Stop appliance genocide

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by davet753

My mother has a range exactly like this one (except in avacodo green). It was purchased new when her and dad got married in 1968. She still uses it daily, and the only problems she has had with it in over 40 years is a couple of elements and an oven thermostat.

GE really made some high quality appliances back in those days. Now-a-days, the GE name on an appliance is the kiss of death.

Unfortunately GE commercial/industrial electrical distribution gear is about on par with their appliances these days. It used to be good, solid stuff all the way through the 1980s.

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by DavGoodlin

Unfortunately GE commercial/industrial electrical distribution gear is about on par with their appliances these days. It used to be good, solid stuff all the way through the 1980s.

I don't know if this is really a fair generalization to make - their medium voltage vacuum circuit breakers and especially their protective relays seem to be as good as anything on the market. GE Multilin protective relays are used extensively in power distribution and from what I have seen they've been reliable and well performing products.

Electrical distribution gear by all manufacturers is getting lighter and cheaper over time... if GE didn't make some changes to keep up with modern needs they would go the way of Westinghouse.

It seems to me that GE is a company which is heavily (or exclusively) driven by profit margins and quarterly reports, but when the giant flexes its muscles it can accomplish great things. Look at their jet engines for example for some very impressive US technology.

The fact is no electrical company in North America will ever again see the glory days where the whole country needs power, and foreign competition is nearly non-existent. Let's just hope GE can hold on and the whole world doesn't get owned by the European giants like Siemens, Schnieder Electric, ABB, etc.

[DavGoodlin]

Originally Posted by maxhifi

I don't know if this is really a fair generalization to make - their medium voltage vacuum circuit breakers and especially their protective relays seem to be as good as anything on the market. GE Multilin protective relays are used extensively in power distribution and from what I have seen they've been reliable and well performing products.

Electrical distribution gear by all manufacturers is getting lighter and cheaper over time... if GE didn't make some changes to keep up with modern needs they would go the way of Westinghouse.

It seems to me that GE is a company which is heavily (or exclusively) driven by profit margins and quarterly reports, but when the giant flexes its muscles it can accomplish great things. Look at their jet engines for example for some very impressive US technology.

The fact is no electrical company in North America will ever again see the glory days where the whole country needs power, and foreign competition is nearly non-existent. Let's just hope GE can hold on and the whole world doesn't get owned by the European giants like Siemens, Schnieder Electric, ABB, etc.

Fair point, I did not mean GE was failing in all markets. My reference was the low-voltage (600V and lower), specifically the discontinuation of the GE's AV line switchboards.

GE medium voltage equipment is still OK, but if you are a specifying engineer, GE has all but eliminated its representation and support compared to Eaton Cutler Hammer, also a US-owned company to date. Therefore, GE can low-ball bids and if there is an issue, you don't have the Engineering support to call like you do with S&C, Powercon, French-owned Square D and German-owned Siemens.

I used to deliver appliances in the 80s between bench sessions and witnessed the declines in the consumer lines, even back then. My employer stopped selling Zenith in 1980 due to system 3 early issues, then Magnavox in 1984 after NAP became less supportive. Then they added Maytag and Panasonic because of the issues starting on the economy-grade GE appliances and Thomsen's combined GE-RCA. Through it all, Sony was a popular line with available parts and support.

[Countryford]

I believe it was the mid 50's that the appliance companies started making them in colors. In the early and mid 60's (before harvest gold and avocado) there were colors like Coppertone Brown and Turquoise. Earlier there was another brown, but it was a lighter color. I have a G.E. Americana fridge that is in Coppertone Brown, it is from about 1966. Actually tomorrow I'll be purchasing the G.E. Americana range also in Coppertone Brown.

Great info Countryford!

Totally true about GE today. Their commercial AC units used to be the best available, now they're junk.

GE has been trying to sell their appliance division for several years now and apparently nobody's interested. Not even Whirlpool, who's bought out every other American appliance name. They still have Appliance Park in Louisville, but maybe not for long. A lot of their stuff is now rebranded Samsung.

Today's GE is nothing like the GE of old. The company has been badly mismanaged for several years now.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by egrand

Great info Countryford!

Totally true about GE today. Their commercial AC units used to be the best available, now they're junk.

GE has been trying to sell their appliance division for several years now and apparently nobody's interested. Not even Whirlpool, who's bought out every other American appliance name. They still have Appliance Park in Louisville, but maybe not for long. A lot of their stuff is now rebranded Samsung.

Today's GE is nothing like the GE of old. The company has been badly mismanaged for several years now.

Maybe, "Haier", a Chinese firm, will try to buy them. They tried buying Maytag but Whirlpool prevailed in the purchase.

[Countryford]

I just picked this up yesterday. I have the matching fridge already. Same color. I'll try and get a picture of the two side-by-side.

[rcaman]

some ge appliances are now samsung. run fast and run now.....

Originally Posted by Countryford

I just picked this up yesterday. I have the matching fridge already. Same color. I'll try and get a picture of the two side-by-side.

Your's has kin for sale in Louisville. Only $80!:
http://louisville.craigslist.org/app/4227987306.html

[davet753]

GE's appliance division has slipped considerably over the past 20 years. Back in the 90's when Maytag was considering purchasing Amana from Raytheon, General Electric was wanting to exit the home appliance business and sell the entire division. Problem was, nobody was willing to pay their price for a part of their business they hadn't spent any real money on in years. Negligence can destroy a business.

After management realized nobody was interested, they started spending money to update the line (and by "update", I mean "cheapen"). Their laundry was the first to be changed, and it was not for the better. While the old design was hopelessly outdated compared to the competition, the new line was plagued with quality issues. We won't even get into what they done to the refrigeration line, but suffice it to say it was the end of the road for what was once a reliable and well-built product.

One of these days, GE is likely to be simply a name and not a manufacturer in the home appliance business. Of course, they sure won't be the first. It has happened to some of the biggest names in the business (Amana, Maytag, Westinghouse, Admiral, to name a few).

[Jon A.]

This should last me as long as I don't screw up and break the jar. Got it today.

[Dude111]

Looks quite nice buddy

[Kamakiri]

Just don't try to grind coffee beans with it, no matter how desperate you get for coffee. I tried to do that with my ancient Waring, and while it didn't break, the blade nut on the bottom ended up unscrewing when the blade got stuck, the whole thing flew apart, and half-ground coffee went everywhere.

Still use the blender, I was lucky it was none the worse for wear in the end.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by Kamakiri

Just don't try to grind coffee beans with it, no matter how desperate you get for coffee. I tried to do that with my ancient Waring, and while it didn't break, the blade nut on the bottom ended up unscrewing when the blade got stuck, the whole thing flew apart, and half-ground coffee went everywhere.

Still use the blender, I was lucky it was none the worse for wear in the end.

Duly noted. Perhaps I'll get a junk Chinese blender to do that with, and make a video of it. Of course it will fly apart a lot faster than the Philips shown above would.

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by KV-1926R

Duly noted. Perhaps I'll get a junk Chinese blender to do that with, and make a video of it. Of course it will fly apart a lot faster than the Philips shown above would.

Well, a suitable blender has surfaced, made under the once-respected name of Black & Decker. The only thing respectable about this blender is the glass jar. However, I'm not paying $5.99 minus my discount plus the cost of coffee beans just to watch the thing fly apart. The damn thing is priced higher than my Philips was.