Built In Problems

One thing that really makes me angry is that things are built to wear out. If nothing wears out, you can’t sell replacement parts, or a new item from time to time.

For years and years a light bulb burning out was a weekly occurrence. Now look how long they last. Florescent lights burn with a lot less energy. This stuff is not new.

I saw a news article about an electric light in a firehouse that has been burning constantly for 75 years. The company that made it went out of business. (I looked it up.) Lesson: If your lights burn out you can sell more.

By the way, florescent lights usually last quite a while. Did you know they still have gas in them when they burn out? Why yes indeed. The only thing that burns out is a little filament. If the fixture put out a lot of voltage like a flyback transformer or your car’s coil they will still light. (I suspect they would stay running for quite a while as there is little else to burn out.)

How about batteries? Everyone uses hundreds of them in their lifetime. I’m pretty suspicious that they’ve never gotten really good. You never see really good rechargeables either. Ni-cads run on 1.2 volts instead of the standard 1.5. What’s with that? You mean to tell me you can’t build a 1.5 volt cell in a ni-cad? As the result of the lower voltage ni-cads cannot be used in a lot of things. (It’s like having a battery that’s already half dead.) Notice how rechargeable alkaline batteries came out and disappeared all of a sudden. Why?

Did you know that if a standard battery is recharged with pulse dc it lasts (holds the charge) about four times as long? (Note that standard batteries can’t be charged much and sometimes won’t charge up to the original voltage.)

Some vehicle and machinery parts are made to break down after a certain period of time. I don’t mean that they built problems into them, what I’m saying is they are built of inferior materials so they can sell you more. Manufacturing companies have prototypes that last a lot longer than the stuff they sell you. Unless they are forced to change, why should they? They are making big bucks…

I do not begrudge anybody a profit. Companies need to stay in business. We just need to understand what’s going on.