On Wed, 04 Jul 2012 14:17:40 -0500, dpb wrote:




But we were talking ranges, not other appliances. Yes, get rid of 30
year old refrigerators.

Assuming they last long enough w/o expensive repair that's a resounding
"maybe"...what I've observed in reviews and in conversation w/ folks who
have upgraded is they're having a tremendous amount of service calls and
trouble w/ even something that should be essentially drop-dead simple of
a refrigerator--aunt has been through three and an untold number of
processor boards on one that continually freezes the vegetable bins and
melts the ice cream at the same time. Service guy says when asked
what's better to replace it with says he works on everything pretty much
even-handed--none don't have problems of one kind or another and there's
not a lot to choose between according to him.


A few years ago, we replaced our "second" refrigerator, a 12 cu. ft
from the 1960's or so. The new model was an 18 cu. ft. frost free.
The electric bill dropped $10 a month. This is your basic
refrigerator though, the fanciest thing being frost free. The new
models that sport all sorts of electronics scare me a bit. I don't
need to have an internet connection on the fridge.

Our newish washer and dryer have dial controls as opposed to a lot of
digital stuff.

Our range is convection, but no electronics. Energy Star is only
practical in the summer. In the winter, I'm heating the house anyway
so if it comes from the oven rather than the heating boiler, so what?
It is not wasted. In summer, if you are using the oven and running
Ac, it may make a difference. We use the grill anyway most of the
time.