• Rhaedas
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    2510 months ago

    Buy a used older model if you need a machine. Because it’s cheaper, because it is more basic in its components, because those parts are probably cheaper to buy and replace yourself if need be, and mainly because someone is selling it at its age because it STILL works. Anything tied to a circuit board with a processor is a time bomb.

    • @Eheran
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      1510 months ago

      You will not get a washing machine without processor, let alone PCB. Processors also hardly ever fail. It is stuff like the voltage conversion which powers the logic side, the actual power switches for the motor, capacitors or simply stuff that corrodes.

      • @[email protected]
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        1010 months ago

        Does an old school washer dryer that runs off timer relays / knobs / push buttons really have a CPU? I ask because that’s how mine is and I haven’t had to look at the controls but they seem dead simple to me. I get there’s different cycles but some simple ladder logic should be able to handle that, no? Half the world runs on simple machines like that.

        • @CADmonkey
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          310 months ago

          Does an old school washer dryer that runs off timer relays / knobs / push buttons really have a CPU?

          Nope, it’s just a timer-drive. cam triggering switches. The physical cam IS the CPU.

          We have reached a point in time where there are adults who think everything that runs through multiple steps must have a microcontroller, because only really really old machines* do without.

          *For the most part. I bought a brand new whirlpool dryer late last year, and it has a mechanical timer in it.

    • @balancedchaos
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      810 months ago

      Mine has analog dials. I consulted several “buy it for life” communities before I purchased. Anything to cut down on unnecessary complications.

    • @[email protected]
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      310 months ago

      A newer machine however is a lot more efficient when looking at your energy and water bill.

      Switching from an older to a newer machine made quite a difference on my monthly bills.

      • @CADmonkey
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        210 months ago

        Having a newer machine cost me slightly less money on utilities, and considerably more in washing machine parts.

        • @[email protected]
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          10 months ago

          For me the savings on the electrical bill will be more than what I spent on the machine before the warranty is over.

          • @CADmonkey
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            110 months ago

            Doubt.

            My electric bill changed by less than $2 per month when I installed an “inefficient” washing machine. It was so little that I’m not sure the washer was the cause. That’s $72 over a period of three years. The machine it replaced was just out of warranty and needed a $200 drain pump.

            • @[email protected]
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              010 months ago

              I suspect the diffence here is what we pay for electricity. It is quite expensive in Europe. I pay around 0,35 euro per 1 kWh.