On Fri, 13 May 2011 08:39:23 -0700, RobertL wrote:

On May 13, 2:20Â*pm, Donwill wrote:
On 13/05/2011 13:37, TheScullster wrote: OK somewhat OT this but...

My parents'' first washing machine was a front loading Bendix purchased
in approx 1953, an extremely reliable machine as long as you kept the
gear box topped up with oil.. :-) Â* Â* Â*It lasted for years until the
casing rusted away

My parents bought the same; they bought it second hand 1957. It was
still in the kitchen (bolted to the floor) in 2003 when I inherited the
house.

Impressive. Our FF's 34 years old this year, and the washing machine and
dryer are mid-80's, so they have a few years on them too. I'm in the US
and it's only recently that basic, well-tested designs have started to
become drowned out by modern bells-and-whistles models; there's still a
healthy spares supply available for all the old kit.

Yes, modern stuff is more efficient - but not if it only runs for a
fraction of the time before becoming uneconomical to repair and needing
complete replacement. Heck, the stuff I have is so simple that even if
spares don't exist, I can probably make many of the parts for them.

cheers

Jules