Cloo
Approved by toads
Not very good for some carpets though, apparently - guys fitting ours this Friday warned they tend to wreck wool carpets
Long-lasting appliances of yore
- Thread starter Cloo
- Start date
kebabking
Not a Girly Swot, but I like them....
I'm still using a couple of Berghaus Cyclops rucksacks (a Crusader and a Roc, for the kit pests...) from the late 80's - I bought them second hand when I joined the army in 1992.
They've done 28 years of exercises, more than a dozen tours, and - most incredibly - survived contact with RAF movers.
It's a great pity to me that they are still better than the issued bergens - the PLCE Inf was as good, just more than a Kg heavier than the Crusader for the same size, while the new Virtus bergen is expensive, overly -complex, and fragile. The gossip is that Virtus is getting binned next year because of the quality control and production rate problems...
They've done 28 years of exercises, more than a dozen tours, and - most incredibly - survived contact with RAF movers.
It's a great pity to me that they are still better than the issued bergens - the PLCE Inf was as good, just more than a Kg heavier than the Crusader for the same size, while the new Virtus bergen is expensive, overly -complex, and fragile. The gossip is that Virtus is getting binned next year because of the quality control and production rate problems...
colacubes
Mr Hot Cookie
That's useful to know. Our 20 year old one packed up last week after my OH decided to clean it with a scouring pad (which caused the fusebox to flip for the whole house
).
nick
Pleomorphic Adenomas R us
1993 for my dualit toaster.
So far I have replaced about 6 elements and the timer* - so it is a bi like Trigger's broom in its "originality"
*easily fixable with no more than a screwdriver, maybe some pliers and one of many you-tube videos from espares and others of that ilk. Unlike your average Apple product they are built with relatively low tolerances and are essentially modular
So far I have replaced about 6 elements and the timer* - so it is a bi like Trigger's broom in its "originality"
*easily fixable with no more than a screwdriver, maybe some pliers and one of many you-tube videos from espares and others of that ilk. Unlike your average Apple product they are built with relatively low tolerances and are essentially modular
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
A Russel Hobbs kettle that we got as a wedding present still works. (1975)
The Hoover twin brush carpet shampooer went to the tip yesterday. We bought it in Hannover in 1979.
I still use a stapler that was inherited from my father, he found it in his office in Fort William. It is circa 1920.
The Hoover twin brush carpet shampooer went to the tip yesterday. We bought it in Hannover in 1979.
I still use a stapler that was inherited from my father, he found it in his office in Fort William. It is circa 1920.
Last edited:
I bought my Zanussi washing machine in 1989 when I lived in another country. I moved to the UK in 2004 and everyone and his dog told me that it wouldn't survive being on a ship to come to England because it was fairly elderly then.
Never had a minute's issue with it and it will probably outlive me.
Never had a minute's issue with it and it will probably outlive me.
weltweit
Well-Known Member
It is good to test your equipment but I would draw the line at dropping my Henry down a flight of stairs!
Good that you have done it SpookyFrank, now I don't need to!
petee
no gods, no malarkey
i grew up with a bissel. we had carpeting, but i later learned that that was the trigger for my frequent youthful asthma attacks, so when the parents moved out i chucked the carpeting. no more need for the bissel.
petee
no gods, no malarkey
i wouldn't have been able to tell you anyway, i grew up in a tenement see
no call systems for us.however, i work in a converted townhouse and they've left in place the vestiges of the servant-call system (buzzers though, not ropes to pull).
Idaho
blah blah blah
I bought this from Argos in either '83 or '84. The melted bit on the top right was done in the first few months of ownership by having a bedside lamp too near. The radio still works, although the tuning indicator doesn't move. All the LEDs work and I can only remember a single time when the alarm failed to go off (and human error wasn't conclusively ruled out). I think I'll be quite bereft when it eventually fails.
It still has a yellowing address label sticker on the side from the house we lived in then.
It still has a yellowing address label sticker on the side from the house we lived in then.
The Hitachi turntable above I bought in 1978.
It still works perfectly and although I had to buy a pre-amp for it to work with the amp I bought in 2008 it still produces a great sound.
I think it was about three times my weekly wage at the time, but a worthwhile investment I can now say.
Edit: The pre-amp I bought in 2008 packed in in 2019 so that had to be replaced!
ska invita
back on the other side
Got bought a pair of Wharfedale Diamonds in around 1986 - still going strong today (as part of a bigger set up - use them as dj monitors) - havent blown them!!!
mine look like the one on the right
www.whathifi.com
You can still buy Diamonds today - based on my experience I highly recommend
mine look like the one on the right
Home
We look back to 1985 and the first pair of Wharfedale Diamonds, one of the most successful speaker ranges of all time...
You can still buy Diamonds today - based on my experience I highly recommend
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
I never thought of my audio stuff. I've got a Cambridge Audio amplifier that was a kind of "bachelor present" to myself after my first divorce, so that makes it about 18 years old. And still happily in service.
Perhaps I should also include my 1978 Overwater bass, too
, although I suppose that's not exactly an appliance. But my Laserjet 1320 (2004) is still going strong...Motown_ben
Well-Known Member
My speakers are a pair of JBL's made in approx 1978, they have had a slight refurb but still going strong. Mrs MB also still regually uses a kenwood chef that was a wedding present to her parents from about 1972 ish. Its noisy as f*ck but works perfectly other than that.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
When I bought my first fridge freezer in 1996 my mum told me that - unlike washing machines - the mechanism was so simple that there was no need to buy a top brand, as they would go on forever. Indeed, my parents had a separate fridge and freezer that lasted at least 30 years until they moved home and got rid of them.
Fast forward to the present day, and I have had three fridge freezers in less than ten years. What happened to durability, ffs?
Fast forward to the present day, and I have had three fridge freezers in less than ten years. What happened to durability, ffs?
krtek a houby
Anger is Hi-NRG
Capitalism. Product must be sold.
The days when a household item could be repaired are few and far between. Much easier to chuck it and replace, without regards to resources and all that.
Or so it feels. Got the grumpy old man mood on tonight.
Saul Goodman
It's all good, man
I think the oldest household stuff I own is probably hifi gear. I have an Arcam amp and CD player, and a pair of Ruark Epilogue speakers.
I was visiting a friend in England around 20 years ago with my girlfriend of the time. Let's call this friend Billy, because that's his name. I have to start by saying Billy was a bit of a stranger to personal hygeine. Anyhow, we got chatting about planned obsolescence, and he mentioned his washing machine "Forty years old that washing machine is, and it's still going strong". And my girlfriend piped up "Well it will be. You've never fucking used it".
She did have a point.
I was visiting a friend in England around 20 years ago with my girlfriend of the time. Let's call this friend Billy, because that's his name. I have to start by saying Billy was a bit of a stranger to personal hygeine. Anyhow, we got chatting about planned obsolescence, and he mentioned his washing machine "Forty years old that washing machine is, and it's still going strong". And my girlfriend piped up "Well it will be. You've never fucking used it".
She did have a point.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
My Auntie Brigitte got this Spätzle Schwob when she got wed in 1964. She gave it to me about 20 years ago when she got a new one with removable plates. Testament to German engineering, it still works perfectly 56 years on and I used it this morning to make potato bread. It’ll probably still be mashing potatoes long after I’m dead 
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
We’ve also got a toaster we bought in 1992 - still making me toast in 2020 
krtek a houby
Anger is Hi-NRG
We’ve also got a toaster we bought in 1992 - still making me toast in 2020
Slow cooking, eh
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
And even if you WANT to repair a lot of newer stuff, it's made very difficult - or impossible.
existentialist
Tired and unemotional
Oh, good point. My speakers are a set of Gales, and they must be at least 30 years old - I got them 20-odd years ago, and they were well-used then.
Shit, but I've got an awful lot of old stuff! I've also still got the same PC I started with in about 1996, albeit that it no longer has any of its original parts
Shit, but I've got an awful lot of old stuff! I've also still got the same PC I started with in about 1996, albeit that it no longer has any of its original parts
Is that a Daniel O'Donnell salt shaker?My Auntie Brigitte got this Spätzle Schwob when she got wed in 1964. She gave it to me about 20 years ago when she got a new one with removable plates. Testament to German engineering, it still works perfectly 56 years on and I used it this morning to make potato bread. It’ll probably still be mashing potatoes long after I’m dead
View attachment 225255
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
maomao
普費斯
My Numatic (Charles, wet/dry model) died after a blocking/overheating accident, less than two years old and my wife insisted on getting a rechargeable Bosch piece of shit because 'my' one was too heavy and still doesn't do any of the hoovering. grumble grumble grumble
I have no luck with machines though. I think I have a 1998-ish walkman in the attic. It's only still (probably) working because I haven't used it in seventeen years.
I have two computers, self built, one six years old and one about nine. I'm expecting them to explode any day now.
Sasaferrato
Super Refuser!
truck - 40 years old, lawnmower (Atco) - 80 years old, vacuum cleaner (hoover upright) and cooker (New World green and cream enamel) are both around 70years old, bike 93 years old, sewing machine (oldest), 140 years old. My sink and bath are both older than me (thick enamel)
I love old, well-made, repairable items and hate shiny, new, tat
I love old, well-made, repairable items and hate shiny, new, tat
MrCurry
right after this urgent rest
I’m quite pleased with the longevity of my Dyson DC16 battery powered vac, which has been basically in daily use since I got it as a Christmas present in 2008. I thought that was good going until I read this thread with your tales of 35 year old vacuums and 50 year old fridges.
It’s on probably its fifth battery pack at this point, but such are lithium rechargeable batteries, but the vac itself is going strong and seems not to slow down or become less effective. I’m sure it will die one day, but the £89.99 it cost in Dec 2008 has been more than repaid in usefulness by now.
It’s on probably its fifth battery pack at this point, but such are lithium rechargeable batteries, but the vac itself is going strong and seems not to slow down or become less effective. I’m sure it will die one day, but the £89.99 it cost in Dec 2008 has been more than repaid in usefulness by now.
