The Lifespan of Large Appliances Is Shrinking

Not an appliance exactly, but this is exactly my point.

My 2013 model John Deere x304, which is the series you get at a Deere dealer, not at the big box stores, and is supposed to be higher quality, has an little electronic "interlock module" which executes the safety interlocks that keep me from doing things like getting off the mower without setting the parking brake, mowing in reverse (without closing the reverse-in-operation switch), or starting the engine without the brake applied.

All of these functions could have easily been done without a solid state module by wiring the seat switch, brake switch, and PTO switch in various arrangements of series and parallel, maybe add a pole to a couple of them, or add a $7 relay or two. But instead I have a heat-intolerant electronic that costs $120+ to replace and cripples the mower if it fails.

Earlier this year I replaced one because it was locking out the ignition so I had a crank-no-start. I bought the $70 off brand on Amazon which soon proved a mistake because it lasted just beyond the return window before it started doing stupid junk like running the PTO when I didn't engage the switch, so I had to pull the fuse to turn the mower deck off. Then i put the fuse back in and it wouldn't run the PTO at all. Since I couldn't mow I attached the rake and started cleaning up a big area of mulch/twigs/leaves and it started shutting off the engine every time I released the brake. Got on ebay and ordered the Deere module while I let it cool off before it would drive back up to the garage.

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This was all last weekend. The new module came in and I installed yesterday and it once again functions normally.
But does it have smartphone integration? That's the ONLY thing that is important!

Be careful. Some idiot may call you a "Luddite" because you point out what should be obvious. Sounds like time for a rewire...
 
But does it have smartphone integration? That's the ONLY thing that is important!

Be careful. Some idiot may call you a "Luddite" because you point out what should be obvious. Sounds like time for a rewire...

Believe me, it'll get rewired before I buy that module again.
 
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You won't be able to get R-410a equipment past January of 2025 but the production of the gas itself undergoes a gradual phase-down lasting more than a decade. It's already been cut to 90% of 2023 production and in 2036 it'll be at 15%. 12 years is within the typical lifespan so if I was buying today and planned to still live in the house by then it would have to be a really good deal to put myself into a situation where I might have to replace a serviceable system just because I can't get gas for it.
Your post in Itsgonnabreakforsure's thread reminded me that I forgot to thank you for posting this. When R-22 phased out, I got caught out at the end of the phase out where the cost of refrigerant forced me to buy a new system that was repairable. At the time, I didn't understand how the government phase-out worked (it's designed to do exactly what it did to me - force a replacement with a system using the new refrigerant by artificially suppressing the supply chain). When you posted this, I acquired some R-410a to store because I just replaced a system in a rental duplex, and I don't want to be forced to upgrade in the future. I'd rather make the upgrade decision without undue influence...
 
If only the "free market" was free....
You know, as a younger man, I used to think the government was the problem, but now, as an older feller, I realize that we can never have a truly free market due to human nature. Someone is always cheating the system. It's good to get the government's thumb off the scale, but someone will always put a thumb, or worse - a foot, on the scale of free enterprise. :(
 
Your post in Itsgonnabreakforsure's thread reminded me that I forgot to thank you for posting this. When R-22 phased out, I got caught out at the end of the phase out where the cost of refrigerant forced me to buy a new system that was repairable. At the time, I didn't understand how the government phase-out worked (it's designed to do exactly what it did to me - force a replacement with a system using the new refrigerant by artificially suppressing the supply chain). When you posted this, I acquired some R-410a to store because I just replaced a system in a rental duplex, and I don't want to be forced to upgrade in the future. I'd rather make the upgrade decision without undue influence...

what's unfortunate is that the new gases being phased in will go through the same cycle in another 10 years. Many of them break down into the "forever chemical" PFAS, others are still higher than the powers that be want to see in terms of GWP.

In the end I believe it'll all be propane or CO2. And either way that means they'll be expensive.

Propane being flammable will have maximum limits on charge volume, meaning a house requiring one split system will probably have to go to several smaller systems, increasing installed cost. Minisplits would trade ductwork for more copper line runs which should be a win, but it's still not gonna be cheap buying 5 systems instead of 1. Using a packaged unit that sits outdoors would help with the charge limit and condense back down to fewer systems, but then you need a roof curb to mount it, preferably somewhere that isn't visible from the street, or on the ground at the edge of the house where you have loooong duct runs to the other side and are gonna need a really sharp installer to size the duct so you don't have poor temperature control. And that's not something that's easy to retrofit since indoor units are usually centrally located specifically to avoid those discrepancies in duct length.

CO2 has a critical point at 87°F which means if you use a typical air cooled system, there's not really a delineation between liquid and vapor, so there's no phase change in the condenser, instead it's a gas cooler. These systems are called "transcritical", and there's extra hardware like liquid/vapor separators, flash tanks, etc along with modulating control valves making the system far more complex and less reliable. To keep it "simple" you have to run subcritical but that means you can't have an air cooled condenser in ambient higher than what can keep the gas below 87°F and even still the pressures are sky-high (by HVAC standards anyway) which means more copper. Basically looking at geothermal or potentially adiabatic (like a condenser cooled by a swamp cooler) if you're in a relatively cool and dry climate. Neither are cheap.
 
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what's unfortunate is that the new gases being phased in will go through the same cycle in another 10 years.

I've been intending to ask you what you know about the new stuff, or at least new to residential. Has it been out for a while, or will we be cutting teeth here? I'm trying to decide if I want to skip 410 entirely and just go with the new refrigerant when my system needs replacement. My equipment life expectancy bar has been set high. I'd be pissed if I swapped in a new unit and had to do anything to it within the first 10 years.

In the end I believe it'll all be propane or CO2.

In the classic car world, I’ve heard of guys recharging their original R-12 systems with propane instead of converting to 134, but I don't fully understand what all is going on, they just claim R-12 and propane cool better. I've been wondering why older home central air units couldn't run propane too, other than the flammability issue.
 
I've been intending to ask you what you know about the new stuff, or at least new to residential. Has it been out for a while, or will we be cutting teeth here? I'm trying to decide if I want to skip 410 entirely and just go with the new refrigerant when my system needs replacement. My equipment life expectancy bar has been set high. I'd be pissed if I swapped in a new unit and had to do anything to it within the first 10 years.

Just like most industries, there are industry organizations made up of participating manufacturers who work closely with the EPA to guide these regulations. As such, the manufacturers have a heads up and even input (depending on their size and influence) on which chemicals get phased out and which get adopted - and as such, a head start of several years, if not close to a decade, to conduct their R&D to prepare.

The differences in chemistry aren't enough to have an impact on material compatibility, and beyond that it's essentially routine engineering work to adapt to the specific thermophysical properties of the chemical being used. They may change the balance between heat exchanger size and compressor mass flow rate, or compressor flow vs motor horsepower, etc, but it's nothing but some different numbers as the input, and those numbers are well understood and published by NIST.

All that to say I wouldn't worry too much about it.

In the classic car world, I’ve heard of guys recharging their original R-12 systems with propane instead of converting to 134, but I don't fully understand what all is going on, they just claim R-12 and propane cool better. I've been wondering why older home central air units couldn't run propane too, other than the flammability issue.

I've never done it myself, but I've heard about it. The system you end up with if you designed for propane would probably not look like a system designed for R12, but it's obviously not different enough that it wouldn't work, at least in general and in the short term.

Now to really nerd out, because it's a slow day at work - The 2 biggest factors that it comes down to are the suction gas density and the heat of vaporization. Propane has a disadvantage in density but it makes up for it, and then some, with the heat of vaporization. The compressor would be capable of about 40% more BTU/h but since the heat exchangers aren't sized for that, the gain is self-limiting and will end up somewhere less. To use the TJ FSM as a starting point (which is valid because R134a behaves pretty similarly to R12), the FSM says we should have about a 40°F approach (inlet air minus saturated suction temp) at 80°F ambient/inlet air. R12 absorbs 82.8 BTU/cubic foot at that condition, while propane does 116.6 (I'm using enthalpy by volume instead of mass here because the compressor moves volume, not mass). Obviously you can't have 40% more heat coming out than going in so the evaporator needs to absorb more heat - and it needs more approach to do it. As the temperature drops, so does the pressure, and therefore the density, which means the compressor loses capacity while the evaporator gains. What will happen is the low side pressure will balance at a point where the compressor and evaporator match. This neglects a few things but it shouldn't be far off to say that the propane system would have about a 15% improvement in heat transfer capacity by balancing at about 27°F in the same condition - which would be my primary reservation here - that I would need to consider the ambient and cabin temperatures when I used my AC to avoid freezing up the evaporator.

By contrast, putting propane into a residential system designed for R22 would lose come capacity, but probably only enough to notice on the hottest of days. Putting it into a 410a system would be a great way to turn a 5 ton unit into a 3 ton.

...and lest anyone take that above statement to imply that you could get more performance by putting 410a into a 22 system...don't. High side pressures on 410a are in the 550psi range and you'll blow the charge through the pressure relief as soon as you turn it on.
 
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Welp … my 20 year old Asko dryer - which is otherwise going strong - needs a new drum roller. This one’s all chunked up. It’s 2” or 52.5mm in diameter, and the bearing OD is 22mm.
I can’t find a replacement! All the new stuff is 3” +/-
Anybody know of a good place for old parts like this? I want to keep this thing running and not have to buy a new POS.

IMG_2072.jpeg
 
Welp … my 20 year old Asko dryer - which is otherwise going strong - needs a new drum roller. This one’s all chunked up. It’s 2” or 52.5mm in diameter, and the bearing OD is 22mm.
I can’t find a replacement! All the new stuff is 3” +/-
Anybody know of a good place for old parts like this? I want to keep this thing running and not have to buy a new POS.
Oddly, they don't have a parts link on their own web site. I found this with a Google search:

https://www.askoapplianceparts.com/asko-dryer-parts-s/139.htm

I usually go to the manufacturer's web site to get the part number and then Google that to find the best price. I've found eBay to usually be the best price for appliance parts, both new and used.
 
Thanks guys. We are finding the same results unfortunately.
eBay has some promising albeit expensive options but none that confirm the p/n or dimensions.
 
Welp … my 20 year old Asko dryer - which is otherwise going strong - needs a new drum roller. This one’s all chunked up. It’s 2” or 52.5mm in diameter, and the bearing OD is 22mm.
I can’t find a replacement! All the new stuff is 3” +/-
Anybody know of a good place for old parts like this? I want to keep this thing running and not have to buy a new POS.

View attachment 547191

Have you checked with Dey Distributing ? They generally have a lot of decent parts.
 
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I’ll check out Dey Distributors.

I don’t think I can fab a bracket for a 3” since they mount in the front frame … but that is good thinking! Let me think on that some more.
Thanks fellas!
 
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Just had to buy a new over the range microwave - of course the new one has a completely different mounting lashup than the old one even though they're both Whirlpool.
 
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Welp … my 20 year old Asko dryer - which is otherwise going strong - needs a new drum roller. This one’s all chunked up. It’s 2” or 52.5mm in diameter, and the bearing OD is 22mm.
I can’t find a replacement! All the new stuff is 3” +/-
Anybody know of a good place for old parts like this? I want to keep this thing running and not have to buy a new POS.

View attachment 547191

Grainger for a chunk of nylon or other hard plastic and a hole saw?