Thread: Any Refrigerator Recommendations?

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
> So, what's a girl to do?

I have no complaints about the temperature in my Maytag fridge, and
stuff int he freezer stays frozen. What I don't like about it is that
the door shelves sometimes fall off. Thanks to those adjustable shelves
being insecure, the butter tray fell off and the roll-up top broke. I
ordered a new one. That was in May. I ordered a new one through the
local Maytag dealer and I still don't have it.

The quietest refrigerator would be a natural gas model.
They literally make no audible sound at all.

Steve

On Feb 14, 4:23*pm, Terry Pulliam Burd <ntpull...@spambot.com> wrote:
> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
> So, what's a girl to do?
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
> ---
>
> "If the soup had been as warm as the wine,
> if the wine had been as old as the turkey,
> and if the turkey had had a breast like the maid,
> it would have been a swell dinner." Duncan Hines

If I could afford the remodel, I'd do refrigerator drawers.

In article <[email protected]>,
Terry Pulliam Burd <[email protected]> wrote:

> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations.

> So, what's a girl to do?

You pays your money you takes your choice. I love my Amana (one fridge
door), with the pullout freezer drawer on the bottom. It's five years
old. FWIW.
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller
Dom Schallerovych 2-10-2010

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
> So, what's a girl to do?
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
> ---
>
> "If the soup had been as warm as the wine,
> if the wine had been as old as the turkey,
> and if the turkey had had a breast like the maid,
> it would have been a swell dinner." Duncan Hines
I put little credence in others review
most of them expect miracles for little expenditure
Now our experience is that a couple of years back we bought an Lg
GR-559F without the water , it is HUGE and the sound level is very low
and it's cheap to run
two metres from the unit at 3 am it is just audible (just)the temp
regulation is good and it has heated door seal and lots of nice glass
and trimming ( metal handles in white body)
We also have a 340 litre Whirlpool . its noisy and expensive to run
because the damn thing goes into "it's all gonna freeze " mode at least
once a month or more , the regulation is poor and I hate it
ask you friends as some regions need more than others , perhaps if
it's cold out dropping the steaks out the window till spring ?

On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:23:13 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd
<[email protected]> wrote:

> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
> So, what's a girl to do?
>

Hold your nose and take your chances because they don't build them
like they used to. I put around $1000 into fixing my refrigerator
this year (three different visits, four different things to be fixed)
and it's not more than seven years old. We should have just purchased
a new one, but we thought the odds were against us spending what we
did _in less than six months_ when it all started.

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

sf <[email protected]> wrote:

>I put around $1000 into fixing my refrigerator
>this year (three different visits, four different things to be fixed)
>and it's not more than seven years old. We should have just purchased
>a new one, but we thought the odds were against us spending what we
>did _in less than six months_ when it all started.

It is greener to repair the old unit even if replacing it
would be cheaper. A new refrigerator, being a significant
chunk of metal, represents a large resource spend.

Plus I notice a new Miele refrigerator will set you back $6,200
anyway. Even an LG or a Bosch pushes two grand.

Steve

On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:23:13 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd
<[email protected]> wrote:

> So, what's a girl to do?

Not a French Door model, but this one is a great price!
<http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+22.4+Cu.+Ft.+Bottom-Mount+Refrigerator+-+White/8834835.p?cpncode=22-47615031-2&srccode=cii_11138&skuId=8834835&ref=39&loc=01&id =1212192241616>
or
http://tinyurl.com/ygwtw7g

--
I love cooking with wine.
Sometimes I even put it in the food.

On Sun 14 Feb 2010 05:23:13p, Terry Pulliam Burd told us...

> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
> So, what's a girl to do?
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd

We don't have that style, but we do have a newer Whirlpool with SS doors
that we're very happy with. It's quiet to the point of not really knowing
when the compressor is running. Of all the refrigerators we've owned overe
the years, it has the most consistent temperature throughout. I would
definitely make the same choice again.

--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright

Wayne Boatwright <[email protected]> wrote:

> We don't have that style, but we do have a newer Whirlpool
> with SS doors that we're very happy with. It's quiet to the
> point of not really knowing when the compressor is running.
> Of all the refrigerators we've owned overe the years, it has
> the most consistent temperature throughout. I would definitely
> make the same choice again.

Wayne, which model number is this?

TIA,

Steve

On Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:18:38 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
<[email protected]> wrote:

>We don't have that style, but we do have a newer Whirlpool with SS doors
>that we're very happy with. It's quiet to the point of not really knowing
>when the compressor is running. Of all the refrigerators we've owned overe
>the years, it has the most consistent temperature throughout. I would
>definitely make the same choice again.

I would say exactly the same things about our three-year-old
counter-depth side-by-side Kitchen Aid. Quietest reefer I've never
heard, apart from Sub-Zero (for obvious reasons).

IMO, the Whirlpool line-up is the way to go if you don't want to spend
the Sub-Zero bucks.

-- Larry

Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience?


We've had the GE since November and I like it. I bought the model
without ice and water in the door because we've never had it, don't
miss it, and I read that those are the features most likely to fail.
It's the first GE appliance I've ever owned. We've always bought
Frigidaire, Amana, or Whirlpool because the interior design made the
most sense.

I have found that even though the square footage is larger then my
former top freezer model the refrigerator doesn't seem to hold as much.
YMMV. I am short and the top shelf and top door shelves are over my
head. This isn't a huge problem.

Also, it took about a month before the ice cubes stopped tasting like
plastic (they are fine now.)

God luck with whatever you decide.

gloria p

"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:4b789fe4$0$13653$[email protected] m...
> Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
>> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
>> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
>> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
>> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
>> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
>> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
>> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
>> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
>> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
>> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
>> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
>> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
>> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
>> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
>> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>>
>> So, what's a girl to do?
>
> I have no complaints about the temperature in my Maytag fridge, and stuff
> int he freezer stays frozen. What I don't like about it is that the door
> shelves sometimes fall off. Thanks to those adjustable shelves being
> insecure, the butter tray fell off and the roll-up top broke. I ordered a
> new one. That was in May. I ordered a new one through the local Maytag
> dealer and I still don't have it.

One thing to consider is the space you have available and the size of
refrigerator you need. There are counter depth and other models are much
deeper. We have been toying with the idea of a move. We were in The Great
Indoors last week for some other stuff, but walked through the appliances.
We liked a GE Monogram with French doors and two freezer drawers. The
biggest thing we look at is the storage space for larger party trays and
even pizza boxes. Some just do not have the space for that. We currently
have a Kitchen Aide integrated cabinet depth unit that is great. It does do
some sort of defrost cycle now and then, and is pretty noisy for a couple of
minutes as it cools back down. We had a side by side and I did not like the
narrow freezer unit. We have a separate freezer, so that is not a huge
deal, but it could be. Soooo, look at the features you like and the storage
space you think you will use, and buy the one that looks the best.

Dale p

On Sun 14 Feb 2010 08:20:11p, Steve Pope told us...

> Wayne Boatwright <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> We don't have that style, but we do have a newer Whirlpool
>> with SS doors that we're very happy with. It's quiet to the
>> point of not really knowing when the compressor is running.
>> Of all the refrigerators we've owned overe the years, it has
>> the most consistent temperature throughout. I would definitely make
>> the same choice again.
>
> Wayne, which model number is this?
>
> TIA,
>
> Steve
>

It's a 22 cu.ft. top freezer model. Here are the specs...

<http://www.whirlpool.com/catalog/pro...tCategoryId=74
&categoryId=96&subCategoryId=98&productId=1578#tab s>

--

~~ If there's a nit to pick, some nitwit will pick it. ~~

~~ A mind is a terrible thing to lose. ~~

************************************************** ********

Wayne Boatwright

On Feb 14, 4:23*pm, Terry Pulliam Burd <ntpull...@spambot.com> wrote:
> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
> So, what's a girl to do?
>
> Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>
> ---
>
> "If the soup had been as warm as the wine,
> if the wine had been as old as the turkey,
> and if the turkey had had a breast like the maid,
> it would have been a swell dinner." Duncan Hines

We had an experienced appliance repair guy up here last week - nice
fellow, chatty. While he installed a new microwave, since we're
contemplating making some changes in our appliances, DH asked him for
his preferences. Were surprised that he recommended the Kirkland
(COSTCO) appliances, which are made by Whirlpool, across the board.
Said Whirlpool is the only manufacturer not producing "expensive junk"
these days - and he works on all of them. Bears our your Consumer
Reports info.

Know I'd never ever buy a Frigidaire "Gallery" again...we paid a small
fortune for their Stainless Steel side by side with ice maker in the
door for our old house and it was such a lemon I seriously considered
rolling it into the street and setting it on fire. Constantly froze
up and ceased functioning because of a poorly designed plastic part.
Was still under warranty and the company replaced the part numerous
times before quietly redesigning it, but not until I'd spent weeks of
my life on the phone begging for service, waiting for repairmen, and
transferring food into ice chests.

Also, the Frigidaire SS finish was represented as "easy clean"...and
turned out to be such a total PITA nuisance to keep up that I was glad
to find white appliances in my new house. Know SS's a popular trend
and a lot of folks adore it, but I just don't have the time to polish
my appliances with special products every darned day to keep them
looking nice.

Nancy T

"Terry Pulliam Burd" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
> personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
> their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
> one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
> that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
> GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
> the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
> expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
> be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
> So, what's a girl to do?

Get what you like. If it has the features that you want at the price you
can afford, it's right for you. I got a Whirlpool last year. It's 24 cubic
feet, has a water dispenser and ice maker, plenty of deep shelves and it is
super energy efficient. I don't think there is a huge quality difference
between the major brands. Mine is a side by side. I like that over the big
deep freezer compartment underneath.

Paul

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Terry Pulliam Burd <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
>> Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
>> there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
>> their recommendations.
>
>> So, what's a girl to do?
>
> You pays your money you takes your choice. I love my Amana (one fridge
> door), with the pullout freezer drawer on the bottom. It's five years
> old. FWIW.
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ

I prefer the single door fridge with bottom freezer too. I looked at the
French door models and they seemed too bothersome to me. You have to
open one, or the other, or perhaps both just to get to something. My
single door fridge with bottom freezer is a GE and just 18 months old
and just had to be repaired. Something computer-ish went belly up but
thankfully because I used my AMEX to purchase it, they extended the
standard one year warranty to two so the repair was free to me.
One thing I also like about my bottom freezer is the extra third pull
out basket. I keep my spices all on one wide pull out shelf and still
have loads of room.

The message <[email protected]>
from Terry Pulliam Burd <[email protected]> contains these words:

> We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
> that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
> old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
> I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
> drawer) freezer on the bottom.

If you mean a fridge above a pull-drawer freezer, two doors, we have
that configuration and I can certainly recommend it. It's
much easier to manage the contents of drawer freezers than the top-lid,
reach in lucky-dip brantub kind.
I like being able to see (and reach) everything in the fridge at a
glance without bending.

We didn't get water/ice dispensers in the door because the saleswoman
told me they go wrong a lot (as well as the trouble of plumbing them
in)

This is also our first ever frost-free fridge/ freezer; I'd never
go back to the kind that needs defrosting.
Its "A" rated for energy efficiency so is very quiet; and in a long
powercut the frozen food was still rock hard when I opened it 2 days
later.

I keep my old fridge in the garage, useful for parties, and food
deliveries.

Janet

On Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:23:13 -0800, Terry Pulliam Burd
<[email protected]> wrote:

>We're moving to a new house on March 15 and one of the several things
>that won't be making the trip across town is our refrigerator. It's
>old, I've hated it for years and it isn't energy efficient. The style
>I have my eye on is a stainless steel French door with the (pull out
>drawer) freezer on the bottom. Does anyone have any recommendations of
>personal or tangential experience? I looked at Consumer Reports and it
>recommends Whirlpool umbrella brands which includes Whirlpool, Maytag,
>Amana, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Yet when I look at the user reviews,
>there were far too many negative comments to make me comfortable with
>their recommendations. The only other ratings were for GE, Viking and
>one LG - the rest were those under the Whirlpool umbrella (of the ones
>that were rated as being energy efficient). Of those 3, the LG and the
>GE were found to be too noisy (the refrigerator will be contiguous to
>the family room) with inferior hardware and the Viking ridiculously
>expensive (or course). SubZero wasn't even mentioned, but that would
>be in the Viking cost category anyway.
>
>So, what's a girl to do?
>
>Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
>

Consumer Reports sticks with middle of the line appliances. We have
had good luck with GE. When we moved to Hampton, VA in 1974 we
bought GE range and refrigerator. We replaced the compressor in the
refrigerator. It lasted until about 1995. We replaced it with
another GE and it is still going fine. The ice dispenser only puts
out crushed ice but we are not about to replace the ice maker for
that, especially since the kids are no longer here and we don't use
the ice and water dispenser very much any more. The double oven stove
was still working fine when we left in 2004.

That is not to say that any GE or other product will last as well as
the older ones did. I am hoping they will since we have replaced the
GE stove and the Maytag dishwasher since we moved here. They were
both actually working but I hated the dishwasher (noisy) and wasn't
happy with the stove.

The Bosch dishwasher we replaced in 2004 lost its water pump this
fall. We decided to get a new one. DH had a couple of nits to pick
about the Bosch. We got an Electrolux. $1500 and it did not get
dishes clean. We returned it, ordered a $180 water pump from Bosch
and DH replaced it. We received the new pump in 2 days.

As I told Jean in an earlier thread, make sure that you know where you
can get reliable service. The greatest appliance is not worth s**t if
it breaks and you can't get it repaired for 2 weeks.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)