Old Water Heater Worries?

[Seasoned Oak]

Our Frigidaire replaced a 12 yr old Kenmore (also made by Frigidaire). Both have been good machines. The only reason we sold the Kenmore was a remodel and a desire to replace with a matched washer/dryer set of the same height so that a shelf could be made above them.

I read that LG makes Kenmore washers as well as kenmore refrigeratrors. Are you sure Frigidare makes kenmore washers? Originally they were made in germany,my first kenmore front loader was. PS i never had a frigidare appliance last more than a 1 year , and i had about 3. Dishwasher, Microwave and refrigerator

 

[semipro]

My understanding is that "Kenmore" is a nameplate put on products made by various manufacturers.

 

[mass_burner]

I've had a HE, it broke after a year. Replaced it with stackable middle of the road and haven't had an issue. The HE models may use less energy/water but if they break what use are they?

 

[Highbeam]

My understanding is that "Kenmore" is a nameplate put on products made by various manufacturers.

I recently bought a dishwasher and after looking "under the hood" of many brands I concluded that there are only a couple of manufacturers and several brand names stuck on them. The Europeans had a manufacturer, the Asians had a manufacturer, and the US had a manufacturer. What varied among brands from one manufacturer was the features. I settled on a GE dishwasher BTW which I am very happy with so far.

I do not expect these things to last 20 years. I really don't need them to either. After you swap out appliances you discover that once the infrastructure is good like the plumbing, electric, and drain lines, you can quickly swap in new appliances if one breaks beyond feasible repair. Also, if you get 10 years out of something you can pretty much forget about fixing it as it's about done. The hassle of repairing these things has value too, as in, just get a new one.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Its all about the warranty now. I bought a $3200 LG french door refrigerator. Sears, HD , and Lowes all had the exact same sale price $2400. The big difference was in the extended warranty which is a must with a ice in the door refrigerator these days. Sears wanted $700+ for a 4 year Ext. warranty,
Lowes wanted $150 for a 4YR Ex. And HD wanted $99 for 5YEAR ex W. Within 18 month this fridge had almost $1500 in repairs covered under warranty,so id say the $99 was well worth it. The Sears warranty at $700+ is just ridicoulous, no wonder they are going under.

 

[begreen]

5 yrs running on our large GE french door. No service yet. Energy Star and the low repair record was definitely a deciding factor for this purchase.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

This thread got me tinkering with my old 16 YR old HEt3 Kenmore Front loader. After setting in the basement for 2 years inoperable and destined for the trash,,my son got this thing working like new again. Turned out a little switch button that tells the control board that the door is closed broke off and the machine would not start. We fashioned a makeshift button out a of small piece of 12-2 wire ,as opposed to buying a whole new door switch and lock assembly for $90 and it works like a charm. I now have a great backup washer ill use for my work clothes.

 

[Retired Guy]

I replaced my electric tank water heater a couple of years ago. Replumbed the whole house actually and used nice SS semi rigid connections to the water heater, a nice expansion tank, earthquake strapping, and a drain pan. I have no intention of ever draining the tank to clear out debris due to the valve failure possibility. The tanks are very easy and fairly cheap to swap out if you have access to it. It's just not worth the time, effort, and risk, to maintain a basic electric tank water heater. A water heater can fail at any time. Most likely at initial install due to defect or after the warranty period on the tank which is almost certainly under 10 years. I don't think your "glass" tank is actually glass but a glass coating inside a steel tank like just about all basic water heaters.

Washing machines are much more complicated. Technology has improved and prices have fallen in the last ten years. I can replace my washing machine (also bought ten years ago) with the current model that has significant improvements for almost 50% of the price.

I worked with a guy that replaced the normal drain valve with a brass ball valve and short nipple on every new tank he installed. Made draining much more reliable.