phx, 1 year ago

There’s also a lot of other stuff that changed over time. New appliances may be more efficient, run on different (more environmentally friendly) coolant, have lead-free solder circuits, etc.

The thing is, a lot of that old stuff which was found to have health or environment issues also lasted longer. Leaded solder didn’t get burrs, for example. The components may also have been easier to repair.

But there’s also survivor bias. For every old freezer that sat in grandma’s basement for 2-3 decades many more ended up in a scrap heap.