31 Year Old Whirlpool Chest

I have an old chest  freezer that has been with us since 1986! It never needed to be serviced, it just worked. It needs a new gasket for $115.00. I am thinking that I will just get a new one. My only thought is that the old ones are better made and perhaps I would be better off just getting the gasket. I have a fridge in a condo from 1998 and the repair guy told me that we are better off hanging onto that unit as long as possible for reasons stated above. Any refrigeration guys out there that can shed some light on this? Thanks. Mrt.

Look on ebay or amazon for a new gasket, you might get lucky!

I completely agree that the new refrigerators are more energy efficient, however they are also more or less disposable - and not nearly as reliable.  

Also, you are correct Lakeshiner. Many new AC’s and appliances use a blended refrigerant.  The problem is that when a refrigerant leak occurs, you can’t simply repair the leak and top it off with new refrigerant.

The reason is that different refrigerants have different leak rates, so you have to remove all of the refrigerant, evacuate the system, and weigh in a brand new charge.  

Life was much simpler when everything was R-22 or R-12. Things worked a lot better too! They still have not developed a replacement for R-22 that is worth a pinch of sand.  

If you have an old unit that is working well - keep it!  Sure a new one is more efficient, but at $1k for a new one it’ll take 10 years to get your money back, and by then you’ll need a new one because the new ones are junk- unless you move into a quality commercial one. 

The deal there was a Phillips TV "included with thousands of items".  I jokingly complained that the TV wasnt free and she replied that the ad said "included with........." . So there was a mark up to cover the price of both items. TV did good. Lasted almost 15 years

Now as far as that free schwinn. My brother got that deal back in the 70s or 80s and I hocked it from him.  Still have it, needs new tires.

You still have the free bike from Lenny on that purchase ?

I would new one rather than spend $115 on a gasket. New ones are said to be more efficient.  I am still using the chest freezer I bought from TV Lenny in 1989. still running though too noisy and I keep putting off the inevitable replacement, Whats that old saying? "never do today what you can postpone until tomorrow" . Works for me.

My dad got rid of a tiny little refrigerator that was from maybe the 70's or early 80's and replaced it with a much larger one.  His electricity bill went down around $10 a month by going to the larger newer one.

I was told there was some regulation change related to the freon or whatever is in them and the newer stuff tends to not last as long as the old ones.  You can either pay less per month in electricity or possibly pay for a new one again at some point.  Pick your poison I guess.  I'd probably go new though if it was me.

http://blog.gvea.com/wordpress/?p=933

You know how much more electricity that uses versus a new one? In the long run it will be cheaper to buy a new one.