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How long do electric shavers really last?

I have a Notelco 2000 series and I’ve just replaced the heads as they were starting to pull out hairs and cause irritation.

So I’m wondering how much more life I can squeeze out of this device? Obviously the battery is a limiting factor, from what I’ve read these tend to last about 2-3 years; I can confidently solder but am unsure if taking the unit apart to do this would compromise the water proof nature?

Beyond this, I can’t think of any other limiting factors other than general upkeep like blade replacements and keeping it clean.

How long have these units lasted in your experience? I see lots of old philishaves on eBay that are apparently still working but I’ve also read the general quality/longevity of Philips shavers isn’t what it once was.

Any input guys?
 
My Braun series 5 has been doing ok for a good 10 years (of course I had to change the foil cassette on a few occasions).

Interesting, in the 10 years that you owned the Braun has the battery ever been replaced?
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
About 5+ years ago I bought a norelco model ( don’t remember specifically) it lasted about a year until the battery died. After researching I discovered that model had a battery that could not be replaced. Garbage.
 
Interesting, in the 10 years that you owned the Braun has the battery ever been replaced?
Surprisingly it's still doing ok (I'm sure performance isn't what it used to be - but it hasn't been a practical issue), which is fortunate since I don't think there's any easy way to replace it. If batteries are a big concern, they have (at least used to have) a travel shaver that's powered by AA batteries - it's pretty decent, although it's not super efficient (single foil).
 
About 5+ years ago I bought a norelco model ( don’t remember specifically) it lasted about a year until the battery died. After researching I discovered that model had a battery that could not be replaced. Garbage.

I think to be fair most shavers batteries are not designed to be replaced, at least not easily anyway. I had a 20 year old Remington rotary which recently had the battery replaced but the ‘fuel gauge’ always says the battery is low so hard to know how these things respond to maintenance.

The guy that fixed it said the service shouldn’t affect its waterproofing but probably best to keep it dry going forward
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
I think to be fair most shavers batteries are not designed to be replaced, at least not easily anyway. I had a 20 year old Remington rotary which recently had the battery replaced but the ‘fuel gauge’ always says the battery is low so hard to know how these things respond to maintenance.

The guy that fixed it said the service shouldn’t affect its waterproofing but probably best to keep it dry going forward
Ya I guess I agree. But I hadn’t had an electric for a decade and decided to get one as a back up for quick touch ups. So when it failed so soon I was disappointed. But these are like any “appliance” these days built to fail and trash. I had a braun in the 90s that was a workhorse. But I wanted something less expensive and you get what you pay for.
 

brucered

System Generated
About 5+ years ago I bought a norelco model ( don’t remember specifically) it lasted about a year until the battery died. After researching I discovered that model had a battery that could not be replaced. Garbage.
When I did use electric razors, I would purchase Corded versions or at least dual power. The power was more constant and they had longer lifespans.

I've never been a fan of planned obsolescence from product makers.
 
Average life - officially - for Li-ion batteries is 3-5 years to maintain a full charge. As a practical matter, many battery powered razors last a decade or more (probably without getting the max number of shaves they once got on a charge). The same applies generally for your cell phone or laptop - nature of the battery beast. Ten years seems a reasonable investment to me for a daily shaver that might cost $100 or less. You can pay more (for maybe a better shave) but you won't get a longer life. If you want eternal, buy a Titanium Wolfman or Timeless. It will outlast you and all your progeny, if that's your ultimate goal.
 

Rhody

I'm a Lumberjack.
Average life - officially - for Li-ion batteries is 3-5 years to maintain a full charge. As a practical matter, many battery powered razors last a decade or more (probably without getting the max number of shaves they once got on a charge). The same applies generally for your cell phone or laptop - nature of the battery beast. Ten years seems a reasonable investment to me for a daily shaver that might cost $100 or less. You can pay more (for maybe a better shave) but you won't get a longer life. If you want eternal, buy a Titanium Wolfman or Timeless. It will outlast you and all your progeny, if that's your ultimate goal.
These days I look at something and think “I just bought that”
When in reality it was 10 years ago ….
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I would be shocked if you could not get 5 plus years. I had a Remington cordless that I only got rid of because the replacement heads were no longer good. I had used it so much the foils wore down and I was getting nicked. On the third set of replacements they no longer improved the shave. Obviously in order to increase profits they we're happy to let tolerances slip which led me to the Panny Arc-5.
These days is the antiquated method of pulling a sharp object across my skin that intrigues me. Electrics, while very good and I would tak them in a split second over any cart just don't do it for me any more.
 
The problem for me with electric shavers is their annoying propensity to stop working mid-shave, stuck to my face, after which I have to pull it loose with a patch of hairs stuck in the mechanism. It's not a great experience 😒
 
The problem for me with electric shavers is their annoying propensity to stop working mid-shave, stuck to my face, after which I have to pull it loose with a patch of hairs stuck in the mechanism. It's not a great experience 😒
And which model(s) from which manufacturers would this be? Haven't seen that reported before, so just curious....
 
And which model(s) from which manufacturers would this be? Haven't seen that reported before, so just curious....
It's been so long I don't remember specifics, but the problem is likely due to a failed battery that can't hold a charge long enough to complete a shave.

I have a small portable Braun electric that uses regular AA batteries. It has a little trimmer and works fine for touch-ups.
 
I have a Notelco 2000 series and I’ve just replaced the heads as they were starting to pull out hairs and cause irritation.

So I’m wondering how much more life I can squeeze out of this device? Obviously the battery is a limiting factor, from what I’ve read these tend to last about 2-3 years; I can confidently solder but am unsure if taking the unit apart to do this would compromise the water proof nature?

Beyond this, I can’t think of any other limiting factors other than general upkeep like blade replacements and keeping it clean.

How long have these units lasted in your experience? I see lots of old philishaves on eBay that are apparently still working but I’ve also read the general quality/longevity of Philips shavers isn’t what it once was.

Any input guys?
I used Norelco's for decades before returning to DE shaving five years ago. Still have a couple as I use the trimmer and my son uses one. Excluding batteries and heads/blades the shavers themselves can last practically forever. For all my Norelcos it was the demise of the battery that prompted the replacement, typically after around 10 years. The older NI-MH batteries could be replaced if you could use a soldering gun, did that once for one that was ideal for travel extending it's life another 7 years. Newer Li-On batteries are not replaceable. A key reason is you lose the waterproofing that allows these shavers to be rinsed or used wet.

There are replacement Li-On batteries sold on-line though I'd be wary of installing them given how sensitive this battery technology is to being matched to the right electronics to manage charging and prevent thermal runaway.

I'd typically replace the shaving heads/blades once over the 10 year life span. Often when one of the heads would get damaged. Norelco now recommends replacing the heads every year, something they did not suggest when I first started using them. Best guess is that they decided selling new blades, whether needed or not, was a great profit opportunity at $25-$30 each for what was then a $50-$75 shaver.

The blades are self sharpening. So long as I would regularly clean everything out (and be careful not to mix up the matched blades and heads when cleaning) at least every couple of months they would work well. One time, in my early years of using these shavers, it felt like the heads weren't shaving well. Turned out it was because I hadn't cleaned them with the result that they became clogged.

Note that the last time I purchased a Norelco was in 2016 where we purchased an AT810 AquaTouch (can shave wet). Also have a PT730 PowerTouch (Only shaves dry but can shave plugged in). I also have a 14 year old Speed-XL that is still going strong. Not sure if my experience applies to the latest Arcitec models with the almost detached pivot heads. My understanding is they had to miniaturize many of the parts to engineer the almost separate pivoting head so it's possible that the smaller drive train parts do not last as long as those in the more classic Norelco shaver designs.

The best Norelcos were the Speed-XL shavers that used the now discontinued HQ9 heads with three circles of blades. They did shave faster then the normal lift and cut heads with a single circle of blades. It turns out that HQ9 heads fit perfectly in shavers that use the HQ8 heads like the AT810 and PT730 above allowing one to turn a $50 shaver into a $100+ version from a performance perspective.
 
When I did use electric razors, I would purchase Corded versions or at least dual power. The power was more constant and they had longer lifespans.

I've never been a fan of planned obsolescence from product makers.
For travel I always used one with dual power that could run plugged in if the battery was dead. Main reason I still have two of these hanging around.
 
Any model that runs off batteries. Believe @StewB is referring to the batteries running out. Solution was to use a dual power model.
No, actually I've never had a battery-powered electric shaver stop mid-shave (it could, I admit, if you start shaving with say, 1% power left), and I've used electric shavers back to the NiCad days. But almost any modern electric (let's say the last 5 years) uses a Li-ion battery that will deliver almost 100% power until it dies, and most have an indicator of remaining charge. Letting the battery get depleted until there's not enough charge for a shave isn't really a razor problem. Solved as you mention with a dual-power model, which are less common (and also not meant to be used wet), but most newer razors have a quick charge feature that allows enough power for one shave on a 5 minute or so charge. I was just curious if a particular brand or model exhibited the behavior of stopping while it was cutting a normal beard, but @StewB clarified the battery problem.

Electric razors come with their own set of Good Witch/Bad Witch features and limitations. No need for water, or really even a sink and a mirror. A quick shave, probably better than a blade in the hands of a neophyte (technique still required, but really harder to damage your face even unskilled), Consequently, arguably more comfortable for many as far as post-shave irritation (razor burn aside, you won't ever need a. styptic pencil). Ease of use - you don't need to unscrew anything, drop in anything, unwrap anything, dispose of anything, or really even clean up anything other than tap the hesd to remove whiskers. Press a button and shave. You can get more elaborate wet shaving electric, but you don’t need to. It's the ultimate lazy man's (or woman's) solution for removing hair.

Good Witch - above - aside, on the Bad Witch side of the ledger (compared basically to blade shaving), longevity is one. Most electrics are substantially plastic and electronics, past their prime as noted in about a decade. Likely something better comes along, or they just die, battery generally first. The titanium (or SS or bronze) Timeless or Wolfman DE mentioned will outlast your heirs. And their heirs. And the heirs of their great grandchildren. Nothing better will come along, because at it's core it's essentially a design and concept centuries old. It also needs no electricity. No batteries, no outlet. A new "head" - DE blade - costs maybe 0.20, compared to $30, $40, $50 - $100 for an electric replacement, creating a brand new, fresh from the factory razor. Every day if you want. For a closer, smoother, longer-lasting shave.

So ya pays yer money and ya takes yer choice! :laugh:
 
No, actually I've never had a battery-powered electric shaver stop mid-shave (it could, I admit, if you start shaving with say, 1% power left), and I've used electric shavers back to the NiCad days.
I'm happy you haven't had this happen. 🙂

Letting the battery get depleted until there's not enough charge for a shave isn't really a razor problem.
Yes, it was definitely my fault for not ensuring it was charged, but this is probably because it used the old battery type (nickel cadmium?) that could develop a bad "memory" if you didn't deplete it fully before recharging.

I'm sure you're right--it would be a lot more difficult to experience this specific problem with a recent vintage electric.
 
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