What are the advantages of SxS refrigerators if any?

[yogitunes]

Size Matters, if that is an options for people when it comes to a SxS.....

at the city house, I had the Kenmore Limited 27, LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that machine and the ice/water through the door, and the drop down convenience center on the fridge.....this unit lasted 22 years, only got rid of it because I could not find the internal hoses for the water/ice that cracked open....

it got replaced by a Whirlpool SxS, now in 30 cu ft.....more than enough room for everything....Love this one too!

I wouldn't have anything but a SxS.......plus I have a huge chest freezer for extra storage...

at the country house, I have an Amana 22 bottom drawer freezer, and I HATE that damn thing.....you have to open the freezer, and pull out the drawer just for ice, there is no room down there to store anything but popsicles, a total waste.....and limited space in the fridge as well.....did I mention I hate this damn thing....and most likely the one machine that will last forever.....but when it does, its replacement will be a SxS....you absolutely need an extra freezer with a bottom mount unit....

at this house in the basement, I do have the separate Frigidaire ALL fridge and ALL freezer units.....wishing I had the newer one with the ice maker inside...I think I would find a way to install them in the kitchen....

just last week in the Whirlpool, had a can of soda freeze and burst open, and shattered the tempered shelf....what a mess!

as a rule of thumb, it was considered 12 cu ft for a one person household, and 1.5 added for each member.....

but how do you buy?....by the size of the house(ie, bedrooms), the size of the family, or what space/alcove is available?

 

[goatfarmer]

We've had side by side 'fridges for about 18 years now, the last top mount was a Frigidaire FPCI 170TT in Harvest Gold. Had an Amana, that was wider than most , a GE, that didn't last, and the current 10 YO Whirlpool. No problem with pizza. or anything else we need to store in the freezer.

 

[whirlcool]

We've had SxS refrigerators for the last 30 years too. We currently have one of the larger GE's. There are storage bins in both of the doors. In the freezer we can easily put a frozen pizza on each shelf, flat instead of standing it on edge. The refrigerator has a plethora of drawers for storing things as well as shelves. The most commonly used goods go in about mid chest level and the least used stuff goes on the bottom shelf/drawers. Not SxS related, but we love the blue LED lights the refrigerator has. They dim up when the door is opened to full brightness. It's so much easier on the eyes in the morning.

We looked at French Door refrigerators and at bottom freezer types. We figured we're getting too old to be doing all that bending over later in life all the time.

After living with a Whirlpool lemon for 10 years before it finally died, this GE we've now had for about three years has been perfect. Not one thing has gone wrong with it yet.

 

[rp2813]

This one might change a few minds among the SxS haters.

 

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merced.craigslist.org

 

[washer111]

I mean, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">sure</span> it'll eliminate some of my whinges...

 

But for $2700 PLUS the energy consumption beneath all that Stainless:

 

I think I'd pass (with more than a 10ft pole and all the screaming, yelling and sprinting you can muster). 

 

[gansky1]

Jenn-Air built in

48" wide would make for a whole different experience - I'd be fine with that side-by-side! Of course, I'd need a whole new kitchen...

 

[ovrphil]

If you can find a side-by-side that fits your liking in size and feature, go for it. We have a GE Arctica all-stainless that is counter-depth(relegated to the garage, since we have no room here in the apartment for it). I never really cared for it. My objection isn't the split system, but that some SxS's have these huge obstrusive ice makers(new refrigerators have found solutions to build these less obstrusively)..that take up too much space. I like some of the older SxS's. It's nice to have two refrigerators, one standard and one side-by-side.

I'd like to see that 30 ft.3 Whirlpool you talked about, Martin. Got any photos?

Phil

 

[yogitunes]

I don't even know if they make a model like this anymore.....or at least this size....it was the biggest available.....

seems like now the biggest you can find now is 25.6

the LED lights that gradually light as you open the door are super nice.....the shelves go wall to wall.....

ice maker is built onto the inside of the door, just not a great capacity....

I got it at an end of year clearance from Lowes for half price.....in the box....

 

[ovrphil]

Isn't the ft.3 something like 29.6 or 29.7 and not 30.0? No matter, that's a big bertha of a fridge, Martin. Thanks for the photo. You got a deal!

 

[foraloysius]

Seems like the last model available.

http://outlet.whirlpool.com/-[GSS30C6EYW]-304131/GSS30C6EYW/

 

[ovrphil]

thanks for the link

I see that the negative comments are typical of many fridges -the ice maker. Martin, do you use the ice maker? I'm guessing you don't, and won't so you may not
fall prey to any possible design/mechanical failures in the ice-maker department.

Phil

 

[mattl]

My SxS has Ice and water through the door, as did it's predecessor and I've never had an issue.  Use the water all the times as it's filtered, ice maker bin is in the door so little wasted space.

 

One idea I had and will use if I'm remodelling in the future will be to frame the wall behind the fridge as I would a doorway - with a header and no studs in the space.  Then ANY unit becomes a counter depth fridge.  Just need to use 5/8 drywall on the other side though...

 

[rp2813]

I bought our SxS at the other house and our current one based on having the ice bin in the door instead of inside under the ice maker.

 

The only disadvantage to this system is that if you keep the freezer door open for any length of time -- and I'm pretty good about getting in and out of there quickly -- it's enough to cause the crescents to start clumping together.

 

IMO it's still better than reaching inside the cabinet for ice and dealing with those goddamned flaps in front of the bins.

 

[sudsmaster]

Ralph,

 

There are now a number of bottom freezer French door fridges that have through the door water and crushed ice. They are of course more expensive than models without the feature, but it's a feature I value.

 

All,

 

I think SXS fridges got a bad rap for energy efficiency early because back in the '70's when they came around, they were loaded with lots of energy gulping conveniences, like butter warmers, door gasket heaters, automatic defrost, thermally inefficient water/ice dispensers, etc. But by 2000 when I replaced a '78 GE SXS with  a new KA model, the energy consumption dropped from 1700 KWH/yr to about 640. That's a huge drop, thanks to more efficient compressors, more intelligent auto-defrost, and better insulation.

 

Personally I don't see how a SXS dumps all that much more chilled air when a door is opened than a top freezer or even a bottom freezer model. In all cases there nothing to prevent chilled air to flow out the lower part of the door opening. And, I think bottom freezer models with simple suspended wire baskets for the freezer compartment are probably some of the worst for dumping chilled air. When you slide out that drawer, it's like yanking everything in the freezer into the warm room air. I can't see that as being very energy efficient. Models with a plastic kind of tub probably prevent some chilled air from escaping, but then there is still the air left in the cabinet that will be expelled like a plunger when the drawer is pushed back into the freezer compartment.

 

Fridge models with subdoors for frequently accessed items probably save some energy, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra cost.

 

I have the same issue with a wall to the right of my SXS making bin removal difficult. Fortunately there's an open door to the dining room on that wall, so all that needs to be done is the roll the fridge out enough that the fridge door will swing into the dining room a little, in order to pull the bins for cleaning. I don't see any other design resolving this issue, as a top or bottom freezer model will still need to swing the door into the wall, as will a French door model. However when I was fridge shopping in 2000, I noticed that Amana made a model where the door bins didn't extend into the crisper bin region. This mean that it was possible to pull the crisper bins with the doors opened only 90 degrees. Alas, at the time, the Amana wasn't all that energy efficient, so I went with the KA instead. And I don't see that other mfg's have had the presence of mind to construct their doors so that bins can be removed when the doors are opened only 90 degrees. Once in a while I'll look at a model when at least one of the bins can be removed, but not all.

 

 

 

[yogitunes]

Thanks Louis, that's exactly the model I have.....

yes, I do use ice, quite a bit in fact....and as mentioned, the issue is capacity, you can run out rather quickly.....granted you can hit the "Accel Ice" button, but that doesn't make ice faster if you need it now, it only makes the compressor run for 24 hours, and it takes that long to refill that bucket.....

when it comes time for a wash-in, either prepare and stock up on ice, or just buy 2 bags from the store.....

only issue I had was the fronts of the crisper drawers snapping off from those clips.....just found it easier to drill little holes and rivet them in place, never an issue since.....I do like that they are on rollers for this model....

for the Amana, the bottom freezer ice bin is no different, they place the bin so close to the ice maker, after a few batches, it triggers to shut off, unless you reach inside and move the ice forward.......found it easier to add a Rubbermaid bin next to it, and keeping that full by shifting the ice over each time the freezer is opened.....

we just learn to adapt......

you find yourself opening the door constantly to see those LED's come on, and get brighter...both sides are lit top to bottom.....

 

[ovrphil]

Rich's comment hits a point with me: "However when I was fridge shopping in 2000, I noticed that Amana made a model where the door bins didn't extend into the crisper bin region. This mean that it was possible to pull the crisper bins with the doors opened only 90 degrees. Alas, at the time, the Amana wasn't all that energy efficient, so I went with the KA instead. And I don't see that other mfg's have had the presence of mind to construct their doors so that bins can be removed when the doors are opened only 90 degrees. Once in a while I'll look at a model when at least one of the bins can be removed, but not all."

I'd like to know what older Side-by-Sides were thoughtfully designed to allow removal with a 90 degree door swing opening?

 

[warmsecondrinse]

My issue with SxS's has always been with ice makers and water filters taking up the top 2 shelves. For me, the whole point of a SxS is to be able to reach commonly used items in both 'fridge and freezer without pain....

Jim

 

[sudsmaster]

>>My issue with SxS's has always been with ice makers and water filters taking up the top 2 shelves.

 

Well, the Whirlpool/KA "ice bin in the door" design addressed that issue. The space on the inner door above the outer beverage/ice dispenser is taken up inside by the Ice bin. The ice maker itself occupies the front of the top shelf area, but there's plenty of room to insert items under it and fill that shelf. So with this design you lose some door shelf area which IMHO is no big loss.

 

Similarly with bottom freezer french door models with in-door water/ice dispensers. The ice maker apparatus is tucked into the top of the left hand side of the fridge compartment. The bin is in the upper inside of the door. Both are insulated/sealed from the fridge to control temp. Seems like a good arrangement to me.

 

[sudsmaster]

>>I'd like to know what older Side-by-Sides were thoughtfully designed to allow removal with a 90 degree door swing opening?

 

Like I said, the only ones I've seen that way are older Amanas circa 2000. I can't remember if the '78 GE SxS allowed for bin removal with doors at 90 degrees.

 

BTW, when I purchased the KA SxS in 2000, I very nearly made the mistake of not measuring the nook width, and ordered a 32" wide Maytag SxS from a local appliance store. Luckily I realized my error the next day - the old fridge was 36" wide and so is the nook - and was able to call back and cancel it, because it hadn't yet shipped from the factory. The 32" narrow width would have made the drawback inherent in the design (narrow freezer and fresh compartments) intolerable.

 

I also remember that back around 2000 it could be kind of difficult to purchase large appliances. Maybe it was the dot com boom around here, with lots of people having new found wealth and spending it on upgrading their kitchens. But the selection is SOOO much better these days.

 

 

 

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

The genesis of the Side-by-Side story was Kelvinator's Food-O-Rama...  TWO fridge/freezer-sized fridge & freezer units smushed into one!

 

So making them smaller & compressed into a smaller, easy to move & still large enough to keep an average house-hold's worth of stuff was Admiral's design, introduced there-after...

 

And throughout my years, I have seen a lot of the newer, smaller SideXSide fridges enough, that I have stories too much numerous here to tell...

 

Other than our 1984 Frigidaire in Almond, and remember when we were at the appliance store, briefly opening a top-freezer model in another aisle, when trying to decide if we were ready for a Side-by-Side, but realizing we liked the one we'd looked at there the best & it lasted a good 15-years, followed by a Whirlpool w/ ice & water, we'd also kept also for 15-years, but decided w/ it at my dad's house that the dispensers were not getting used (& chances are the contents & fluid were probably getting dirty) so it got eschewed for a conventional top-freezer model...

 

I'm not too sold on the bottom-freezer design since there are too many issues mentioned above, and that nearly was the alternative to how fridges were seen until the boom came in side-by-sides, just for the bottom-freezer to make its comeback like it did...

 

 

-- Dave