On Sun, 14 Jan 2007 20:48:52 GMT, "Rick Brandt"
wrote:

Michael A. Terrell wrote:
Yes, my mother used her first clothes dryer for over 30 years. We
replaced the belt three times. A new dryer might last five years,
total.

On what do you base this statement? To claim that (on average) a new dryer will
only last five years is absurd. What, you once knew "a guy" who replaced a five
year old dryer? The dryer has to be one of the simplest and most reliable
things in the home. There just isn't that much to go wrong.

Well, the local thrift shopa and Habitat for Humanity won't accept
major appliances over 3 years old. The reason? Too many are not
functional and not economically repairable and it costs them too much
to dispose of them.
The washer lasted 18 years before the hard water ruined it,
and it had a timer replaced when it was 12 years Old. You think that
the new designs are an improvement?

How can anyone make a claim either way based on personal experience? He would
have to have personal experience on *multiple* old appliances that lasted a long
time (a mathematical impossibilty) and *multiple* newer ones that did not.
Anything else boils down to "I once knew a guy... or Joe down at the appliance
store once told me...".

It is an absolute certainty that all of appliances that lasted a long time were
manufactured a long time ago. That does not equate to "All of the appliances
made a long time ago lasted a long time". Nobody knows how long the appliance
they bought last month is going to last so how can a valid comparison be made?

Well, I've seen the results of the "cheaepening of america" The
suspension springs on several washers I've recently worked on had worn
through.On our own, After replacing the springs, it was only a short
time till the metal "eye" the spring goes into wore through. The
"ballance spring" wore right through the metal of the chassis. I ended
up drilling new holes for the springs to try to get another couple
years out of my wife's 3 year old drier. The one it replaced was 27
years old and still had all the original springs. We replaced it when
the pump started to leak because the transmission was also leaking oil
and I figured it wasn't worth spending more money on - would likely
have been farther ahead rebuilding the old one, but the timer and
several other critical parts were obsolete.
The 36 year old dryer is still running. I replace drum rollers about
every 18 months or so now and it's on it's third belt. The original
rollers lasted about 20 years. The element let go last year and I
patched it up, so it's likely good for another 2 sets of rollers????






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