Quality home appliances

Aaron

Aaron

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So my trusty Black & Decker toster has finally died on me after 20+ years of faithful service. As a result I'm looking for a new toaster. The problem is, as I've always said, in this day and age of Chinese manufacturing and Planned Obsolescence it's very, very hard to find any appliance or gadget that will last more than a couple of years. But since I'm a huge fan of buying quality - stuff that's built to last. So I'm wondering if any of you have any insight into which manufacturers one can trust, and which to stay the fuck away from?

I might go and buy another B&D toaster but the sad truth is you never can tell if a company that built quality 20 years ago still does so today.
 
Chanur

Chanur

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I know for washer and dryers Speed Queen is seriously well made and the only American made washer and dryer left.

My dad used to love Black and Decker as well . Perhaps we are just unlucky but the last few tools we got were garbage. They are pretty cheap though so I think you get what you pay for. He's how shall I say much more thrifty than I.

Calphalon is supposed to be a very good brand. I have not owned my waffle maker long enough to say on durability though.

I've got a stainless Oyster toaster. It has the wide slots and removable crumb tray. It was like 20 bucks at Walmart. Seems pretty good but I've only had it a few months.
 
T

The Master

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Amazon.com: Breville BTA630XL Lift and Look Touch Toaster: Kitchen Dining

My toaster, it is pretty fantastic.

There really isn't a company that produces quality products anymore (large companies, at least). It is one company that produces one good quality thing and the rest of their stuff is mediocre, whereas this company produces quality other thing, and the rest is mediocre. Somewhere in each company is one engineer who occasionally builds a fantastic thing that doesn't get screwed with too much by anyone and makes it to manufacturing without anyone messing up that part either. So as a consumer the best you can do is research the shit out of each individual purchase, even if it is just a toaster.

The wife and I bought a house recently and had to buy each appliance and etc. The sheer amount of absolute garbage out there is pretty ridiculous. I'm pretty sure Bosch makes the best dishwashers on the market by a pretty large margin.... and they aren't any more expensive than the competition. You gotta wonder why anyone else manages to sell theirs.
 
Zodiac

Zodiac

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The Master_sl said:
You gotta wonder why anyone else manages to sell theirs.
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I know at least in my family they just bought all the kitchen appliances at once when doing upgrades. My father / mother, sister, and 1 close friend did renovations in the last year. They all just went and got the fridge / stove / dishwasher set "So it would all match". Shrug.
 
Aaron

Aaron

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Thanks for all the tips. Going to have to take a look at some of them more closely, and while that Breville small oven looks fantastic, I think it's a bit more than I need. Thanks though.

The Master: I agree with you on that for the most part, hence me asking about a god damn toaster. Though I would say there are a good many companies out there that don't produce a single piece of well engineered stuff. Even companies that used to be renowned for making quality items just 10-20 years ago but should now be avoided like the plague. For the most part though it does seem that German firms still have the best rep, but I have heard that is going south too, at least for cars. Mercedes-Benz cars used to be built like a god damn tank, they would just go and go and go, hence so many people driving what are now vintage aged Mercs, but after the turn of the century when they started to outsource a large part of their pre-manufacturing to China the quality just eroded away and those things break down as rapidly as any other car now, but cost twice as much to repair.
 
Convo

Convo

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Anyone use the Irobot? I have hardwoods throughout and it seems perfect for my situation. Just wondering how good they really are? I've read mixed reviews and some models seems better than others.
 
Kuriin

Kuriin

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My older brother has two. One for carpet and the other for hardwood. They are nice to use for cleaning when you're outside of the house. But, they can be annoying by skipping some areas.
 
Siliconemelons

Siliconemelons

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Chanur_sl said:
I know for washer and dryers Speed Queen is seriously well made and the only American made washer and dryer left.
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That's the brand my landlord bought for our rental we moved out of last year, we where there for about 1.5 years the thing was solid, and he got it used from one of his buds- it took an huge basket of clothing and the dryer always did it in one shot, although its not a typical consumer brand- when whatever random things we got in the house fall apart...speed queen will be the replacements.
 
Frenzied Wombat

Frenzied Wombat

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Convo_sl said:
Anyone use the Irobot? I have hardwoods throughout and it seems perfect for my situation. Just wondering how good they really are? I've read mixed reviews and some models seems better than others.
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I have theNeato Robotic vacand it works great. Does an 800 sq foot area in about an hour every day while I'm at work. I consider it an essential item if you have pets. Unlike the Roomba models it actually "maps" the area so doesn't miss anything.
 
Folanlron

Folanlron

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I overly agree with the Breville stuff, a little spendy but the stuff last's for a long while.. i've had my convection oven from them for 5 years... only thing I've done too it is replaces the elements last year.
 
A

aegdaien

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Frenzied Wombat_sl said:
I have theNeato Robotic vacand it works great. Does an 800 sq foot area in about an hour every day while I'm at work. I consider it an essential item if you have pets. Unlike the Roomba models it actually "maps" the area so doesn't miss anything.
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Second this. We looked at a Roomba and theNeato Botvac 80and ended up going with the Neato. Like Wombat, I like that the Neato maps out its path, rather than the randomness of the Roomba. We have around a 1000 sqft area it cleans on a single charge.

It's worth every single penny. We have a dog and cat who shed a moderate amount, but just moved to a place that has hardwoods throughout. We were sweeping/vacuuming every single day. Now, I mop the floors once in a while and use a hand-held vac on some hard to reach spots.
 
lurker

lurker

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I bought a Toastmaster toaster at an Estate Sale a few years ago. It's a Toastmaster from the early 60s, a time when 'Made in the USA' meant it was the very best quality. We were just starting to import things like radios from Japan and their quality was suspect. Nothing was coming from China. This toaster must weigh 10lbs. It is made of steel and has a chrome finish on it like the bumper on some old car. It has no plastic except for two Bakelite handles. It's over 50 years old and still works and looks great. It even has an electric elevator for raising and lowering the bread. My point is, if the OP is still shopping, try Goodwill.

Interestingly, back in the 50s and 60s when Americans weren't so overweight, bread was smaller. The openings on my toaster are slightly smaller than a slice from most loaves and some slices don't fit at all.
 
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