Fridge recommendations?
So our freezer is dying. Our fridge is over 20 years old and has served us well, but it's time to move on. Given the reputation of modern appliances, the proliferation of smart appliances, and the current class-action lawsuit against LG and Kenmore over faulty compressors leading to fridges dying after just five years, I figured I'd ask for some recommendations on good brands.
For specifics, we don't need or want any fancy features beyond an ice maker. We'd prefer it to not have any smart features, just a good old simple fridge/freezer that can be expected to function fine for years (again, we've had the current one for 20 years). My mom says she'd prefer a fridge with a bottom freezer compartment, but I don't think that's a deal-breaker (our current one is a side-by-side) so long as it's a good model.
One of the better reviews as he goes through concepts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKJgYVhZ6-w
Short version, a common issue right now with fridge life has to do with ice makers that are NOT in the freezer.
So if you have a lower drawer freezer, but an ice maker in the door, it's probably not going to last, and be a major pain to fix. If the ice maker is in the drawer where the freezer is, it should be fine.
Beyond that you want to check where it's made, and probably stay away from LG/Samsung.
Edit-
If you don't want to watch the whole thing, outside of what I said GE/Whirlpool are the main recs and they really don't like "french door" fridges (side by side with drawer)
I wish I had seen that video half a year ago. Our old fridge totally broke and, coincidentally enough, we replaced it with the exact same model of Samsung he has in the video and uses as an example of the problems with in-door icemakers. And also coincidentally, just over a week ago the icemaker totally failed for us, and Samsung had to replace the entire icemaker unit along with a motherboard connected to it.
According to the repair technician that came and installed the new unit, supposedly the new icemaker design is a lot more reliable though, so fingers crossed that's true.
It’s too bad the “french door” setup with water/ice on the door isn’t reliable, I like that probably the best. Used to have a side-by-side which was fine but the resulting restricted width of both the freezer and the fridge was a frequent annoyance, and old style freezer-top arrangements seem backwards because I’m opening the fridge way more often than I am the freezer.
Great video though, more of YouTube should be like this.
I have a Whirlpool with water/ice on the door and it's been great for the 7 years I've had it. So they're not all bad.
Thanks for the tip about the ice maker location, we'll keep that in mind! I'll be sure to skim the video later too, seeing an in-depth review like that can help identify some technical considerations we may not have thought about otherwise.
Thanks for linking that video, it was way more entertaining than it had any right to be.
Avoid Samsung for sure. Had one hard die on me, the other has the in fridge icemaker. It is now just an ice cube itself and non-functional. Terrible design.
But hey, they look nice.
I have heard that Bosch appliances are very good, but they don't get much uptake because they are not well known in the US. No direct experience with them though, so take that with a large grain of salt.
Our French door Bosch fridge is awesome and I would happily recommend it. Definitely priced as a premium model though. We liked it especially for multiple drawers and bin in the freezer versus one giant bin where things get lost at the bottom.
Same with Miele.
I think a huge contributing factor to Bosch's lack of popularity in the US is the price. They're usually 1.5-2x the cost of other well-known name brands. I looked at them for induction ranges but couldn't justify paying $2k more than what we spent on our LG.
I have a Bosch fridge and dishwasher, both are fantastic. The dishwasher is ridiculously quiet and the fridge is a massive improvement over the Samsung that was here when we bought the house. They're vastly more reliable and well designed for practicality.
Can't recommend going Bosch enough. If you look around, you might be able to find a store that carries higher end brands with a scratch and dent section. We paid full price for our dishwasher, but we got the fridge brand new for 40% off because there was a hardly noticeable scratch on the side panel, which you can't even see once it's installed.
Our Bosch Benchmark Induction range and convection oven is amazing (but it better be for the price).
Unfortunately for us, our fridge died last week and my wife picked out a French door LG with an ice maker in the door. We'll see how that goes.
I have a 20 year old GE Eterna Fridge/Freezer. It was about 6 years old when I bought the house.
After about 3 years, the freezer would intermittently stop freezing, the ice in the ice maker kept melting, so I replaced the evaporator fan & main circuit board myself. It took 5 days and less than $200.
It's been about 11 years and I have had no other issues so far.
I also had a GE washer that I could not repair myself, it took another $600 and 5 days to buy a new one, and the damn thing completely broke within three years.
They stopped making that particular model when everyone started leaving the bad reviews.
If you are going to replace, I suggest you avoid newer models, look for models that have 3+ years of reviews.
I’m only a recent homeowner and so don’t have a lot of experience to offer, but I’ve had a good experience with my GE Profile (Haier) fridge in the 2 going on 3 years I’ve had it. I forget exactly why I chose it over competing models but I think it partially had to do with pandemic stock shortages (needed something that’d ship quickly).
Also maybe not too relevant to current models but my father has a midrange KitchenAid model that’s been running great for twenty-some years.
Our KitchenAid is great. Got it around two years ago with our renovation and it’s held up like a champ. Has a bottom freezer drawer and water dispenser on the inside of the fridge (which I think feels a bit cleaner vs an external water/ice dispenser). Our in-laws have had the same model for 4-5 years and it’s never once had an issue.
Edit: the only thing you’d lose out on is an ice dispenser, but the ice in the freezer is enough for us
We actually have our ice dispenser taped over because the flap wouldn't close completely and frost would build up. It honestly didn't even occur to me as a consideration since we haven't used it in years, so a lack of ice dispenser won't be a big issue for us either.
Really? We had Kitchen Aid fridge, oven, dishwasher and stove when we bought our brand new apartment and have replaced 50% of it already because it was shit. But I'm glad your fridge is running strong though.
Budget?
We have a scratch and dent French-door Frigidaire (owned by Electrolux) that we enjoy.
In most cases, Whirlpool (and Maytag/KitchenAid) will do you well. Our Whirlpool washer and dryer have been reliable, and if they do break, parts availability is decent.
We're not going for anything too fancy, so hopefully $2000 max?
Funny you mention Whirlpool washer and dryers. We have some that are probably the same age as the fridge, and last autumn a repairman told us to hold onto them for as long as we possibly could because a lot of newer washers and dryers just aren't as good. That's part of why I decided to post here for recommendations, looking at specs and reviews on larger sites doesn't really guarantee quality these days. Probably never has, but feels more true than ever.
This one seems like it might be up your alley. Definitely keep repairability in mind, even if quality isn’t as great as it used to be, much better to be able to fix something quickly and easily versus waiting a month for a specialized part to arrive.
This post was right next to yours. So definitely don't get that one 😆
The way you say "our freezer" makes me wonder if this could be fixed..
Is there frost or ice buildup on the rear interior wall? If so, you most likely have a defrost problem. Defrost problems are usually simple to fix.
edit: grammar
I think it's just age finally setting in. No frost or major sudden issues, the cooling ability just seems to be gradually falling. My mom noticed some of the food was softer than it should be, at which point I changed the temperature setting to a higher one. The ice has also been a bit smaller and more misshapen than usual for a couple of months now.
After typing that I realized the fridge half might have a cooling problem problem too. I feel like I'd noticed something off about it, like milk going bad faster than I expected, but I had written it off as not drinking as much milk so we'd switched to buying half-gallons.
The fridge is 26 years old, so it may just be its time.
In most refrigerators the "cold" starts in the freezer section and is pushed to the refrigerator section. So yes, if your freezer isn't freezing, the refrigerator section will be above temperature
You may want to get a thermometer for your fridge. If it seems like milk is going bad too soon, it might not be cold enough, or it might not be maintaining a steady temperature. You can get a decent electronic one for under $10 and it will hold a min/max temperature history so you'll know if there's a big fluctuation. You can spend a little more and get one with an actual alarm that will go off or send you a notification if it gets too warm.
It might be the compressor, but it's almost certainly a very small coolant leak. It doesn't really matter which it is though — unless you're doing the repair yourself those are by far the most expensive repairs one can make. Definitely time to buy a new one.
I've been very satisfied with our Fisher and Paykel. There were a few things that drove that decision:
It cost a lot more than your basic white box, but we've got to look at it every day so we might as well like it.
I keep thinking of more things so I've edited a few times. I guess I like this fridge more than I thought I did. I'll also add - zero complaints so far.
I replaced the GE that came with my condo last year with a bottom-freezer French door whirlpool and so far so good… Though sometimes I wish we had taken a risk with the LG because the inability to split the shelves on different levels really has required some creativity vs our old fridge, especially for tall items.
Other things to consider: if you’re in a small space and the fridge will be close by (eg open kitchen/living area in a smaller space) consider the noise levels. Our new fridge is considerably louder when the fan/compressor kicks on. Also, check the filters and other recurring costs. Our fridge’s water filter is like $50 at Home Depot. That’s an extra $100/yr for ice and water from the dispenser.
If you have space, I suggest having chest freezer and just a fridge without any freezer. Better efficiency for both, and less chance for anything to go wrong.
My grandparents have this lovely setup with a single standing fridge, a standing fridge/freezer and I've genuinely lost count of the chest freezers.
I sort of agree though. Chest freezers are exelent, especially for long term storage. Most ground meats, savories and beef/pork cuts keep for a year if you prep them right. Low power draw, stupidly reliable, makes for a good work surface and will hold temperature for a long time in case of power/compressor failure.
And to the OPs original question, the Bosch standalone fridge and freezers have been exceptionally reliable for me. The freezer especially has a lot of room and some very tall shelves. My brother hated his Smeg fridge with a passion and the Samsung he replaced it with isn't doing much better.
I don’t know if it’s a rule for chest freezers in general, but the one my family had in our garage when I was a kid just refused to die.
Forget the brand but it looked like it was probably manufactured in the late 70s or early 80s and it worked perfectly all the way up through the early 2010s when it was given away to a friend since we weren’t using it much any more.
No recommendation about brands (except that we don't like Whirlpool), but consider two normal sized fridges / freezers / fridge freezers side by side instead of a french door type fridge freezer, if you have space. Way cheaper, and can be independently replaced. If they're from the same manufacturer they can often be attached to each other. Make sure the door can be hinged on the other side on at least one of them.
My next fridge I'm moving to counter depth. I find the area in the back of regular fridges becomes an unsearchable wasteland where leftovers go to die.
Current fridge has 2 ice makers, which I thought was dumb, but now that I've had a few parties having that extra capacity means I don't have to make a trip for ice so long as I'm not stocking a cooler or something.