Refigerators

[jack duren]

We have a 28.5 cu ft refrigerator as far as I know. A replacement is $1800+. They have a 24,5 on sale for $1100. I’m going to move the 28.5 downstairs to the shop. I told her I’d buy a small deep freeze with the balance.

I’ll have 50:square ft with the two. I don’t see why I need such a big refrigerator upstairs. Is is work $700 more?..

[roger wiegand]

Only you know how big a fridge you and your family need. If you keep much food in the freezer a manual defrost freezer will keep things way better than an auto defrost unit because it maintains a constant temperature and is much less dehydrating. Cuts down on freezer burn dramatically.

[jack duren]

I look at the frig we have downstairs now. It’s just there for overflow. There’s not much in it and it’s a single door.

there is only three of us.

[Bill Howatt]

So you'll have 3 fridges? Why the new one, color of the current one bad?
Totally agree with Roger's comment about manual defrost and while I don't know the price of power in your location, check the consumption rating of the new freezer - some of them run a lot.

[jack duren]

The Kenmore in the kitchen is 25 years old. The refig down stairs is about the same. I have the small refrig at the bar as well..

[Bill Howatt]

My Maytag is about 25 too and everybody says if I get a new one of any make, 10 years will be lucky.

[Stan Calow]

We got rid of the extra fridge in the garage and saw an immediate and significant drop in our electric usage. We were mostly keeping drinks in there. We manage just fine with one. Just need to not "stock up" on freezer items. There's always more at the store.

[jack duren]

There’s always more at the store if price isn’t a question. When it’s in sake, I buy a lot and use the Food Saver..

[Mark Wedel]

I think refrigerators are like a lot of things - if you have the space, you will find a way to use it. If you don't have the space, you will find you can be more efficient in what you have.

I only have a single ~18 cuft refrigerator/freezer combo. Now I live by myself, but that size has been fine for me. A few times I might get a situation where I need to pack things in there less efficiently. But it also just means I try to keep in mind what I'm buying - in particular, I try not to freeze much except stuff that really has to be frozen (icecream, frozen vegetables). No reason to buy a bunch of meat to then freeze and defrost later - I'll just buy it when I need it. The comment 'no one has ever said a steak got better by freezing it' is certainly true.

But this is also a bit dependent on many factors - I live fairly close to a supermarket, so easy for me to get to the store whenever I need to. If it was a 30 minute drive, I might rethink my storage needs.

[roger wiegand]

My freezer is full of peaches and blueberries out of the back yard. I also bake a lot with some more exotic flours that are _way_ cheaper by the 50 lb/40 kilo bags. Portioning it out and keeping it in the freezer keeps it fresher and suppresses the bugs. One year it was salmon we caught in Alaska-- hard to beat even if frozen (vacuum bagging helps a lot). Finally the meat at the Costco is a lot cheaper and much better than what our grocery chains sell (I can't touch the $30-40/lb product at the nice specialty markets), so yes, I parcel out meal-size packages and vacuum bag it. I've done side by side steaks frozen vs fresh and I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. Both pretty darn good. So yeah, I like having a freezer.

Refrigerators are expensive to run. The soda stays in the closet and gets a couple ice cubes thrown in as needed.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I bought an 18 CF Hisense on sale from Lowe's when I was working on the house in 2022, and it has been plenty big enough for my mother and me. We also have a 7.5 cf chest freezer that I bought used that summer.

[Jim Becker]

When our refrigerator started to go a number of months ago (it was with the house when we bought it and manufactured in 2009), I quickly picked up a small chest freezer to avoid losing a bunch of frozen food while waiting for a new fridge to arrive. For the two of us, having the new fridge with it's freezer and that small chest freezer in the garage, it's working out splendenly. There actually was an older fridge in the garage when we moved in, but there was no question it was going to suck power big-time so we chose to get rid of it. That's the thing with keeping the older ones around. While they often run well because they were built pretty good, they love eating power. Both the new big fridge as well as the little chest freezer are pretty miserly with power compared to "back in the day".

[jack duren]

We are use to the electric bill the way it is. Three
refrigerators..

[Dave Zellers]

There actually was an older fridge in the garage when we moved in, but there was no question it was going to suck power big-time so we chose to get rid of it. That's the thing with keeping the older ones around. While they often run well because they were built pretty good, they love eating power.

30 years ago we were given an old refrigerator from the 1970's. We used it as a second fridge in the basement until we decided to replace it 6 months ago. It was incredible- never complained, it just ran. But yes- the electric bills clearly show that the new one is much cheaper to run. But still- I loved that old guy. Mr Dependable. The friend who gave it to us couldn't believe it worked all that time.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, the older stuff was built like a tank sometimes. I do prefer the functionality and space inside current generation stuff, however. Our counter depth, french door with bottom freezer fridge that we bought last year has as much space (or at least it feels like it) as some older full depth units because modern insulation and materials allows for thinner walls and the "guts" take up less room, too. That wasn't meant to say the actual cu ft is exactly the same, but the perceived space and organization is great. Really quiet, too.

[Lee Schierer]

We recently looked at replacing our old fridge. I purchase a watt meter that records how much power a device uses over time. I recorded 30 days of power for our fridge. I also looked at the projected energy use by similar sized new models. Ours used slightly more than the new ones, but with the price of new ones it would have taken over 10 years to break even. So unless ours dies, it will stay in our kitchen.

[George Yetka]

Depending on family size 1 fridge is plenty for 2-4 people(food will go bad if you have 2 refrigerators worth) If you do a lot of storing of food in the freezer the addition of a chest freezer should be the way to go. I think the second fridge is nice for parties but otherwise it is pretty wasteful to power.

We are ready to ditch our second fridge. we recently replaced our Main fridge with a split top 2 drawer fridge the middle section is kept at 33 degrees we get a couple extra days out of meat without freezing it.

[Patty Hann]

Kenmore (really a Whirlpool) bought in October 1983 when I bought my house....21 cu.ft.
I live alone (no roommates) so it's only moi who uses it.
I worked until 2106 so that meant the fridge never got opened a lot, maybe "used" less than 6 hours per day, more on the weekends of course.
Still in use, altho I have a small chest freezer too, about 20 years old.
Fridge compressor cycles about every 15-20 minutes, thermostat still works, still maintains the right temp, not quite 32F in the lower areas maybe 34 on the upper areas.
Made in USA.

[Tom M King]

In a rental house we moved the old refrigerator out in the garage that we have set up as a game room and put a new one in the kitchen. The electric bill went up enough to notice with two instead of one running.

[Rick Potter]

Our house is unusual, more like a compound. We have added a 'granny flat' addition for when we need it, then our daughter and two kids moved in 15 years ago, and she lives and works there. We then added another 'cottage' as a guest room, which was occupied by a grand daughter while she saved up for her own home, which she now has, and we also remodeled and added on to the house over the last 16 years. So, it is now a three BR house with two additional separate living areas.

Three generations of adults live here (five people), plus two kids (so far) of generation four are here daytime 3-4 days a week. We feed them and are home schooling the 5 year old, along with his grandma (another daughter) who does it two days a week.

Back to the subject. We have three double door refrigerators, Kitchen, Patio room (from daughters previous home), and shop porch (our old one). We also have two apartment size fridges in the two granny flats. The two older double doors are about 25 years old and still working fine, but the one out on the porch is getting rusty on the doors. It is strictly sodas, and we keep it loaded.

We are considering adding a freezer to the mix, but not decided yet. We use them all, and if any dies it will definitely be replaced.

We are fortunate in that we live where solar is viable, and we produce more than we use, so the old fridges are great for us. Same thing for the cars, as we have two BEV's and one plug in in the garage. The solar has paid for itself after 5-6 years.

[Pat Germain]

I would suggest staying with a Whirlpool, Maytag or Kitchenaid. (All Whirlpool brands.) I have talked with just so many people who bought other brands and had problems; especially with LG. When I had my Maytag dryer repaired recently, the technician said the same thing. Stick with Whirlpool brands. Anything else will fail and it's hard to get parts.

[jack duren]

I bought an LG washer and dryer from Bestbuy. I put a 5 year warranty on it when we purchased…

We will only buy a Whirlpool refrigerator. Nothing fancy, just a side by side. We are going to have to pay extra for white..

[Bill Dufour]

When I replaced our old fridge I replaced the outlet with a surge protected outlet. No room for a surge power bar back there. All modern fridges have some computer power to fry.
Bill D

[Dave Zellers]

When I replaced our old fridge I replaced the outlet with a surge protected outlet. No room for a surge power bar back there. All modern fridges have some computer power to fry.
Bill D

When our mini split was installed 2 years ago, installation of a whole house surge proctor was required to validate the warranty. It's a good idea these days with all the circuit boards in everything.

[Patty Hann]

I would suggest staying with a Whirlpool, Maytag or Kitchenaid. (All Whirlpool brands.) I have talked with just so many people who bought other brands and had problems; especially with LG. When I had my Maytag dryer repaired recently, the technician said the same thing. Stick with Whirlpool brands. Anything else will fail and it's hard to get parts.

Samsung too has its problems.
People have said they are extremely noisy and most seem to have some kind of problem(s) in the first year.

Oh yes, forgot to mention about my 1983 Kenmore/Whirlpool.... no service calls (so far) :) ... I do keep the coils clean.
My dad (the engineer) had warned me about ice makers and water dispensers... my model had options for those, and I "opted out" :D

[Dave Zellers]

My dad (the engineer) had warned me about ice makers and water dispensers... my model had options for those, and I "opted out" :D

Ooh! I'm interested in this- what did he warn about? (specifically ice makers) Because when we replaced our fridge a few years ago, we couldn't find one without an ice maker. Truly could not care less about a water dispenser.

We did have our plumber come out and hook up the ice maker and it's ok but at the same time I've been making ice in trays my entire life and I'm fine with that. If only it knew how to shut itself off when the bin was full!

[Alex Zeller]

I have all Maytag in my kitchen (Whirlpool) and I don't think I would buy Whirlpool again. The oven has been a POS, can't count the number of times I fixed it. The dishwasher has been a bit better but the keypad/ display is always flashing. The fridge is always running. It's only broken once though. The over the range microwave has only had the lightbulb burn out. As for parts, good luck.

Anyone telling you that they are the brand to get because of parts availability they are mistaken. The oven's main heating element burnt up the first week. They sent out a repairman (under warranty) to confirm what I told him. He called back the next day and said it wasn't available. So I called Home Depot and said I was returning it. The HD lady said that was fine but asked if I would wait a day. She called back and said she talked with Whirlpool and they were removing one from a new oven so mine could be fixed. Both the control board (which is obsolete 4 years after I bought the oven) and the heater element have died. I have learned how to repair the control board to keep it working. There's a plastic clip for the folding tines inside the dishwasher's upper rack that broke a little over a year of using it. It's not even listed on the parts diagram. When I called Whirlpool asking for the part number the person told me there wasn't a clip in it. After about 10 years a relay on the fridge's compressor died. It was easy to get. But I decided to see what parts were no longer available. I would say half are no longer made for it at that time. They are a bit over 15 years old now and if something dies it's either try to find used parts on ebay or just replace them.

I'm not saying other brands are better. Just that I know that Whirlpool is not the brand it once was. I will say this. I will be buying a new fridge before they switch to heat pumps over freon. I think they are going to be even more problematic for some time.

[Patty Hann]

Ooh! I'm interested in this- what did he warn about? (specifically ice makers) Because when we replaced our fridge a few years ago, we couldn't find one without an ice maker. Truly could not care less about a water dispenser.

We did have our plumber come out and hook up the ice maker and it's ok but at the same time I've been making ice in trays my entire life and I'm fine with that. If only it knew how to shut itself off when the bin was full!

My Father's overall philosophy (that pertains to devices whether mechanical or electrical, or both) was "the more bells and whistles means more opportunity for something to fail, and the more expensive it will be to fix."
And he wasn't referring to someone else repairing it; he did most repairs himself. **
Parts, labor, parts AND labor....bells and whistles increase price of repair. But factor in a repairman its even more $$$.

So having said that... now about the fridge and ice-makers and water dispensers (especially ones in the door), those are bells and whistles, so he advised us (his kids) to do without them, don't get them.
If you can't avoid getting them, don't hook them up, don't connect them, whatever, because those will probably fail first.***

And you know what? It's true.
Consumer Reports tracks appliance reliability based in part on what customers report.
And it has consistently reported that the commonest /most frequently reported early failures for fridges within the first year is with the water/ice functions.
This was true even when the appliances were made domestically.
I subscribed to CR for almost 35 years (beginning in 1983) and always read the appliance reliability reports even when not in the market for any particular appliance.

Sure, you can repair it. But it depends on what your time and money are worth to you.
If money was particularly tight (not true at all these days :rolleyes:) more often than not, the failure of these fridge options would be endured for months because the money was earmarked for something more pressing.
I say this knowing not a few friends (with families) have lived with the broken functions.
So you pay for it (new) and within a year you are without it anyway.

M take was, and still is, I don't need it; I never had it while growing up, I don't need it now.
And when I bought mine the price was a lot lower than the identical model with the options because the bare bones ones were not in high demand.

Again, for folks for whom money is no object, or they have the skills/tools to do repairs, or have a family member that does it gratis, go for it and God bless you.
Life is choices.

**My dad was EE in Aerospace. He worked a lot of overtime. He didn't want to spend his "home time" fixing stuff if it could be avoided.
He wanted "to spend that time with family".
So he was ruthless in eliminating non-essentials from needing maintenance by not getting the non-essentials in the first place.
(His call on what was essential and what wasn't ... I did note some inconsistencies :D )

***Sorry Dave... I can't help you with specific failures... I've never had/connected the options so I've never had a failure, (and neither did my Dad).

[Jim Becker]

Patty, I would suspect that ice makers are the number one failure point for refrigerators with the filtered water dispensers close behind. They are mechanisms that have moving parts that move frequently due to their function. While I would not be without them, they are pretty much the reason why an extended service contract is very attractive on this particular appliance...the cost of the contract is the same and sometimes lower than the cost of replacing the ice maker. :)

[jack duren]

The salesman told me that Whirlpool refrigerator with tye ice make in the door have been having problems, but not the ones with the traditional ice maker that is in the top

[Patty Hann]

Patty, I would suspect that ice makers are the number one failure point for refrigerators with the filtered water dispensers close behind. They are mechanisms that have moving parts that move frequently due to their function. While I would not be without them, they are pretty much the reason why an extended service contract is very attractive on this particular appliance...the cost of the contract is the same and sometimes lower than the cost of replacing the ice maker. :)

True about the extended service contracts now available wrt coverage vs costs.
They were around when I bought my fridge but with very limited coverage and you were stuck with whomever the seller had a contract with.
But even now I hear the horror stories of the business that does the repairs: problems are not fixed to last, or maybe not fixed at all.
Scheduling can be a nightmare.
All these repair complaints are locale dependent of course.

I'm still of the mind that minimal bells and whistles is best... it simply reduces the chances for needing a repair.
However I'd get the ext. contract if only for coverage of the compressor.

[jack duren]

We just want a straight forward refrigerator. Size and ice…Don’t care about special doors, round ice, etc..

[Rick Potter]

Had to repair the ice maker on our 13 year old GE twice. First time it was a plastic bushing that failed, second time the rotating part that pushes out the cubes had worn through the housing. We got lucky on that one, and the old school repairman drilled out the worn area and put in a bushing of some sort. Fine since then, unfortunately he retired.

When I asked him why the ice maker was so crappy, he said to look closely and notice that the ice has to go UPHILL to get to the dispenser. Ergo, it gets clogged often. Brilliant design.

[Pat Germain]

I have all Maytag in my kitchen (Whirlpool) and I don't think I would buy Whirlpool again. The oven has been a POS, can't count the number of times I fixed it. The dishwasher has been a bit better but the keypad/ display is always flashing. The fridge is always running. It's only broken once though. The over the range microwave has only had the lightbulb burn out. As for parts, good luck.

Anyone telling you that they are the brand to get because of parts availability they are mistaken. The oven's main heating element burnt up the first week. They sent out a repairman (under warranty) to confirm what I told him. He called back the next day and said it wasn't available. So I called Home Depot and said I was returning it. The HD lady said that was fine but asked if I would wait a day. She called back and said she talked with Whirlpool and they were removing one from a new oven so mine could be fixed. Both the control board (which is obsolete 4 years after I bought the oven) and the heater element have died. I have learned how to repair the control board to keep it working. There's a plastic clip for the folding tines inside the dishwasher's upper rack that broke a little over a year of using it. It's not even listed on the parts diagram. When I called Whirlpool asking for the part number the person told me there wasn't a clip in it. After about 10 years a relay on the fridge's compressor died. It was easy to get. But I decided to see what parts were no longer available. I would say half are no longer made for it at that time. They are a bit over 15 years old now and if something dies it's either try to find used parts on ebay or just replace them.

I'm not saying other brands are better. Just that I know that Whirlpool is not the brand it once was. I will say this. I will be buying a new fridge before they switch to heat pumps over freon. I think they are going to be even more problematic for some time.

I believe you. The trouble is, here in 2024, it really isn't a question of what appliances are good appliances. Rather, it's a question of which appliances suck less. Appliance manufacturers are now focusing on bling rather than reliable machines that last. Apparently, they think that's what people want. The people here on this forum wouldn't fall into that category. Pardon the stereotype, but woodworkers tend to be very value conscious and skeptical of new, complicated technology. Most people are impressed by shiny new things and will pay a LOT of money for a "smart" refrigerator.

My mom purchased an LG refrigerator. She hated it so much, she got rid of it. For some reason, she then purchased an LG dishwasher and also hated that. I suggested a BOSCH dishwasher which she really likes. But that doesn't mean all BOSCH appliances are good machines. BOSCH makes a very good dishwasher, but I gather their other machines are pretty lackluster.

And everything changes so quickly you can't buy based on previous experience. If my Kitchenaid refrigerator lasted 20 years, that doesn't mean the Kitchenaid refrigerators currently available are good machines.

With parts availability, a machine can be too new as well as too old. When an appliance is brand new and needs a part, that part may not have yet entered the stock system. After a few years, the manufacturer might not support that particular model and stop stocking parts. With LG and SAMSUNG, the parts might never be available because they come from Korea.

[Dave Zellers]

My Father's overall philosophy (that pertains to devices whether mechanical or electrical, or both) was "the more bells and whistles means more opportunity for something to fail, and the more expensive it will be to fix."
And he wasn't referring to someone else repairing it; he did most repairs himself. **
Parts, labor, parts AND labor....bells and whistles increase price of repair. But factor in a repairman its even more $$$.

Thanks- that's what I was expecting. While I do like the ice maker, I think if/when it fails, I'll just shut off the water line in the basement and revert back to old school trays for ice.

[Brian Elfert]

I don't think Yale Appliance has been mentioned here. They put together an annual list of which appliance brands of each type they serviced, and the number of times, during the previous year. It isn't perfect because some of the brands they didn't service enough to really be a representative sample. I recall it is also mostly warranty service and may not reflect long term reliability. They also don't sell every brand and only list service history for brands they sell from what I recall.

Yaleappliance.com

[Brian Elfert]

I had the main board in my Whirlpool fridge fail after seven or eight years. This was in 2022 I recall and the fridge was broken for a good ten days. The board had to be shipped from Kansas City and then the service guy had to come back to install it. The freezer was still cold enough to stay frozen and the fridge was warmer than I would have liked, but the service tech said it wasn't warm enough for the food to spoil. I never got sick from anything so he was probably right. I did limit what I bought new to store in the fridge until it was fixed.

The good news was they could get the board. A new fridge almost identical to my Whirlpool fridge from 2014 is about $4,000 with sales tax. The repair was less than $500. The labor was really cheap when I looked up my cost to buy the part. Now, the probably get a discount on parts and don't pay retail.