Things not built to last...

[Count Steer]

Rather than add this to the electric vehicles thread where we were singing the praises of Dualit goods...

Jinxed it! Saying how good they are, my Dualit kettle has just popped the heating element. (tripped the ECB too). Really, you'd expect things to last more than 25 years.

Might take it apart and see how easy it is to replace, y'know, just because. (Although I notice some hairline cracks in the sight 'glass' so it probably is time to get a new one (for £80) - unless they do replacements for the glass too).

[Count Steer]

Apparently you can replace the element but it has to be sent back to Dualit to do it (needs special tools, safety testing blahblahblah) £42.

Classic. Just £2 over half the price of a new one.

[cheb]

What price the environment?

I'd send it back for repair. but that's my choice and not yours. I'm no fascist trying to impose my views.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Our £20 Tesco kettle has lasted about 10 years so far (it's going to go pop tonight now)

[Count Steer]

What price the environment?

I'd send it back for repair. but that's my choice and not yours. I'm no fascist trying to impose my views.

Haven't decided yet. If it was a complete refurbishment then it would be on the way to Dualit right now. As it is with the hairline cracks/denaturing in the sight 'glass' and knowing that the other routine replacement items are the plug/socket connectors in the bottom of the kettle and the base I'm in pondering mode*. Sending it back once is OK.

* Which may last as long as the 'spare' kettle lasts.

[Felix]

Our £20 Tesco kettle has lasted about 10 years so far (it's going to go pop tonight now)

If it does they also have a £7.50 kettle but Currys do a nice one for 20 quid

https://www.currys.co.uk/products/logik ... lsrc=aw.ds


None of this pretentious environmental shit in this house

[demographic]

IIRC France has a longevity and ease of repair rating system for household electrical goods.
Radio 4 was on about it about a year ago.


Seemed a good idea to me.

[Count Steer]

IIRC France has a longevity and ease of repair rating system for household electrical goods.
Radio 4 was on about it about a year ago.


Seemed a good idea to me.

When I bought stuff in Belgium eg digital camera, a line item on the receipt was a cost of recycling tax. That's not a bad way to encourage manufacturers to improve recycle-ability.

[Mr Moofo]

IIRC France has a longevity and ease of repair rating system for household electrical goods.
Radio 4 was on about it about a year ago.


Seemed a good idea to me.

When I bought stuff in Belgium eg digital camera, a line item on the receipt was a cost of recycling tax. That's not a bad way to encourage manufacturers to improve recycle-ability.

Same in Germany - rather when you buy a new X , you take you old X to the store for them to recycle
I find it very frustrating that so much is uneconomical to repair. I had a Whirlpool washing machine that failed after 14 months ( 2 month out of warranty) - motherboard fubarred. A new one would cost more than a machine

[Mr. Dazzle]

AFAIK there have been EU laws for a long time stipulating that goods have to be X% recyclable. The missing link is that while stuff is recyclable, no-one actually does!

[Count Steer]

IIRC France has a longevity and ease of repair rating system for household electrical goods.
Radio 4 was on about it about a year ago.


Seemed a good idea to me.

When I bought stuff in Belgium eg digital camera, a line item on the receipt was a cost of recycling tax. That's not a bad way to encourage manufacturers to improve recycle-ability.

Same in Germany - rather when you buy a new X , you take you old X to the store for them to recycle
I find it very frustrating that so much is uneconomical to repair. I had a Whirlpool washing machine that failed after 14 months ( 2 month out of warranty) - motherboard fubarred. A new one would cost more than a machine

It seems incredibly wasteful. Our first washing machine was like Trigger's broom over 20+ years. (I think we gave it to someone who carried on using it in the end and bought an 'efficient' one that was scrapped as 'economically not repairable' at about 15 years).

IIRC the tax in Belgium was a 'disposal tax' so, the more recycleable the item, the lower the tax and you could return things to the store as you say.

I bought some kitchen stuff from AO and they took the old appliances. Their recycling facility at Telford is hooooge and v impressive. Great big whirly chain things that smash stuff down to bits for re-use. Plastic nibs of various sorts, metal, glass. I think most appliances end up there as they take them from other suppliers too. Good business.

[Skub]

Mrs.Skub seems to like new kettles,so I don't really know how long ours would last in theory...

[Jody]

My parents just replaced their Samsung American style fridge freezer. Damn thing only lasted 21 years