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What is the best refrigerator brand today in your experience?

When I replaced my 32 year old Admiral fridge last year I found that most new units wouldn't fit without blocking the entrance to the kitchen and opted for a Whirlpool side by side with water and ice through the door, from the few models that would fit. I love the fridge, but it makes some strange sounds when making ice. I like that it has fans in the freezer and fridge sections so the temp is the same on all shelves. I also like having lights in the freezer compartment. The freezer is probably too small for a large family, but is fine for my wife and I.
 
I'll add that the bottom veg/meat "crisper" drawer on the ref side can be set to almost freeze stuff.
(gets a crystalized ice coating but is still pliable)

That greatly extends the useful life of things like bacon (which we now stockpile when it's "BOGO") and even fish (which now lasts 5-7 days instead of the normally accepted 3).
 
We've had an LG for 5 or so years. Bottom freezer, french doors above, no water dispenser or in-door ice maker. So far so good--beautifully laid out and trouble free, though I have heard stories about the compressor problems. Fingers crossed.
 
ernieb1536 said:
They make decent tvs but their appliances suck !!!!!!
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Perhaps now, but I have a 55" LG OLED from roughly 5 years ago that developed screen burn after maybe a year? It's noticeable in bright backgrounds, but the colors now are a bit off, especially green. I'll be replacing it at one point or another.
 
Hum.....let's see......car batteries and refrigerators have about the same life span. You may ask yourself how are these two things related to the OP's question....well just keep wondering.
 
Bill S said:
Samsung Bespoke Flex here that's going on 5 years. They had problems with ice makers before this unit but relocated them to the freezer. Mine is fine and we do like the auto fill water pitcher in the fridge door. One side of the bottom freezer can be used as a refrigerator for more room.
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We have the Bespoke also. So far so good.20251204_195634[1].jpg
 
When looking at washers a couple years ago the top 2 brands had the most hate in their reviews by far. Asked the associate that always worked the appliance dept. about Samsung's and LG's. He said by far they had the most problems with them. He recommended a Maytag top loader. It's been a good washer.
 
Two things to keep in mind. Many new fridges have built in water filters. 50 bucks a whack and every six months and the manufacturer will pester you to death to sign up for a subscription for them. And (2) read that warranty carefully. I think LG or Samsung brags about a ten year warranty. That's for the compressor, parts only. Labor and misc. items not covered. Maybe one year parts and labor on everything else. Consumer reports is a joke in my opinion. We bought a Whirlpool side by side with ice and water through the door. Only dislike is the condenser coils design that makes it really hard to clean it. 6 or 7 years old and (knock on wood) no problems.
 
Consumer reports is spotty. Their models are tested over time and when the results go to print,many models have been superceded. It's a crap shoot. Get an appliance warranty as part of the negotiation or separately! Modern stuff is mostly vaccinated!
 
sanford12 said:
When looking at washers a couple years ago the top 2 brands had the most hate in their reviews by far. Asked the associate that always worked the appliance dept. about Samsung's and LG's. He said by far they had the most problems with them. He recommended a Maytag top loader. It's been a good washer.
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Had Maytag got good service out of them but then they got red of the agitator so went with SpeedQueen they’ve been great !
 
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We used to swear by Samsung, but they seem hit and miss these days.

We have a cabinet depth double door with the bottom right a “flex” space (can be fridge or freezer).

7 years without an issue.

The Samsung induction range though: 2 months out of warranty a relay board fried. Ordered another and swapped it out myself. Otherwise, 7 years old also and works fine.

Samsung 55” 3d flatscreen in the living room, going on 12 years old without trouble, just doesn’t have a lot of the modern “smart” features. Some, but limited. 55” in the bedroom thats about 4-5 years old. All the modern smart features but a bit more of a pita to use. Sound is…not that good.

samsung soundbar in the living room about 8 years old. 5.1, works grwst for a soundbar. So we bought a newer model samsung for the bedroom tv and the sound is….well, not as good as the living room soundbar.

Samsung Blu-ray players. Older 3d wifi model still chugging happily along. Couple years newer blue-ray has stopped reading.

I’d say the slightly older Samsung stuff is a bit better quality, but we had a “upper end” Samsung washer and drier. The dryer ran out to 12 years and juat sort of started not drying stuff. The washer went out to anout 5 years and the damping struts went bad so it banged around when on spin. I changed those out and it went to about 12 years where they went again. That was enough for us and we went with the top end LG’s this time. The dryer we’ve had a couple years now without issue, the washer under 6 months. I DID NOT give them the account/personal information they wanted for wifi access on both of them. I’m fine to push the buttons on the machines thank you very much. I do not need someone in “Guangdong province” monitoring how often I put a wash on…

Samsung: Hit and miss…..probably the same for most brands these days.
 
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tom3 said:
Many new fridges have built in water filters. 50 bucks a whack and every six months and the manufacturer will pester you to death to sign up for a subscription for them.
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I buy genuine Samsung filters 3 at a time on Amazon for a third of that. Since there's only 2 of us now, I change maybe every 9 months.
 
Be on the look out for appliances that now require 'subscriptions' and wifi access in order to unlock features.

Imagine buying an appliance and you don't get to use all the features unless you agree to connect it to the internet and be charged (while they collect data on you).

:mad:
 
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Used to be when the old appliance stopped working, and it cost too much to repair, or parts were no longer available, a new whatever would be in the works, and you'd go with the brand you had, that had worked well for over 10-15 or more years.

However today with the cutting corners, the increased cost of shipping, and the more complex design of appliances being built... longer running appliances are but past memories. Oft times, it's cheaper to fix, if parts are still available. also keep in mind that tech-work can be quite expensive.


So, with the above in mind, I usually go to a parts place, or phone a service company, and ask about an intended future buy and hear what they have to say about an certain brand. Usually they are up front, unless they are tied at the hip with a certain manufacturer.

Then there's independent test-types on "YouTube", but I take them with a bag of salt. Also, I ask neighbours/relatives/friends what they have, or see what the "pro's" online have to say about certain makes and read their "reviews".

I've found what is also important is if a "support" system in place if something goes wrong, and you have to deal with warranty. Plus, if service is available in my area!


Finally, really read what the warranty is all about, wherein who pays for what, and the possible cost of labour in having repairs done!

No matter what you buy, it's seems to be... a coin toss today. Even the techs will admit this. I've asked!

Bon chance

Q
 
Quadman2 said:
Used to be when the old appliance stopped working, and it cost too much to repair, or parts were no longer available, a new whatever would be in the works, and you'd go with the brand you had, that had worked well for over 10-15 or more years.

However today with the cutting corners, the increased cost of shipping, and the more complex design of appliances being built... longer running appliances are but past memories. Oft times, it's cheaper to fix, if parts are still available. also keep in mind that tech-work can be quite expensive.


So, with the above in mind, I usually go to a parts place, or phone a service company, and ask about an intended future buy and hear what they have to say about an certain brand. Usually they are up front, unless they are tied at the hip with a certain manufacturer.

Then there's independent test-types on "YouTube", but I take them with a bag of salt. Also, I ask neighbours/relatives/friends what they have, or see what the "pro's" online have to say about certain makes and read their "reviews".

I've found what is also important is if a "support" system in place if something goes wrong, and you have to deal with warranty. Plus, if service is available in my area!


Finally, really read what the warranty is all about, wherein who pays for what, and the possible cost of labour in having repairs done!

No matter what you buy, it's seems to be... a coin toss today. Even the techs will admit this. I've asked!

Bon chance

Q
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I’ve found that for service on kitchen/laundry appliances, the only safe way (with or without warranty) is to arrange for service through the manufacturer.

I tried calling local (highly rated) techs on our older KitchenAid gas stove that was slow to ignite burners, and they all charge an inspection fee and could not guarantee that the stove wouldn’t be in worse condition after inspection if they couldn’t get a part or broke something in the process.

I’ve had very good experience with arranging service directly through GE (refrigerator), LG (washer/dryer), stove (KitchenAid) bygiving them the exact model number. The brand-certified techs are local and know what parts to bring and if they are available in advance, usually a flat rate for the labor. There havent been any inspection fee or warning that it might work worse. Usually a 1-year warranty on what was repaired also.
 
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Mr Boochie said:
I have a Samsung. Bought it in 2018. It's been very reliable.

Knock on wood.

View attachment 3645958

View attachment 3645961

The only complaint is keeping the stainless steel free from smudge marks. That's a pain. I use this.
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Good lord, that thing would come in handy in a morgue. In France and in Kenya the units I have, albeit "American tall", are very modestly sized. I could never imagine how to fill a device like that depicted above.

Anyway, in France it is an LG. In Kenya it is a Ramtons (India). Both have been reliable @ three years running.
 
As for the best, in my experience it was the Amana big-ass two-door deal my parents had from circa 1982 until ... 2023 ... yep ... and it was still running @ the time of our father's death in 2023.

Forty-one years of reliable service.

We ought to have donated it to The Smithsonian "American Stuff" museum collection.

ps - he was also still using an original (1970) Amana Radar Range microwave oven. That sucker we did not pitch ... my brother has it locked away. Fifty-three years of service for that 'un.
 
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