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.