New orders for manufactured durable goods are up 100% for two consecutive months! It seems that elderly appliances can't hear the booming drums of the financial elite who promise such things as "stagflation", recession and other scary terms.
December's higher-than-expected order is a result of the hot water heater giving way midmorning Christmas Eve. Faced with having to heat water to wash dishes from our church's brunch (held at our house), it decided that eighteen years was enough and chose to retire. All over the basement floor. Providentially, there was enough time left in the day to descend upon the orange box home center and get their most-efficient model, install it, and take a shower. With time left over for visions of sugar plums. (We've already noticed that we get hot water longer and our gas bill is lower. Nice!)
January's higher-than-expected order is a result of the washing machine giving way thirty-one days later. Conspiracy? Inquiring minds want to know. Connected via ½'' copper pipe with the new hot water heater, perhaps it, too, had had enough and decided to throw out the towel. Providentially, (or perhaps suspiciously?) the Budget And Requisition Board had for months already determined what model would take its place. A few phone calls around the NE Ohio economy found one in Willoughby. By 10pm we had clothes being washed!
What's nice about the washing machine (besides it being new) is that it is a front-loader. Very efficient in terms of water and electricity usage. The wattage on the motor is low enough that the lights don't dim any more! It's kinda frustrating that the cycles are so much longer. The extra capacity means that we have fewer loads to run and because they are drier when they come out, our dryer doesn't have to run as long.
We're just doing our thing for the environment and the economy!
[Update: An astute reader in the DC area wrote in to bring my attention to the IRS' rules around a tax credit for the H2O heater's purchase in 2007. I'll keep that in mind!]
