To some extent they can't make things like they used to. Government regulations regarding energy efficiency and the materials used play a huge role in the quality of the device. Old style Freon was a very efficient refrigerant that was well understood and easy to work with. But then because it was a CFC, it got banned and replacements had to be found. The replacement HFC based refrigerants are harder to work with and tend to lead to more mechanical issues. Older, bullet-proof motors that would last forever aren't efficient enough for modern appliances. To make a motor more efficient compromises have to be made. Those compromises, while increasing efficiency and saving energy, lead to a shorter life.
States like California ban a ton of chemicals and chemical compounds for fear they could be cancer causing or for other reasons, many of the compounds were widely used and now have to be substituted for. In the vast majority of the cases the substitutes are not as effective.
Well, you might say, it's a small price to pay to eliminate cancer, but in many cases the chemical/cancer link is extremely tenuous at best. We're saving the environment! Not if we're filling landfills with broken down devices.
Fifty years ago the list of materials one could use in manufacturing was nearly limitless. Every day that passes now that list of acceptable materials is getting smaller and smaller. When you take more options away from the manufacturers you end up tying their hands and forcing them to make do with less known/proven materials.
It's just a question of time until the powers-that-be decide you can't use wood as a building material since trees are so important to the environment. And you can't use bricks or concrete because their raw materials are mined and mining destroys the environment. Recycled steel could be used but only if it's from a plant that doesn't use any greenhouse gas creating combustibles for the forges. Plastic comes from oil so that can't be used due to the destruction caused by oil drilling/refining. But, you can build a house out of whatever's left. Of course, there's pretty much nothing left but dirt, but you'll figure it out. How hard can it be?
That's largely where manufacturers find themselves these days. Many of the materials that used to make devices reliable are now banned and unavailable. So, they have to change the electrolyte in a capacitor, big deal! Well, it is when that electrolyte fails and your device is rendered useless. So they have to use a different lube in a bearing, what's the problem? Well, when that lube fails and the bearing seizes it becomes a problem. So they have to improve the efficiency of a motor by fifty percent, what's the big deal? Well if that improvement in efficiency brings with it a substantially reduced lifespan then it becomes a big deal. Every action has a reaction. The more proven items you take away from a manufacturer and tell them to make do with what's left over, you make it more and more likely that the new devices will fail. When you've used a compound for fifty years, you know all of its strengths and weaknesses. When that compound is banned they have to start all over.
I'm not advocating rolling back all of the restrictions and letting anyone use anything, but people have to understand there are consequences for every action. When you ban something that's widely used and force manufacturers to substitute something else in its place, there's a pretty good chance that substitute will have issues. When you want more efficiency out of a device, then you have to sacrifice something else to get it. There's no magic wand that lets manufacturers make those adjustments without compromises and consequences. A shorter product lifespan is just one of those consequences
Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Blogs & Forums
