takes a lot of commitment and money to keep a modern day fridge for ten years. When it was decided that $200 + control boards should replace tried and true mechanical thermostats and defrost timers in the name of efficiency reliability was gone. The short life span and repair costs negate any environmental or economical benefit to modern appliances.

 

[cfz2882]

DD fridge reliability

my 13 y.o. Kenmore fridge hasn't had a singe hiccup in that time span it has a (Japanese brand,but marked "made in usa")matsushita compressor.
-~1972 GE bol manual defrost fridge has never had a problem.
-~1946 GE chest freezer has been 100%reliable since I got it in 1990
-1968 Italian made "topp"mini fridge has been mostly trouble free but I did have to repair the start relay to cure a "rough"starting problem it developed.Aspera compressor in this one.
-1999 Brazilian whirlpool mini fridge has been trouble free-Embraco compressor.

 

[supersuds]

Matsushita compressors were made in Vonore, Tennessee from 1989 to 2002 -- then the factory closed and they started importing them.

http://www.advocateanddemocrat.com/story/4588

 

[cfz2882]

compressor

thanks for that link-back in the early 2000s I found several quite new,apparently replaced under warranty,fridges at the dump-all had embrace compressors...one of the fridges was a nice SXS SS maytag fridge-I salvaged the two electronic commutated fan motors from it-they were virtually brand new.

 

[arbilab]

One might be more cautious affixing the term "absurd" to observations posted here. Some are controversial, like say wash temp. One which is much less so is that manuf'd product longevity is substantially lower across the board than it was 30 years ago.

Do I have a spreadsheet that "proves" exactly how much? Do I really need one? These very pages are evidence enough. Contributors here don't make up stories about early failures. The number we don't have is how many of how many sold fail "absurdly" early. We do know that the reports come up "absurdly" often. Do you have a spreadsheet that "proves" they DON'T?

Here's more: Starting with, my last real job was engineering integrity auditor/failure analysis engineer for Dell. We took integrity dead serious. That's why they laid off the lot of us in 2001 upon determination they were no longer in the integrity business.

Recently worked and lived in buildings served by thru-wall airconditioners. This building is 15 years old and is on its fourth generation of replacements for units that failed beyond practical repair. What fails? The rotary compressor fails to start. There are working swash window units documented right here well over twice that age. Google 'rotary compressor' and I think you'll see where and why they are designed to fail. Hint, carbon vanes in friction contact with eccentric rotor.

I had a long and confidential relationship with my HVAC guy at the last house I owned. He wasn't a bitter, disillusioned old fossil like I am, he was a second-generation HVAC family guy in his mid 30s. That Rheem was 30yo and he told me unequivocally that I'll never get that kind of service again. My neighbor two doors down upgraded to a HE Carrier which failed at the start of the second season. I took my voltmeter down to help him diagnose it. Dead compressor. I think/hope it was still in warranty.

So I can't "prove" the numbers to everyone's satisfaction. They're only estimates, as reliability is never a fixed number but a bell curve. They're valid to my satisfaction, or I wouldn't have asserted them.

 

[mtn1584]

I would like to get a new fridge,

I just wanted a consensus, I have know people who say, oh everything is ten years old, let me get new appliances, and I have known people who say, I am keeping it till it dies.....I hate it when a service tech comes out, after having taken a day off from work, and he can't properly diagnose the problem!!! Oh, I am gonna replace the mother board, oh I am gonna replace the motor, oh I am replacing this or that!!! Does anyone, with the expception of the old timers out there, know how to work on these major appliances today? I don't think so!!! My SQ washer was making a noise, turns out it was two metal washers between the transmission and the drive wheen!!! They need lubrication, I in turn, had a repairman who replaced the belt and drive pulley, and then when the noise returned, he wanted to replace my brakes for 300 dollars!! I called Alliance, spoke to a tech, and $8.00 later, WD-40 Silicone spray fixed the problem. If I have to do this evry six months, it is still better than an unnecesssary 300 brake replacement!!! I am ranting I know, so I will get a new fridge soon. BTW, my sister in law had the dreaded Kenmore Oasis washer that kept making a noise, seven or eight service calls in less than five years, the machine still made the noise, until it peed water all over the floor, and they replaced it with a SQ!
Mike

 

[passatdoc]

nearly had to replace a compressor or buy new last week

My first fridge was an 18 cu ft GE, freezer on top, bought 1988. After seven years, it stopped working. The compressor had actually been RECALLED and I had ignored the letters, thinking they were extended warranty offers. GE gave me a $350 credit to be used either on the repair or purchase of a new GE. This was based on their calculation that a $750 fridge should have lasted 15 years, but since I got only 7.5 years out of it, I was entitled to a credit of half the purchase price.

I bought a similar GE model (18 cu ft, but with the new refrigerant) and my electric bills dropped $10-15/month overnight. This was now 1995, and thus consistent with what others have written in that changes rolled out in 1993 resulted in dramatic savings.

In 2004, I opted to buy a SxS for a number of reasons: wanted counter depth because the fridge is the first item on the right when you enter the kitchen and the old one stuck out 9 inches; needed more space; because of some orthopedic issues it was easier for me to place frequently used items on top and less used items on the bottom---of both sides. Capacity went from 18 to 23 (Frigidaire counter depth model) and power consumption remained the same.

During this week's heat wave, I began to think the compressor was giving out, because on Saturday the freezer could only keep the temp at 14C/6F. However, before giving up, I inspected around the unit and discovered that the housekeeper had stored roughly 20 paper shopping bags on the left side of the fridge, between the cabinet and the fridge. It felt hot there, so I figured perhaps the fridge can't dissipate heat with the bags blocking air circulation. I removed the bags and within 12 hours the temps returned to normal and icemaker began working correctly. I am having the repair service come out this week anyway to look at it and be sure the compressor is ok, but I think I solved the issue myself. Normally I roll the fridge out once a year and clean all accessible areas with a canister vacuum, but I recently broke my leg and can't perform the task right now. So I think a service call is best just to be sure. Also have a dryer belt that needs replacement and I can't do that on crutches either.

Anyway, during the several hours when I wasn't sure the fridge would be ok, I thought that I'd pay to replace the compressor if needed, assuming that would be $500-600. I like my current fridge, it was made in USA, and its current replacement in the Frigidaire line does not garner terrific reviews, including reviews from buyers who owned the previous model and who wrote "quality and design have deteriorated from the previous model". Also, knowing that there have not been major changes in energy efficiency since 2004 (when my fridge was built) meant that there were few if any savings to be gained with a new model.

 

[DigAPony]

Perhaps it would be more tolerable if retail prices were in line with the shortened life expectancy of modern appliances as with computers and LCD TVs.

However, even after taking inflation into account prices are still up there across the board for appliances with roughly half the service life.