Refrigerators

[Bruce King]

How old is your fridge?
What brand?
Does your wife like it?
Ever had a new compressor?
Ever had one die after moving or storing it?
What brand would you buy next?

I’ll go first

19 yr
KitchenAide Cabinet depth
yes
no compressor
Every single one died after moving except this one.
Maybe LG

[Ted Calver]

-Three Years
-Samsung
-No, she does not like it.
-No new compressor, but the ice maker is a nightmare, requiring forced defrosts every six months, and the subject of class action law suits.
-Moved a Sears Kenmore from Virginia to Turkey, to Italy and back to Virginia where it became the garage fridge and lived a happy life until we bought a new kitchen fridge and rotated it out. Never died....just faded away like a good soldier.
-Not sure what we would buy next, but NOT a Samsung!

[Frank Pratt]

10 -15 years
Kenmore, bottom freezer
We like using it, but are underwhelmed with the quality
No compressor failure, but it's gone through 3 defrost sensors and 3 circulating fans. And they're a bitch to change.
Haven't moved with it.
Any North American brand is off my list.

[John Goodin]

6 years (both units)
LG, French Door (both)
we like them -- they are basically same except one is cabinet depth
No compressor failure
Have only moved it to new house in neighborhood
Would but LG again but would research others as well.

[Bohdan Drozdowskyj]

Westinghouse
Separate frig and freezer, 45 years old.
One gas topup in frig, on its third thermostat but still going strong.
5 moves no problems.

[Mike Henderson]

2-3 years
Sub-Zero Freezer on the bottom
Yes - Ice maker works well
No compressor problems
No - haven't moved with it.
Sub-Zero

Mike

[Steve Eure]

Samsung- bought Nov. 2019. 38 days old it failed completely. all circuit boards died. Repaired and working fine since. Only reason for purchase was 10 year warranty.
Had a Frigidaire for 6 years. Had trouble with it from the first month until it completely died. Repair would cost more than a new fridge. Never Frigidaire again.
The Frigidaire replaced a Kenmore (no frills) that is still going strong after 35+ years in my daughters house. Wish I still had that one, but wife HAD to have the fancy one with french doors.

[Curt Harms]

Kenmore Elite. French doors, freezer on the bottom.SWMBO loves it. Age 12 years+, we had one repair, I think it was a fan. Otherwise no problems.

[Gail Ludwig]

DO NOT BUY A SAMSUNG!
Two weeks ago we replaced our 5 year old EXPENSIVE Samsung with a basic Whirlpool, Bottom Freezer, ice maker located in freezer.
After struggling for over 2 years with the Samsung, we finally gave up and bought a brand from a LOCAL appliance store that has a reputable service department. No one will work on a Samsung. If you doubt me, just google Samsung + refrigerator problems. Thousands of complaints!!

So.....a few things I learned. Buy from a dealer that has a reputable service dept. Home Depot and big box stores do not have their own service depts and farm out their work. You cannot determine who comes to repair your appliance. Second, get an extended warranty for a refrigerator. Third, do your homework before you buy. I did none of these things for the Samsung and regretted it—big time!!!

[Bob Turkovich]

Replaced an 8 year old Samsung French Door with an LG French Door in March. The Samsung had a problem of the upper level defrost drain freezing which would back up and eventually make its way to the kitchen floor. Numerous Samsung fixes didn't work. To prevent that from occurring I would have to periodically pullout the deli tray (which was a royal pain...) and sponge off the panel below the drawer.

I did significant research before getting a replacement and found the following link from an appliance sales company in the Boston area which keeps track of the number of repairs performed per manufacturer per appliance. I found it helpful in making my purchasing decision.

https://blog.yaleappliance.com/bid/86332/the-least-serviced-most-reliable-appliance-brands

We purchased the LG even though they have a history (on the internet) of compressor failures. The one we purchased has a 10 year warranty on the compressor. The only problem to date is the frequent tendency of the ice dispenser to spit out one last ice cube as you walk away.

One other thing... the Samsung and the replacement LG had the same cu. ft. specification yet we can put a whole lot more in the LG.:confused:

[Jim Becker]

LG. Four months. It replaced a previous, smaller LG. We did have ice maker issues with the earlier one but since it was 8 years old and our needs changed, it was a better choice to get a new, more efficient unit, that also has features like the door-in-door for convenience and a much larger bottom freezer that gets frequent use for convenience around breakfast and lunch items. (Our regular freezer is necessarily small due to location)

[Lee DeRaud]

GE side-by-side, purchased January 1994, still working fine, no repairs. Only (minor) issue is the ice dispenser that tends to jam up every couple of days.

It replaced a still-working 1974 GE-built Kenmore side-by-side. Its only repair was a water inlet solenoid replaced at some point, no other issues.

GF's only complaints are (1) the frozen pizzas she likes don't fit and (2) she's too short to un-jam the icemaker without getting out the stepstool. Both of those are kind of baked-in to the side-by-side form factor.

My issue in replacing it is the size. I don't really need more cubic-footage, but I'd like to get a French-door style. All of those are 1"-2" inches too tall and right on the edge of being too wide, something I didn't consider when I designed the new cabinet layout a couple years back. The only non-side-by-side I've been able to find that will work is a Whirlpool bottom-freezer model: theirs seem to be about an inch shorter than the similar GE/LG/whatever, and I can get one of those in 33" instead of 36".

[Bill Dufour]

Sears knemore by Whirlpool. Bought used no problems in five years. I put a surge suppressor outlet into the existing box to protect the computerized control panel. Used a six foot supply hose with a blowout preventer valve. A bungee cord holds up the hose in a gentle loop.
We like that that the ice maker is all inside and the faucet is inside as well. Less wasted space. The icemaker works well but if any thing falls into the ice bin, like packages of food, the bail will pop out and the ice maker will never sense it is full. Easy enough to fix but it is down on the ground, invisable behind the switch box and all done by braille with cold fingers. I have to look it up every time because there are no holes it could go into. The nice big slotted one or the small round one which is harder to find. You know it is the small round one.
Bil lD

[Stan Calow]

How old is your fridge? 8 year old
What brand? Kenmore by Whirlpool, side-by-side
Does your wife like it? Yes, she picked it. Counter depth was most important factor. Was hard to find at the time.
Ever had a new compressor? No, never on any fridge
Ever had one die after moving or storing it? No. We moved my MIL's to our house when she died. It was a Kenmore and ran for a total of 32 years.
What brand would you buy next? I'll check Consumer Reports info on reliability, and then see what's available in my area. Again counter depth will be factor.

I don't think any retailer has their own service dept anymore. Costs too much so they farm it out.

[Bruce King]

I forgot to mention that we have our water dispenser turned off. When we bought the house all the toilets needed replacing and some had leaky flush valves. When we travel the water valve is turned off to the whole house. The leaky toilets drop the residual pressure to the point where the fridge water dispenser valve starts letting water through. The stupid valve is designed to seal only with a good amount of water pressure. This in turn lets water siphon out of the dispenser and onto the floor. Luckily we learned this while we had the kitchen floor removed. They have a fix kit but we don’t drink city water anyway so I just turned it off. Ice maker still works.

[Patrick McCarthy]

I forgot to mention that we have our water dispenser turned off. When we bought the house all the toilets needed replacing and some had leaky flush valves. When we travel the water valve is turned off to the whole house. The leaky toilets drop the residual pressure to the point where the fridge water dispenser valve starts letting water through. The stupid valve is designed to seal only with a good amount of water pressure. This in turn lets water siphon out of the dispenser and onto the floor. Luckily we learned this while we had the kitchen floor removed. They have a fix kit but we don’t drink city water anyway so I just turned it off. Ice maker still works.

Bruce, you might want to check the pressure regulator outside where the water comes into the house. Sounds like it might be too much pressure.

[Bruce King]

Bruce, you might want to check the pressure regulator outside where the water comes into the house. Sounds like it might be too much pressure.
Thanks Patrick, it only leaks when the pressure is below around 5 to 15psi.
Its a known issue and they have a kit for it. They designed the seal to work off of pressure.

[John K Jordan]

KitchenAid side by side, 16 years old, we all love it, never needed a new compressor, never moved it except to clean, icemaker quit last year so I took the timing mechanism apart and made it work, would buy one like it again.

If a cooling device of any type with a compressor is laid on the side while moving it may be important to place it upright for up to 24 hours before plugging it in, depending on how long it was not vertical.

[Bruce King]

On both that I moved they were running a lot to stay cold but not enough juice left to get cold from ambient. Ours is probably on its last leg but Wife thinks it will warn us before it quits kind of like cars often do. I said it’s going to die while we are out of town and lose everything. Worse yet, not much time to think about what to buy in a hurry. Our house is elevated on an above ground basement, you should see them bringing in a fridge.

[Rollie Meyers]

Samsung, & LG, (Lousy Goods), both have a reputation for ice maker problems, also for difficulty in getting parts. My Whirlpool side by side was bought in 2006, & has not required any service since then, if it were to fail & require replacement would get another Whirlpool, my 2nd choice would have been GE but since they are now owned by Haier, that is out, with Haier, any day the appliance lasts past the warranty expiration date is a bonus day, & I stay away from most ChiCom owned companies, Frigidaire, does not have a reputation for quality either, a few months ago I asked a appliance repair tech as who was the least troublesome make, & he said they are all bad because they all buy their parts from the same sources.

[Alan Rutherford]

Maytag from Home Depot, traditional top-freezer with icemaker inside the freezer. Works great, 10 years old, inexpensive, reliable, wife can't wait to replace it.

[Mike Soaper]

20 yr old Maytag French door with freezer drawer on the bottom. In the door water and ice.

No moves or compressor repairs, but the compressor does make an occasional popping noise as if there's a little hydro locking going on inside the compressor, but it still works fine. My biggest complaint is with the pullout deli drawer lid, folks pull on it instead of the drawer and it pops off, but it's easily put back on.

I'd probably get another Maytag or one of its sibling brands.

I suspect most of the guts are similar between siblings with most of the differences being shelf/drawer layout, shelf/drawer quality, and cosmetics

Regarding Samsung and LG, the way they handled the exploding washing machine problem makes me not inclined to buy their stuff. You might want to search on brands that seem to dent easily.

I once was chatting with someone from an appliance store about a particular service problem they once had. A customer had called about a puddle that would frequently appear on the floor below the refrigerators in-door cold water outlet. A service rep replaced the in-door water valve, but the problem happed again. Thinking that maybe the replacement valve was defective another valve was ordered and installed. The water appeared on the floor again, another service call and different part replaced. The water appeared yet again. A service rep began to ask more questions, and it seems the water leak only happened at night, so the tech set up a video camera.

The family dog would press the water dispense paddle on the door to get a drink at night

[Bill Dufour]

If a cooling device of any type with a compressor is laid on the side while moving it may be important to place it upright for up to 24 hours before plugging it in, depending on how long it was not vertical.

You rally need to remove the back panel and look at the compressor plumbing. Lay it down so the plumbing off the can points up and oil will not drain out of the pump. This should keep the compressor from dying from lack of oil when it is restarted. I still allow at least 1/2 day after uprighting. I mark the back panel with a sharpie "this end up".
After moving it the drain tube shifted so it dripped on the floor not into the drain pan to be evaporated away. They sell a upgraded drain tube that clips in so that will not happen. No need since it will not happen unless it gets tipped the wrong way which is how it was hauled to my house. 50/50 chance and I blew it. I let it sit upright 48+ hours and no problems.
Bil lD

[Mel Fulks]

Our Whirlpool is 23 years old. Works well. My wife uses ice, I seldom do. I like Diet Coke at room temp.

[Doug Dawson]

How old is your fridge?
What brand?
Does your wife like it?
Ever had a new compressor?
Ever had one die after moving or storing it?
What brand would you buy next?

I’ll go first

19 yr
KitchenAide Cabinet depth
yes
no compressor
Every single one died after moving except this one.
Maybe LG

If you have an older refrigerator that you are happy with and it still works, repair it when things go wrong.

If you have a newer refrigerator, such as a Samsung, prepare yourself to repair the ice maker when it goes wrong, because it will. A steam jet is helpful. Parts should still be available. It’s not rocket science.

[John K Jordan]

...prepare yourself to repair the ice maker when it goes wrong,...

Or maybe fix it.

When the ice maker in my Kitchenaid fridge quit working after about 15 years I removed and disassembled it completely. This is not a task for the feint-hearted or mechanically challenged. The complex (and delicate) mechanical mechanism which controlled the timing of everything from the water entering the tray to the dumping of the cubes had degraded. The heart was multiple circular metallic tracks and spring loaded contact fingers with some delicate adjustments. There were a couple places where the electrical contact areas had degraded. I tested the timing motor, tested the heating element, cleaned and polished all the contact traces, tightened conductive rivets, bent a spring switch finger slightly to give it better contact, made adjustments after making sure I understand how it worked, cleaned the contacts to the heating element, applied a very thin film of dielectric grease to all contact traces, and carefully reassembled. This took a couple of hours. It has been working perfectly since.

It took me far longer to disassemble and draw a diagram and analyze the function of each piece than it did to fix it and reassemble. If it dies again someday I'll try that again and replace it only when I have to. The dealer told me a new one was close to $200 not counting the $65 service call. But he said after all that I could probably install a new one myself. :)

JKJ

[Derek Meyer]

We have a 17 year old Frigidaire Gallery Pro side by side with ice and water through the door. Bought it new from a local appliance dealer when we built the house. Never had a problem with the compressor. The only issue was about 7 or 8 years ago, the fan controller failed and the fan ran full blast, blowing too much air into the refrigerator side and freezing about half the contents. Called the appliance store, who sent a tech to diagnose the problem. He asked if we had ever had any issues with it previously, to which I answered no. They ordered the part and came back the next day to replace it. When I asked how much it would cost, he said it was under warranty. I asked how that was possible, and he said that they did not submit the warranty paperwork at the initial sale, so they submitted it and then filed a claim for this repair. Saved a couple hundred dollars that way.

My wife likes it fine, though she's always looking at new ones whenever we go to Home Depot or Lowe's.

[Bill McNiel]

41 years
SubZero 48" side by side with ice maker
Loves it
No
No
It is just now finally reaching the end of a very productive life and I am planning on replacing it with the current SubZero equivalent model. Original cost approx $5,000, replacement will be close to $11,000 delivered. Sound like alot of money? $5,000 amortized over 40 years is $125 per year, $11,000 now equals $275. Run that same calc on the less expensive units and it turns out to be a real value purchase. Of course, now that I've bragged about it, the new unit will last a month.

[Travis Conner]

Supposedly you're supposed to unplug it before moving it and then wait a certain period of time, after moving it to replug it. I'm not sure how long that is or why the reason is, but it has something to do with the Freon in the compressor.