Why can't electronics on new washers & dryers be tougher?

[Bob Larter]

I have, several times.

[The Daring Dufas]

I tell customers all the time, this may not be economical to repair unless you are very attached to it. Sometimes a special piece of equipment is worth $85.00 per hour to them.

TDD

[Michael A. Terrell]

Dozens of them.

[Steve Barker]

I've never seen a microwave quit for any reason. AND if it did, i'd get out another $69 and buy a new one.

[trader4]

Exactly. I just tossed away a 23 year old Jenn Air microwave that had electronics and it was still working fine. I'm not convinced the premise that washers and dryers with electronics are inherently more prone to failure than other units is valid. I see most people in this group with actual problems that are in the area of switches, motors, water level sensors, solenoid water valves, etc.

Also, if you want to go a long way to protecting ALL your appliances and electronics, you should install a whole house surge protector.

[trader4]

Looking at the size of traces or components on an electronic circuit board is just about meaningless. Almost all of these today are digital, which work on signals of micro amps. The only areas carrying any current of substance, typically are driving a relay, solenoid, etc. or part of the power supply, if that happens to be on the board. That area of the board does need to have the proper size trace.

[GregS]

When I moved into my new old house, a supressor was installed on the electric meter. I did not want to pay for the service and didn't. I wonder if they took it off ?

I work on stuff all the time where spills will take out the ecectronics. They build it that way. Centrifuges and shaker tables in mind.

greg

[Ron]

Really! I`m amazed, I`ve repaired or replaced dozens if not hundreds. Some are an easy fix, usually a duff capacitor or switch membrane, One very common model of oven regularly suffered from a o/c resistor in the supply to the display, others can be sent away for refurbishment at a reasonable price in comparsison to a new board.

Ron

[GregS]

I once replaced a dead panel with a mechanical timer. They are really nice though for quick opperation and simplicity. All the orginals had them. My father loved it, allthough it was the same as our Heathkit Microwave.

greg

[Ron]

loved it, allthough

Well, mechanical timers fail also, usually the coil fails in 'Crouzet type' motor driven ones. or the microswitches go intermittent. They can often be ressurected.

Ron(UK)

[Michael A. Terrell]

And another piece of Chinese crap, a year later? I see a pile of dead microwaves every time I haul my recyclables to the landfill. I have a brand new Westinghouse microwave, still in the carton, but I prefer the 20 year old one, because it is higher power, and cooks better.

i repaired some microwaves, 20+ years ago, because they were worth repairing. They used stainless steel for the interior, so you didn't get peeling paint, and rust inside. The only bad thing was they had no turntable, ut you could buy an all plastic windup turntable for about $4.

[Michael A. Terrell]

Bullshit. low currents, yes, but you need to read some datasheets. I worked at a manufacturer of top of the line telemetry equipment. Traces that are very thin are prone to stress cracks. My specialty was the embedded controller computer board we built in house, and they had to be reliable. They controlled the equipment NASA uses to track their launches, and all their satellites.

I'm happy that I never had to work with you. A washer or dryer is a damp environment, with continuous vibration, while in use. Potting will keep most of the moisture away, but that can cause SMD components to be pulled off the board. A sealed container is better, but can add to the vibration problems, due to the extra weight.

[Mark Lloyd]

My microwave is 23 years old, and everything still works. Would a new one last that long?

[msg]

I have found turntables to be ineffective if there is no RF stirrer overhead; the turntable simply moves food in and out of a stationary beam instead of distributing the beam around the cavity.

It's too bad that newer ovens eschew the stirrer in favor of the cheap turntable alternative.

Michael

[Michael A. Terrell]

What do you expect from China? Quality, good design, or a low price? You can't have all three.

[Michael A. Terrell]

You would be lucky if it lasted 23 weeks.

[Bob Larter]

Safety interlock switches & catches go bad all the time. My own high-end National switch-mode uwave oven snapped a door catch while it was still under warranty, but it was just before xmas, so I repaired it myself. (Diassembled the door, glued the broken catch back together, cut up a steel plate the same shape as the catch as a strengthener, & glued it to the catch. It's been working perfectly ever since.) The uwave at my office stops cooking every now & then. It fires back up again if you push on the handle, so one of the uswitches is obviously a little out of position. I haven't bothered fixing that one.

[GregS]

Around 1990 my brother had the family microwave and threw it away for because it was larger and was in the way. It was the 20 year old Heathkit microwave I assembled around 1970. Cost about $400, or $2000 in todays money. I had to keep up with maintenance though, fixing a couple things.

Right now my most expensive unit is a Sears GE mocrowave/turbo oven which run about $450, and I hope it holds up. Above the stove ventilator model. I prefer using the powerfull Panasonic 1250 watt inverter to the 900 watt GE most of the time. I also prefer to use my little turbo oven rather than the GE because it also works much faster. Good things come in small packages some times.

greg

[Bob Larter]

My ex threw away a huge, old, ultra-reliable uwave for pretty much the same reason. I was /really/ pissed off that she hadn't at least asked me if I wanted it.

[William Sommerwerck]

About 15 years ago I bought a discontinued made-in-the-U-S-of-A Litton microwave. I put it aside when I moved to a condo (as the new kitchen had a GE "vent hood" microwave that's given perfect service. But the Litton was solidly made, and on those rare occsions when I've had to schlep a microwave to a party or dinner, it's worked fine.

In fairness, the Litton and other American microwaves were probably "overbuilt" -- the quality level was much higher than it had to be, even for a product intended to last 20 years or more. The quality of the non-American GE appears to be "about right".