Crazy to try to fix a 27 YO wash machine?

[W2R]

Still happy with the 4 year old oversized LG toploader He washer, and matching oversized dryer, that I bought in 2015 for my Dream Home. Cleanest clothes I have ever had; much better than my prior GE agitator washer that I left at the old house, and no repairs or other attention needed.

Well, three years have passed and my LG washer and matching dryer are 7 years old now and still working perfectly. Neither have ever needed the slightest attention or repair.

Most of this time Frank (who lives next door) has been using my washer and dryer too, since his very old washer gave up the ghost about five years ago. So, my washer & dryer have been doing double duty. I don't care if he does his laundry over here, and this arrangement is more compatible with his limited retirement budget so why not. He takes my trash out for me too, even though I never asked him to do that. Living next door has its advantages.

 

[ERD50]

.... So then we started reading reviews and found that modern appliances might last five years. Lots and lots of unhappy customers. Sigh. I'm trying to just throw money at problems, I really am, but buying new problems just irks me.

...

Washing machine was a bigger problem ... I found the plastic surround for the handle totally broken off. Epoxy and fingers crossed, we've done 6 loads so far..

Total cost for all repairs about $145 and some of my time, but probably less time than we spent researching and shopping for new replacements.

Call me crazy, or maybe just lazy.

I also think that sometimes the effort to investigate and buy/install new is more trouble then the fix.

Glad you got things sorted out. For the plastic, another approach is to weld the plastic - use a soldering iron. Use a different tip than you would use for electronic soldering, the plastic messes up the coating (I just use a bare copper wire loop). You can use a nylon tie wrap as the welding stick. I was going to put "weld" in 'air quotes', but it is actually true welding. Welding is joining materials by melting similar materials into the joint.

You can get pretty creative with this, I think you can find some good youtube videos on the subject.

Well, three years have passed and my LG washer and matching dryer are 7 years old now and still working perfectly. Neither have ever needed the slightest attention or repair.

Good, hope it keeps up for at least another 27 years!

I wonder if a lot of the "new appliances die in X years" isn't a bit of revisionist history (future?) and exaggeration? I do think there is a lot of truth to it, but it probably gets reinforced out of proportion when an early failure does occur, and gets blasted all over social media.

So even if true in general, maybe that doesn't mean that a lot of people won't get a good 20 year life out of their modern appliances. It would take a fair amount of data to really determine this, not just averages or medians and anecdotal. So maybe (hopefully) your experience isn't that unique?

-ERD50

 

[skyking1]

It's not. New machines have multiple boards and sensors, and the water saving features are complex. The old machines had an analog computer in the form of that big dial. It rarely fails. The boards go with a rather mundane regularity. Having more than one board means you can have the pleasure of replacing one, and then another in x months.
Our newer whirlpool is acting up after 3 years. It hangs up in the filling/sensing process and does nothing.
Our old washer we got new with this house in 95. I still regret replacing it. The old dryer is still going strong.

 

[W2R]

Good, hope it keeps up for at least another 27 years!

I wonder if a lot of the "new appliances die in X years" isn't a bit of revisionist history (future?) and exaggeration? I do think there is a lot of truth to it, but it probably gets reinforced out of proportion when an early failure does occur, and gets blasted all over social media.

So even if true in general, maybe that doesn't mean that a lot of people won't get a good 20 year life out of their modern appliances. It would take a fair amount of data to really determine this, not just averages or medians and anecdotal. So maybe (hopefully) your experience isn't that unique?

-ERD50

Thank you, I hope it lasts, too! I have no idea, but so far, so good. I try to follow all the directions and advice in the manual, some of which is not entirely intuitive.

I took the total cost of my washer and dryer, and divided it by the number of weeks I have owned them..... $6/week. I don't know how much laundromats cost these days, but even if they cost less than $6 for a couple of loads, I think that to me it's worth $6/week to not have to lug my laundry to one every week. So, in a sense, my washer and dryer have already paid for themselves. The rest is just the cherry on top.

 

[Koolau]

I wonder if a lot of the "new appliances die in X years" isn't a bit of revisionist history (future?) and exaggeration? I do think there is a lot of truth to it, but it probably gets reinforced out of proportion when an early failure does occur, and gets blasted all over social media.

So even if true in general, maybe that doesn't mean that a lot of people won't get a good 20 year life out of their modern appliances. It would take a fair amount of data to really determine this, not just averages or medians and anecdotal. So maybe (hopefully) your experience isn't that unique?

-ERD50

No expert on this subject. I recall 35 years ago a Maytag dealer showing us the difference between a Maytag washer (of that year) vs others that he handled. At first I thought the Maytag was a rip-off cause there was not much inside. Just a few metal gears. The other washers were complicated, had dozens of plastic parts with wires running everywhere. The guy told us that the reason Maytags lasted was exactly BECAUSE they were simple and had metal parts. (I don't think that's true any more.)

But my point is that stuff is NOT built like it used to be. I don't know that you can put an "X" years on it, but if a 40 year old Maytag (ours died last year) can last "X" years, then new ones last "X minus Y" years. You may not know what X or Y is, but you know that the new ones don't last as long as the old ones. Oh, and they cost more but YMMV.

 

[freedomatlast]

No expert on this subject. I recall 35 years ago a Maytag dealer showing us the difference between a Maytag washer (of that year) vs others that he handled. At first I thought the Maytag was a rip-off cause there was not much inside. Just a few metal gears. The other washers were complicated, had dozens of plastic parts with wires running everywhere. The guy told us that the reason Maytags lasted was exactly BECAUSE they were simple and had metal parts. (I don't think that's true any more.)

But my point is that stuff is NOT built like it used to be. I don't know that you can put an "X" years on it, but if a 40 year old Maytag (ours died last year) can last "X" years, then new ones last "X minus Y" years. You may not know what X or Y is, but you know that the new ones don't last as long as the old ones. Oh, and they cost more but YMMV.

Years ago, when Maytag was not part of Whirlpool, many of the electrical connectors they would buy from a company I worked for, had specified gold plated contacts for better electrical continuity instead of tin plated like everyone else used. After Whirlpool bought Maytag, the cost cutting accounting team got involved and that became a thing of the past very quickly.

 

[Surewhitey]

I've been working on washing machines for over 35 years. IMO, that washer of your's was the best one ever made. Ditto the Whirlpool/Sears dryer.

With today's Youtube, the homeowner could do 90% of the repairs.

Exactly my experience. We got a freebie dryer that looked 20 years old and eventually the element & fuse went out. $30 & an hour max after watching a video... Not to mention the kudos for doing it. Washing machines are more intimidating imo... Probably won't do this...