Our fridge blew. I’m pretty handy, just too many damned issues. Fuck it. What can a new one cost?
I work at Lowe’s, best we got is $900 for the very bottom of the line. Got on FB Marketplace and we have the nicest fridge I’ve ever owned, $200.
Washer crapped out a week later. Same exact story and prices.
And don’t start me on appliances people hunk out because they can’t fix a minor problem. Found a dryer on the road needing a $14 belt. Sold it for $125. Upgraded 2 ceiling fans to super nice ones by bypassing the crappy voltage limiter (it’s a legal thing in the US.) I can do this all day.
tl;dr: Shit’s expensive. Stop burning the planet and your wallet.
I was doing some electrical work and when I flipped the breakers back on it started chirping from its speaker like it was trying and failing to start.
This will be the second time I’ve had to fix this fridge now. The first time, it’s teensy little mains power connector shorted itself out with a loud bang.
I started fixingy own stuff out of necessity, but now I just do it out of spite. I paid good damn money for these things and I’m going to run them till they are withered skeletons, then I’ll strip from for parts and recycle the rest.
I got laid off and within a few days our dishwasher died. Had to wait for months until I got a new job to pull the trigger on a new dishwasher, all the while our stove was threatening to die on us. All this after our furnace died on us within a year of buying the house just a few years earlier, and then our AC just died last summer (not the end of the world, but insult to injury).
If something is already broken there is no excuse to not give it at least a try. There are a lot of instructions on the internet for fixing common problems.
You might think that’s no excuse but I’m not fucking with anything running on mains electricity. Thanks, but I like living and not setting the house on fire.
If I fuck up some plumbing in an appliance things are going to get wet, near whatever electrics are used to drive it.
There is a non zero chance someone might get electrocuted if I’m not inclined to be handy and attempt to fix things just with available service manuals and YouTube videos.
Here I’m only really speaking to incentive, when you start disassembly often the first thing you’re met with are warnings. Likewise speaking to friends and family members etc
People should try, yes.
But, you stake the cost of parts against your ability, repairs take time, being cautious takes time.
When someone hasnt already started repairing your shit these are the things that disincline people from starting.
Depends on how long it will take and what value your time has. Replacing the door gasket in an LG washer is somewhat ridiculous. To get lint out of the heating element on their dryers even more so.
Free time, which many people have at least some of, is worth whatever you make of it. Most people have little or no money thus using their free time on this can be extremely rewarding and cost effective.
I had my washer 75% disassembled after it shat the bed last year. Was 90% sure what part failed and spewed oil everywhere, which would have necessitated 90% disassembly. The part was half as much as a new washer, and I had absolutely no way to effectively clean the outer bucket. The icing on the cake was disassembly showing how utterly inadequate water flow was under the agitator, with mold rampant despite regular tub cleans and leaving the lid open all when not in use. I felt bad buying a new washer instead of repairing, but the old one (which was still pretty new) was a piece of shit.
Unfortunately some things are just built to break within a relatively short time. Manufacturers like to claim that planned obsolescence doesn’t exist but it absolutely does.
Our fridge blew. I’m pretty handy, just too many damned issues. Fuck it. What can a new one cost?
I work at Lowe’s, best we got is $900 for the very bottom of the line. Got on FB Marketplace and we have the nicest fridge I’ve ever owned, $200.
Washer crapped out a week later. Same exact story and prices.
And don’t start me on appliances people hunk out because they can’t fix a minor problem. Found a dryer on the road needing a $14 belt. Sold it for $125. Upgraded 2 ceiling fans to super nice ones by bypassing the crappy voltage limiter (it’s a legal thing in the US.) I can do this all day.
tl;dr: Shit’s expensive. Stop burning the planet and your wallet.
My fridge just broke down tonight.
I was doing some electrical work and when I flipped the breakers back on it started chirping from its speaker like it was trying and failing to start.
This will be the second time I’ve had to fix this fridge now. The first time, it’s teensy little mains power connector shorted itself out with a loud bang.
I started fixingy own stuff out of necessity, but now I just do it out of spite. I paid good damn money for these things and I’m going to run them till they are withered skeletons, then I’ll strip from for parts and recycle the rest.
I got laid off and within a few days our dishwasher died. Had to wait for months until I got a new job to pull the trigger on a new dishwasher, all the while our stove was threatening to die on us. All this after our furnace died on us within a year of buying the house just a few years earlier, and then our AC just died last summer (not the end of the world, but insult to injury).
Not everyone is lucky enough to be handy, unfortunately…
If something is already broken there is no excuse to not give it at least a try. There are a lot of instructions on the internet for fixing common problems.
You might think that’s no excuse but I’m not fucking with anything running on mains electricity. Thanks, but I like living and not setting the house on fire.
I think there’s a risk element too
If I fuck up some plumbing in an appliance things are going to get wet, near whatever electrics are used to drive it.
There is a non zero chance someone might get electrocuted if I’m not inclined to be handy and attempt to fix things just with available service manuals and YouTube videos.
Here I’m only really speaking to incentive, when you start disassembly often the first thing you’re met with are warnings. Likewise speaking to friends and family members etc
People should try, yes. But, you stake the cost of parts against your ability, repairs take time, being cautious takes time.
When someone hasnt already started repairing your shit these are the things that disincline people from starting.
Depends on how long it will take and what value your time has. Replacing the door gasket in an LG washer is somewhat ridiculous. To get lint out of the heating element on their dryers even more so.
Free time, which many people have at least some of, is worth whatever you make of it. Most people have little or no money thus using their free time on this can be extremely rewarding and cost effective.
I had my washer 75% disassembled after it shat the bed last year. Was 90% sure what part failed and spewed oil everywhere, which would have necessitated 90% disassembly. The part was half as much as a new washer, and I had absolutely no way to effectively clean the outer bucket. The icing on the cake was disassembly showing how utterly inadequate water flow was under the agitator, with mold rampant despite regular tub cleans and leaving the lid open all when not in use. I felt bad buying a new washer instead of repairing, but the old one (which was still pretty new) was a piece of shit.
Unfortunately some things are just built to break within a relatively short time. Manufacturers like to claim that planned obsolescence doesn’t exist but it absolutely does.