For context, I have a bread maker that’s been serving us well over the last two years.
It’s a basic Hamilton Beach unit.
A few weeks back, I had leaks through the bottom of the bread pan. At it turns out, the seals wear out and eventually need to be replaced. In my case, the pin that holds the paddle (which kneeds the dough) came right out, so one of the clips must be busted.
Anyway, seeing that this machine is still under warranty, and these “seal kits” seem to be available for quite a few brands and models, I figure it would be an easy resolution.
Well, not really.
The company said they don’t have replacement parts, but they’d be happy to send an entirely new bread machine (different model) if I paid the shipping.
Yeah, no. Shipping costs way more than the part I need (almost half what I paid for the machine!). And it’s environmentally wasteful to replace a machine for such a stupid issue (they wanted me to cut the cord on the old unit before disposing of it).
To make a long story short, I insisted that they only replace the bread basket, which was a much lower cost to ship anyway, and I can keep using my perfectly working machine.
Side quest: I could look for replacement seals for this machine, but apparently, they are pretty model-specific and may not fit if it’s off by even a single mm.
This is actually part of planned obsolescence, where it is difficult and costly to repair things even when parts are available by constant minor cosmetic tweaks dueing production.
Cars reusing parts between models is both cost savings to develop and to meet regulations for making parts available for a set number of years. If appliances were required to follow the same regulations then home repair would be feasible again.
For sure! We need stronger laws that prevent this. Lump it into some environmental protection mandate, and expedite it!