How can i convince management we need a new fridge?

Discussion Open Forum
1

Ok guys, i have already complained my fridge leaked (didnt really, but i said it did), and they came, turned thethermostat colder and told me it works fine. I dont like the fridge. It is big, white, bulky side-by-side, and doesnt hold that much. I think it is not energy efficient either. How can i check how efficient it runs? Maybe then i can persuade management i need a new one. Not expecting a gorgeous new one, but something that looks like it is from this decade, and not side by side and preferably stainless steel.

Any ideas to check efficacy? And persuade management for an upgrade?

Thanks!

2

Leave a box of milk in the sun for a few days, then put it into the fridge and ask them to check the milk for you. Or make them some coffee with it.

Or eggs. Rotten eggs are always good when they explode.

But I think you’re SOOL with Taiwan management replacing anything that’s still got a pulse, however faint it may be.

3

You might want to get hold of a Kill-a-Watt or something similar. With the hefty rise in electricity prices (and probably more in store) it makes sense to know what’s contributing to your bill (not just the fridge) - it’s pretty easy to save a substantial chunk by turning off power-hog appliances that use considerable power even in stand-by mode, or by trading up to more efficient devices.

4

Find your meter (which will be somewhere down in the basement guarded by men with pointy helmets and flaming torches) and take a reading just before you go to bed. Make sure everything else in the house is switched off before you sleep. Take another reading when you wake up. Calculate how many hours that was, and scale according to per-day, or per-year, or whatever you want. An EU-spec fridge/freezer uses about 1kWh/day. Taiwanese fridges burn 3-4 times that, partly because they’re bigger, and partly because they’re shite.

If you can’t find your meter, you can get little gadgets (go to the electronics shops near ZhongXiao XinSheng station) that you plug your appliance into to check its energy consumption. They’re about NT$1000 and well worth having. Make sure to take a reading over several hours because a fridge spends most of its time not doing anything (or ought to). EDIT: Taffy just said the same thing.

:roflmao: Good luck with that. We have a hot spring in our building that closes on Thursdays. When I say “closes”, I mean we’re not allowed to use it. But the (electrically-heated) water keeps running - about 20 litres a minute, I’d guess, apparently 24/7 continuously. That’s about 700kWh/day (never mind the wasted water!). I finally got pissed off about this (our management fee is sky-high) and asked the management why they don’t shut the water off if it’s not being used. They looked at me like I was mad. “It’s just hot water”, they said. Ah, I see. So that’s all right, then. Fuckwits. :fume:

btw, what do you mean by “side by side”? Do you mean a vertical type with the door(s) on the top? These actually tend to be more efficient because all the cold air doesn’t spill out every time you open the door.

5

Finley and Taffy - thanks for this suggestion. I thought those things were a lot more expensive than that. Do either of you know what they would be called in Chinese?

6

I wouldn’t even know what you’d call them in English. You could try asking for a 電度錶 (dian du biao). Go to the basement area at ZhongXiao XinSheng, walk around B1, and look in the electronic component shops near the batteries/mains cables/general electrical area. I’ve seen them on display in at least two different shops.