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Things that break

Janger

Janger

(John)
Vendor
Premium Member
if we actually made things to last how much more would they cost? Or, if we did, would the economy tank? Or maybe we would have more money to do worthwhile things with it instead?

JA henkels cheese knife. Several years old. Plastic handle has cracked fallen apart. Knife is still very sharp - it’s been cutting abrasive cheese all this time.

Beside is 3 strings of Noma Christmas lights. 4-5y years old. LED lights are supposed to last forever right?

I think part of the problem is the wealthy people who own all the stores and companies. They want to maximize return and maximize the markup. So there is not actually much money to make the things we need. Zoning means stores are hard to open except in zones again where the land is owned by the wealthy. Open a store online. Well yes and I’m doing that - and shipping is a killer. Why buy anything independent when you can get it from Amazon with “freeish” prime membership shipping.

Now I want my rrsp to go up so I own shares in some of those companies. So it’s me that is the problem?

Anyway back to my pile of items going to the landfill. Here it is.
 

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140mower said:
Did you check the fuses in the lights?
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Actually our new lights came with spare 'bulbs'. Also these LED string have has 3 wires going to each socket. If one LED fails then what happens? Half the strings didn't work. I'll try pulling one out of the broken strings and see. Like all of us on here I guess we just fix what we can and try to make good purchases. I sound like a grumpy old man. bread was 5cents and we walked up hill both ways in blowing snow to go school and were grateful. :p my spouse just told me I'm grumpy.
 
It’s what consumers want.

Our mindset is replace instead of repair, and new=better.

The company I worked for sold industrIal valves. Our valves were US-made, and we kept very exacting records on installation date, length of service, and any repairs. We could prove our stuff would last longer. Best example was a steam valve that lasted 23 years, instead of the six months the previous valve lasted. But we would still have trouble convincing buyers that spending the extra up front made sense, and customers would complain our stuff was too expensive. So replacing a $200 valve every six months is better than a $4000 valve every 23 years? Even showing the math that having the welding crew install one valve is cheaper than installing 46 valves would fall on deaf ears.
 
Well I can’t blame captains of industry for this strand failing. Looks like the squirrels or some critter ate through the wires in 6 places and chewed the end receptacle. Ha!
 

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Janger said:
JA henkels cheese knife. Several years old. Plastic handle has cracked fallen apart. Knife is still very sharp - it’s been cutting abrasive cheese all this time.
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Ha I've got a Henkels knife that the handle has long since cracked also, I figured it was because of the dishwasher cycles it's gone thru. It hasn't fallen apart yet and I will make a new handle for it when it does.


Janger said:
LED lights are supposed to last forever right?
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Yes I've had many instances of LED lights fail, from Christmas lights, to bulbs to outdoor fixtures. And I think every one of them had lies about them on the packaging about how long they would last.

I know I've mentioned it before and I'm soon to sound redundant BUT I've got a 72 year old refrigerator that has never missed a beat. Ya "they" say it is costing me in electricity (I think that claim is exaggerated) but a modern day fridge seems to last 6-8 years now. I'm keeping my old clunker till it dies! And if I die first maybe they can use it for my coffin.(I hope they will stock it with some beer first).
 
DPittman said:
I know I've mentioned it before and I'm soon to sound redundant BUT I've got a 72 year old refrigerator that has never missed a beat. Ya "they" say it is costing me in electricity (I think that claim is exaggerated) but a modern day fridge seems to last 6-8 years now. I'm keeping my old clunker till it dies! And if I die first maybe they can use it for my coffin.(I hope they will stock it with some beer first).
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Hey Don - do you have one of those electric power meters that you plug in and then plug the fridge or whatever into it. It then measures your power use? I had mine on the window AC this year to add up what it actually cost me. I would be interested to hear what that 72 year never quit fridge actually burns in electricity. My old almond fridge said 1700kwh/yr ( $340 at $0.2/kwh) vs my newer frigidaire claiming ~400kwh/yr ($80/year). I measured the fridge using the meter, it really was 400 kwh a year.
 
Old plastic and new plastic differences.

I still have plastic that is 50+ years old, other than a little colour change and crazing still solid and functional. New plastic on the other hand 5-8yrs and done.
 
DPittman said:
but a modern day fridge seems to last 6-8 years now.
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Can't disagree. We moved into a townhome, it was only 2 years old. Year 4 of ownership...the LG fridge electronics took a nose dive...
Rewind in time, the same fridge my parents had when I was born, finally died in my mid 30's...
They will not build or design anything that lasts these days...
Just look at the acres of classic cars from the 40's n 50's biding their time down in the USA junkyards...when the half life of GM front fender is an expected 250 years...what's that tell you about todays offerings
 
Wife bought a Henkel at the Sally Ann, buck fifty. A decade and a bit later a chunk of the blade broke off cutting a piece of cheese (yeh, I kid you not). Could only make out the logo if you held the knife at just the right angle, in just the right light, it had been cleaned so many times. Sent it in and they sent us a new one.

John
 
We have a very old set of Henckles. We probably bought it 40 years ago. We were told never to let the knives soak - instead clean and dry right away. When we got the dishwasher 25 years ago, we were told never to put things with handles in it. That old set is still good as new.

It seems perfectly reasonable to me that things with handles should not be soaked or put in a dishwasher.
 
Susquatch said:
It seems perfectly reasonable to me that things with handles should not be soaked or put in a dishwasher.
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100% agree...in my youth I was a Ceramics/Flatware Sanitation Tech, and was informed on DAY ONE, under no circumstances will any of the chef's blades be soaked or run through the machine. Hand wash and dry only.
I own two reasonable quality chef's knives...and I treat them the same way in our home kitchen.
Hopefully one day, I can hand them down to my daughter...
 
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