Lifespan of electrical goods.

[emilymat]

Just a light hearted thread guys and gals.

This has happened to lots of us I should think.

Recently I purchased a DVD from Big C Extra for my bedroom and told the guy that the last one had packed in after 14 months. All I got of course was a shrug of the shoulders and a very polite assurance that this new one had a whopping 12 months guarantee!. I know they are not expensive and I obviously bought it.

When I got home I started to look around my house and thought about this. I discovered I had the following, all working perfectly;

Bose Wave Radio/CD Player....................11 years old.

Symphonic VCR/DVD Player.....................14 years old. (I had to buy a SCART converter off EBAY)

Roberts Portable Radio..............................12 years old.

Digital Camera.............................................7 years old.

Bedside Clock/Radio..................................20 years old.

Samsung Plasma TV....................................7 years old.

Mobile phone................................................7 years old.

Some of my golf clubs.................................25 years old.

I do not think the Big C guy would have believed me, had I been able to tell him these things. Maybe I'm a sad bu..er not keeping up with 'the latest' but it does seem to highlight the fashion now that everything is disposable and you must have new.

It would be great to hear other posters information on what they have, as I'm sure there are many 'older' items still in use.

Oh yes.....Thai wife........................................7 years old ...(I know, I know...she's actually 52 But still working)

On a serious note, it may explain the massive domestic debt in this country..".must have new, must have new". Mind you, I suppose it's the same in Europe and the USA. Guess it's just age with me.

[TommyDee]

like phone chargers and modems these things are built cheaply.. to sell cheaply of course. as a result they arent really adaptable to the power spkes we get. might be better if you use a UPS. I have them everywhere now. and no probs.

[topt]

Do "electric" golf clubs conform to R&A golf regs.........

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I bought a small sized 2nd hand Mitsubishi refrigerator from an American friend fall 1991, and have been complaining to him these last couple of years about two items that have gone TU:

-- the light bulb has burned out

-- the tabs on the plastic hinge to the freezer compartment door broke, and no replacement for this model available.

Just can't trust anyone any more from getting stiffed....

Mac

[Forkinhades]

Simple, cheap Chinese rubbish.

Having said that technology is moving do fast now, that most things are dated after 12 months anyhow

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[worgeordie]

If you look after your stuff ,no reason it should not last,

Various Fans, 15-20 year old,because i clean and oil.

Freezer 20 year old,still looks and works perfectly

Rice cooker 12 years old.

Ehiem aquarium filter ,in use everyday for last 22 years.

Washing machine 15 years,it did pack in got new one.

Maybe things were made better then, if it still works good,

looks OK, i am not just going to change it because its old.

I am not a cheap Charlie,just feel some people change

stuff just for the sake of changing it.

Yesterday my wireless keyboard stopped working,batteries

OK, lots of people would just have binned it and gone out and

bought a new one, me I took it to bits,put it back together and

its working great.

regards Worgeordie

[shirtless]

When i arrived in 2012 i bought a dvd player and ps2 , the ps2 lasted all of 2 weeks before it was broken i suspect it had previously been returned before they sold it to me , dvd player lasted 13 months 1 month after warranty, I put it down to cheap crap made in china.

[Forkinhades]

@wordirgeorgie you might want to the efficiency of some of your goods.

New fridges for example are far more efficient than those made 20 years ago

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ezzra]

All I know that if I was an electrical good made in Thailand, I wouldn't buy green bananas.....

[fiddlehead]

I remember my Mom told me, her old refrigerator (now used only for beer and soda on the back porch) was 45 years old!

Still works fine.

But, you won't find this quality anymore.

Once when I was hiking (trekking) in America, I met a retired Ford Motor company executive.
We got to talking about engines and I told him about my old 290 straight six Ford econoline engine.
He said that was the best engine Ford ever made.
But it was discontinued.
Why?
It was too good.

No money in something that lasts forever.

It's a shame but that's the way things go anymore.

[dddave]

Anybody who wears glasses in Thailand and has stepped out of an air conditioned room or vehicle is immediately aware of the effect of the high humidity here...instant blindness. What a lot of people who own cheap or expensive cameras, phones and other delicate electronic equipment don't think about is that the same condensation occurs inside your devices every time you take them outside from of a cold environment. Cameras can be especially vulnerable to interior condensation...moisture can get between lens elements and once that happens, it usually does not go away. Condensation certainly does stress electronic circuits and switches.

If you can, it's not a bad idea to put your device into a zip-lock bag before leaving an air conditioned space and before opening it outside, give the interior of the device a chance to warm a bit. This should prevent interior condensation and extend the life of your device.

I bought a small Panasonic refrigerator here 10 years ago and it is still going strong....never a problem.

Edited June 9, 2014 by dddave

[overherebc]

All guaranteed for life items actually means until they go wrong and that's the end of their life.

[ignis]

Life span......... No idea........ some just keep going on forever others constant repairs.. Panasonic have/had lots of this make appears to be good and lasts but bought in UK about 15 years ago a Video player been here over 10 years still works fine, a DVD back then same size machine and still works, buty some DVD do not play here.. bought a Panasonic one here lasted 2 years, since then bought about 3 more cheap ones all last the same time..

Fridge 19 Q Panasonic over 10 years old, needed new door seals last year, asking around found a place couple of Villages away use there garage as store room, ordered came in 3 days and fitted both myself... needed another fridge and bought Samsung side by side, constant repairs, last one would have cost 14,000 baht, so got 700 baht from recycle place and bought a Panasonic big freezer and a 23Q Hitachi Fridge.

Panasonic 23 lt Microwave used a lot, 3 repairs, went again last year so replaced it with a 23 lt Toshiba

Many fans over 10 years old, yes clean and oil them often, 2 wall fans casings broke and fell off the wall, now only have floor ones,

Electric water pot, Rice cooker and many other things still work perfect and all over 10 years old.

29" Panasonic TV is 20 years old works perfectly, Panasonic 42" Plasma 8 year still perfect. even the LCD Philips 32" used as my monitor is perfect and years old

Washing machine LG lasted 7 years, 4 repairs, last repair parts = not worth it, bought a Electrolux what a load of cxxp, did not ever last 2 years repairs not worth it, so now have a Toshiba expensive one since last month.

what is odd, electric light bulbs changed 2 in over 10 year and 1x strip light.. silly bought a lot extra, there new still in boxes and over 10 years old !!

[Emster23]

I had computer motherboard with "platinum warranty" of 3 years. Take it in, wait (no call, of course). Go back to shop, they say "Corroded. No cover." Of course it is corroded. This is Pattaya....." "Lifetime warranty" means lifetime of product: when it break, it's life is over. Next!"

[yankee99]

@wordirgeorgie you might want to the efficiency of some of your goods.

New fridges for example are far more efficient than those made 20 years ago

Sent from my SM-G900F using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Maybe the ones here in thailand are. In the usa back in the 70s&80s fridge, washer,dryers and dishwahers were built like tanks. I cant remember a instance of any of them failing. Maybe im just a lucky person.

[ignis]

1st 6 years here Pond water Pumps were a constant expense.. 3,000 + baht a time, have 7 all would fail at least 1x a year..

Taking apart was the same fault the spindle [made of hard plastic] had snapped, then found a place that sold just the motor with spindle at 250 - 400 baht [depending on size]

appears here is always the same problem where to get parts for things.. most throw away and buy new so just cannot get parts.

[Joe Mamma]

We get the cheap China imports no other country wants is what the trouble is. We are the garbage disposal of unwanted/needed crappy goods.

[Bcgardener]

In the case of low priced consumer electronics like DVD players etc, I think that the cost of labour in the Western Countries has a lot to do with the whole build quality thing. In Australia they will likely want around $100 (3,000 Baht) just to take the lid off and give you a quote. Hardly worth it when you paid less than that for the whole DVD player so the manufacturers just build cheaper and cheaper as they know they are disposable items anyway.

In Thailand I think that the biggest culprit for electrical equipment failure is the power grid. We have a digital power meter on our main switchboard at work and the voltage variations are staggering with even the three phases sometimes being different by around 30% or more. Lightning is another problem as the protection against it on the power lines is rudimentary at best. It will usually take out the switch mode power supply that is used in pretty much all electronic devices today.

[recycler]

A fridge of over 10 years old will cost you a fortune to run, replacing it with a new inverter type one pays back rapidly, the same goes for some old aircons!

Other stuff just gets outdated, we haven touched a DVD or CD in our house for years.

Some equipment like my almost 30 years old Cyrus 1 Amp and matching speakers still gets some use on parties, I should replace one of the tweeters though.

[RichBKK]

Laptops, about 5 minutes. Had about half dozen of those

Ipad is going strong after 2 years though still

Edited June 9, 2014 by RichBKK

[TechnikaIII]

Back in 2011, my ex fiance exploded with such high voltage vitriol over a disagreement about money, it blew every fuse in the street. She had fire coming out of her eyes, and smoke from the ears. Geckos fell off the walls, dead! and I was discharging static for ages. ( Is this 'off topic'? )

[NeverSure]

A big difference I notice in Thai culture opposed to Western culture is the concept of having satisfied customers to develop repeat business and referral of other people to make the business grow. It seems to me that some Thais are satisfied to rip me off once and be finished with me.

With that mindset there is no incentive to stock quality products with a fair profit.

[NeverSure]

Back in 2011, my ex fiance exploded with such high voltage vitriol over a disagreement about money, it blew every fuse in the street. She had fire coming out of her eyes, and smoke from the ears. Geckos fell off the walls, dead! and I was discharging static for ages. ( Is this 'off topic'? )

It's on topic if you returned her and got your money back.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Stuff with moving parts fail.

CD/DVD player has a lot of moving parts.

[Maggusoil]

Normal warranty times for electrical goods in Australia go anything from 3 months to a year. Sometimes 2 years with the name brands.

An American Zippo lighter. Lifetime guarantee. I've tested that and it works.

[CharlieH]

Same story the world over, buy cheap, you'll buy twice (or more).

Thats my experience anyway, never had a problem with any of my electrical stuff in 8 years, except one fan motor on one of the fridges, 5 minute fix though.

[h90]

Recently I turned on the old Volksempfaenger from Worldwar 2: still working....but of course not used the last 50 years.

The drilling machine of my father is 30-40 years old.

My mother has a pan with ceramic coating and sent an email that the coating has problems. It is 25 years old. Next day someone called for the delivery address of a replacement because the coating shouldn't go off after 25 years

At the same time hundreds of devices went in the junk because they broke after 1 year.....

[glcdc]

Nothing in Asia lasts long..i just bought a 12 pack of condoms last Friday and they're all gone already..i took them back to big C bit the guy just shrugged his shoulders and assured me buying a new box would fix my problems..so theyre cheap i bought a new box.

[recycler]

Laptops, about 5 minutes. Had about half dozen of those

Ipad is going strong after 2 years though still

Get a Macbook, mine is going strong after 5 years! Just replaced the battery last month as the only maintenance issue.

It's cheaper than replacing cheap laptops all the time.

[wandasloan]

Laptops, about 5 minutes. Had about half dozen of those

Ipad is going strong after 2 years though still

Yet another vote for "buy made-in-China".

I'm not sure it matters where it was made. I think that in general you get, if not exactly what you pay for, what you shop around for. A 3,000 baht DVD player that is actually worth 3,000 baht will almost certainly last longer than a 400-baht one that is worth 400 baht. The main point is you get a choice - cheap in price and quality, or NOT cheap in price and quality. If you pay high and get cheap, it's pretty well always your own fault for shopping like a man instead of taking some care.

.