We recently got a new fridge and my friends and family were all amazed I didn't choose a "smart" fridge. "But you're in tech, why wouldn't you want a high tech fridge?", "Because I'm in tech."
I've given up trying to program my thermostat.
Here's how a cat feeder should work:
1. put cat food in the hopper
2. plug it in
Then, it dispenses food 4 times in the next 24 hours, starting when it gets power. That's it. No clock, no modes, no options, no "lock" mode. For the super-advanced model, add a dial to adjust the amount of food dropped.
Feed it half as much 4 times a day!
Make it so that it has four food tanks, which it cycles through. This way, so you can provide some variety for the cat.
Have the four food tanks arranged so that two are on the left side, one above the other. Similar for the right side.
The 0 hour feeding comes from the bottom left tank, the 6 hour feeding from top left, the 12 hours from bottom right, and the 18 hour from top right.
Associated with each top tank is a lever or dial with two settings: feed or skip.
The outputs from the top tanks go to a forked chute, with the level controlling which fork is taken. The "feed" fork leads to the bowl for the cat. The "skip" fork leads to the bottom tank on that side.
(I fix "everything" at home, including things that doesn't make sense to fix and I justify it by saying to myself it is a hobby and I'm learning, but fixing an 80 year old fridge is something I haven't even thought of..!)
If it doesn't then it's not a problem that he can fix either.
If it was still sealed, I would've left it alone; R12 is very efficient (among the reasons CFCs were used for decades before ozone depletion was known) and now rare and expensive, and it's known that these sealed systems can work almost indefinitely if they're kept sealed. I know of working examples of other units from this era which still have the original refrigerant.
The 1970s were a low point, with bad seals, insulation, and heavy-duty case heaters for defrost cycle.
One of the objectively most efficient units we studied was a 1950s Crosley Shelvador, one of the early self-defrosting concepts. Rather than operate on a timer, as modern refrigerators do, this one actually counted door-openings, a more useful measure, as frost accumulates as warm, humid air displaces dry, cooled air, and condenses on interior surfaces. More openings => more frost.
It also had sufficient insulation and tight-fitting, long-lasting door-seals.
The unit was also a beauty.
The programme, in which most refrigerators were scrapped (coolant captured, metals recycled), saw this on set aside, though it eventually met with an untimely accident.
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Notes:
1. Though if you're going to take a self-described Space Alien Cat on its word, you might care to re-assess your life decisions.
While I'm generally a fan of simple appliances in concept, there are several significant changes that have occurred in the last 20 years you might want to just peruse.
As an aside, my dryer has wifi, but I only ever use that feature just to alert me on my phone that the loads are complete. I've never gotten that shitty software to actually start a load successfully. Not even upset about it, I didn't buy it for the wifi.
The internet of things is useless but don't let that hold you back from finding some really efficient modern technology.
For tumble driers, scroll to the annex of https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A...
"From 1 November 2015:
— for condenser household tumble driers the energy efficiency index (EEI) shall be less than 76,
— for condenser household tumble driers, the weighted condensation efficiency shall be not lower than 70 %."
(And then a definition of what that means.)
It usually took 3 - 5 hours to wash and dry a load, but it was ideal as a working solo Dad, I could put a load on before work, and it would be dry when I came home. Then I could put a load on before bed and it'd be dry in the morning.
Not sure who the average person is, but if they have a job, I found that very convenient.
I just bought one and you can even dry wool clothes in it without shrinkage. It’s also dead simple to use.
I purchased the repair manual and gambled on the parts that I thought were the problem, plus a couple of cheap parts on either side of where I thought the problem might be. I was able to disassemble the washer, swap out what I thought needed swapping out, and I was done. Worked fine.
In poor countries, people don't buy new things as much, often are of lower quality and have less apprehension buying used if it's a good deal.
What my time is worth has changed over the years, but what I'm willing to put up with has likewise changed. Yet, it's still valuable to know how to do basic things like top off fluids. Dont want to be stranded in the desert or a mountain pass if you dont know how to top off coolant, or seize an engine because your oil level is too low.
I dont do most of my maintenance any more, but I think its worth knowing the basics in a pinch. Adding fluids, jumping a battery, changing a tire, etc.
It's a front loading Panasonic in case anyone is interested.
The washing machine in my house does something similar, if somewhat less smart: put clothes in, tell it what kind of materials they are, it rotates a few times, figures out the weight and distribution then starts and tells you how long the wash will be. Certainly wish it had a heat pump mode.
As I understand, our laundry habits are a bit different than much of the world. We tend to wash everything after one use and clotheslines are few and far between.
Also, our energy prices are cheap, so the pay-off curve for the efficiency gain of such a machine is long.
They'll probably get more popular as family sizes continue to shrink, and people continue migrating back to cities.
They exist in the US, so there must be a reason why they aren't as popular. I was outlining my reasons. Preferences are simply preferences.
Tech enthusiast: All my devices are IoT-ified! I can control everything via Google Home! I love living in the future!
Software engineer: The most recent piece of technology I own is a printer from 2005, and I keep a loaded gun ready to shoot it if it so much as makes an unexpected noise
Just don't ever connect it via WiFi, Ethernet, or Bluetooth to any kind of source of Internet connectivity.
Once they get to the point where they require online connectivity to do anything at all (like power on), then it's time to dump them for something simpler -- and more expensive.
Anecdotally, I have heard reports about smart TVs occasionally auto-connecting to random public, unencrypted networks that are in range so they can release whatever 'payload' they have.
I haven't confirmed, because I've never bought a smart TV.
Yeah, there's something about being close to software that makes it more frightening, not less.
As Randall would say: https://xkcd.com/2030/
Who knew that defrosting three ice-makers twice a day had an energy cost?