You mean, when it’s in perfectly good condition and there is no reason it shouldn’t be able to work, but you didn’t pay your [insert brand here] subscription, so it gets shut down remotely
Our old fridge still works but the icemaker and water dispenser broke and then started to spray outside and leak inside if connected.
But we kept it and put it in the garage and keep beverages in it. Man does it feel opulent to have a garage drink fridge.
Kind of like when I became able to afford paper towels. Pure wealth and extravagance.
Garage drink fridge is the most underrated luxury item out there. Total life changer.
Stuck on step one, where do I get a garage
Obviously look for signs for garage sales 😜
“I will take this space for $5”
“uhh the garage itself isn’t for s-”
shows gun “I said I will take it for $5”
Wait… This revealed an old memory… Wasn’t this actually a sketch on the original animaniacs?
🥁✨
Start a tech company. They spawn garages as part of their “backstory” stage.
3-year-old fridge went out two weeks ago. Guy finally showed up to put the compressor in today. Left and it started rattling. Help.
If you’re being serious try shimming it, determine where the noise is and chuck a block between. My brand new Whirlpool rattles because the floor is uneven so I have a small piece of wood between the floor and front bottom piece which takes care of it.
I am lol. It sound like a loose belt in a car motor just slapping rapidly. I may look into your idea (and thank you), but since we bought it it has been through two homes and many positions on the kitchen floor and the sound never occurred before this technician got in there and replaced the compressor. I’m not confident it’s the position. Sounds like something loose deep inside.
He didn’t remove the air iirc
I had to have my jazz board replaced twice on a very expensive Amana fridge. I don’t know the answer.
Or when you get tired of the ads on the new one.
We had a $2k fridge that broke within a few years of owning it. We got it fairly discounted due to a dent in the side.
Our $150 fridge from Sears is still in the garage, and still runs perfectly after owning it for 13 years. Looks pretty much like the one in the pic.
When my wife and I bought our house almost 30 years ago, it didn’t have a fridge or a washer and dryer. It had a dishwasher and a range. We bought the fridge and washer and dryer when we moved in.
We’ve replaced the range twice and the dishwasher, washer, and dryer three times each.
The fridge is coming apart at the seams, but it still keeps food cold. Most of the door shelves are gone. Both crispers have broken and been put back together with epoxy. The deli drawer is cracked such that it falls out of its track and has to be carefully put back. We want to replace it, but every time we get ready to, another large appliance bites the dust and its replacement gets postponed again.
I’m afraid to even talk to my wife about replacing it at this point because it feels like if I mention it, the washer and dryer will go.
All my drawers broke too, as well as the jazz board, twice. Pieces of shit.
Hear me out: cover it in foil tape, like the kind used for HVAC. instant “modern” fridge
They actually do sell peel and stick “stainless steel” covers which should work well on a fridge since it has no parts that get hot in the front and sides.
Modern fridges use the sides to increase heat transfer surface and improve overall efficiency.
It’s supposed to be a meme, but it’s solid advice for any appliance. They used to have lifetime guarantees. Now they upload AI garbage and lock features behind paywalls. Then, they’ll randomly break down one week after the one year warranty.
I got a new Whirlpool fridge, not a smart one, when I moved into my house less than a year ago. The water filter has already demanded it be changed.
Thankfully these filters aren’t RFID tagged like some, so I could just reset the timer.
Funny and all, but interesting, the life span of appliences has remained fairly steady: https://studyfinds.org/appliances-made-to-last/
The study (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/EWYZVBTQDFJXHTV9PPUQ?target=10.1111%2Fjiec.13608) found that most appliances last a similar number of years, and that the number of cycles each appliance lasts has increased (ie we use them more often). notable exception was a stove.
Basically, survivorship bias.
Microsoft just basically tried to force most everyone using a Windows 10 system to purchase a new system, ostensibly over a flaw/shortcoming in the TPM module.
Samsung just started pushing advertisements into their fridge’s Android displays.
Apple and the mobile ISPs have been pushing a ‘replace every two years’ agenda for well over a decade.
I think the ‘short life span’ here has more to do with the ‘modern CPU fridge controller’ “failing” due to planned obsolescence, and not as such the mechanics of the refrigerant systems themselves.
I mean, sure? but pretty much everyone of your examples is about general computing, and while i HATE the samsung fridge thing… it doesnt mean it will die any earlier.
Yes, but these new smart fridges are just classic fridges with a general purpose computer attached. Do you think Samsung is going to offer a replacement/upgrade kit for the embedded tablet, or do you think they’ll use it as leverage to sell you a new fridge?
Still doesn’t change when the physical components are likely to die.
You are telling me I’m going to have to replace my car because it’s infotainment unit is out of date.
If the infotainment system doubles as the gearshift as a deliberate way to marry the two, yes! Try driving a Tesla (well don’t because of bad corporate ownership; but still, as example):
- The steering wheel isn’t connected to the wheels, it’s connected to the computer.
- The windshield wipers are controlled by the computer.
- Everything in the security system checks in by the computer.
- The car can be remotely disabled by the computer
If they can make a vroom vroom box dependent on a computer, why do you think a chill box is exempt?
- “I’m sorry, but the temperature control requires registering an account in the app”
- “Oh, the in-door icebox needs a subscription, but you’re welcome to use trays in the freezer if you prefer”
- “You missed your installment payment, please pay in 3 days or cooling functionality will be suspended”
- “The child door lock has been automatically engaged for your safety”
- “The fridge of the future requires an always on internet connection”
You think CEOs aren’t just itching to pull crap like this? What use is it if the motor technically operates, if the controls simply refuse to turn it on?
I’m sorry, but I’m talking about the real world, where things actually happen.
I already shared you the study on lifespan of appliances over the decades, and how the old ones we still working are usually due to survivorship bias, I’m not sure what more you want.
I’m just not interested in arguing made up hypotheticals.
Excuse me. I was a few days early … now can we discuss this?
https://apnews.com/article/ces-worst-show-ai-0ce7fbc5aff68e8ff6d7b8e6fb7b007d
“Everything is an order of magnitude more difficult,” she said of the fridge that also uses computer vision to track when food items are running low and can advertise replacements.
The South Korean tech giant also said “security and privacy are foundational” to the AI experiences in the fridge.
You can also use it as a backup for when your new fridge plays a two-minute ad before you can open it.
grabs shotgun “play one more fucking ad, I dare you”
On the subject of devices lasting a long time, does anybody remember when Ikea used to have displays in their stores where you could see a machine testing a piece of furniture over and over? Like, they had one that simulated someone sitting down in a chair over and over again, or one that simulated a drawer being opened over and over again.
Those machines were great. They should bring them back.
What decade we talkin’ cause I do not remember but would have never left the store if there was a punishment robot there
Here’s a video from 2012:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s_gyzshNPQ
And another one from 2012 testing cupboards:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW6RsT4w2hY
Ooh, here’s ine from 2018 where a machine hit 9,999,999 tests
“What is my purpose?”
“You open and close drawers.”
“Oh my God.”
Somewhat relevant: when I first searched for those videos I searched for “robot that tests Ikea chairs by sitting on them” or something. I got lots of results, but every one of them was about robots that were building furniture, not testing it. To actually get the results I wanted I needed to say “furniture testing machine”.
So, I guess the Internet doesn’t think those are actually robots, so they don’t worry about their purpose.
I 'member them from early 90s till late 2ks.
Wtf, that thing is probably on like wifi3
My husband bought this house from the 1940s that we currently live in about 11 years ago, and it came with a fridge from the 90s. Its not pretty, but it worked then and it still works now, so we just never bought a new fridge.
Never really made sense to us to drop hundreds (thousands?) of dollars on a new fridge just for the aesthetics, so we didn’t. Even tho we’ll get some comments from our moms about it every now and then…
Make sure you clean the dust off the coils (usually on the back) once in a while and make sure it’s not too close to the wall. It helps the compressor not run as much, increasing its life.
Appreciate the tips! I’ve never bothered to look at maintenance (other than changing water filter). Gonna check that out tomorrow.
Crap. Haven’t looked at mine in some time. Welp, fixing the door on it tonight, guess that’s my time to check. Thanks for the reminder!
