Disposable society, or why I have to buy a new bread machine

It is a shame that repair is a lost art---
In India once i had a burnt up travel blow dryer repaired---believe it or not---worked for years afterward---
there is that very interesting underground of electronic hackers who tear apart, broken down appliances to build something completely new from the parts-------i remember one person who posted on the web a how to on making an automatic cat feeder by salvaging the motor--timer--belts from an old VCR--it was very cool and worked great---you might try breaking the thing down into parts and see what you can build out of it---
i understand the frustration
regards
Froley

 

Definately is a disposable society, and it is SAD. I can,t help but wonder how this aspect of our lives is going to affect my Grandchildren. Could, one day, there be more Rubbish on our land than there are people?:frown:

 

I had the same problem, with a different machine. I ended up buying a Kitchen Aid stand mixer with a dough hook and haven't looked back.

 

I once had a GE microwave that I really liked. But one day the "Start" key on the soft keypad stopped working. All of the other keys still worked, but no way to cook food. I went to the appliance parts store to see if I could get a replacement keypad - I could, but it cost about $140 - $20 more than I paid for the whole oven in the first place, and the prices had dropped even further since I originally bought it. I never did repair it, but gave it away to a guy who said he was going to try to fix it.

Inkjet printers and cell phones seem to be the worst examples of our disposable society.

 

The problem with cell phones is the phone companies sell them locked to their network at below wholesale price to lock you in to their service, so things like batteries can cost more than the phone.
I have a bread maker which fills a space on my shelf, I should start using it again.

On disposable goods. How many late night sales, exercise machines are in cupboards and under beds around the world?

 

:rockon: I'm guilty

 

I have a breadmaker that should be good for at least the next 60 years. ME. Really, bread isn't hard to make. I can make enough dough for the week in 15 minutes.

• 3 cups water
• 1.5 tbsp yeast
• 1.5 tbsp salt
• 6.5 cups bread flour or all-purpose white flour

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, allow to rise for 2 hours and then refrigerate. When you want bread, tear off a grapefruit size hunk of dough, put it on a stone or in a bread pan and bake at 450 F for 30 minutes.

It is that easy to have fresh bread.

Five Minutes a Day for Fresh-Baked Bread

 

Sorry to hear about the bread machine. Capitalism runs on consumerism. People have to buy things they don't need with money they don't have, so there will be a market for goods so that people have jobs. One way to keep the cycle operating is to design obsolescence into products so that people have to buy things more often.

But it's also true that big-box discount stores sell end runs: Toward the end of a production run, the dies that make the parts are getting worn, and quality drops. This is seen in a larger percentage of faulty items, even from top-name manufacturers, and also in items that wear out sooner than the same item made earlier in the production run. You get the item at a discount, but it's lower quality than the same brand at a full-price store because it's from the end of the run.

People have been trained to look at price and ignore quality, so they think they're getting a bargain, and the market for end-run products allows the manufacturer to extend its runs and make more money.

 

It's times like this that it feels really good to know a few people with access to some pretty expensive machines. Half an hour of measuring and modeling in a CAD program, an e-mail and 10 minutes of their time later, i'll have a replacement part i can stick in!

 

The garbage dumps of today will be the resource mines of tomorrow.

 

Odd you mention that

Around 4 years ago, I was helping a co-worker build a fence . He didn't have a cordless drill, but at Canadian Tire they had a Black and Decker 18 v model on sale for $39. He picked it up, but after less than 12 feet of putting treated wood screws into boards, the battery would go dead

So we'd either have to wait 2 hours for the battery to charge, or use a corded electric drill to continue. The co-worker went back to Canadian Tire to get a second battery, that way one battery would be charging while the other battery was being used

The replacement battery cost $65! So he did what any normal, sane person would do. He got a SECOND cordless drill kit for $39

We got a lot of use out of that drill. Not only did we build the fence for his back yard, the next summer I helped him build a deck. And he still has a virgin Black and Decker cordless 18 v drill, in shrink wrap, never used

 

I'd try to fiddle with it, to fix it. Sure, it's a given she will end up buying another bread maker, but it's a good hobby trying to fix up the old one

Like the time I tried to fix an ancient Faberware coffee percolator. It almost worked. There was a minor electrical fire in the percolator base until the breaker tripped

Back when I had hair, I once had a cheapo hair dryer start sparking and catch fire, WHILE I WAS USING IT. For some reason the breaker didn't trip. This was in the US, could be the 20 amp breaker allowed it to keep running, in Canada 15 amp breakers are code maximum allowed for branch 120 circuits

Thinking back, maybe that's why my hair fell out ....

 

Interesting. I have an 18V B&D drill that I absolutely love, best cordless drill I have every had and it runs a very long time on a battery.

They must be ripping you off in Canada because a replacement battery is $30 - $40 in the US. I bought 6 when Home Depot had them on sale 2 for $30 last Christmas. (I plan to use them for an electric bicycle project)

 

I know of a little lady down under who may be delighted to take it off your hands AND that would be recycling AND help free up more space so you can go SHOPPING

 

well said patsparks---
I always believed these exercise things wind up being the world's most expensive, bedroom, dirty clothes hangers!

regards
Froley

 

Either that, or the cats were nibbling on it while you slept.

 

Yep, they are. Hence my co-worker found it cheaper to buy the entire kit with new drill. Not sure how it was cheaper for Canadian Tire to sell a cordless drill kit (Case, drill, charger, battery) around $20 cheaper than just the battery

 

That could also explain the odd-looking hairballs they were puking up