this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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Appliances are super expensive. It doesn't help that so many of them have planned obsolescence built in so they fail just after their warranty period.
One little thing I learned is that upper "tier" appliances that cost more share many of the same components as cheaper models. The fancy clothes washing machine might have a color touchscreen but the motors and control boards are the same, so you could save a lot of money by just getting the cheaper model with buttons rather than one that is capable of running Skyrim.
A good way to check is to look for maintenance manuals for these appliances. If you see parts lists that are shared between the more expensive and cheaper models, you're better off going with the cheaper one.
Can confirm. That's also why most appliances are surprisingly repairable today. You can just buy used appliances that aren't working as long as it's something minor like leaking or squeaking of a washer, no heating of a dryer, rumbling like crazy, etc. Inside you usually find many parts from Whirlpool and a few other components like Bosch Motors (which often enough do not actually fail). Those parts have numbers you can find for cheap online. Just get a proper(!) bitset with some generic tools and go watch Youtube repair videos. It's too easy these days.
Heck I even bought a completely dead machine where the description clearly matched a note online that a resistor and a single easy-to-solder chip for 2$ total need to be replaced. That repair worked for 5 years until I sold it for a better machine.
It's always a resistor. Planned obsolescence is basically putting a too small resistor somewhere. The parts they make for repair shops are usually better, so if you do take the time to swap a print, you will have a better appliance afterwards for a fraction of the cost of a new shitty machine.
Soldering the specific resistor can be done too, but for anyone who doesn't have a stock of resistors and soldering tools/skill it's usually a easier and just as cheap to get new print if they're available.