New fridge

[azucena]

After buying a new hot water heater last month, looks like I'll be shopping for a new fridge today as ours died sometime yesterday and I'm guessing it's not worth it to check into repairs.

We used to have a side by side and the new house 2 yrs ago came with a freezer drawer on the bottom.  I'm leaning towards going back to side by side.  Freezer drawer makes it hard for young kids to reach much of the fridge (my youngest is almost 7 but short and we will constantly be having young kids over).  I'm pretty sure I had a bigger ice maker in the side by side which will help with all of our parties.  I also felt like i was more organized with freezer shelves.  I do like having space for larger items with the fridge on top, but that's only truly been needed a couple of times and I have a fridge downstairs should I need that.

Any other features/things to consider?

[Wisconsin Beth]

I like having the door shelves deep enough to fit a gallon sized container of milk/water/lemonade/etc.  Or adjustable so I can keep a bottle of wine in them. 

What is your favorite part of your existing fridge?  What do you loathe the most? 

[bean29]

We have a side by side in the upstairs kitchen and a French door refrigerator in the basement kitchen. I absolutely hate the freezer in my side by side. I will never again buy a side by side refrigerator. Yes, the ice production is fine, but the items in my fridge seem to be falling out and crammed on the shelves haphazardly. I really like the drawer freezer in the French door fridge, and I have the room to pull a drawer out in my kitchen. Conversely, my wall sticks out on the freezer side of my kitchen, so the door handle keeps me from having full access to the shelves. If I was not going to buy a French Door fridge, I would buy one that had a traditional freezer over fridge or the less traditional freezer on the bottom.

I do also like the wide shelves on the refrigerator portion of the French Door Fridge. When we bought the appliances for the basement, my upstairs appliances were black, and I felt I needed to buy stainless (Black was out). It would not have worked to just put the French Door Fridge upstairs, because it would not have matched the other appliances. I anticipate having to buy appliances upstairs in the next year or so. We did replace the Microwave already and went with the Black Stainless (Samsung). My French Door Fridge is a Samsung - I like it, but I have heard people complain about it too.

Re:  the Gallon Storage in the door.  I don't keep milk on the door upstairs  DD always complained that it was not cold enough.  I have read that the door does not keep milk cold enough.  DD is no longer at home, I do not drink milk at all, so I don't always have milk in the house, but I put it on the top shelf when I buy it.  When my kids were at home, I did keep a spare gallon of milk in the basement fridge, but that fridge does not get opened as much.  That fridge has two drawers, one I use for soda and wine. 

[thyme4change]

I have thoughts, because we just bought a fridge and my husband loves it, I do not.

1) Think carefully about buying something purely to accommodate your seven year old, because they grow a lot, and fast. Within 3 or 4 years, your child may be the size of a small adult, but your fridge will have another 12+ years.

2) Side by sides are nice, because you only have to open one door. With french doors, the food magically moves around to be behind the door you don't open.

3) Freezer on the bottom are nice because they are wide. You can put in a large cake, or a whole pizza box, or whatever, in the fridge or freezer.

4) They now have fridges with so many features. They have one where the freezer is in two compartments and one can be changed to a fridge. You could put all the kid stuff in that. Or they have ones that have drawers between the freezer and fridge to hold snacks and stuff. They have ones that connect to the internet, etc. So, you may find one of those features appealing. Do some thinking about those features before you go looking.

[HoneyBBQ]

I've had mine repaired twice in 6 years - it's an older fridge and needed a new cooling element once and a new fan once. Much cheaper than a new fridge! What's wrong with yours? It could be a relatively simple fix.

[justme]

With regard to the bottom door fridges - there are some makers that have a second ice maker down in the bottom. My parents used to go through a ton of ice so they had the one that had the dispenser in the fridge door with ice maker and the additional one in the freezer drawer. They've since cut down on their ice use for whatever reason (I seriously have no clue why) and most of the time the second ice maker is out of the freezer. But they have the option to throw it back in if they need more ice.

My friend just bought a french door fridge but she didn't want the water dispenser on the outside. So her water dispenser is a little thing on the inside of her fridge. And if you want ice it's made down in the drawer in a basket that you get to scoop out. Definitely has more ice storage than mine that's in the fridge part. (We both have the same manufacturer of fridge - they're pretty much identical except for the ice/water). 

I will say I won't do side by side. I just don't like how the freezer works on that. Whether my next fridge would have the traditional water dispenser or the one my friend has I don't know. I like the sleek look of hers, but I like the easier access of mine. 

[bean29]

Jun 12, 2019 10:22:35 GMT -5 justme said:

With regard to the bottom door fridges - there are some makers that have a second ice maker down in the bottom. My parents used to go through a ton of ice so they had the one that had the dispenser in the fridge door with ice maker and the additional one in the freezer drawer. They've since cut down on their ice use for whatever reason (I seriously have no clue why) and most of the time the second ice maker is out of the freezer. But they have the option to throw it back in if they need more ice.

My friend just bought a french door fridge but she didn't want the water dispenser on the outside. So her water dispenser is a little thing on the inside of her fridge. And if you want ice it's made down in the drawer in a basket that you get to scoop out. Definitely has more ice storage than mine that's in the fridge part. (We both have the same manufacturer of fridge - they're pretty much identical except for the ice/water). 

I will say I won't do side by side. I just don't like how the freezer works on that. Whether my next fridge would have the traditional water dispenser or the one my friend has I don't know. I like the sleek look of hers, but I like the easier access of mine. 

I use my ice/water dispenser a lot. I make a lot of ice tea by the glass. I also always give DH a glass of ice water with our meals. It is a desired feature for us.

but I have seen that if the ice maker on the Ice/water through the door is on the small side, a lot of people put second ice maker in freezer part.

Tupperware has nice ice trays now. I also saw one from Rubbermaid?  They are the flexible rubber and they are covered - I think I might use that for extra ice instead of a second icemaker.

www.tupperware.com/fresh-and-pure-ice-tray-716-1.html

[thyme4change]

Jun 12, 2019 10:22:35 GMT -5 justme said:

With regard to the bottom door fridges - there are some makers that have a second ice maker down in the bottom. My parents used to go through a ton of ice so they had the one that had the dispenser in the fridge door with ice maker and the additional one in the freezer drawer. They've since cut down on their ice use for whatever reason (I seriously have no clue why) and most of the time the second ice maker is out of the freezer. But they have the option to throw it back in if they need more ice.

My friend just bought a french door fridge but she didn't want the water dispenser on the outside. So her water dispenser is a little thing on the inside of her fridge. And if you want ice it's made down in the drawer in a basket that you get to scoop out. Definitely has more ice storage than mine that's in the fridge part. (We both have the same manufacturer of fridge - they're pretty much identical except for the ice/water). 

I will say I won't do side by side. I just don't like how the freezer works on that. Whether my next fridge would have the traditional water dispenser or the one my friend has I don't know. I like the sleek look of hers, but I like the easier access of mine. 

I have a friend who has an inside water dispenser, and it is so slow. I stand there forever to fill a glass. Which is fabulous in the summer, but overall sucks. She doesn't use it. I think she only drink Le Croix.

[justme]

Jun 12, 2019 11:44:51 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Jun 12, 2019 10:22:35 GMT -5 justme said:

With regard to the bottom door fridges - there are some makers that have a second ice maker down in the bottom. My parents used to go through a ton of ice so they had the one that had the dispenser in the fridge door with ice maker and the additional one in the freezer drawer. They've since cut down on their ice use for whatever reason (I seriously have no clue why) and most of the time the second ice maker is out of the freezer. But they have the option to throw it back in if they need more ice.

My friend just bought a french door fridge but she didn't want the water dispenser on the outside. So her water dispenser is a little thing on the inside of her fridge. And if you want ice it's made down in the drawer in a basket that you get to scoop out. Definitely has more ice storage than mine that's in the fridge part. (We both have the same manufacturer of fridge - they're pretty much identical except for the ice/water). 

I will say I won't do side by side. I just don't like how the freezer works on that. Whether my next fridge would have the traditional water dispenser or the one my friend has I don't know. I like the sleek look of hers, but I like the easier access of mine. 

I have a friend who has an inside water dispenser, and it is so slow. I stand there forever to fill a glass. Which is fabulous in the summer, but overall sucks. She doesn't use it. I think she only drink Le Croix.

Interesting. I didn't notice the one time I got a glass of water, I'll have to pay attention next time. 

[Tiny]

I had to replace my fridge 3 years ago (the old side by side  fridge was practically an antique).   I  ran into issues with the size of the space available for the fridge.   My size constraints ruled out freezer on the bottom models.  I was limited to one model of side by side and then a couple of freezer on top models.   I went with the side by side.   Over all it's fine and has some nice features.   But here are some things I didn't expect. 

The ice maker dispenser is incredibly LOUD... like Jet Engine LOUD.   It's surprising and show stopping when I have guests.  The Ice maker is also loud, when it pulls water and dumps ice - you can't not hear it - even in other rooms.  (I have a 1200 sq foot house all rooms on one floor).   The fridge part has a good arrangement of movable shelves.  The fridge door does too.   The freezer - not so much.  It came with 3 shelves and a drawer... but stacking up stuff on the shelves is tricky -- things topple out (think bagged veggies and containers of homemade stuff you froze) and you have to unpack stuff to get to the stuff you want (when  you stack up 7 or 8 'boxed' type frozen things).   The freezer does have alot of  fixed "brackets" for shelves... so I thought I'd buy some additional ones (NOT! $100 for a 12 by 12 or something that size-ish shelf).   I made shelves by using plexiglass I bought at the hardware store and then cutting it to the right size.   I spent $40 and got 3 additional shelves.   Worth every penny.   

I'd read the reviews of the fridge you are looking at and watch for recurring themes on the pros and cons.   If alot of the reviews say it's LOUD... it's probably loud.  And pay attention to the self options and if the "brackets" are fixed or movable.   You might want to measure the hieght of things you normally store in the fridge to make sure they will fit WHERE you want them to fit. 

ADDED:  if you will use the water in the door feature - check the speed.  Mine takes 3 minutes to get a liter of water into a the Big Gulp cup...  Getting a 12 ounce glass of water is annoyingly slow - standing there waiting....  I don't care too much about this as I really only use the ice dispenser.  But I have had guests attempt to get water and it takes forever. 

 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

DH despises the bottom drawer freezer. He's put up with it for over six years as ours came with our house when we purchased it. As soon as there's any inkling of this fridge/freezer dying, we'll be getting a side-by-side. 

Ours has an air filter in it. I highly recommend making sure a new fridge has one of those. 

[weltschmerz]

My friend just bought a french door fridge but she didn't want the water dispenser on the outside. So her water dispenser is a little thing on the inside of her fridge.

Fridge water tastes weird to me. Even the ice the fridge makes tastes weird to me.  Maybe there's stuff growing in there, I don't know. I'd rather have tap water.

[Tiny]

I'd review the type of water filter the new fridges have as well as all the other "filters" it might have.  And where/how you can get replacements and how much they cost.     Mine has a water filter that needs to be replaced every 6 months.  It's about $50 per replacement.  I didn't realize it had this when I bought it.   I'm not against it... it was just a "wait? What! a yearly expense to keep my fridge going? Um, ok. ".   There's a warning light that flashes on the "ice and water in the door" panel.   I can turn it off (if I wanted to ignore it).     My side by side also has an "odor" or maybe it's an "air" filter in the fridge and freezer.  Not really sure these do anything other than "cost money"  to replace.    I haven't replaced either one at this point.   It's just a bit of  meshy white foam like stuff in a "hatch" on the side of fridge/freezer.     

     

[azucena]

Jun 12, 2019 10:16:20 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

I've had mine repaired twice in 6 years - it's an older fridge and needed a new cooling element once and a new fan once. Much cheaper than a new fridge! What's wrong with yours? It could be a relatively simple fix.

I have no idea what's wrong, and figure it's a $100-200 service call just to find out.  I'm finishing work for the day and then will call around.

[alabamagal]

We buy generally basic models, not cheapest but usually one step above.

We read user reviews and found one that was generally positive. My model has an LED light inside, and there were a lot of comments about the light being slow coming on. And when we got it, it did seem slow but we got used to it. I mean I can wait that extra 1 second. And now we don’t even use it.

One useless feature to me is the camera that you can access on your phone, so you can see what you are out of while at the store. Well in my fridge, it’s not what’s in front, but searching for that jar of some obscure sauce that takes up my time.

[Tiny]

Jun 12, 2019 14:21:16 GMT -5 azucena said:

Jun 12, 2019 10:16:20 GMT -5 HoneyBBQ said:

I've had mine repaired twice in 6 years - it's an older fridge and needed a new cooling element once and a new fan once. Much cheaper than a new fridge! What's wrong with yours? It could be a relatively simple fix.

I have no idea what's wrong, and figure it's a $100-200 service call just to find out.  I'm finishing work for the day and then will call around.

Things to consider when deciding to fix or replace an old fridge.   If the fridge is older than 10 years - a newer energy star model will be WAY more energy efficient (and depending on the cost of your electricity) so you may save money in the long run with a new fridge.     (let me tell you! my old  10 year plus energy star side by side had a "energy useage" twice as high as my new "energy star" side by side.   The new fridge, long term, saves me quite a bit (about $10 in kilowatt costs  a month  so about $100 or so  a year)!)  

My local electricity provider will pay $50 and pick up an older fridge - as long as it's someplace it's pick up people can easily get to (like say your garage or the curb or the alley.         The guys who delivered my new fridge - very politely took the old fridge out to my garage when asked.  And a week later I opened the garage for the Electricity Fridge "Recycle" guys who hauled it away.   

[dannylion]

I got a new fridge last year.  The biggest problem I had was getting one that was not too big for the space.  Refrigerator space designed in 1989 does not easily accommodate a 21st century refrigerator.  The fridgerbox that was being replaced was 13 years old and had been selected because I decided I wanted all available bells and whistles (not too many at that time, though).  It had French doors and a bottom freezer.  I hated it from about the second week I had it.  The interior was poorly designed for finding things.  The only thing I liked about it was that the icemaker was inside the freezer and dispensed large amounts of ice into a nice big bin, so I always had plenty of ice.  That was the only feature I wanted to replicate.  I finally found a single-door, bottom-freezer fridgerbox that had the icemaker in the freezer and no other special features other than a small deli drawer (the fancy one had had a full-length deli drawer that turned out to be just another way to lose things because they tended to disappear into the back, which was hard to access).  I'm very happy with my new fridgerbox.  


So, I guess if I had to offer advice, I would recommend first measuring the space available to hold the new fridge, and particularly how far beyond the edge of the counter you would be willing to have it extend, then decide what you want from the fridge and shop for those features among the models that fit your size requirements.     


I, too have no use for a camera I can access from my cellphone.  And I definitely do not want my fridgerbox to have access to the internet.  That feature is only available on the high-end appliances, and they probably have really expensive tastes and would likely be dismayed by my plebian food choices,  I'd be afraid they would start ordering caviar and weird cheeses I don't like and don't want to pay for.  

[plugginaway22]

I am searching for a new fridge that is also limited by the size of the built in cabinet it will need to fit inside.  Hated the side by side we got 12 years ago from the week it arrived.  It is too narrow and deep on fridge side so fitting and finding things is an exercise, I don't mind the freezer side and have enjoyed the ice and water on that door.  I am enjoying reading everyone's preferences.

[jitterbug]

I wish they'd go back to the freezer-on-the-top style, as it seemed so much easier to organize when everything was at eye level and you could stack things up so you could see what all you had. With the freezer-on-the-bottom, things get lost under everything else - and I found the side-by-side to just not have enough functional space. (Shelves were too narrow, you couldn't open the door up real wide and there just didn't seem to be enough good space). But having a water and ice dispenser is mandatory for us - and for some reason, they just don't do that with the top freezer style.

[Anne_in_VA]

I have a Samsung French door fridge that we love.  I also have a freezer out in the garage and find that I’d lose things in the bottom freezer but not as much as I might if that was the only freezer I had.  I keep most frozen food in the garage freezer and only keep things like ice packs, frozen cubes of herbs and similar things in the kitchen one.  I have the ice maker inside the freezer and prefer that option.  I don’t have the water dispenser as I don’t really like the fridge water taste.

[thyme4change]

Jun 13, 2019 11:57:38 GMT -5 jitterbug said:

I wish they'd go back to the freezer-on-the-top style, as it seemed so much easier to organize when everything was at eye level and you could stack things up so you could see what all you had. With the freezer-on-the-bottom, things get lost under everything else - and I found the side-by-side to just not have enough functional space. (Shelves were too narrow, you couldn't open the door up real wide and there just didn't seem to be enough good space). But having a water and ice dispenser is mandatory for us - and for some reason, they just don't do that with the top freezer style.

The lower end brands and smaller fridges still have tons and tons of models of freezer on top.

Personally, I hate freezer on top. I don't do a lot of frozen stuff, but I am in my fridge and particularly my produce drawers all the time (multiple times during meal prep, and between meals for snacks, etc.) Having the produce drawers all the way on the ground just sucked for me, meanwhile, my freezer, which I rarely used was humming along right in my face.

[Chocolate Lover]

Jun 13, 2019 13:00:59 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Jun 13, 2019 11:57:38 GMT -5 jitterbug said:

I wish they'd go back to the freezer-on-the-top style, as it seemed so much easier to organize when everything was at eye level and you could stack things up so you could see what all you had. With the freezer-on-the-bottom, things get lost under everything else - and I found the side-by-side to just not have enough functional space. (Shelves were too narrow, you couldn't open the door up real wide and there just didn't seem to be enough good space). But having a water and ice dispenser is mandatory for us - and for some reason, they just don't do that with the top freezer style.

The lower end brands and smaller fridges still have tons and tons of models of freezer on top.

Personally, I hate freezer on top. I don't do a lot of frozen stuff, but I am in my fridge and particularly my produce drawers all the time (multiple times during meal prep, and between meals for snacks, etc.) Having the produce drawers all the way on the ground just sucked for me, meanwhile, my freezer, which I rarely used was humming along right in my face.

All the tall people in my house HATE the top freezer fridge we have. If I want to hide something from them I'll put it on the short top shelf, they'll never squat down that far to be able to see it. I'm 5'3" and can't see that shelf without leaning sideways either. I can't really lower it any because taller stuff below won't let me. I'm renting so I've considered asking if they will take their fridge and let me put my own in. I'd have to buy one so haven't actually asked yet.

[azucena]

Official verdict is the compressor died and is a known issue with LG fridges per repairman.  So definitely a new fridge for me.  As I've been narrowing my options online (BB, Home Depot, Lowes), I'm seeing delivery dates a couple of weeks out.  Ugh.  Guess that makes sense not to store a bunch of them.  At least we have an old fridge in the basement that works but is on its last legs too.

I think I will stick with french door.  I'm contemplating the fourth drawer option - seems like that might be handy for things the kids are always grabbing (yogurts, drinks, cheese, etc).  Anyone love or hate?

[dannylion]

Jun 13, 2019 13:56:56 GMT -5 azucena said:

Official verdict is the compressor died and is a known issue with LG fridges per repairman.  So definitely a new fridge for me.  As I've been narrowing my options online (BB, Home Depot, Lowes), I'm seeing delivery dates a couple of weeks out.  Ugh.  Guess that makes sense not to store a bunch of them.  At least we have an old fridge in the basement that works but is on its last legs too.

I think I will stick with french door.  I'm contemplating the fourth drawer option - seems like that might be handy for things the kids are always grabbing (yogurts, drinks, cheese, etc).  Anyone love or hate?

I got my new fridge from Costco.  Ordered it online.  The website information, as I recall, said delivery would be 2 to 4 weeks.  I was called within a couple of days to arrange for delivery on the day of my choice the following week.  I think it might depend on the individual model selected; they just put the same generic delivery estimate on all of them as keeping each individual model updated would likely be a logistical nightmare.  

I bought a washer from Lowe's a couple of years ago and was happy with the transaction.  If you are a veteran, you can sign up for their veteran's discount program and get a 10% discount on everything (even sale items and delivery costs).  The fridge I wanted happened to be on sale for $100 less at Costco than Lowe's sale price (even taking into account the veteran's discount), and Costco offers an additional year on warranties, so I bought it there.  Otherwise, I probably would have bought the fridge at Lowe's.  

[buystoys]

We're not fans of side by side.  That's what was in our kitchen when we moved into this house.  We put it out in the shed as a beer fridge and bought an LG French door freezer.  We had one in NY and loved it.  This one is smaller but we still love it.  If I need extra ice for anything, I just start making ice in advance, so we wouldn't use a second ice maker.  We have the basic water and ice through the door setup.  Neither of us is into all the bells and whistles.

I love having the wide drawer in the fridge.  It's excellent for storing meat and cheese platters we do over the holidays.  Before, we'd have to make the platter up as we were going to put it out.  Now we can do it in advance and just take it out of the fridge. 

[thyme4change]

If we need extra ice, I spend the 2 bucks and buy a bag.

[Cookies Galore]

We have an old side-by-side and I hate it. I can't wait for it to die so I can replace. We bought our house three years ago and who knows how long the fridge has been there. It has an ice maker and water line but we don't use them since 1) we need to buy a filter and 2) I don't know how old and nasty the machine is. I prefer to not waste space with water and ice maker, anyway. I have plenty of ice cube trays and a Brita filter.

The side-by-side fridge is terrible for entertaining. We have a large party at least once a year and it's hard to make and store food.

[CCL]

Jun 14, 2019 9:59:47 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

We have an old side-by-side and I hate it. I can't wait for it to die so I can replace. We bought our house three years ago and who knows how long the fridge has been there. It has an ice maker and water line but we don't use them since 1) we need to buy a filter and 2) I don't know how old and nasty the machine is. I prefer to not waste space with water and ice maker, anyway. I have plenty of ice cube trays and a Brita filter.

The side-by-side fridge is terrible for entertaining. We have a large party at least once a year and it's hard to make and store food.

Agree. The French door models are much better. 

[countrygirl2]

We have the French door with freezer drawer, I like it but not crazy about the icemaker, it freezes up at times and I  have to take a hair dryer to get it unfrozen again. Otherwise I like it.  Man are the new ones expensive.

[azucena]

Got a whirlpool french door with bigger ice maker. Stainless steel was $300 cheaper and available two weeks sooner than black. Kitchen will go stainless fridge, black oven, stainless dishwasher but whatever. Dh was dead set on the 5 yr warranty for $175. Total $1900 so stayed within the $2200 I allotted. Delivery weds.