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Appliance Obituaries?
Aug. 13th, 2013 07:53 pmHello, interwebs. Sorry I've been neglecting you lately, but I've been busy. I just got busier.
Our refrigerator, just over ten years old*, crapped out yesterday. We discovered its non-cooling death this afternoon. After getting all that could be salvaged into other places for cold storage, I started hunting the internets for possible causes.
Given that we smelled something funny last night and the food was dripping in the freezer just 24 hours later, I suspect we lost our coolant in a spectacular seal failure. It looks like the thing will be as expensive to fix as it would be to replace. Which, no surprise, has me angry.
Here's the thing: using the model number in Google searches, I found any number of sites that help DIY repairers with specific repair and diagnosis information. On one, the contributor noted that the repair technician said the compressor in this particular model (Sears fridge model 596.72913200, for anyone keeping score) was cheap and inferior. No fooling. Ten years should be when a fridge just enters Jr. High, not the morgue.
The main problem seems to be that there are too many of these sites with too much information buried within them. Were I so inclined, aggregating this info about model number 596.72913200 and correlating failures would be a Herculean task. And this is the age of the instant information. So my hope of gathering up thousands of similar failures, marching to Sears and demanding a product that doesn't suck has just gotten Too Difficult For Bothering, let alone filing a class action suit to force them to admit they installed sub-standard parts. I'm not saying I expect any money myself, but it would warm the cockles of my cold, cold heart, a circulatory organ at this point better at preserving the Costco meats now seeking refuge in any number of neighbors' spare cold space.
Perhaps, though, I am being premature. Is there a space on the web for reporting the simple death and cause of death of appliances, along with the age at time of death? Such a repository of simple information would be most helpful in determining which product lines sucked, and perhaps manufacturers would be forced to address the faulty and sub-standard parts they install, at least in future lines.
Imagine being able to call up your appliance seller and saying, "Say, jerks, you made about 3,000 of these, and so far a reported 14 percent have failed from crap compressors within ten years. Oh, and your technicians report that you still use these crap compressors. Fix this, or to the telly reporters we go, and you can watch your sales and stock price go the way of my stinking tilapia fillets and puddles of Ben & Jerry's."
Thoughts? Any additional info? TIA.
*Addendum, the next day: Actually, our fridge is less than a decade old, which makes this whole kerfuffle even less excusable. Things got interesting; updates to follow in a later post.
Our refrigerator, just over ten years old*, crapped out yesterday. We discovered its non-cooling death this afternoon. After getting all that could be salvaged into other places for cold storage, I started hunting the internets for possible causes.
Given that we smelled something funny last night and the food was dripping in the freezer just 24 hours later, I suspect we lost our coolant in a spectacular seal failure. It looks like the thing will be as expensive to fix as it would be to replace. Which, no surprise, has me angry.
Here's the thing: using the model number in Google searches, I found any number of sites that help DIY repairers with specific repair and diagnosis information. On one, the contributor noted that the repair technician said the compressor in this particular model (Sears fridge model 596.72913200, for anyone keeping score) was cheap and inferior. No fooling. Ten years should be when a fridge just enters Jr. High, not the morgue.
The main problem seems to be that there are too many of these sites with too much information buried within them. Were I so inclined, aggregating this info about model number 596.72913200 and correlating failures would be a Herculean task. And this is the age of the instant information. So my hope of gathering up thousands of similar failures, marching to Sears and demanding a product that doesn't suck has just gotten Too Difficult For Bothering, let alone filing a class action suit to force them to admit they installed sub-standard parts. I'm not saying I expect any money myself, but it would warm the cockles of my cold, cold heart, a circulatory organ at this point better at preserving the Costco meats now seeking refuge in any number of neighbors' spare cold space.
Perhaps, though, I am being premature. Is there a space on the web for reporting the simple death and cause of death of appliances, along with the age at time of death? Such a repository of simple information would be most helpful in determining which product lines sucked, and perhaps manufacturers would be forced to address the faulty and sub-standard parts they install, at least in future lines.
Imagine being able to call up your appliance seller and saying, "Say, jerks, you made about 3,000 of these, and so far a reported 14 percent have failed from crap compressors within ten years. Oh, and your technicians report that you still use these crap compressors. Fix this, or to the telly reporters we go, and you can watch your sales and stock price go the way of my stinking tilapia fillets and puddles of Ben & Jerry's."
Thoughts? Any additional info? TIA.
*Addendum, the next day: Actually, our fridge is less than a decade old, which makes this whole kerfuffle even less excusable. Things got interesting; updates to follow in a later post.