ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Not Worth Repairing?

I know the feeling. So many modern appliances are so cheap and nasty to begin with, that working on them just doesn't have the same rewarding feeling as restoring a 40-year-old device to full operation.

There's just no way that a fine wooden cabinet can ever compare with a cheap, brittle plastic case, that is the hallmark of today's appliances.

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 12-02-2003).]

Trumpy, that washing machine repairer sounds like he used to be a car mechanic. More specifically, a mechanic that works on car air conditioning :-)

Anyway, what I meant by "replace everything" is to buy a new unit and throw away the old one.

I was extremely impressed with the servicablity of a new Miele washing machine I saw recently.

It is exceptionally well built and you can open the front panel on hinges to access the interior from the front and all of the parts are ultra high quality.

The digital control panel even has an IR port for uploading new software and fault diagnosis!

Very impressive peice of equipment in compairson to some of the cheap and nasty machines around.

djk,
Yes the use of lap-tops for appliance faults diagnosis is something that we have really got into over here.
Washing machines and refrigerators over here both have either an IR output or an RS-232 connection, to find out what's going on inside the machine.
You mentioned the Miele brand, thier Vacuum cleaners are among the easiest to service, that I have ever encountered and they give really good suction too!.

There is a 30 year old Nilfisk still working perfectly here and it has been used pretty much every day since it was bought



750W

It was replaced with



1800W

Designs have definitely moved on!


[This message has been edited by djk (edited 12-03-2003).]

I bet that new one won't last as long the old one!

I am alone in finding modern designs for appliances less than aesthetically appealing?

I reckon the old one looked a lot better when it was brand new and shiney. It's been banged into just about everything it could be banged into over the years.

It has a weird connector btw looks like this / / on the side of the motor. The newer versions just have a 2 pin IEC connector, looks like a kettle lead without the earth pin.

I've seen that weird connector too on old vaccum cleaners. What is it for?

in this case it was the connector for attaching the power cord

I think in some old vacuums it may have been an outlet socket for supplying power to an add-on motorised brush.