We have a Maytag washer and dryer that are both 25 years old (and still running). Ten years ago, we built a new house and had a new Maytag dishwasher and Sears refrigerator installed. We kept our 15-year-old Sears refrigerator in the garage.
The first time we turned on the dishwasher it leaked all over the new hardwood floor. It was missing an o-ring at the bottom of the pump.
At the time, the Maytag dryer had started making some noise, so I asked the repairman to take a look. The plastic squirrel cage blower hub was retained by a spring clip on a d-flat drive shaft. The inertial load at start-up caused the plastic hub to spin around the shaft and wear it out. The new cage has a solid 25-cent hose clamp on it now. The Maytag repairman was a former appliance dealer who got out of the business because of the excessive amount of warranty claims.
We had to call the Sears repairman when the water dispenser in the new refrigerator started to leak. He told me that my old refrigerator in the garage would outlast the new one. The water dispenser still drips to this day. He said all the new refrigerators with electronic controls are the worst! BTW: The ice maker fell apart and I safety-wired it together. Of course, a year later it quit completely! I am buying bag ice and putting it in the dispenser until it or I die.
This entry was submitted by David Woodruff and edited by Rob Spiegel
Tell us your experiences with Monkey-designed products. Send examples to Rob Spiegel for Made by Monkeys.
It does seem that current theme around appliance-related Made By Monkeys posts is that less is more, and older models have a longer life span than the newer models. That said, I gave up a duo of old, barebones Maytag appliances for a new-fangled Electrolux washer/dryer a couple of years ago and I have to say it's been the best household purchase I've ever made. Runs great, has all the high-tech bells and whistles yet it's simple enough to operate without having to consult with a manual at all. My kind of product! Now let's hope I didn't jinx it.
Yes, I did arrive at the posting about Maytag appliances, but I had clicked on the one about shape-shifting materials. Eventually I did find it, but the first time was rather puzzeling as where I wanted to go was not where I arrived.
From the recent run of Made by Monkeys posts, one comes to the inescapable conclusion that appliances of yore, sans electronics, were more robust than their computationally enhanced descendants. With cars, it's not necessarily the same deal. One can probably say that today's cars are as a rule more reliable and last longer than cars of 40 years ago. Of course, they now cost as much as a house used to, but I digress. Too bad no appliance manufacturer has found a niche making really retro appliances. Probably the parts no longer exist, even if someone wanted to.
There appears to be a discrepancy between the posing title and the actual posting accessed. Possibly the work of a hacker? or the result of mislabeling?
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