New refrigerator needed-help and advice appreciated

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stchuck

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Nov 19, 2013
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Location
Winfield, il.
Hello all, maybe you can help me out. My current built in refrigerator, after only 5 years and 7 service calls in the last 6 months alone, is going to the garbage heap. I cant take it anymore, I give up. It never holds the right temperature.

I am having my cabinetry modified to accept a counter depth freestanding refrigerator. There is no way I am putting 7-8K into another built in.

Heres the problem: I prefer side by side models but it seems technology and design are going into the French door models and not the side by side.

Its hard to find any counter depth side by side that does not have dismal reviews. The counter depths seem to be better rated and to my surprise in both categories GE seems to be getting the most favorable reviews.

I am hesitant on Samsung and LG, they supposedly have these great warranties but I don't know if I trust them.

Can anyone offer me any advice or user reviews based on what they have? I had a kitchenaid side by side in my previous house but now they seem to only get two or three star ratings.

All comments are appreciated.
 
I work in the appliance parts business.

Most of the technicians I meet REALLY hate LG and Samsung. Comparing them to the big 3 (Whirlpool, GE, and Frigidaire / Electrolux) they have far less parts compatibility. In english, this means that LG and Samsung have slight variations in their parts from one model to another so a part which looks and functions like another, may not be interchangeable. This means that a parts house, like mine, is less likely to have the parts for your model in stock. Getting LG and Samsung parts can also be difficult. My company doesn't stock all that many of them because we'd need a half dozen types of part X as opposed to one type from another manufacturer.

As I see from work, Frigidaire / Electrolux are at the bottom of the big 3. Their performance is on par with their competition, but their boxes tend to be more flimsy and they tend to break more shelves and crisper bins. Whirlpool is okay as is GE. GE might be a tad better, but watch out for their electronics!

The french door variety tend to be a bit more complicated and are often built by Samsung or LG, regardless of the brand on the door. Personally, I'd stay away from them and stick with a side by side. You will pay a premium for counter depth, and any proprietary parts. I'd look into Sub Zero. They cost a lot, but tend to hold up and perform well too.

Clear as mud?
Dave
 
Scott:

Since St. Charles is a pretty affluent area, I wonder if you might look on Craigslist for a Sub-Zero that someone is recycling prematurely due to a bad case of Decoratitis? As most of us on AW know, the symptoms of Decoratitis are unmistakeable; the patient rips out and disposes of late-model, perfectly good appliances just to keep up with the Joneses - at least, the Joneses on HGTV.

Seriously, a late-model Sub-Zero can be a great deal, and you have access to the whole Chicago metro area; surely a good one will turn up in fairly short order.

Here's a link to the Craigslist listings in your area. Hope they help:

 
I am going to move away from the built ins and go for a free standing counter depth. I don't think sub zero makes any free standing refrigerators but not sure.
 
A friend of mine bought a home with a stainless steel LG side by side. It looks nice but the door dispensers don't work and to fix requires a new door. I believe my neighbor next door had the same problem with a Hotpoint several years ago. At least the Hotpoint was still under warranty. It seems the dispensers are a big problem with a lot of side by sides. We have a Kenmore at work and same thing, ice dispenser doesn't work, but the water does.
 
The counter depth, stainless steel, side by side, GE I bought in 1999 is still running / looking beautiful in my last house. Even my cheapo GE traditional fridge in this house is 7 years old and never a problem. My partner worked in Samsung's call center for awhile, I would stay away from everything Samsung except their TVs and electronics. I don't know how many stories I heard of people throwing out a 2 or 3 year old fridge they paid thousands for.
 
Counter depth?

Really?

Those feel so limiting.

I have a standard free-standing Frigidaire from 2006 that's running like it was still brand-new.
 
After many years in the appliance business

I have always felt that side X side's are one of the best refrigerator values. Allbeit the counter depth are a little more pricey.
 
French doors ...

... I think are the best compromise.

I've always hated side-by-sides because the refrigerator section is so narrow. Sometimes I need to slide entire cookie sheets in the fridge when I'm baking.

My Frigidaire is the traditional freezer on the top, but if I'd have had my druthers (the apartment was a gut renovation and came with brand-new appliances), I'd have chosen a fridge on the top with a bottom drawer freezer, since I'm in and out of the freezer much less frequently than I am the fridge.
 
I currently have a Frigidaire top freezer and while I've had to glue two shelf brackets back together, I've never actually experienced a functional problem with it; my parents have a Whirlpool top-freezer model that seems to be more studily built than my Frigidaire but neither fridge has actually broken down yet, mine being a 2003 and theirs being a 2007.
 
 
GE Arctica SxS came with the house (new in April 2004).  It's a nice unit, has some useful features, but the motherboard and/or freezer evaporator fan went bad end of Nov 2010.  I changed the fan first, didn't fix the problem so changed the board ... don't know if the fan really was bad or just the board.  The water valve went bad April 2013, constant drip into the ice maker.  The ice dispenser has been a frequent ass-pain.  IMO they're horrible for high-humidity areas.  Cold parts inside the dispenser mechanism in the door catch condensation and rust, and in several instances dripped moisture down the door from around the trim.  The door chute accumulates frost, completely clogged three times.  Second time, I quit using the ice dispenser for several months.  Upon deciding to deal with the situation, found that the chute flapper mechanism (solenoid and bobbin) had rusted to non-functional so had to be replaced.
 
I think ...

... much of the maintenance issues with refrigerators stem from the automatic ice makers -- something I've never been interested in because I don't like drinking water with fluoride in it (and none of the fridge filters are powerful enough to filter out the fluoride), so I just make my own ice cubes the old-fashioned way.
 

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