I do have a modern fridge that keeps going and going. Old fridges do have an issue, too: they are much less energy efficient and have a massive impact on your electricity bill.
this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2026
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I have a modern fridge which is about 15 years old now. Simple digital control, multi zone temperature control, no radiator on the back, stainless steel. It was very expensive at the time but it keeps going and hasn't required any maintenance other than occasionally cleaning the inside.
The fridge I had before this one was a cheap Beko and lasted less than two years.
If there's no radiator on the back then where does the heat go?
In my case heat dissipates through the sides
A lot of modern fridges channel the heat out the front of the bottom. I think it's so you can fit it into tighter spaces.
The back, top, bottom and sides all get hot. So you're right in that it's radiating the heat, it just does use the typical radiator on the rear.
What's the advantage? It sounds like you'd need significant air clearance all around (including in back) instead of just the back?
Most of the ones like that vent the heat primarily through an area that can be effectively cleaned and has significantly better airflow. So the back radiator is larger but it's effectively never cleaned and the air exchange volume is the gap between the back of the fridge and the wall.
Venting out the bottom allows exchange with the rest of the room, but does require more work to ensure the air actually flows. Additionally, you can clean the vent with a vacuum, and it's a lot more likely that will actually happen than someone pulls the fridge forward and wipes the coils with a damp but not wet cloth.
I would imagine not having to clean the radiators.
Those things are a bitch to clean, and they get disgusting quick
- don't get fridges with in-door ice cube makers or in-door water dispensers or other complex features
- if you have in-door water or ice, clean those systems every few weeks. they get disgusting and unsanitary very quickly
- don't get samsung appliances, especially not with complex features
- chinese appliances can be very hit and miss
- (america) don't get kenmore appliances
- sometimes a higher price / better brand really is better overall
- top mount or bottom mount freezer are most reliable
- check local consumer reports ratings (not always compatible with technician's uncerstanding of fridges but usually a great starting point - if you have the means then ask a local independent technician for their appliances of choice)
- keep a bit of space inside the fridge near the walls
- keep space behind and next to the fridge for the compressor to function properly (see manual)
- proper compressor/condenser maintenance like cleaning of the coils can add more years to the life of a fridge and make them perform better
- if you don't have it, get a surge protector
- if you need an independent freezer, get a chest style freezer
video from an american technician comparing fridges and giving tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n76TXuDcok his channel is great in general for americans who want to buy appliances
Enshittification is a turd that touches everything on the way down to the shareholder value lands.
Buuuut this is the kind of thing that survivorship bias was made for. Were things made to last 60 years ago? Not so sure about that, material quality and engineering have come a long way, though so has systematic greed.
For all the stories there are of old appliances weathering the storm of age, you don't hear about the ones that don't. Likewise, we now have more styles, makes, and manufacturers, which makes more room for cheap flashy stuff to hear about when it breaks unexpectedly after a couple years.
I've had both fridges that lasted 20 years, and ones that lasted 2, sometimes its probably just the luck of who they had running the assembly line that day
It was also that old appliances were expensive at the time.
If you buy a fridge for 3000€ today, it will also last you a very long time.
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Also, expensice appliances still last. It's just that back in the day expensive was the only option.
My theory is you should only buy basic, barebones appliances. They don't try to do anything fancy and just default to what's been proven to work. Just get a fridge that does cold and nothing else.
but then people will think you are poor.
Hate to break it to you... Almost everyone is poor now.
Or sensible
that's another word for poor.
you are German? You wouldn't understand, in USA there is no such thing as sensible, there is poor, or successful.
I have an airfryer with two knobs: time and temperature. It's all I need and I love it for that. The best feature: no beeps, only satisfying mechanical timer noises and a simple "pling" when it's done
I have a microwave like that, not even a display, just two twisty knobs without any beeps. And it was only like 55 euros :)
That's what i tell my customers. The best advice is to keep it simple. Even then there's still loads of awful choices out there
Mine's ~25 years old. It's second hand, so I'm not sure how old. It has worked perfectly from day one. I hate to talk about it, don't want to jinx it.
If it dies, I'll try to repair it. If I can't repair it, I'll look to buy an older used one somewhere.
Really though, I don't like when this sort of thing is publicized, because people who might decide to get rid of an old, perfectly usable fridge to buy a new one will learn that they shouldn't so there won't be as many used ones to choose from, and they'll be more expensive.
Parents had a fridge from the 70s that lived until 2006. Gone through 6 fridges since
What the fuck is going on
It's planned obsolesence. They make more money by marketing high tech/luxury stuff and having it break on purpose in a defined amount of time.
I got some Carhartt "worker" jeans, advertized as nice jeans for manual laborers.
I work from home in my home office. The crotch tore in less than 6 months of hard... sitting.
Expensive shit they want you to buy over and over again because they think you're an idiot. I learned to sew, learned to darn my nice wool socks that tore predictably in 6 months, repair and maintain my motorcycle, repair my plumbing, because fuck all this enshittification.
My new MO is to buy your shit once, and either i will say your brand is great or keep wearing my torn/repaired carhartt jeans and keep reminding people never to buy them unless they want to learn how to sew. Fuck these greedy pieces of shit.
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our parents but a new LG one recently, and there has been complaints in the reviews that it keeps defrosting or its not cold enough or it dies down the line.
Buy the right machines. Buy for repairability.
The fridge was designed to survive the third world war.
With their phased out refrigerants that you can't find anymore and when you call someone to recharge it, they can't and youre stuck with a fridge that no longer works.
My mom bought a new house and is moving in, in a couple weeks. I went over to get internet installed a couple weeks ago and noticed the new fridge was making an awful buzzing sound.
the new ones are buggy and defective.
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