You don’t need to go that far for a fridge. Just buy the most generic, ugly-ass freezer on the top unit without an icemaker or water dispensor. Almost every brand still makes one.
The primary failure modes of the current fridges are primarily related to the extreme lengths we go to in order to install ice makers in the door and freezers on the bottom. You put the freezer in the top with a temp sensor and just gate how much air is allowed to flow down into the fridge with a physical baffle, all you need to go right is a single pressure loop, a shitty compressor, a thermometer, a capacitor you can replace, maybe a PTC thermistor or a relay.
Clothes washers and dryers are an excellent use for your advice, though. You need to get something around the quality of a Speed Queen to get that done. Almost no features, sturdy buttons, and few electronics. But we want front-opening washers that require perfect seals and fancy door locks, with 200 options for every possible situation. Those door locks and gaskets wear down, and those horizontal drums don’t stay balanced well.
Dishwashers are a whole different problem. Commercial versions are either specialized for a certain type of dish or are just a human with a dish rag and a sponge.
I have the most generic POS dishwasher. It fails every two years because the wash pump gives out. It has three timer cycles, a heated dry, a wash pump, a drain pump, a turbidity sensor, and a float sensor. Every two years, I pop onto Amazon and buy another $30 circulator pump, I can install it now in about 10 minutes and leave the wrench required to do it under the sink.
What’s the cause? it’s a 30/10 pump, supposed to run for 30 minutes and cool for 10. The washer runs it for 45/5 twice. I cannot get a direct replacement that can handle those constraints, so it eventually stops working or runs poorly enough to get the dishes clean, and I replace it.
I’ve considered replacing the brain with an arduino or a pi. Would be kinda cool to really lean into the turbitity sensor and just wash until clean or text me when it’s done.
Ohh yeah, the old ones were awesome. They used to install macerators in the pump wells to grind up any debris that might bypass the filter and had motors that could go all day long.
I had a 90’s whirlpool at my old place that probably got scrapped directly after I sold it. It stopped cleaning all that well once, I took it apart and cleaned all the bits, put it back together and it kicked ass like the day I moved in, I used it almost every day for 15 years.
I mostly use the simple, freezer on top, refrigerators. In the past (maybe 15 years ago), they did a good enough job. Lately I have noticed that the cold air distribution to the refrigerator has been terrible. In some units, food places in the back of the fridge will freeze while the front remains cool rather than cold. Other units show the same issue but top versus bottom. I feel like a tiny fan to help distribute the air would fix it.
I do want a Subzero but, Jesus…they are so expensive.
I have one! a HUGE one! it sips power all year long. It also has a compressor small enough that you can run it off a really tiny UPS and go for AGES without grid.
mine works on a 1500va, haven’t tested runtime but it can def run on it for quite some time the i accidentally popped the breaker from another outlet and didn’t know it for two days, it was still running.
You don’t need to go that far for a fridge. Just buy the most generic, ugly-ass freezer on the top unit without an icemaker or water dispensor. Almost every brand still makes one.
The primary failure modes of the current fridges are primarily related to the extreme lengths we go to in order to install ice makers in the door and freezers on the bottom. You put the freezer in the top with a temp sensor and just gate how much air is allowed to flow down into the fridge with a physical baffle, all you need to go right is a single pressure loop, a shitty compressor, a thermometer, a capacitor you can replace, maybe a PTC thermistor or a relay.
Clothes washers and dryers are an excellent use for your advice, though. You need to get something around the quality of a Speed Queen to get that done. Almost no features, sturdy buttons, and few electronics. But we want front-opening washers that require perfect seals and fancy door locks, with 200 options for every possible situation. Those door locks and gaskets wear down, and those horizontal drums don’t stay balanced well.
Dishwashers are a whole different problem. Commercial versions are either specialized for a certain type of dish or are just a human with a dish rag and a sponge.
I have the most generic POS dishwasher. It fails every two years because the wash pump gives out. It has three timer cycles, a heated dry, a wash pump, a drain pump, a turbidity sensor, and a float sensor. Every two years, I pop onto Amazon and buy another $30 circulator pump, I can install it now in about 10 minutes and leave the wrench required to do it under the sink.
What’s the cause? it’s a 30/10 pump, supposed to run for 30 minutes and cool for 10. The washer runs it for 45/5 twice. I cannot get a direct replacement that can handle those constraints, so it eventually stops working or runs poorly enough to get the dishes clean, and I replace it.
I’ve considered replacing the brain with an arduino or a pi. Would be kinda cool to really lean into the turbitity sensor and just wash until clean or text me when it’s done.
I’ve had a generic dishwasher for 20 years and Ir hasn’t needed more than a filter cleaning the whole time. Crazy.
Ohh yeah, the old ones were awesome. They used to install macerators in the pump wells to grind up any debris that might bypass the filter and had motors that could go all day long.
I had a 90’s whirlpool at my old place that probably got scrapped directly after I sold it. It stopped cleaning all that well once, I took it apart and cleaned all the bits, put it back together and it kicked ass like the day I moved in, I used it almost every day for 15 years.
I mostly use the simple, freezer on top, refrigerators. In the past (maybe 15 years ago), they did a good enough job. Lately I have noticed that the cold air distribution to the refrigerator has been terrible. In some units, food places in the back of the fridge will freeze while the front remains cool rather than cold. Other units show the same issue but top versus bottom. I feel like a tiny fan to help distribute the air would fix it.
I do want a Subzero but, Jesus…they are so expensive.
I bet you could fish a small 12v pc van in there, wire running near the light or the door switch.
Freezer Chest is the most energy efficient design. That’s what you want in the garage. Even without power it will keep everything cold for days.
https://youtu.be/CGAhWgkKlHI
Shout out for TC, I watch everything he posts.
I have one! a HUGE one! it sips power all year long. It also has a compressor small enough that you can run it off a really tiny UPS and go for AGES without grid.
A UPS really? Dam going to have to check my wattage now. That is a brilliant idea.
We have hurricanes often enough that power loss is a regular issue.
mine works on a 1500va, haven’t tested runtime but it can def run on it for quite some time the i accidentally popped the breaker from another outlet and didn’t know it for two days, it was still running.