How old is YOUR fridge?

50th birthday party - for fridge

A Coventry couple invited their friends and family to a birthday party - for their 50-year-old fridge.

Paul and Val Howkins had banners, party poppers and even a cake to mark the milestone, reports the Daily Telegraph.

They bought the Prestcold fridge for £65 on August Bank Holiday in 1959, four years after they got married, and insist it is almost good as new.

Party guests enjoyed a buffet of cheese and wine, which had naturally been chilled in the fridge.

Mr Howkins, 75, a retired aeronautical engineer said: "Everyone tells us to get rid of it but we don't want to.

"Most people didn't have fridges 50 years ago but our kitchen faced south so it was warm.

"We had a piece of beef on a lump of concrete and it went rotten, so I said we had to buy a fridge.

"The thermostat went about 30 years ago and when I took it to Prestcold to get another one the man said where on earth did you get that?

"They didn't even make fridges any more by that point."

Mr Howkins managed to source a new part and the fridge has continued working ever since.


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I almost said some marriages don't last that long!!;)

OMG!!! That is one old fridge!:eek:

Our fridge is new. It come with our house. Maybe a couple yrs old.

Just got a new one in May / June, to save on the energy! LOVE it!!

About 2 months old! :D

march 2002, when i bought my house. wow, is that unit a well made machine

Mine is about ten years old.

However ... my brother still has the original refrigerator that came in my parents' house when they bought it in 1961. Seriously.

A LOT younger than me!!:p

Our fridge is 4 years old.

As is the small bloodstain on the woodwork above it, as I was off by 1/4" when I measured to buy it.:eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lady's Human

Our fridge is 4 years old.

As is the small bloodstain on the woodwork above it, as I was off by 1/4" when I measured to buy it.:eek:

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:eek: That's not good. Measure twice, move the fridge once.


Our fridge is 15+ years. The water dispenser doesn't work. The ice maker doesn't work. It keeps the leftovers cold so there is no complaints over here.

:D

Measured twice...........in the wrong place.

The fridge has a slight lip on the front at the top. The back clears beautifully.

The front, on the other hand.....ouch. :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lady's Human

:D

Measured twice...........in the wrong place.

The fridge has a slight lip on the front at the top. The back clears beautifully.

The front, on the other hand.....ouch. :p

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You know all machinery demands the blood of a virgin as a sacrifice when installed.:D

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If your fridge is running, catch it before it gets out the door!

Wa wa waaaaaaaaaaaa, ba dump.:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RICHARD

You know all machinery demands the blood of a virgin as a sacrifice when installed.:D

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That's true for Ikea furniture as well:D
My washing mashine retired some years ago at 25 years of age but the fridge may be 8/9 years. In my life there have been about 4 fridges and I'm still at my second washing machine.

Just got a new one in July but when I was married, my husband and I renovated a country Victorian home that was built in 1865. I didn't want an "icebox"; that would've been just downright tedious so I found a refrigerator, one from the year 1913, the kind w/the big generator on top. It was impossible up until that time to find one that worked and all the others were priced at a minimum of $400 (this was over 20 years ago) and who knows how much it would've cost to get it running, if that was even possible.

We paid $50 for it, the man who sold it to us was delighted to get it out of his basement, and it took 4 men to carry it. I finally sold it 6 years ago when I bought this house and it was still in good working condition! I sold it for what I paid for it and I know that the man who bought it from me was just as delighted as I. We both knew a good deal when we saw it. It had the original brass GE plate and a foot pedal to open the door if your hands were full. I often wish that I still had it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lady's Human

Our fridge is 4 years old.

As is the small bloodstain on the woodwork above it, as I was off by 1/4" when I measured to buy it.:eek:

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Just experienced this myself when I bought the new fridge. Had to have the cabinet cut down to accomodate the icemaker.

Oh, some people will do anything to have a party. Funny story.

My fridge has to be about 10 years old. The ice maker on it no longer works which I really miss. Casey was afraid of the new fridge when we got it. She would walk into the kitchen and go way around the kitchen table to get to the other rooms. It took her a week or so to trust it. :D

Mine is a big GE side by side (which I hate) and will be 19 in November - new when we put up this house. As long as it keeps doing what it is supposed to do, then it has a home here.

I had a clothes dryer for 37 years. It was a Kenmore and the only repairs ever made to it was a new drum belt and a new element. They just don't make them like that anymore! I have a Whirlpool right now, and it will never see that many years. :(

Appliances, furniture, etc. were built to last back then. Just a few short years ago, I finally got rid of a color TV that my husband bought us in '72! It was a portable w/a leather strap on the top so it could be carried from room to room and it had rabbit ears that pushed down all the way. I never had it repaired once but when the picture tube blew, I sent it to the big appliance store in the sky.

I learned when I was cleaning houses that things aren't built to last now. My vacuum cleaners were constantly in the repair shop, belts were always breaking, etc. The repairman told me that vc's now give you 3 seconds, count 'em, three, to turn the vc off when you have a broken belt. Otherwise, the entire vc can be ruined. Nice, huh? So if you have a fridge or any appliance that has worked faithfully for years w/no problems, keep it and resist the temptation to buy new.