dryer longevity

Is there any appliance that lasts longer than a dryer? I swear, the dryer my parents had was almost pre-Columbian. Now I open up mine to replace the belt (it's starting to squeal) and what do I find scrawled on the front of the drum in pencil?

"New drum, 2-20-70."

I think the only thing I've ever replaced on it was an ignitor.

Reply to
Smitty Two
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I replaced the heating element in my old whirlpool about 10 years ago.

Still running like a champ.

Jon

Reply to
Jon Danniken

Not much to go wrong in them, really. Our fridge is 1973, and our stove a similar vintage. Not much to go wrong in them, either.

Shame everyone tries to put as many features into modern stuff as possible

- usually compromising longevity in the process. That's progress for you, I guess... :-)

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

hey go with a new style anything

Reply to
bob haller

The older washers and dryers lasted a long time. My Whirlpool washer was here, when I moved in, in 1994. I had to free up the electric motor. Once before I used it, and once some years later. The timer got sticky, but some trichlor helped loosen the old dried oil, and some silicone I think I used to lube it. I use indoor clothes line for drying. The ones back then were highly dependable.

My parents bought a laundry set about 1965 when they moved to the first house, and brought it to the new house in 1975. used it for many years after that.

I don't trust the new electronic gadget washers and dryers. If you do the cleaning and lubrication (and tighten the belt), yours should last many more years.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Dialog I heard on the radio:

"Why can't they make cars as dependable as a refrigerator (dryer, drill, etc.)?

"Well, one reason is that your refrigerator doesn't go down the freeway at fifty miles per hour!"

"Neither does my car. That's why I was asking the question."

Reply to
HeyBub

Ha, I like that.

I think cars are certainly more reliable - but the issue nowadays is that when they break it's usually expensive and time-consuming to fix, and DIY repairs aren't really possible without lots of service information. Compare that to the old days where someone typically didn't need much knowledge to fix a lot of the faults - and could often do so by the side of the road if needed.

Reliability is all well and good - until something *does* break, which it always will eventually. Personally I'd rather run something simpler and just maintain it as I go, but that doesn't suit today's "throwaway" society...

cheers

Jules

Reply to
Jules

1961 Whirlpool washer. 1967 Whirlpool dryer. Still in use by oldest son. We used them until 1996. Minor repairs I made myself. Belts., pumps, heating element. New Maytags replaced them in 1996. So far no problems. WW
Reply to
WW

The problem with the electronic controls that I see all the time is voltage spikes. If you keep voltage spikes out of your electronic equipment with proper surge suppression, it will last a lot longer. I will install surge suppressors on HVAC equipment out in rural areas and the circuit boards will last a lot longer. Standard old style stuff is not immune either. My friends daughter had a tree fall on the power line to her home and the resulting surge blew the windings on all the small motors like the fans and defrost timer in her fridge and electric clock.

TDD

Reply to
The Daring Dufas

My clothes Whirlpool washer, gas clothes dryer, stove, and JennAire dishwasher, Panasonic vacuum, York central AC are well over 18 years old and going strong. The washer needed minor repair--replacement cogs inside the agitator. Garbage disposal and over-the-range microwave lasted about 14 years. Water tank died at 10 years.

Reply to
Phisherman

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