Your oldest appliance, just for fun

[Gumby]

Guess I should include my 45 year old McIntosh C28 Pre-amp, MC2100 amp, and ML-1C speakers along with a Dual 1009 turntable.

That's a nice stereo system.

 

[ChainsBeGone]

I purchased a small, palm sized AA battery AM, FM, short wave radio, brand name "Intersound," at a German store in Dec. 1990. I was stationed in Germany with the 1st Armored Division and we were about a week away from deploying to Saudi Arabia to get ready to liberate Kuwait from the Iraqis. I wanted to get the radio so I could listen to shortwave radio broadcasts when we were out in the middle of nowhere.

I was listening to this radio in the middle of the night local time on Feb. 28, 1991, sitting on top of my M1A1 Abrams tank in Iraq, pulling security for my tank company. I was listening to BBC on the shortwave, and heard that President Bush had announced the cease fire. We had spent the previous day destroying the 2nd Brigade of the Medina Division of the Republican Guards at what has become known as the Battle of Medina Ridge - not well known publicly, but a significant battle for Desert Storm. We had orders to destroy the 1st Brigade of the Medina Division on the following morning, but didn't engage the Iraqi forces because of the cease-fire.

Incidentally, we could see the lights of Basra at night from our fighting positions. The forces that we allowed to escape after the cease-fire went on to Basra and massacred the Iraqis that had rebelled and arose against Saddam Hussein. We were ordered to hold in place and could do nothing to prevent the massacre, even though we were close enough to see the city lights at night.

Anyway, I digress. Funny how objects can rekindle memories that have been suppressed for many years. I still have the radio on my desk in my home office, and use it to listen to NPR when I'm working on family finances.

 

[Texas Proud]

My Mom's 1950's Sunbeam 10-speed big bowl mixer. Works fine. My 1950's AM radio works great for talk radio.

I was wondering if someone else had a 1950s mixer.... I think ours is Kitchenaide.... but, we do not use it much... I think the last time was 5 or so years ago... DW likes the hand mixer better...

I am sure it is still going strong... I bought a microwave in '76 from JC Penney... it was my main microwave until about 7 years ago when we moved into this house and it had a built in... kept the old one in the garage, but then DW made me give it to one of the ladies who clean the house... so I know this had over 30 years of heavy use... and still kept going...

 

[Boho]

I threw out a mixer from the 1950s or 1940s a year or two ago. I researched it on the internet first. I don't remember why I threw it out but I may have been worried about lead in the bowl's glaze. My newest dishes are from the 1970s and I'm probably throwing them out too.

 

[Badger]

I had a Sunbeam SS refrigerator from 1955 that I finally replaced in 1995 (about 40yrs). It was still working but I was getting tired of defrosting the freezer section. I also had one of the old SS VitaMixers that was a hand-me-down in 1987 and probably 5+ years old at that time so about 35 yrs old. Used it quite a lot until it gave up the ghost a couple of months before Christmas this past year. Lets see if the new one can last as long.

Cheers!

 

[HFWR]

My Hotpoint w/d set is 21yo. Also have a blender and a waffle iron bought in '93, post-divorce. Have owned a Carvin guitar amp since '94; it's probably 80s vintage.

 

[Keim]

I remember one of the columns in a high end stereo magazine, the guy was a fan of the special sound of a certain type of tube amplifier design, single triode, IIRC. But that design could only produce a very limited amount of power, and he referred to it as a "flea-watt" system. His friend extolled the virtues of his wind-up Victrola, and called it a "no-watt" system!

-ERD50

That would be a single ended triode. Mine is about 5 watts. They do indeed have a nice sound.

 

[Totoro]

And then to get back to repair-ability, modern electronics are cheap because of mass production techniques, and those same techniques just are not that repairable.

+1 on this.

Putting a 1000 things together in a standardized bulk way is cheaper than finding and replacing one of those things specifically when it's broken.

In an extreme case: replacing a broken transistor on a microchip is simply impossible. A new chip costs cents. So we make a new chip. The triumph and tragedy of mass production.

Also, labor costs. In poor countries street vendors still repair and refill your cigarette lighter.

 

[Jackanory]

My kitchen's electric range was installed in the 60's, made by Universal Chef. I'm down to 2 hobs, and the 'Penthouse' oven hasn't worked in the 18 years I've lived here -- a convenient place to store my spices! Gonna let the next lucky owner do the kitchen remodel that I contemplated when I moved in!

 

[twolfy]

46 yr old Sears Coldspot upright freezer.