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Ask HN: Any resources for finding non-smart appliances?

155 points everyone | 3 comments | 07 Jul 25 10:44 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source

My washing machine broke down. I need a replacement. I must avoid getting a "smart" one though. Are there any lists of products that arent "smart" so I can know which models are viable options to buy? Or other resources? I'm based in Ireland.
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baq ◴[07 Jul 25 11:20 UTC] No.44489071[source]▶
I’ve got an Electrolux (AEG) since 2015 and it recently needed its heating element replaced because I never bothered to use any water softeners. It took the serviceman 10 minutes and cost less than 100 euros.

I also have friends with Samsung washing machines. Let’s just say get an AEG.

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robin_reala ◴[07 Jul 25 11:30 UTC] No.44489161[source]▶
My Samsung dryer needed a heating element replaced. It cost €450 (~80% of the original purchase price) and involved replacing basically half the machine. I’ll be actively avoiding Samsung in the future.
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bdavisx ◴[07 Jul 25 13:33 UTC] No.44490237[source]▶
That's an insane amount - how old is the dryer?

I've replaced two heating elements in my ~9 year old Samsung dryer, I think the heating elements were less than 50 USD. I did the labor myself so I don't know how much that would have been - you do have to take the dryer apart, but it doesn't take very long if you have experience, 15-20 minutes or less.

I would not recommend Samsung - I've had to take that dryer apart more than 10 times to replace/fix things, I can't imagine how much it would have cost me if I couldn't do it myself. The only plus there is now I can literally break it down and put it back together very quickly when I need to fix it.

Luckily the Samsung washer has been fine.

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1. robin_reala ◴[07 Jul 25 13:50 UTC] No.44490369[source]▶
The heating elements were buried deep in the machine and would have involved many hours of labour to take it apart; it took long enough to strip it down to the point where I realised how complex it was going to be to get any further. Machine was bought in late 2021, but was unfortunately out of guarantee by a couple of months when it broke. I’m happy to tear stuff down (spent yesterday unsticking the fan on a vacuum cleaner) but that was too much for me.
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2. sizzle ◴[08 Jul 25 10:33 UTC] No.44498737[source]▶
So what did you end up doing to fix it? My old whirlpool dryer is bulletproof and easy to repair.
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3. robin_reala ◴[08 Jul 25 11:55 UTC] No.44499158[source]▶
Paid to get the entire bottom half of the inside of the machine replaced. It was that, or spending weeks trying to debug the problem with non-existant parts, or buy a new one.