Here is my vote for the most unreliable kitchen appliance.
For me it's a garbage disposal. I have now replaced my 5th garbage disposal, all for the same reason LEAKS. the first one that came with the house lasted the longest it was a In-sink-erator brand, I replaced it with the same brand for #2, #3 I don't remember the brand I just know it came from Home Depot # 4 came from Ace it was their house brand. Its hard to say but they were probably all made by the same company as they all looked the same. So for # 5 I went with something that has a different look its more long and slender and it's by Moen
who knows maybe this one will last more than 3 years.
I did notice this while I was looking I saw some $410.00 dollar garbage disposals !! You might just as well throw your money down that disposal !! my guess
is it would not last any longer than the less expensive models !! cold day in hell before I spend $410.00 for a garbage disposal.
well that was my rant and chore for the day !! how many have you gone through ?

 

Solly - My house is 15-years old. Original disposal was an Insinkerator 1/2 hp that lasted 13 & 1/2-years, which I thought was great. Replaced it with another Insinkerator, another 1/2 hp, model is a Badger 5. I sincerely doubt it will last as long as the original.

My vote for worst new kitchen appliances are refrigerators. Our original crapped out just before the original disposal, at about 13-years. We bought a higher end Frigidaire, with the two door refrigerator space up top, and the chest freezer on the bottom. It ran for all of 5-days before it totally died. Replaced it with a higher end Samsung that we've had for 2-years now with no problems so far. I will be amazed if it lasts 10-years. I have a smaller, plain jane, GE out in the garage that's 35-years old that keeps stuff ice cold in a garage that gets up to 100° in the summer. My guess is a new one wouldn't last a day under those conditions.

 

This rant can be applied to anything made today. It's all junk. Want an appliance that will last go to a garage sale and buy a 60 year old refridgerator...that still runs cold.

Im on my 4th Dehumidifier in 7 years! 3 were "good ones" $250-350 with net research, all high ratings. Replaced with an HD $179 special. Its only 6mos old jury still out. This one goes I'm buying a GD commercial unit! Could have already had one! Upon disassembly, in an attempt to hack into the system to charge it...they are all the same internally.

2 clothes washers in 10 years. Moms went 35 years till they couldn't find replacement parts for it.

Microwave $400 lasted 16 months. I couldn't repair it because you need a license to handle the magnetron! Took into the field and sighted-in the 30.06. Replaced with a $99 sears special...still going 5 years later.

Built-in obsolescence I understand...but really! I understand we need to build shizt to keep the economy going but REALLY. I cannot buy good stuff even if I'm willing to spend the cabbage. It's all the same schizt internally....country of origin....ONE GUESS, yep, and all of its garbage! But we will never learn this lesson in my lifetime.
.
Dad had a dehumidifier that went 40 years till the fan motor shizt the bed. Didn't lose freon like all of mine.
A friend spent big money on a fridge...well bigger not sub-zero big. The ice maker has not worked right since purchased. Manuf said there's no fix.
Another friend bought high-end washer n dryer. 2 years both shot. They dont have kids.

If you pull apart the cheap and more money appliances they are ALL the same internally. You need to go commercial to get what we used to be able to get as a general decent home grade appliance

My vote...TAKE THE WORD DURABLE OUT OF DURABLE GOODS, CUZ IT AIN'T!

 

I have been lucky to only have dehumidifiers fail in the five years since I finished the refurb and moved in. I bought a super convection microwave combo oven simply because where I put it I have to access it from the left, and all microwave controls are on the right. I do enjoy that it can cook, but I bought it for the controls on top. However, I bought extended warranty, and I unplug it every time I leave home as I have heard stories about these Samsungs.

It's doing ok, though. Also, stove, fridge, hood, dishwasher, coffeepots, disposal holding ok. Dryer is good. AC is good. Washer clogged its tank level pressure sender last year, I cut off a half inch of tube to clear the deposits and replaced the switch while I was there. I did not have the Adventures of Vintage Chief and His Dryer, however.

 

I did get 29 years out of my Trane heat pump very happy about that, on my 3rd microwave, the last one lasted about 6 years, replaced only 1 dishwasher nursed the original by replacing the pump but finally threw in the towel. My last refrigerator only lasted 10 years, had real good luck with my old Montgomery Ward washer and dryer got about 25 years out of them however not so good on my Whirlpool washer and dryer the washer has a bearing screaming on it now and I have replaced a control circuit board on the dryer, they are about 9 years old. have only replaced one range so far. One big problem on kitchen appliances our stuff is white! try finding white appliances these days had to special order the fridge and the microwave when they were replaced, nobody stocks white appliances anymore.

 

My girlfriend.

 

I agree with dr. Oldsmorland, the older the better, why as consumers do we have to put up this ****? Seems we protest over the wrong nonsense! As far as garbage disposals go, why are people so adamant about putting table scraps down their drains, don’t they have a garbage can?

 

As if on que, my oven quit this past week. Pretty sure it's the igniter, as the broiler still works. Just have to find the time to take the bottom cover off and see if she glows or not, then order the replacement. Wife has been wanting a new fridge, she hates the side-by-side that's 20 years old and runs like a champ.

I will warn people away from LG fridges. Quick Google search shows they have a horrible track record with bad compressors.

 

My son has a garage refridgerator that was given to him by my FAL. That item was a gift to him and my MIL after they were married late 40's. I has to be at least 70 years old and still cools like a new one.
Wifes dryer went out Saturday while drying a load of clothes. No heat, The dryer is over twenty five years old. I have replaced heat element, belt, gaskets, drum rollers, motor, and everything else that can die and it still drys like a new one. Moral is, don't buy new appliance with all of the bells and whistles, old mechanical, is better.

 

My personal experience is that most refrigerators are garbage anymore. We bought a Whirlpool back in 2000 that worked a nice long time. We had it repaired in 2015, and the repairman said to stay away from Samsung and LG, and that he saw the least issues with Whirlpool. When that one finally died, we bought a $3500 KitchenAid (made by Whirlpool). Thirteen months later, the new fridge failed. Although it was one month past the warranty, Whirlpool covered the new compressor at no charge. About 8 months later, it failed again. This time they said it was the valve and control board. We paid about $1000 to fix it, and about 8 months later, it failed again. They recharged the compressor, and of course about 6 months later (2 months into the pandemic), it died again. I finally complained enough on social media and escalated my problem within Whirlpool that they replaced the fridge with a brand new model at no further cost to me. They took the fridge back to the MFG plant and discovered a pin hole in the cooling system, which frankly was probably the problem all along. While I was disappointed in losing so much food over and over again, their customer service was very good.

Back in 2010, I picked up a stand up freezer for the garage. It was a Sears model from 1974, and I paid $75 for it from a guy on Craigslist who delivered it to my garage. It finally died in early 2020, and I replaced it with a Gladiator freezer and also a matching Gladiator fridge. Gladiator is also made by Whirlpool, but this time I actually bought the extended warranty. The Gladiator fridges are made for being in a garage, so I hoped that they would perform well. About a month ago, the Gladiator freezer failed. This time it was the control board. We discovered it early enough that we only lost maybe $200-$300 of food, but we were able to make room in our primary fridge to save most of the food.

Once again, Whirlpool's customer service was great. No hassle at all. They replaced the control board at no cost to us.

 

Stay away from Samsung fridges that have the ice maker located in the fridge (freezer is in the drawer at the bottom). These things frost-up all the time and then the plastic framework around the mechanism cracks, then its useless. It doesn't help that the wife likes to leave the door open for 10 minutes as she's moving items in and out of the fridge, but its still a poor design. We're using one of those counter-top ice makers until the rest of the fridge goes to pot.

Our 14 y/o house came w/ new GE kitchen appliances, all have failed and been replaced. So far the Maytag over-range microwave has been doing good, the LG dishwasher has been doing good, but the Maytag smooth-top electric range likes to go through oven heating elements, I'm on my 3rd now, and the last failure burned a hole in the pan in the bottom of the oven (thankfully that was replaceable and I was able to find a replacement for it). Our LG front-load washer/dryer combo is still going strong after 14 years. I also had to replace the Frigidaire HVAC system (original installers provided insufficient air flow for the high-efficient furnace, the A/C compressor failed, and the squirrel-cage blower kept coming loose from the motor shaft) back in '13, the Goodman system I replaced it with is still going strong. I've also been through multiple dehumidifiers, I finally found one that lasted more than 2 years from Costco, but alas it was recalled a few months ago for fire hazard. Hopefully its replacement will last as long. The sump pump and sewer lift pump have both been replaced once.

My grandparents had a GE refrigerator from the '30s (first year they put the compressor below the chest instead of on-top). When they passed my parents got it and kept using it in their basement. When they passed ~10 yrs ago, it was still running (~80 years).

 

Keurig K-cup Coffee Makers (K Classic) not giving the chosen ounces in the cup - 3 for 3 don't deliver what the button says - like it has a mind of it's own - call them and they say you didn't follow the instructions (the brushoff) - just junk - (I do like the coffee it makes (K-cups) when you eventually get your cup filled)
1st one last 18 months, 2nd lasted 12 months, 3 one DOA from day 1 (they come with a 12 month warranty)

 

My mother has that style Samsung and had to have the ice maker replaced already. She had a warranty. It's leaving the next time it goes kaput.

 

I have a round top Kelvinator from 1949 or 50...original owner couldn't quite remember. It was the first fridge they bought when they got hitched.
It has a chrome Marvin the Martian medallion on the door. Had the little square freezer in the upper left corner no door on it. Has a 2 pronged plug and a chrome handle. Sounds like a old car door when you shut it.
Keeps the beer good and cold. You can fit a 1/2 keg in it. THATS AN 72 YER OLD APPLIANCE.
That, my friends, can be called a durable good. Older IS better. Who cares if its inefficient. Just keep the coils clean and she runs.

 

That Kelvinator is dying for a restore. I really like the looks of that old thing, plus I always loved those locking handles.

Older really is better on soooo many things. Someone said it on another thread: I do think us car guys are drawn to ALL things vintage, not just cars.

 

On the flip side, we have had 3 really good dishwashers in the last 22 years, and the only reason that we have had 3 is because we left each of them with the houses when we moved. The first was a Bosch. The second was an Asko, and our current one is a KitchenAid. None of them dry worth a hoot, but they were all super quiet. The Asko was probably the quietest. You could stand right by it and not even know it is on, but the other two are very quiet, too. With all 3, we put a towel in the door to prop it open when it finished the "drying" cycle, and this seems to help evacuate the extra steam leaving the dishes very dry.

I had to remove the pump in the Asko once when it started holding water, but it was probably because I was not cleaning the filter frequently enough.

 

An old fashion percolator would never let you down, what good is being efficient when you have to throw the damn things away every 8 years

 

I had to give this thing away when we got rid of a house. 1950 Hotpoint. Compressor off to the side with a cabinet above it for whatever. Got below freezing from ambient and froze water in about an hour from a standing start. My family got it used in ~1953, then, when they moved to grandma's, it went to my great grandparents' house, where it was continuous use till ~2003. I would fire it up every couple years from 04 till 19 when we sold the joint.

 

Good on you. My 1984 Hotpoint electro-mechanical clothes dryer (36 yrs old) would not start a couple months ago. Start SW worked, motor would not engage secondary windings via the clutch. Not sure which piece failed. All elements passed continuity, I put in a new motor ($136) & it runs like the day it was new. New dryer (not electro-mechanical, of course) of comparable quality $850.00. Savings of ~$700.00 & it will probably run another 40 yrs.

 

That Kelvinator needs a candy apple red paint job.

one of our ovens went out years ago and it was the igniter. I swapped it with the one from the broiler and problem solved. I figured, what do we need a broiler for we have a bbq grill. Lol
i later replaced the broiler igniter.

 

I agree. When the amount you pay for replacing a refrigerator every 5 to 8 years, the extra electricity is pocket change. My grandparents refrigerator just went out. They for it in the mid 1950's.