Refrigerators

[VapidLapid]

I am shopping for a new refrigerator. Of course I would like a subzero, but then I'd like a padparadscha and a house on lake champlain too, so the subzero aint gonna happen. I am considering a viking professional french door thing. What kind of refrigerator do you have? Tell me about your fridge; do you love it or hate it? Has it ever broken down, if so has it been easy or difficult to get serviced? I am also wondering about the following: I have no water anywhere near where the fridge will go. I would have to tear up a lot of floor to run water there. It occurred to me that if I had one of those office style water coolers with the 5 gallon bottle on top, that I could install a Tee off the cold spigot to feed water to the ice maker. Has anyone ever heard of that or something like that being done?

 

[jaysonsmom]

All my appliances are Kitchenaid. They are kind of on the higher end of "standard appliances", but totally worth it. I like Kitchenaid because they have great service, the products are quiet, and have a lot of Oomph for their size, and they look good.

The 2 brands you mentioned seem more like professional chef-grade appliances, so I'm not sure if you'd even consider a Kitchenaid. As for the water near the fridge for an ice-maker, it's totally personal. I'm not a big "iced beverage" drinker, so I actually like fridges without an icemaker. I didn't get an ice-maker fridge until 2 years ago (and it was due to the kids' demands). In the past, I'd get ice the old fashion way. Use Ice-cube trays or buy a bag if I'm throwing a party.

 

[movie zombie]

our applicances are LG. no problems.

re water hook up: you could T off the cold water hookup under your sink and make one hole down through the floor and then back up again at the refrigerator. or you could run it through the back of your cabinets next to the refrigerator which is what we did.

 

[rainwood]

We've been happy with our KitchenAid refrigerator too (which is made by Whirlpool), for the last 6 years as well as the Whirlpool we had before that, and the Whirlpool we just bought for the garage.

I spend a lot of time over on the Garden Web appliances forum, and I don't think Viking refrigerators have a good reputation over there for reliability. We were at the warehouse sale for a local high-end appliances dealer this spring. We were looking for an undercounter refrigerator and they had a lot of Viking ones on big discount. When I mentioned to my husband that I'd never buy a Viking fridge, the salesman behind us (I didn't even know he was there) said "Good call." And Viking was just fined $450,000 for failing to recall defective refrigerators for about 7 years even though they had a history of the doors falling off and hurting people!! So take that for what it's worth. Good luck on your search.

 

[PinkTower]

I have a french door KitchenAid. I like it, but the icemaker takes up a lot of space. If I were on the market now, I would consider buying one w/out the icemaker. My MIL got one of those little countertop icemakers at Target for her camper, and I love it. She doesn't have it hooked up to a water source. I think they have a reservoir to fill. I guess you could put one in an inconvenient location, like my laundry room is in an alcove off the kitchen, so I would put mine there if I had one.

 

[megumic]

Ohh, I'm following this thread! We are in attorney review on our first home and will be in the looks for new appliances in the near future!

 

[VapidLapid]

well Ive just been all night on epinions. No reviews of the viking fridge. I did discover that the model I was looking at has been discontinued and replaced with another quite identical one with the same model number except for a "0" having become a "1". I am just guessing the change is from addressing whatever the recall issue was. Still that bit about them not addressing it for 7 years is a telling sign of their commitment to customer service and satisfaction. at $3400 everything is an issue. That is more than three times as much as I paid for my MGB when I was in college! I also was looking at some electrolux ones online. Ive really only ever known then for vacuum cleaners, we have always had one of those and they last for decades. Their headquarters was in my home town, dont know if they are still, probably condos now like the lifesavers building. I really would like to buy something that is made in US. I know thats just a crazy isolationist reactionary motivation, which I have NEVER been subject to, quite contrary really. I know too its just a drop in the bucket, but I'd like it to be a bucket of my choice. Now just because electrolux's headquarters was in greenwich doesnt mean their fridges are made in US even. And viking says they are made in mississippi, but for all I know that might only mean assembled there from parts made in borneo. Ok that's really not my biggest criterion. I've always liked kitchenaid so it is nice to see them getting good recommendations. I will look into those. There really is no way to get water to it without ripping up the floor; the joists go the wrong way. Factory installed ice makers seem to be an industry standard at the mid and high end.
Please keep the recommendations (and warnings) coming. I am taking everything into consideration.
Thanks y'all!

 

[Dancing Fire]

I am shopping for a new refrigerator. Of course I would like a subzero, but then I'd like a padparadscha and a house on lake champlain too, so the subzero aint gonna happen. I am considering a viking professional french door thing. What kind of refrigerator do you have? Tell me about your fridge; do you love it or hate it? Has it ever broken down, if so has it been easy or difficult to get serviced? I am also wondering about the following: I have no water anywhere near where the fridge will go. I would have to tear up a lot of floor to run water there. It occurred to me that if I had one of those office style water coolers with the 5 gallon bottle on top, that I could install a Tee off the cold spigot to feed water to the ice maker. Has anyone ever heard of that or something like that being done?

a 25 yrs old Whirlpool waiting for it to die.

 

[bagelboy]

Well my 27 year old Fridgedaire finally started spitting out the pump oil, actually still was keeping my food cold thankfully. Refused to die! But I figured it was time for a replacement. I bought a Whirlpool with an ice maker. I have never hooked up the icemaker, I do keep a water pitcher inside. Unless you are going through lots of cold water and ice, it just easier and less of a hassle to do it old school. I think Whirlpool makes good appliances, however I doubt this one will last more than 20 years. They don't make them like that anymore. Oh, I was told that it would be far easier to run the water line up from my sink across the ceiling and the back down to the fridge.

 

[JewelFreak]

I have a GE Profile & hate it. The icemaker is noisy noisy, sounds like a lawnmower sometimes & like a sick beagle others. It's not well laid out inside, either. Would replace it but that would mean putting off setting some stones for longer!

Consumer Reports says their testing on appliances has shown that premium brands are not any better or more reliable than regular ones, if that's any help. Some, in fact, come out needing repair more often.

 

[Sundial]

We bought a home that had a Viking side-by-side refrigerator built in and I would not recommend it. We've had a hard time getting the temperature set correctly and it tends to freeze items that sit in the back of the frig. The sealant around the door has developed a split and it is only a few years old. It has also been hard finding competent people willing to work on Viking appliances. To me Subzero is worth every penny.

 

[Okie_girl]

I purchased an Amana 25 cubic ft french door fridge about a year ago, when my garage fridge bit the dust. I did get an ice maker, but not one in the door, it's in the freezer part. I felt like I would lose too much door storage if I went with water and ice in the door. I was actually looking for a Kitchen Aide, but the store I purchased from said that Amana actually makes the Kitchen Aide fridges (now, I don't know if this is true), and the Amana one, which was the same size, was less expensive. I've been very happy with the layout and the french doors. Freezer space may be just a tad smaller than my old freezer-on-top fridge, but not noticably so. Overall, I've been quite pleased with it.

 

[TooPatient]

I believe ours is a Whirlpool (was new when we bought the house in 200. Had no problems with it except once and the repair guy thinks the door just got left open a crack. Temperature is pretty easy to control and is pretty consistent throughout. I like that the shelves are all easy to take out and run through the dishwasher.
I do NOT like the drawer freezer. It lets out a lot of cold air every time you open it and since it is basically just a big drawer stuff gets tossed into it can be hard to find stuff (maybe would be better if they had an organizer you could get). Everything at the bottom of the freezer (especially edges) gets sort of soft from being frozen/slight-thaw/frozen/slight-thaw (every time the drawer opens).

RE: Ice makers -- we don't use ours so it is just a waste of space and makes it harder to get to the parts for repair if that were ever needed. When we had our oven repaired, the guy made sure our icemaker was shut off since it wasn't connected to water. (apparently if you don't actually switch it off, it will try to make ice and can cause problems)


If you have the space for it, you might consider getting a side-by-side or a top freezer refrigerator as well as a chest freezer. Our chest freezer is GREAT. It holds a lot of stuff (16 cu ft?) and has organizers plus it keeps stuff REALLY frozen. Ours is a Kenmore (they were actually among the highest rated on Consumer Reports) and only cost about $400. I'm able to keep frozen fruits, veggies, and meats in the big freezer and pretty much just keep a few little things upstairs in the refrigerator's freezer. (you can freeze 3/4 full bottles of water and that helps maintain the cold and makes the freezer more energy efficient.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

(Big) French Door LG with the split bottom. No entertainment/refreshment centre b/c it takes up valuable indoor space. The interior is so large, that I don't have enuf stuff to fill it! Looks beautiful and works well.

cheers--Sharon

 

[artdecogirl]

Kitchenaid side by side, love it, we have had it for almost 10 years I think and no problems. I do not know what to say about the ice maker, we had to run ours through the cabinets in back all the way around the kitchen from the sink but it was worth it, we use it all the time.

 

[lyra]

Make sure it fits through your front door!

I am also shopping for a fridge today and found my DREAM fridge, an LG french door with icemaker in the lower freezer section and water on the inside of the fridge so that there was NO wasted space. We knew it was going to be a stretch and might look a bit cumbersome, but we were going to actually change a piece of cabinetry to make it fit. Until we realized it wouldn't go through the front or back door, even with the doors removed. I'm so upset now.

 

[luv2sparkle]

We have a Samsung side by side that we bought at costco. We had one problem with it after we bought it (about 6 mo. later) brought
it back to Costco and they gave us another one and it has worked fine for 7 plus years. It was really cheap in comparison to
all the other stainless steel models and I have been happy with it.

I figured, I just don't get that much pleasure out of a fridge, so I wasn't interested in spending a whole lot of money for a 'dream'
fridge, even for a new house.

Although I do like the Sub-Zeros and the Viking stuff that comes in cobalt blue....

 

[TristanC]

I like some of the high end ranges of the Korean/Japanese brands - panasonic, LG. They last ages, and have tons of smart tech. There are a myriad variety of sub compartments as well, which actually keeps cross contamination down.

Best part is they are extremely energy efficient if you get an inverter cooler system. Saves you a fair bit on an appliance that has to be turned on 24/7

 

[VapidLapid]

Thank you all! it has been very informative
I am taking the vikings off my list.
and the liebherr (though it wasnt seriously on my list)
Tomorrow I am going to look at a kitchenaid!

 

[lyra]

Thank you all! it has been very informative
I am taking the vikings off my list.
and the liebherr (though it wasnt seriously on my list)
Tomorrow I am going to look at a kitchenaid!

Isn't the Liebherr wonderful? Was not a consideration for me either, but my budget is modest and my space is very limited. Just wanted to remind you to think about an extended warranty if you are getting any model with an icemaker/water dispenser system. That is something that is prone to breaking according to reports. Ours cost $129 for an additional 4 years. I've heard that it's somewhat common to have trouble with icemakers soon after the original 1 year warranty ends. I figure after 5 years, we'd either repair on our own or replace. The one we are replacing right now if 16 years old and I'm sick of it.

 

[monarch64]

We're going back to basics in many aspects of our lives...just bought a new house (a foreclosure, and there were zero appliances!) We bought a very basic Whirlpool model for like $300. We brought with us another Whirlpool (older model) for the garage. We're vegetarians and have no need for large amounts of freezer space, and we don't need an ice maker, so we just went for the most economical version of a black appliance that matched the one existing appliance--the dishwasher--which was also Whirlpool. We love the fridge!

I'm not a big stainless fan, which has been the trend for quite some time. I specifically did Not want stainless since I feel the trend will look dated in a few years...whoa! You didn't hear that from me!

Anyway, we have been very happy with basic Whirlpool appliances, period. Would it be awesome to have Viking? Yeah! !!!! Could we afford to go that route? Absolutely! I get it...but we're not Emeril or Martha, and it would be wasted on us. All we need are some genuinely good 4 burners, something to keep things at 32 degrees, and something nice to burn food in. LOL Whirlpool basics have done the trick for us!

 

[diamondringlover]

I have an 18 year old Amana and I have never had it serviced and it has ran like a champ with no problems....

 

[lyra]

We didn't "need" special features on our new fridge, but we said what the hell, we've had a crappy fridge for 16 years, let's live a little. This is the second fridge we've bought in 28 years. We've always gone the cheap route, now we're looking at things we want to have around and enjoy for a long time.

 

[VapidLapid]

Unless we move somewhere or buy a country house, this is to be the last refrigerator I buy. This apartment was converted from an old factory space, each of us did our own. For years we had just a hot plate and boards laid across saw horses as counters. Now that our worthless artist loft has become prized and valuable manhattan real estate, it is worth it to upgrade to a fancy appliance. Plus, if you haven't noticed from all my pies, I am a big cook, so will get the most of a higher end kitchen. I bookmarked the refrigerator I am going to look at today on ajmadison yesterday; Today the price changed, up, by $205!!!

 

[lyra]

We're big cooks too Vapid. Well my husband is at least. I've mostly retired. It sucks that your fridge went up today. We saw quite a few sales ending tomorrow. Maybe July is prime refrigerator buying season? You can always try haggling on the price anyway.

What did you decide on? I'm scared we made a wrong choice because in the end we had to order online sight unseen, but we really were limited by what will fit through our doors.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Don't count on it being your last refrigerator! Once upon a time, they were made to last 30 years, but they are not today. I always research appliances on Consumer Reports, and the refrigerator reviews were disappointing with no clear outstanding ones. We ended up buying Whirlpool Gold.

Just taking a quick look at Consumer Reports, the top models for french door, bottom freezer are:

Whirlpool Gold (1 +2), LG, Kenmore, Samsung

for Side-by-side (my preference):

Samsung (1,2,3), Whirlpool Gold, Bosch

 

[iLander]

Unless we move somewhere or buy a country house, this is to be the last refrigerator I buy. This apartment was converted from an old factory space, each of us did our own. For years we had just a hot plate and boards laid across saw horses as counters. Now that our worthless artist loft has become prized and valuable manhattan real estate, it is worth it to upgrade to a fancy appliance. Plus, if you haven't noticed from all my pies, I am a big cook, so will get the most of a higher end kitchen. I bookmarked the refrigerator I am going to look at today on ajmadison yesterday; Today the price changed, up, by $205!!!

Call AJ and tell them to give you the old price! Those weasels! But this is the typical time of year when prices go up on everything, I've noticed it too.

I did want to tell you about our Samsung "Stainless Look" fridge. I got it because I thought the fingerprints would bother me on stainless. Turns out the faux whatever-it-is is worse! We have the ice and water through the door, and water tends to collect in that little tray under there. And it dribbles down the front. And it has, over a 3 year period, RUINED the finish! It's all bubbled and etched, and nasty! At some point, I'll have to order a new door online and sweet talk hubby into dissasembling (sp?) the whole door and replacing it. He'd have to take out all the parts, like the ice and water buttons, etc. I've checked into it, and it only costs about $200 for the door, but it's stripped, no parts on it. So, it would be quite a bit of sweet talk

Don't know if yours will have ice and water, but you'll need new filters for that. I get mine at fridgefilters dot com, and they're cheap and quick to deliver.

Remember when fridges just had to make things cold? Mine has so many buttons, I just gave up, and now they all blink at me questioningly. . .

 

[centralsquare]

ILander - if it makes you feel any better I have stainless steel, which is a topic of another thread...not a fan!

 

[VapidLapid]

I bought this one. It is being delivered tuesday. That gives me three days to rip up the old floor and put in a new one. The old fridge was leaking for years underneath rotting the floor boards. I have tongue in cheek cedar left over from building the closets for the new flooring.

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/KBFS20EV.html

 

[April20]

I have a Kitchen Aid French drawer refrigerator. It has an ice maker in the freezer drawer and water in the top portion of the fridge inside, not on the door. I really love this fridge. It is so easy to see what I have and the shelves pull out. My inlaws have a French door fridge with water and ice in the door and IMO this takes up too much room in the fridge. I don't mind pulling ice from the ice maker in the freezer door and the water dispenser in the body of the fridge is very small. I have nothing but good things to say about that fridge!