Anyone here ever bought a refrigerator?

[Felon]

I bought a couple gallons of ice cream a few weeks ago. I open the door last week to find it all melted goop. That was my first indicator that something was not working right.

The rest of my food has not defrosted yet, but I can tell my soda cans are getting less and less cold. Time is not on my side here.

So, I'm looking at refrigerators. They all seem to be the same more or less, yet they range in price widely, from under $1000 to over $2000. Does anyone understand the major considerations here?

 

[bento]

Now on the ice cream, it might be where you stored it that the problem occured. If you keep it near on in the door, it will not be as cold as when it is near the back. Also a freezer will keep colder when you have more food it it, as there is less open space to keep cold.

How old is your fridge? It might be worth having someone come out and take a look at it for a couple of hundred bucks rather than spending 5 times as much on a new one.

Last fridge I bought was when we moved into our first house ten years ago. We still have it and it works great. I'm not partial on in-door water/ice, as I always think these are going to break down well before the fridge goes out.

 

[DaveMage]

Our Fridge died in February so we bought a new one.

On the repair vs. replace argument, Consumer Reports recommends that if your fridge is over 8 years old that you replace rather than repair.

We bought a GE Model GSH25JFT[WW], side-by-side from Best Buy for around $950. It has automatic ice maker and dispenses cubed or criushed ice and filtered water (though you will have to replace the filter every 6 months). This model was the fourth-highest rated (of 28) of the side-by-side models (and the cheapest of the top 4).

If you want a top-freezer or bottom-freezer style let me know and I can give you the skinny on the ratings from Consumer Reports.

From purely anecdotal evidence, the only brand I recommend you avoid is LG. I know two people that have had nothing but problems with this brand.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

My parents bought a new one last summer from Best Buy and had nothing but trouble. From my experience, 99% of the issues with refrigerators are with the ice maker/water dispenser stuff. When they had trouble a couple weeks after getting it delivered, they called Best Buy, who told them that 'ice makers were accessories, and accessories weren't covered by the warranty'.

 

[DaveMage]

My parents bought a new one last summer from Best Buy and had nothing but trouble. From my experience, 99% of the issues with refrigerators are with the ice maker/water dispenser stuff. When they had trouble a couple weeks after getting it delivered, they called Best Buy, who told them that 'ice makers were accessories, and accessories weren't covered by the warranty'.

Can you find out what brand they bought from Best Buy that gave them so much trouble?

I'm curious if it was an "LG".

 

[kenobi65]

If you don't want to spend a ton of money, you can avoid the ones with in-door accessories, ice-makers, etc. You should be able to get a basic, standard, freezer-on-top refrigerator for well under $1000.

Make sure you measure the width of your old fridge before you go shopping; there are several different standard widths, and you're going to be very cranky if the delivery guys show up with your new fridge, and it doesn't fit.

Checking out the ratings on Consumer Reports is probably a good idea, though you may not be able to find the exact models that they tested when you got to the store. Generally speaking, the old-line brands (GE, Frigidaire, Kitchenaid, Whirlpool) are likely to be fairly reliable.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Considerations are interior space, exterior dimensions, kewl features like the ice dispenser in the door and the shelving - you'll pay more for tempered glass than the wire racks. More still for shelves that can be easily adjusted vs. ones you have to take out and shift to another level.

If you are looking at energy efficiency, from what I've seen water/ice dispensers reduce the efficiency of the unit (since there is less insulation there). Bottom freezers usually have better efficiency (model dependent, of course).

Side by sides can be good in a tight kitchen since the doors don't open out as far into the room, but if you have larger items you want to store occasionally, like veggie platters or large turkeys, they might not be wide enough for them, especially in the freezer.

Last of course is looks. There is a big trend toward the professional look brushed stainless appliances. They will charge more for the stainless, and usually charge more for any color other than white.

 

[Jesus_marley]

of course, you could also go the other route. head over to a second hand appliance store and pick up a refurb for about 100 bucks. They usually come with a warranty ( 6 months?). It's certainly worth considering if cost is a major factor.

 

[kyloss]

One other thing to consider if you are looking at any of the slightly larger models, make sure it fits in the door nearest the kitchen! We had a lot of trouble with that, and had to take the doors of to get it to fit in the house.
Also as to the goopy ice cream, if you just loaded groceise in it can take a while to cool them down, and as I learned from Good eats-Never keep ice cream in the door of the freezer.

PS
If you need to buy yourself some time load the freezer with some dry ice to help keep it cool.

 

[adwyn]

I buy thirty or so refrigerators a year for work. What I've found is much of what has been said above.

The indoor items are nice but expensive and shorten the effective lifespan of your refrigerator. Buy them (ice maker, water line, TV, etc.) if you really want them but be sure to price them out as seperate components as well if your kitchen has room.

Size matters. Make sure the fridge will fit a) in the space and b) through the door (and everywhere else). The configuration of side by sides get far more complaints than other designs. The freezer on the bottom has been popular with my tenants.

When it comes to color, white has never gone out of style while other colors come and go with fad lifespans shorter than that of your fridge. If white won't do it look to match your other appliances.

GE, Whirlpool, Amana, and Bosch, are all brands I've had good luck with. LD is a lower end brand, Kenmore from Sears can really be hit or miss.

If your really unsure as to what you want see how much it'd be to rent one for a month or two to see if it'll work for you. It's better to spend $100 bucks now and find out that the $2K isn't what you wanted.