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Thread: why are our appliances so big?

  1. #1
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    why are our appliances so big?

    I have been perusing kitchen photos on the web since we will be doing a few updates to the kitchen in the house we bought. It seems so inefficient that our stoves are big enough to hold a turkey that we cook once a year or not at all. Our refrigerators are also quite massive-no wonder food goes bad as it gets lost in there. Not to mention the utility costs of having huge appliances. I have been looking at some of the smaller European style appliances but they are way out of our budget. Anyway found this article that asks the same question:
    http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...so-big/280275/

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    I noticed that too, I was at Ikea yesterday and with all the tiny homes and kitchens they still all have these giant fridges. I have a smaller fridge in my apartment now and we still have food going bad. I would have loved to get an old style fridge at my old rental house so the whole kitchen space would work better.

    I wonder if this is because of all the sodas, when I visit other people they have so many beverages in their fridges.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by pinkytoe View Post
    I have been perusing kitchen photos on the web since we will be doing a few updates to the kitchen in the house we bought. It seems so inefficient that our stoves are big enough to hold a turkey that we cook once a year or not at all. Our refrigerators are also quite massive-no wonder food goes bad as it gets lost in there. Not to mention the utility costs of having huge appliances. I have been looking at some of the smaller European style appliances but they are way out of our budget. Anyway found this article that asks the same question:
    http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...so-big/280275/
    We recently bought a new propane stove, which needs no electricity and is good for our rather frequent power outages. We were replacing an ancient propane cooktop plus a 1970s vintage electric wall oven that were here when we bought the house (and possibly when Noah was still building the ark).

    It's 24 inches, which seems tiny. Here's the thing, though -- it holds our large turkey roaster and we cooked a 22 pound turkey in it for Christmas. So really even the turkey doesn't require the size they all seem to be.

    We also have a small frig, and i'm struggling more with it. One can, it seems, lose things in a frig of any size.

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    I don't think the electricity cost of our huge refrigerator could be any better for a small size. It is incredibly low. Something like $11 a YEAR.

    Part of the reason to have a consistent size for appliances is it makes them easy to replace, easy to construct kitchens, and easy to stock and sell. 30 inches is standard for ranges. If you design the kitchen for a smaller footprint, it is basically limiting any other resident to the same size. Only "luxury" properties request a width of greater than 30 inches and then they look pretty stupid if someone wants a "regular" range. Ditto with properties that use 24 inch ranges. Someone cannot move in with another range that might be a regular size of 30 inches. So larger and smaller are more limiting and will also cost way more because they are sold in smaller quantities.

    Americans buy a lot of food, keep almost everything in the refrigerator and shop occasionally. If you shop daily or every other day, keep many things on the counter, do not store excess food, you can get away with smaller refrigerators.

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    I have a small fridge in my apartment, the freezer section is too small in the winter when you need to stock up. Some of my neighbors buy an additional fridge or freezer when they have bigger families.

  6. #6
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    When I replaced the fridge in my house a number of years back, since we did not remodel I had to find a fridge to fit the spot the old one was in, which was not a full size fridge. It wasn't easy.

  7. #7
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    When I bought the new appliances for my new home, I was entranced by the look of the new appliances. It was like looking at the car shows with lots of gadgets, shiny and buttons to push.

    The cabinets did not allow a large fridge plus for my laundry area, I had to decide if I wanted stacked washer and dryer or a side by side. Standing in the department store, I saw, in a corner, a simple basic top loading washer and matching dryer in plain white. It was all I needed.

    It was as though someone had snapped me out of a hypnotic state. All the sparkle is marketing hype. Many of the washers last about 5 years according friends' experiences. My old basic washer had lasted 20+ years. I went basic with everything except the dishwasher and chose a Bosch design for a number of good reasons including the better quality basket, steel interior, filtration system etc.
    Big is not better!
    ETA My appliances ended up being the most energy efficient or awfully close to it so I have no regrets every time I look at my energy bill. We have high electricity rates.
    Last edited by razz; 1-4-17 at 9:02pm. Reason: Autocorrect is a pain for changing words
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    Dh and I struggled to find a small fridge. Now we are building a new kitchen with a spot for it. Maybe somebody will have yo replace a cabinet some say. I don't care.

    we do have an extra freezer for milk, cheese, and veggies from the farm, but I highly recommend a food storage/stocking up plan that resists power outages - canning, drying... Of course, being a vegetarian helps with that approach.

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    I have a large fridge and LOVE it! The shelves are glass and you can see at a glance where everything is. Previously, I had a small side by side and had to stack food because it was so small. A pizza would not even lay flat in the freezer. I threw away a lot because I could not see what I had. We rarely go out to eat and absolutely love having enough room. I never want to go back to small.

  10. #10
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by frugal-one View Post
    I have a large fridge and LOVE it! The shelves are glass and you can see at a glance where everything is. Previously, I had a small side by side and had to stack food because it was so small. A pizza would not even lay flat in the freezer. I threw away a lot because I could not see what I had. We rarely go out to eat and absolutely love having enough room. I never want to go back to small.
    I'm with you. I hate my refrigerator with its cramped, minuscule freezer. I was telling a friend I could have mastodon meat in there--I wouldn't know; it's a black hole. I keep telling myself I'll get a good refrigerator for my next house, It's incentive.

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