There ought to be a law (*rant*)

[Reveeen]

I'm not one for laws, and such, having found most things are kinda self regulating........ but:

I am getting tired of buying stuff that can't be economically fixed/repaired, and hearing about "being green", almost all day long.

By "economically fixed/repaired" I mean: you buy something (be it a TV set, a washing machine, or car/truck), use it for say 10 years, something breaks/wears out (as things tend to do), and the cost of repair exceeds 75% of a new one. At this time I will point out that OEM repair parts come with a 30 day warranty, a complete new unit comes with a 5 year unconditional warranty (this is the repair "breaker").

The trigger:
My old woman has overloaded the washing machine here for years, 14 years to be exact. I have replaced motor couplings every 2 years since the warranty expired. Now, as you can imagine, things do not change much in the washing machine business, so the machine of today, while it may be trimmed a bit differently, is the same as the machine of yesterday. Same motor, transmission, controls, and probably the wiring harness, just the tin box has changed, oh, and the graphics on the control panel.
So, the motor finally gives up the ghost, a motor, combined with a fresh coupling, and a 30 day warranty, that costs $235 + tax. (trade price)
A "fresh one" (complete new washer with a 5 year warranty) is $379 + tax (trade price).

I can't do it, I can't "be green", the old one has to go to the land fill.

[Weldangrind]

I know that this is off-topic, but being green can also earn you some green. I harvest brass, copper, aluminum and SS for cash rather than throw it in the landfill.

A washing machine doesn't get you much, but you can often take them to your local auto dismantler for scrap value. If you get to know the guy, he might let you fill the drum with other scrap steel before he puts it on the scale.

Before I recycle such things, I harvest whatever parts I can and tag them for the future. I recently replaced my very old dishwasher with a unit that is one year old, and the same evolution occurs as with washing machines. I was able to harvest the motor, the float switch and the solenoid valve for eventual use on the new machine.

BTW, we have two teenagers and our washing machine is regularly overloaded, yet I've never replaced a drive coupling. Is it a cush drive? What is the failure mode?

[Reveeen]

BTW, we have two teenagers and our washing machine is regularly overloaded, yet I've never replaced a drive coupling. Is it a cush drive? What is the failure mode?

It is "the coupler" that all direct drive machines use. It is like a Lovejoy, but made out of plastic, 3 plastic driver tabs (about 1/2 the size of a USB plug) indexing into a rubber doughnut, 3 take up plastic tabs on the driven side.

It is a part designed to fail (maybe to save the motor?). Come to think of it, I was sold a "new and improved" one the last time, so instead of it failing it simply ate the motor.

Washing machines seem to come in two types: direct drive (with this coupler) and belt drive. If there is a trap door on the back of your machine it is a belt drive, no back door (one piece back) it has a coupler.

My old woman jams the thing with throw rugs, so when wet, the thing tries to deal with a 200lb+ load. She simply doesn't "get it" and comes from a family that could be hired to successfully break anvils regularly.

[FastDoc]

Boy I can join in on this rant but I have to be careful. Let's just say that for some people, influencial ones at that, how they 'feel' is more important than what they do.

An example would be the POS cash for clunkers deal. What an environmental and financial debacle.

[lego1970]

14 years of overloading....... :lol: For some reason that statement tickles me :D

[mizke]

ya strip that old machine down, get the copper and brass and ss.. then cut the sides into sheets and use them for stuff you need to fabricate or something..

[katoranger]

I strip stuff everyday. (No I don't twirl around a pole :roll: ) Have a jetta awaiting final death. No electrical wiring left on it. That all go into one bucket and any motors into another. Aluminum bits and stainless etc into other buckets. The shell goes to one salvage yard and all the other metals to another that pays better for smaller quantities. I just save it up until I have a trunk full.

There comes a time when it no longer a good idea to keep repairing. Sounds like its time to retire it and go for a new one. That old one should be good for about $30 or more depending on what scrap is going for up there.

[Weldangrind]

She simply doesn't "get it" and comes from a family that could be hired to successfully break anvils regularly.

That sounds like a quote from S**t My Dad Says; "He could break a bowling ball in a sandbox with no tools."

I work in healthcare, and my favourite line is that if you stuck two nurses alone in a room with two ball bearings, you'd soon find one ball bearing missing and the other one broken.

[Reveeen]

I ONCE made the mistake of buying concentrated laundry detergent, another concept that totally escapes some, especially around here.

It IS genetic, the whole fam damly has it, and seems to center in the western part of Nova Scotia. I grew up with a kid from that part of the world, and he, and his family, were the same.

Small knobs, and levers, pose "problems" for these folks too.