I bought it at half price during the Black Friday sale in 2018. It was the cheapest full-sized fridge available from Best Buy that year. I think it was a leftover 2016 model.
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What is the best refrigerator brand today in your experience?
- Thread starter peterp1
- Start date
jcamero
Who are you people anyway?
I've got a Kenmore that's close to 25 years old. No bells and whistles, probably not very efficient either. I don't remember it's square footage, and it's never been serviced, "nuff said". If their is a complaint, it's because it came with an ice maker that I've never hooked up that just takes up freezer space.
DesertRatt
All Bark, No Bite!
This past labor day, when we got back from our 6 week RV trip, the wife noticed a small puddle on the floor near kitchen sink. Wiped it up, but wondered where the water came from. Well, a minute later, the small pool was back. And back, and back. Turns out, the pipe running under the slab floor broke - like 5 minutes before we walked in the door! Imagine if it had broken 5 weeks or even 5 days before we got home! It was $2 grand to fix. But weirdly, I was thankful, considering there was NO water damage (tile floors).
We had the same thing happen - came home from a 2-week trip and heard what sounded like a shower running in our foyer - which is atypical
.It turned out a pipe in our steam shower upstairs burst, and water was pouring through the ceiling. Very little water was on the floor considering how fast it was flowing, so it must have just happened minutes before we got home. Felt very fortunate also, despite the hassle of getting everything fixed. Can’t imagine what it would be like if it was pouring for 2 weeks.
Since then, we shut off the main water valve any time we are gone for more than a day. Bringing this back to refrigerators, we found out it’s important to shut off the ice maker when we cut the water, otherwise our GE refrigerator ice maker leaks water constantly. Shut off the ice maker switch for half a day, then It stops. Probably unique to our GE.
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Check your water heater.We had the same thing happen - came home from a 2-week trip and heard what sounded like a shower running in our foyer - which is atypical
It turned out a pipe in our steam shower upstairs burst, and water was pouring through the ceiling. Very little water was on the floor considering how fast it was flowing, so it must have just happen minutes before we got home. Felt very fortunate also, despite the hassle of getting everything fixed. Can’t imagine what it would be like if it was pouring for 2 weeks.
Since then, we shut off the main water valve any time we are gone for more than a day. Bringing this back to refrigerators, we found out it’s important to shut off the ice maker when we cut the water, otherwise our GE refrigerator ice maker leaks water constantly. Shut off the ice maker switch for half a day, then It stops. Probably unique to our GE.
Wouldn't want to fry an element.
I've had a side by side Whirlpool for about 10 years. I think its on ice maker #4. It doesn't shut off when full, then it will sit there trying to dump into an overflowing bin until the plastic gear strips out. They are cheap and easy to replace but I'd prefer to not have to do it. Now I manually manage the ice level as best I can by regularly checking it and turning it on and off as needed. It would be a lot more convenient if it actually minded itself though.
otherwise its been fine.
otherwise its been fine.
I put in a new kitchen 9 years ago, the old reliable fridge had to go because it was white instead of stainless.
Bought a new Whirlpool with the bottom freezer drawer. We all hate it.
In it's defense, it hasn't cost any $ in repairs.
It's just so poorly designed.
First: the shelving on the doors and interior were not made with standard food-shapes in mind. Nothing fits !! We have a tiny space where we can stand anything taller than 4 or 5 inches. A gallon of milk takes up 1/2 that space. No place is tall enough to stand a wine bottle. It's always a constant game of Tetris every time you open the door...for anything.
Secondly: The freezer door occasionally leaks. The problem is the rubber condensate tube that is supposed to drain into the pan. It's too tight, gets clogged with gunk, then stays closed. So ice backs into the bottom freezer and builds up a sheet of ice under the drawer. The drawer doesn't seal correctly. Food begins to thaw, then water puddles on the floor.
That's when I have to put down a towel, lay on the stomach and smash all the ice out with a nylon mallet. Then I'm good for a few weeks again. It's worse in the summer.
The fix is to completely empty and thaw the machine, then I can clean out and cut a relief in the tube so it won't happen again. What a pain.
I never connected the ice maker. I don't trust it.
Anyway.... Thank you for letting me rant .
Bought a new Whirlpool with the bottom freezer drawer. We all hate it.
In it's defense, it hasn't cost any $ in repairs.
It's just so poorly designed.
First: the shelving on the doors and interior were not made with standard food-shapes in mind. Nothing fits !! We have a tiny space where we can stand anything taller than 4 or 5 inches. A gallon of milk takes up 1/2 that space. No place is tall enough to stand a wine bottle. It's always a constant game of Tetris every time you open the door...for anything.
Secondly: The freezer door occasionally leaks. The problem is the rubber condensate tube that is supposed to drain into the pan. It's too tight, gets clogged with gunk, then stays closed. So ice backs into the bottom freezer and builds up a sheet of ice under the drawer. The drawer doesn't seal correctly. Food begins to thaw, then water puddles on the floor.
That's when I have to put down a towel, lay on the stomach and smash all the ice out with a nylon mallet. Then I'm good for a few weeks again. It's worse in the summer.
The fix is to completely empty and thaw the machine, then I can clean out and cut a relief in the tube so it won't happen again. What a pain.
I never connected the ice maker. I don't trust it.
Anyway.... Thank you for letting me rant .
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YY1
Addicted Member
That's kind of funny.
We have eschewed stainless for what seems like decades in part because it stains, and is hard to keep clean.
We were basically forced to buy a $700 stainless oven, (although the top and sides are black) when the crew that did out tile counter top broke the black, solid top "side in/drop in oven I bought from craigslist for $400 almost 20 years ago.
Oddly, the week after that, I found the identical oven to the $400 dollar one, in white no less for $250.
They also had to redo the cabinet and new tile top to make a new "standard" oven fit, as the old one slid over the counter, while new ones don't and expose the gap.
Grrrrr
We have eschewed stainless for what seems like decades in part because it stains, and is hard to keep clean.
We were basically forced to buy a $700 stainless oven, (although the top and sides are black) when the crew that did out tile counter top broke the black, solid top "side in/drop in oven I bought from craigslist for $400 almost 20 years ago.
Oddly, the week after that, I found the identical oven to the $400 dollar one, in white no less for $250.
They also had to redo the cabinet and new tile top to make a new "standard" oven fit, as the old one slid over the counter, while new ones don't and expose the gap.
Grrrrr
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I had to modify the cabinet cutout for my great aunt for similar reasons. She had a drop-in glass cooktop and something got dropped on the thing. She orders a new one but of course the cutout is different, I want to say it was about 1/2" wider but 3/4" less deep. Making a hole bigger is easy, making it smaller less so. I was able to pack the opening in on the front and back edges to center the thing and the overhang was enough to hide the filler pieces and cut the countertop out a little to make it fit in the other dimension. Countertops were just Formica over plywood.
Then I went to hook it up and had to go buy some stuff to make that less likely to burn the house down. I suspect my uncle had installed that previous cooktop. He was a master carpenter, but he was definitely not an electrician.
The constantly moving target of appliance dimensions is frustrating, and i'm convinced it only happens to sell people on a kitchen remodel. Sorry, the new fridge is a half inch too wide, gotta tear out all of the cabinets to make room.
Then I went to hook it up and had to go buy some stuff to make that less likely to burn the house down. I suspect my uncle had installed that previous cooktop. He was a master carpenter, but he was definitely not an electrician.
The constantly moving target of appliance dimensions is frustrating, and i'm convinced it only happens to sell people on a kitchen remodel. Sorry, the new fridge is a half inch too wide, gotta tear out all of the cabinets to make room.
Buy one without an ice maker and/or a cold water spout in the door-- that is the crap that always breaks down first. Also try to find one with a rotary compressor, not linear and DO NOT plug the thing in until is has sat in its final spot for at least 24 hours. All the tipping from loading and unloading, moving it to its spot, etc disturbs the oil/Freon in the compressor, the fridge needs to sit and stabilize for at least 24 hours (this warning is in every manual, the thing nobody reads). Apparently most compressor failures are caused by plugging it in right away when the oil is up in the lines and not the compressor- it is like starting your cars engine with no oil in it.
A few years ago when I was looking at washers most of the hate was focused on LG and Samsung and it was a lot of hate. Frigidaire fridge that was in the house when it was built. Has ice and water in the door. 8 years old without a problem. On my second Frigidaire stove, a element blew and took out the main board. Frigidaire dishwasher that had the contacts of the door handle arc and it stopped working. Cleaned them added some dielectric grease. No problems before or since.
I had a Samsung that was great until it broke after 5 years and the cost to repair it almost exceeded the price of a new one.
So I junked it and replaced it with a Whirlpool. So far, so good after 3 years.
So I junked it and replaced it with a Whirlpool. So far, so good after 3 years.
tom3
Super Member
We're pretty much sold on Whirlpool appliances. Priced reasonable and have the features we need, not a lot of garbage, and seem to last. Only thing I don't like about the Side by Side fridge is the design of the condenser tubes underneath. Can't get to the rear tubes to clean, the front row blocks the whole unit. No way to get around that.
SoCal Sam
Lunatic Member
This. Linear compressors are a problem.
If you can exist with a smaller refrigerator/freezer, the two door, side-by-side design with no features could be a good reliable choice. Had two bottom freezer drawer refrigerators crap-out for the same reason, the bottom freezer door design and excessive problems repair problems. A bare-bones no features side by side is inexpensive. Have a Maytag stainless steel which is about 6 foot tall and 3 feet wide.
From what I understand, a top freezer is the most reliable and I have seen homes where a behemoth Uber refrigerator was replaced with two of these with door flip and that is a lot of space for a lot less money. Less features yes, but reliability and value maximized. The thermodynamics of cold migration with a bottom freezer has it bass-ackwards.
From what I understand, a top freezer is the most reliable and I have seen homes where a behemoth Uber refrigerator was replaced with two of these with door flip and that is a lot of space for a lot less money. Less features yes, but reliability and value maximized. The thermodynamics of cold migration with a bottom freezer has it bass-ackwards.