Anyone know about Amana Electronic Side by Side refrigerators?

[funktionalart]

These terrible pics are of what I *think* is a late 80s/early 90s Amana 27 side by side. Seems to have a dual electronic control panel between doors on the outside. Anyone have detailed info on these or maybe some good photos? This is something I'm thinking of going to buy....but undecided still. Any input is appreciated with gratitude~Thx!

 

[carmine]

Pre-1994 if R-12 was phased out in fridges at the same time as cars.

I think it's pretty cool (no pun intended).

 

[cadman]

That is....

The second refrigerator that I grew up with. It replaced a coppertone Amana SxS in the early 90's. This was a good fridge. The only issue I can recall is that since the water dispenser opens with the door, there's about a million miles of tubing that eventually gets brittle and can spring a leak. Between the doors is a bargraph for fridge and freezer temp, there's also a door alarm that will go off after x-many minutes if the door doesn't fully close, a vacation mode that sets with the touch of one button, and possibly a super freeze button (or something to that effect). There's a CdS cell that will automatically turn a light on in the dispenser area at night, if desired. Oh yes, and it's not real obvious, but to make any changes to the keypad settings, you first tap the Amana insignia at the top. Overall a good icebox. -Cory

 

[funktionalart]

Touchmatic is what these were called...

I've hunted online forever today and found some pdf manuals for these models. At least there is a full set of instructions in case I buy this thing and need to troubleshoot. I knew it was pre 1994 not only from the design of cabinet but from the partial label referencing old R12 content.

My only real fear is that the exterior temp control pad may be non-op or problematic and am not entirely sure it'd be possible to easily locate a replacement or have any repair done to it if it is not functioning properly. I usually avoid old digital stuff....especially since I suspect this fridge has been sitting outside for quite awhile in the desert heat :-/

 

[carmine]

Dried out capacitors is what I'd expect if the electronics malfunction. Not hard or expensive to fix if you can solder parts to a circuit board (or know someone who can).

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Seems like an awfully nice fridge to get.... Hate to see it waste away any longer... And surely you can get the basic refrigeration components to work, that you have nothing to lose (well, hopefully not the food inside it!) ...

-- Dave

 

[danemodsandy]

Allen:

My one concern here would be that consumer electronics of that era were not quite as reliable as a politician's campaign promises.

If, as Carmine says, you have electronics repair skills or have access to someone who has the skills, this box is not out of the question. Just be sure you can fix it or get it fixed, because sooner or later, you're going to need to.

 

[funktionalart]

Sandy, Dave, Carmine....

Thx for the input! I'm actually pretty adept at a lot of this sort of equipment when I have to be. Replacing capacitors/soldering, etc. doesn't spook me too badly....but I am leery about the availability of any replacement electronics for this model *just in case* I find a cracked/damaged circuit board or something critical which isn't necessarily repairable but must be directly replaced.
The refrigerator is actually really cheap for what it is...and I have ZERO business dragging it home. But it's one of those scarce things that *I just wanna own*. Daft, I know. If I cannot get it going, there isn't any real financial loss at least!

Allen

 

[funktionalart]

It was a toss up between this Amana 27....

and the SubZero 361RFD side by side I found today for $50. Guess which I chose. Hmmmmm!

 

[circlew]

I like the Amana better, and it's probably more reliable.

My neighbor Ann has a Sub-Zero from the mid 80's that she wishes she hadn't bought. Has required frequent servicing.

 

[funktionalart]

Amana reliability vs. SZ...

Tom,
I don't doubt that you're right there! I LOVE Amanas of this era, but my decision was sort of two-fold:
That black fridge has been sitting outside for a VERY long time and supposedly the compressor is dead (though I would bet it's more like a starter relay or stuck in defrost mode).
Also, the Amana is HUGE (basically 36" square)....and the location for my "spare/backup" fridge has a built-in requirement for space reasons...so for the same $50 I opted for SZ. It actually does run and cool...but won't know much more until I get it home and start sorting through things. What the heck....dirt cheap and I may actually become a qualified SZ tech in a very hands-on way.
Allen

 

[danemodsandy]

I Will Say This:

That Amana was probably the ultimate in Iowa-built units.

I personally find it very interesting that Iowa, which does not have an image as a place where innovations come from, was actually the place that advanced the state of the art on microwaves and fridges. The Touchmatic microwaves were the beginning of today's microwaves, with their membrane touchpads - only of course, the Touchmatic touchpad was more reliable than anything made today and repairable to boot.

This Amana 25 electronic was a forerunner of today's electronically-controlled units.

Iowa started all this - just don't ask us to take responsibility for what has happened since.

 

[funktionalart]

Sandy...

I couldn't agree more. Amana appliances were always among my top favourite American-produced items (along with KitchenAid & Jenn Air) up until about 1994-ish. To this day, Amana's nice touches like cool door handles and even the way their fridge doors sound when they open and close impresses me. Plus....they seem to run forever relatively issue-free.

I can't say how much Whirlpool did/did not have to do with the decline, but ALL stuff (Amana and everybody else's) seems to have suffered badly starting in the 90s. WAY too much cost cutting, pandering to the masses etc. Asian sourced plasticky shite componentry and electronics dependency drive me nuts. All these dishwashers now--nothing but a bucket of water sitting in a computer. HATE it.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I really like those fancy fridges from that era. I saw a black Kenmore at an estate sale recently with electronic controls and a pass through door on the fridge side. Guessing it was ca 1994.

My neighbor had a white Amana without the digital controls. It had metal trim where they would be. But I really liked that fridge for some reason. It was from 1992 or 93 and she replaced it in 06 with a stainless Kenmore Elite french door unit.

I like how fridges from this era had chrome trim on the handles. In the late 90s they got plain and boring.