# Do all modern full size refrigerators suck now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 2, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253 "2014-09-02T15:22:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/21 "2014-09-04T15:10:29Z")
modern appliances (within the past 30 years or so) usually aren’t as durable as those of maybe 50 years ago. though for a large appliance the operating costs of old stuff may be high. parts and energy costs may be high. modern stuff might have been designed to last 6 years. for something like a refrigerator you might recover your cost in three years with saved energy over a decades old family friend. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/22 "2014-09-04T19:53:11Z")
I asked my maintenance man the other day. He said he worked 8 years in appliances, and they don’t make them the same as they used to. In my apartment complex, most stoves are about 25-30 years old, and are going out one by one, which means no longer worth refurbing. The new replacements are dying after 6-10 years. Same for fridges. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2014, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/23 "2014-09-04T21:50:10Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > I’ve noticed that the atmosphere (outside the fridge) pushing the door closed, but I’ve never noticed that the air (or lack of it ) inside exhibit a significant attractive force - For a liquid or gas to suck, it would have to be making a force like gravity , electricity or magnetism or something… not happening to a such significant level. > Earth’s air does not suck… it very often pushes. Nonsense. Sucking is a result of pressure differentials in fluids. Why are you talking about gravity? Do you not suck on a straw? Am I missing a joke? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2014, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/24 "2014-09-05T11:21:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > For every genuine improvement - say, miracle plastics or reduction of moving parts in timers, etc. - there is a plethora of building to lesser standards. The old “metal monster you’ll hand down to your kids” school of design is long, long gone. With refrigerators, you don’t want to hand it down to your kids. EnergyStar has a calculator, and for a 20cuft fridge, a model from 30 years ago costs $150/yr more to run, it is literally cheaper to buy a new fridge every 5 years rather than keep running the old one. ---
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/25 "2014-09-07T06:25:56Z")
Yes, they do. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/26 "2014-09-07T14:34:59Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > Nonsense. Sucking is a result of pressure differentials in fluids. Why are you talking about gravity? Do you not suck on a straw? Am I missing a joke? It’s not TOTAL nonsense, it is just “sucking” in a different form. When you open the fridge, the heavier cold air “falls” out the bottom of the opening, and warm ambient air flows into the top of the compartment to replace it. In a literal sense, the flow of cold air out toward your feet (by gravity) “sucks” room air in from up near your face. That’s a pressure differential, caused by gravity acting on the heavier cold air. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/27 "2014-09-07T17:38:08Z")
Just a thought: 6X6 empty box filled with warm air. Has a cooling unit. Has a pressure gauge. Box has a door with a seal. Box has a one way valve at the top that will allow air to only **leave** the box. Box has a one way valve at the bottom that will allow air to only **enter** the box. Now box cools the air inside. Does a partial vacuum exist at this time? If you open both valves at the same time, does the air flow and allows the pressure equalize? What would happen if the **top** valve was the only one opened? What would happen if the **bottom** valve was the only one opened? **jtur88** , if you answer these questions correctly, you will see that your post is incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/28 "2014-09-07T20:01:28Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > …even-size twin doors for the refrigerator on top with a slide out freezer chest on the bottom… Only down side to them is they never have automatic ice dispensers… I have a KitchenAid like that that has an ice dispenser. The ice maker is in the right-hand side of the fridge ceiling with a holding bin and dispenser in the right door. When we bought it a year ago we must have looked at 3-4 makes with models with the same configuration. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253/29 "2014-09-07T21:22:26Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Just a thought: > > 6X6 empty box filled with warm air. > Has a cooling unit. > Has a pressure gauge. > Box has a door with a seal. > Box has a one way valve at the top that will allow air to only **leave** the box. > Box has a one way valve at the bottom that will allow air to only **enter** the box. > > Now box cools the air inside. > Does a partial vacuum exist at this time? > > If you open both valves at the same time, does the air flow and allows the pressure equalize? > > What would happen if the **top** valve was the only one opened? > What would happen if the **bottom** valve was the only one opened? > > **jtur88** , if you answer these questions correctly, you will see that your post is incorrect. No, what I said makes no reference to interior pressure. I describe what is essentially opening both the top and bottom valves in a non-pressurized container. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-all-modern-full-size-refrigerators-suck-now/697253.md?page=1)