Lately i've been fascinated by the different fridge designs out there. Here's is something that doesn't get asked much, what's your favorite fridge design? Personally I like Maytag's the best. Their unique condenser, IMO, is the best design out there. Plus, the defrost water drains down the back of the fridge wall, reduces drain hose clogs. So, if anyone here is a fridge nut, what do you like? Back condenser, condenser underneath or the Maytag condenser? Evaporator under the freezer floor or behind the back panel?
Fridge designs
- Thread starter KurtDixon
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I've always liked the last top mount GM Frigidaire's,with the rear condenser,and evaporator under the freezer floor.Simple design,fairly easy access to major components(with the exception of the earlier ones,which used screws AND nuts to hold the fan).
kennyGF
kennyGF
lightedcontrols
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Sub-Zero
Hard to beat a Sub-Zero. Hand made, and I've seen a lot of them that are 40 years old and still running perfectly. Beautiful porcelain and highest grate plastic interiors, glass shelves, and newly updated electronic temp controls. Their only falter is that crappy whirlpool design icemaker. Mark
Hard to beat a Sub-Zero. Hand made, and I've seen a lot of them that are 40 years old and still running perfectly. Beautiful porcelain and highest grate plastic interiors, glass shelves, and newly updated electronic temp controls. Their only falter is that crappy whirlpool design icemaker. Mark
I've always preferred top & bottom designs over side by sides. That was something that started in College, when I found out that a pizza box and other wide objects fit much better into a top & bottom. I prefer bottom freezers too, since I am into the fridge compartment more than the freezer, and I'd rather have the fridge at eye level.
Maytag has a neat door design out nowadays that has two small doors, instead of 1 large one. That way less cool air is spilled out when the door is opened.
The ultimate design for efficiency sake would be a chest refrigerator, that is accessed by the top. Cold air falls, so there is less a chance of it escaping out of the open top than it would be out of a door on the side of the box.
The location of the mechanical components have always baffled me. Most household refrigerators have the compressor and condenser located in the bottom. Heat rises, so the heat removed from the food compartments goes right back in them as it rises back through the bottom of the fridge.
One of the things that always annoyed me was the design of the condenser too. Most of the time, refrigerators have small condensers that use forced air from a fan to offset the smaller size. With the condenser located at the bottom of the fridge, and having air drawn over them also means that they will pick up all the other dirt, dust and debris hanging out at floor level. Installing a larger condenser across the back of the fridge, and eliminating the fan altogether is more expensive, but is more efficient. First, because you don't have the wattage of a fan being consumed, but also because the coils don't get dirty and dusty, and also because the heat is not being radiated back inside the fridge.
So, what's my "ultimate" fridge design? Well, I'd like a fridge with the compressor on top, like the professional models, and a condenser either on the back, or on top...and it has to be passively cooled, no consenser fans! It would be a "2-door"model. I don't need thru-door ice, but I don't have kids yet either. What I especially like though is stainless steel or chrome accents....it's a machine, let's celebrate that fact and make it look cool!
Maytag has a neat door design out nowadays that has two small doors, instead of 1 large one. That way less cool air is spilled out when the door is opened.
The ultimate design for efficiency sake would be a chest refrigerator, that is accessed by the top. Cold air falls, so there is less a chance of it escaping out of the open top than it would be out of a door on the side of the box.
The location of the mechanical components have always baffled me. Most household refrigerators have the compressor and condenser located in the bottom. Heat rises, so the heat removed from the food compartments goes right back in them as it rises back through the bottom of the fridge.
One of the things that always annoyed me was the design of the condenser too. Most of the time, refrigerators have small condensers that use forced air from a fan to offset the smaller size. With the condenser located at the bottom of the fridge, and having air drawn over them also means that they will pick up all the other dirt, dust and debris hanging out at floor level. Installing a larger condenser across the back of the fridge, and eliminating the fan altogether is more expensive, but is more efficient. First, because you don't have the wattage of a fan being consumed, but also because the coils don't get dirty and dusty, and also because the heat is not being radiated back inside the fridge.
So, what's my "ultimate" fridge design? Well, I'd like a fridge with the compressor on top, like the professional models, and a condenser either on the back, or on top...and it has to be passively cooled, no consenser fans! It would be a "2-door"model. I don't need thru-door ice, but I don't have kids yet either. What I especially like though is stainless steel or chrome accents....it's a machine, let's celebrate that fact and make it look cool!
Neat opinions. For the condenser argument, I find that it is a toss up. With the ones underneath with a fan, you can jam the fridge into an enclosure and not worry about heat buildup problems. As mentioned with the back condenser, it tends to stay clean and works fine as a passively cooled device (heat rises etc). That's one of the reasons I like our Maytag's design. The condenser is a very open roll of metal and with a fan, rather than a radiator-type device. It doesn't plug very easily.
I should say, I prefer top mount fridges too. Of course S by S looks more "modern" and "cool", but top mount is just nicer to use and is more forgiving for where you put stuff. Our Norge is similar to the older Frigidaires, if we discount the forced air condenser. The evaporator is under the freezer floor with the fan behind a little panel at the back. Found out today the Norge has a Matsushita compressor, have only ever heard the name, didn't know they made fridge compressors. But it certainly has been tested in this fridge, the condenser was badly plugged for about 5-7 years and the compressor ran constantly at a higher than normal temperature.
I should say, I prefer top mount fridges too. Of course S by S looks more "modern" and "cool", but top mount is just nicer to use and is more forgiving for where you put stuff. Our Norge is similar to the older Frigidaires, if we discount the forced air condenser. The evaporator is under the freezer floor with the fan behind a little panel at the back. Found out today the Norge has a Matsushita compressor, have only ever heard the name, didn't know they made fridge compressors. But it certainly has been tested in this fridge, the condenser was badly plugged for about 5-7 years and the compressor ran constantly at a higher than normal temperature.
Matsushita is a well-known Asian manufacturer, frequently known on this side of the pond as Panasonic. Under the Hi-Fi nameplate, they come under Technics, and in the professional audio world, they use Audio-technica. I encounter Matsushita products everyday in my job, and am impressed by their good designs and durability.
Matsushita makes some pretty good stuff. They have always seemed to get the electrical-mechanical marriage very good in their products, be it a VCR, a razor, or even an air condidtioner...they make all sorts of things, and do a good job at it. In fact, I bought an exhaust fan for my bathroom with the Panasonic nameplate on it. It is so quiet, you barely notice it's on, except for the fact that it moves torrents of air!
Knowing that your Norge has a Matsushita compressor seems to me all the more reason to buy one. That fridge oughta last a good while, and I imagine it's rather quiet too
I don't work for matushita, but have been very impressed with their products over the years!
Matsushita makes some pretty good stuff. They have always seemed to get the electrical-mechanical marriage very good in their products, be it a VCR, a razor, or even an air condidtioner...they make all sorts of things, and do a good job at it. In fact, I bought an exhaust fan for my bathroom with the Panasonic nameplate on it. It is so quiet, you barely notice it's on, except for the fact that it moves torrents of air!
Knowing that your Norge has a Matsushita compressor seems to me all the more reason to buy one. That fridge oughta last a good while, and I imagine it's rather quiet too
I don't work for matushita, but have been very impressed with their products over the years!
kenmore1978
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Responses
"Plus, the defrost water drains down the back of the fridge wall, reduces drain hose clogs"
I had a Montgomery Ward (WCI) refrigerator in the 70's that did that. Though there was no drain tube to clog, the drain hole at teh bottom of the fridge would clog with food particles and I'd end up with a big funky pool of water at the bottom. Also, if anything was pushed against the back wall, it would get wet.
"Hard to beat a Sub-Zero"
It was "back in the day", but their repair record has been slipping lately.
"Matsushita is a well-known Asian manufacturer, frequently known on this side of the pond as Panasonic."
Matsushita is specifically a Japanese company, one of their huge conglomerates that has many divisons making totally unrelated products. But whatever product they make, its repair record is virtually always the best. Their electronics invariably rate near the top of the group in reliability.
"Plus, the defrost water drains down the back of the fridge wall, reduces drain hose clogs"
I had a Montgomery Ward (WCI) refrigerator in the 70's that did that. Though there was no drain tube to clog, the drain hole at teh bottom of the fridge would clog with food particles and I'd end up with a big funky pool of water at the bottom. Also, if anything was pushed against the back wall, it would get wet.
"Hard to beat a Sub-Zero"
It was "back in the day", but their repair record has been slipping lately.
"Matsushita is a well-known Asian manufacturer, frequently known on this side of the pond as Panasonic."
Matsushita is specifically a Japanese company, one of their huge conglomerates that has many divisons making totally unrelated products. But whatever product they make, its repair record is virtually always the best. Their electronics invariably rate near the top of the group in reliability.
westytoploader
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I like our '83 Whirlpool "Limited Edition" top-freezer...parents' first and only fridge so far. Quiet, reliable (this one has LOTS of life left), and HUGE! Now if they bought the W/D set at the same time it's likely that we would still have that too...but that's not the case.
The water supply to the automatic icemaker went belly-up (icemaker still works as far as I know) a few years ago, but everything else is fine. Does an excellent job keeping the temperature and still looks great after 22 years (I keep the exterior spotless)!
The water supply to the automatic icemaker went belly-up (icemaker still works as far as I know) a few years ago, but everything else is fine. Does an excellent job keeping the temperature and still looks great after 22 years (I keep the exterior spotless)!
^^^^nice Whirlpool. It even has the "crinkled" appearence, didn't know it's been around that long. The door handles look almost identical to our GE's (basement, extra fridge).
As for the Norge, as I said it's a Maytag with the Matsushita compressor. From what I hear that's a good thing! It is quiet. It is getting along in age (1992, would make it 13 years old) so it runs longer than it used to (condenser is clean). The compressor is probably a little worn out now. But it is amazing it didn't burn out. A GE compressor of the time would have been dead twice by now lol. It has chrome handles with black, crinkle inserts. It is mostly new and mint, the door seal is a little hard, there are a couple very small chips in the paint (touch up worked fine) but other than that, it's good. Lots of years left in it too.
As for the Norge, as I said it's a Maytag with the Matsushita compressor. From what I hear that's a good thing! It is quiet. It is getting along in age (1992, would make it 13 years old) so it runs longer than it used to (condenser is clean). The compressor is probably a little worn out now. But it is amazing it didn't burn out. A GE compressor of the time would have been dead twice by now lol. It has chrome handles with black, crinkle inserts. It is mostly new and mint, the door seal is a little hard, there are a couple very small chips in the paint (touch up worked fine) but other than that, it's good. Lots of years left in it too.
Big fridges...
I still can't believe how big your fridges are over there in the US!!! Our fridge, for the UK is considered large! Here's a pic: (excuse the horrible late 70's kitchen by the way!!)
It's a 1995 Hotpoint Iced Diamond. Almost 10 years old now (I believe it will be in May) and still no trouble so far... Fridges seem to be the only reliable thing Hotpoint made themselves (although know they're owned by the Indesit Company (previously known as Merloni) I'm not too sure how the newer models fare up).
We got this fridge off my grandparents when they moved house in 2001, had built in appliances in their new bungalow, and seeming as we needed a bigger fridge they gave it to us. (they originally bought it in 1995). We still have the old Kelvinator fridge freezer we had in the old house, although its currently buried deep in the garage somewhere keeping a few crates of beer cool
.
Unfortunately as good a fridge as it is, it'll be going in the summer when our new kitchen design "forces" us to have a matching Bosch fridge and freezer
More pictures to follow...
Take care,
Jon
I still can't believe how big your fridges are over there in the US!!! Our fridge, for the UK is considered large! Here's a pic: (excuse the horrible late 70's kitchen by the way!!)
It's a 1995 Hotpoint Iced Diamond. Almost 10 years old now (I believe it will be in May) and still no trouble so far... Fridges seem to be the only reliable thing Hotpoint made themselves (although know they're owned by the Indesit Company (previously known as Merloni) I'm not too sure how the newer models fare up).
We got this fridge off my grandparents when they moved house in 2001, had built in appliances in their new bungalow, and seeming as we needed a bigger fridge they gave it to us. (they originally bought it in 1995). We still have the old Kelvinator fridge freezer we had in the old house, although its currently buried deep in the garage somewhere keeping a few crates of beer cool
.Unfortunately as good a fridge as it is, it'll be going in the summer when our new kitchen design "forces" us to have a matching Bosch fridge and freezer
More pictures to follow...
Take care,
Jon
Inside
Why is it the fridge is never full?? Maybe my stomach is the explanation
Jon
Why is it the fridge is never full?? Maybe my stomach is the explanation
Jon
My favourite fridge design...
You guessed it - Hotpoint Iced Diamonds. I believe they still use the current fridge-freezer designs they've had since the early 80s... Of course, the current Bosch fridge designs follow up very closely.
Jon
You guessed it - Hotpoint Iced Diamonds
. I believe they still use the current fridge-freezer designs they've had since the early 80s... Of course, the current Bosch fridge designs follow up very closely.Jon
kenmore1978
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small refrigerators
We have refrigerators that small and smaller, but you're right, that's not the "normal" size that's in most people's homes.
Where do you keep the frozen foods? I don't see even a place for ice cube trays in there. That's a rarity here, though I have seen large "refrigerator only" models but even they have a freezer compartment that will hold at least a couple of ice cube trays or a carton of ice cream.
We have refrigerators that small and smaller, but you're right, that's not the "normal" size that's in most people's homes.
Where do you keep the frozen foods? I don't see even a place for ice cube trays in there. That's a rarity here, though I have seen large "refrigerator only" models but even they have a freezer compartment that will hold at least a couple of ice cube trays or a carton of ice cream.
Looks like the difference between the UK fridges and the USA fridges though Jon is that you guys over there do not have the freezer combined with the fridge. My refrigerator/freezer is basically exactly like Westytoploader's, and I figure the refrigerator compartment on it's own has about the same amount of room as your frige only unit there in the UK. Do you all over there have a chest freezer in another location? Like in the garage or pantry closet or something?
kenmore1978
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US refrigerator size
Wow, you're right, in looking at the picture of your kitchen, a typical US side by side would take up allthe space between the cabinet and the wall and be as tall as where the clock is mounted.
Wow, you're right, in looking at the picture of your kitchen, a typical US side by side would take up allthe space between the cabinet and the wall and be as tall as where the clock is mounted.
westytoploader
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We have a Montgomery Ward upright manual-defrost freezer from 1988 in the garage used for meat and frozen foods, etc...what we can't fit in the Whirlpool's freezer. It also works great (although I do need to clean the exterior up a little bit...) and hasn't given us a minute's trouble.
Freezer
We have a separate standalone freezer in the back porch - a Creda Coldstor I believe. It's in an awkward position to photo (as the porch is only about 5' wide). It's upright (like the Hotpoint fridge), but has freezer drawers instead, and is 6' tall rather than 5' tall.
We do get combined fridge-freezers here, in fact we had one before this Hotpoint fridge was given to us (the old Kelvinator fridge freezer is now in the garage). But stand-alone fridges do tend to be more popular (mainly due to the theory "replace only what breaks" - i.e. if you have a separate fridge and freezer, then you only need to replace the broken freezer for instance whilst keeping the old fridge). In a lot of circumstances, people also have undercounter fridges and freezers. These are about the same size as dishwashers (sometimes thinner) and slide under a counter. My other set of grandparents have a fridge like that (however they have a separate chest freezer next to their Creda dryer in the garage). You tend to also find with separates is that you get a lot more room in seperates than in combined fridge-freezers.
I hope all of that made sense!
Jon
We have a separate standalone freezer in the back porch - a Creda Coldstor I believe. It's in an awkward position to photo (as the porch is only about 5' wide). It's upright (like the Hotpoint fridge), but has freezer drawers instead, and is 6' tall rather than 5' tall.
We do get combined fridge-freezers here, in fact we had one before this Hotpoint fridge was given to us (the old Kelvinator fridge freezer is now in the garage). But stand-alone fridges do tend to be more popular (mainly due to the theory "replace only what breaks" - i.e. if you have a separate fridge and freezer, then you only need to replace the broken freezer for instance whilst keeping the old fridge). In a lot of circumstances, people also have undercounter fridges and freezers. These are about the same size as dishwashers (sometimes thinner) and slide under a counter. My other set of grandparents have a fridge like that (however they have a separate chest freezer next to their Creda dryer in the garage). You tend to also find with separates is that you get a lot more room in seperates than in combined fridge-freezers.
I hope all of that made sense!
Jon
Deep Freezes
All this talk of fridges and freezers makes me want to grab a camaera and show our kitchen setup. But it also inspires a story that occured just recently-
Last weekend with all my good estate sale finds, I was at a tag sale and what did they have in the basement corner? A giant IH Deepfreeze! Not only was it in perfect condition, with the various drop in baskets, lamp built into the underside of the lid, 50's chrome accents and teal lip seal. But it was also running like brand new and had all the original papers and booklets with it. Price? $20! Unfortunately it was too big to get it home and I couldn't even get the light end off the ground!
Cory
All this talk of fridges and freezers makes me want to grab a camaera and show our kitchen setup. But it also inspires a story that occured just recently-
Last weekend with all my good estate sale finds, I was at a tag sale and what did they have in the basement corner? A giant IH Deepfreeze! Not only was it in perfect condition, with the various drop in baskets, lamp built into the underside of the lid, 50's chrome accents and teal lip seal. But it was also running like brand new and had all the original papers and booklets with it. Price? $20! Unfortunately it was too big to get it home and I couldn't even get the light end off the ground!
Cory
Jon, you are right. Although all the other USA fridges shown are "average". Our top freezer Norge I was talking about is about the biggest top freezer model you could get back then. I think it's 23 cubic feet or so. Taller than me, not sure how wide, about 30 inches wide I think. Our older GE is smaller, probably under 20 cubic feet. Side by sides are much bigger, some these days are 30 cubic feet! Here's our Norge.
