Looking for new refrigerator brand info / suggestions

[revvinkevin]

 

 

Referencing the "You can buy a turkey fryer or...." thread, a coworker did have actual appliance problems on Thanksgiving day.   In the midst of baking a dessert, the oven stopped heating.  Then after returning home from the relatives house down the street, they opened the fridge to discover nothing was cold.  The freezer was still cold, but the fridge was not.

 

An appliance repair tech came out the next day and fortunately the repairs were not major.   The igniter failed in the oven, an easy repair, but still.   The refrigerator has a second set of condenser coils he wasn't aware of and thus, they were completely covered with dust.  FYI, he did stay on top of cleaning the other set of coils that he knew of.   So because of this, the evaporator coil in the freezer was like a solid block of ice.  They had to remove the interior panels in the freezer to defrost it, which took 1.5 hours (with a fan blowing on it).   Fortunately he has another fridge in the garage, but still had to toss a number of things in the trash.

 

Somewhere during all this, he did as google search for refrigerator lifespan.  Answer: 13 years average.  Turns out he bought the refrigerator 13 years ago.  So, while his fridge is working currently, he would like to have the info "in his back pocket" when a more serious cooling problem happens.

 

They currently have a Jennair side by side, but may go to a bottom freezer model.  Also, from his description he may have a counter depth model, but said he would measure and let me know.

 

OK, so what brand of refrigerator do you think is good / will last longer and why?  Or are they all pretty much crap now?

 

Thanks much in advance!

Kevin

 

 

 

[yogitunes]

not so much on manufacturer....

but think along features wanted or could do without.....

I have the Whirlpool 30cuft SxS….the stainless is easy to maintain, the drawers in the fridge are fragile and break easily, the ice maker in the door--well it works fine, but capacity is small compared to my previous Kenmore 27(GE built)....you can hit the AccelerICE button, and in about 12 hours, you will have more ice, after your guest have left....

bottom freezers, the only benefit is putting the food section within easy reach....an in-door ice dispenser takes up a lot of room in the fresh food section....but just the same, in the freezer, the ice maker can take up about 1/3 of usable space...and most times you have to pull the door open, then the drawer to get ice.....these have been best if you have an extra freezer....as capacity is small in this type of setup....

space restrictions is another thing to consider....what you want, and what will fit are two different things...

if given a choice, I would probably buy Whirlpool again....although the Frigidaire fridge in the garage and upright freezer have held up well....

can't say I have a good feeling with LG or Samsung....

 

[norgeway]

I usually have bad feelings

About anything newer than 1965 or so, so im not a good one to ask, I have a mid 80s GE side by side that came with the house, when it quits,,,hopefully soon, im getting a manual defrost round corner cabinet with a latch something or another, I don't want a new appliance in my kitchen ever again!

 

[petek]

Frigidaire all fridge and Frigidaire frost free upright freezer here.. No problems so far knock on wood,, had them a few years now. I recall the freezer had a problem right after we got it.. a piece of Styrofoam, pea sized, was caught in the drain tube at the bottom,, which caused the defrost water to overflow before hitting the evap pan.. easy fix. no probs since.

If'n I was going to be buying a new fancy fridge today I'd certainly be getting an extended warranty as well for the couple of hundred bucks extra. I bought one for our new GE stove so it's now covered for 5 years And I bought one for the KA dishwasher right after it failed in its 11 month,, then failed again shortly after,, so the warranty paid for itself.

 

[mattl]

<p>Today it's crap

 

[mattl]

Today it's craps shoot whatever you buy.   Issues abound across all brands. I've heard of a few more issues with Samsung so I'd place it low on my list.

 

I've pondered the question of what I would buy to replace my WP SxS, odds are I'd opt for the same.  I do not have a separate freezer, so my two fridges have to fill that need.  I can't picture myself pawing through a bottom freezer to get to an item at the bottom of the bin, so no french door units for me.

 

[ea56]

I know that I’m totally out of sync with just about everyone here about refrigerators. I have no use for all the fancy gimmicks that can break or fail, and they do.

We have a no frills, GE top freezer 15 cu ft. with wire shelves, no ice maker, no water out of the door, no link to an iphone. Now I realize that there are just two of us, so a larger family would need more space.

But I would opt in that situation for a BOL 20 to 22 cu ft.top freezer model. It’s too bad that manufactures don’t still make side by side models without all the extra nonsense, that would probably be the best choice for someone that needs more freezer space. Or better yet an all fridge model with a separate upright freezer and place them side by side if you have the space, if not put the freezer in the garage or basement.

And those french door, bottom freezer models that I’ve looked at in stores seem to me to have a lot of wasted space, and a lot of plastic crap to break. Not something that would interest me at all.

Sorry Kevin, I know my input was of no use at all to you, but I couldn’t resist, LOL.

Eddie

 

[fan-of-fans]

13 years seems a little short, but then again I guess that's about how long I'd expect today's stuff to last.

I'd just hang on to the Jenn Air, it will probably last longer than anything new. I still see plenty of 80s and 90s refrigerators still going fine.

We have a Haier made Kenmore now, from 2016. Seems to work just fine, it replaced a 23 year old GE made one. Also have a full size Frigidaire made freezer from 2013 or so, still going fine with no issues.

I'd probably avoid Samsung for something new, other than that I don't know. I want a side by side. French doors are too fancy for me (and I hear more unreliable). I just do not want another top freezer again, they're reliable but utterly boring to me. I guess I saw too many people with them while we always had to have a top freezer.

I will say my grandparents' LG made Kenmore top freezer is pretty spiffy though. Nice LED lighting in the fridge and freezer sections and it even has a water dispenser inside the fridge.

Oh and I don't mind the color of appliances. Black, white, stainless is fine.

I am utterly sick of watching HGTV shows and people going into kitchens and saying "Eew, this is SO dated." The appliances can even be brand new, but just because they aren't stainless steel, they're outdated. Whatever, people want that's fine. But why are people so darn picky?

Last night, I was even watching one where the kitchen had, what I thought were beautiful wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, and even had granite countertops. Well, the first thing the lady says, is "well, the layout's nice, but I don't like the countertops." Then the husband says "Really, you'd change the countertops before the cabinets"

I wanted to say, you have GRANITE countertops and you STILL are not happy?

Oh, well, I guess we all have our preferences, but I'd like the see the people's current kitchens in these shows and try to figure out why they're so darn snooty.

Ok, end of rant, now that's I'm off topic.

 

[ea56]

Most of those House Hunters on HGTV are “Punch Worthy” as my husband would say. We saw an episode last week where the couple bought the house, which had brand new granite counter tops. But Mommy didn’t like them, they weren’t “Our Style” whatever thats supposed to mean. So, instead of carefully removing them and taking them to Habitat fo Humanity, or maybe some other charity, no, they dramatically took a sledge hammer to them and broke them all up. No wonder the landfill is overflowing. What a waste!

Eddie

 

[fan-of-fans]

Yeah, years ago I used to enjoy watching demo on the old home improvement shows. The new ones, it disgusts me. Now, there are certain things I'd like to see smashed to smithereens. But, in most of these shows they smash perfectly nice cabinets, counter tops and fixtures. A lot of it is high end stuff, that could be donated and reusued, but they wanted the entertainment factor instead.

I always thought kitchens were something that you did once and kept as long as you lived in the house. And cabinets were generally something that lasted 30+ years and you just updated the finish or got new appliances, etc.

But HGTV has decided that no, kitchens and baths have to be totally torn out and redone every few years to keep people from calling them outdated. It's sickening. If I was going to buy a house, I'd try to find one with a kitchen that I knew I could live with. I don't understand how people pay that much money for a house with a perfectly good kitchen and baths and tear them out immediately. They must have a lot more money than anyone I know, or they are spending their time working so much that there's no point of having a nice house since they have no time at home.

It's really just to put more money in the sponsor's pockets. Redecorating and painting doesn't bring enough money. The big ticket items do.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Also back to fridges. Top freezers I hear are most reliable, I just like the idea of a side by side since I could put items up higher and not bend down to get them. But they have narrow compartments. The ice maker and dispenser chute takes up a low of space unless you get the in door ice maker.

Frigidaire seems to have the best pricing on a side by side these days, I've seen them as low as $700 for a decent size unit with ice and water in door. Whirlpool/Amana/Kenmore used to be my favorite for a similar, basic unit. They seemed to use the same dial controls since the 80s, computerized I don't know. But they recently changed to a new touchpad setup, that I am not sure is any less reliable or not.

A friend just built a new house and getting all Samsung appliances, I just don't know, they're too fancy for me.

I'd really like to just have an older "vintage" GE Profile from the 90s with that "techy" digital system monitor on the ice/water dispenser (but good old fashioned thermostat dial controls inside) and the reach in milk/drinks door on the front. Now that's a nice side by side! And probably yet more reliable than any new ones.

 

[imperial70]

I have a GE french door (no frills other than an ice maker that I never connected) and it has an electronic temperature control. Its over 8 years old and no problems so far. Very happy with it.

 

[lotsosudz]

GE Top Fridge/Bottom Freezer

I recently bought a 24.9 cubic foot GE. It has a top fridge, and a bottom freezer. I absolutely love it. I have a 20 cubic freezer on the back porch, so I didn't need a huge freezer, although this one holds up to I think 7.3 cubic foot of food. it holds a lot of food, and seems fairly well made. just my opinion!

Hugs,
David

 

[combo52]

Best New Refrigerators

Hi Kevin, this is a tough question.

 

Best bottom ref models are the Amana Iowa built models from WP, MT, KA, JA that say Made In America on them

Skip ALL other bottom freezer models.

 

You never said what ref your friend has now, @ 13 years it might have 20 more to go or it might be nearing the end.

 

One thing for sure a frost clogged evaporator is not a fatal defect, but the service tech is not very swift if he thinks it was caused by a dirty condenser under the ref. Also wasting 1 1/2 hours defrosting a frozen over evaporator with a hair dryer is silly when you can do a better job in 15 minutes with a gallon of boiling water and a few bath towels to catch the water.

 

John L.