Fridge Shopping Begins

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

My '13 model is dying and I'm trying to bandaide it until Winter when I'll have a few other things paid off.

I don't need or want fancy. No glass doors, or beer or wine taps and I don't need it to bring water to me or play TV or music.

I've always had top mount freezers because to me it's easier to get stuff in and out than to have to get down on the floor for the bottom mounts.

Lots of stuff out there warning off LG, Samsung and others. This one is a Whirpool, but it seems no brand among Frigidaire, Whirlpool, Maytag, GE and a few others is really better or worse than others.

Need to stay in the sub $800 range if possible.

Thoughts?

 

[MrSquished]

I was told Whirlpool and Frigidaire are the best. My place came with a new Whirlpool, basic fridge top freezer. I don't have room for a full size fridge in my kitchen. And they are around 800 bucks.

The Whirlpool crapped out after 3 years. I changed a couple parts and it worked for another 6 months and then it went bad again. Same issues.

I called Whirlpool to say come on the fridge should last more than three and a half years. First person said nothing they can do I got escalated, second person said nothing they could do I asked to get escalated. Third person said they could give me 40% off the Whirlpool fridge but only ordered off their website. Absolutely nothing that I could use was in stock so that was useless

So I bought a Frigidaire a year ago. So far so good. I didn't get the extended warranty but sometime before my 1-year warranty expired they sent me an offer to extend my warranty and it was discounted rates compared to when I bought it new so I did add some more years onto my warranty.

I'll post the model when I get home. It's probably all you need. It's been good for me and when I had a partner living here too

 

[mindless1]

I like my side by side rather than top/bottom, but sub-$800 is probably too low to get anything decent size in side by side. I too would sooner have the freezer on top than bottom.

My GE is around 25 y/o now, but I'm sure they aren't made as well today. Haven't had to repair anything on it except ice maker a long time ago, more recently the water line to water dispenser, solenoid to water dispenser/ice-maker, and both of the door light switches. Can't recall the price of the ice maker but the other parts were cheap and easy to fix, like $5 water line, $15 solenoid, switches $7 each... but the switch on the freezer would've been MUCH more expensive if I got the two circuit type that disables the ice 'chute when the door is open... I just never have the worry of someone trying to get ice while it's open and if they did, just a few ice cubes to clean up off the floor. I digress.

Beyond staying with a major brand, I'd have to see them in person at a showroom to make a short list, then wait for something on the list to go on sale, to maximize what you can get at that price point.

I generally feel like the biggest that will fit the available space and budget, rather than fanciest, is best, as the additional capacity goes a long way towards buying more food in bulk and not having it be a headache to play musical chairs with the contents to find anything. It really doesn't cost much more to run a larger fridge/freezer combo if you keep it packed so the air exchange every time it's opened, is minimized. I keep any extra space packed with frozen tomatoes I grow, or as I use them up, pack frozen water in the freezer, which also gives me a buffer for power outages. I digress again, lol.

Since I've had a good, long life from my GE, I'd at least look at what they have.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I've always sworn by the classic brands like Frigidaire and Kenmore if that's still around. They are basic, but they just work and are no fuss.

 

[snoopy7548]

I've had a basic Whirlpool French door w/ bottom freezer for 10 years and it's going strong. I had to unclog the defroster a bunch of years back but after that it's been fine. *knock on wood*

I like the bottom freezer - 95% of what I need is in the fridge (top), so having the freezer on the bottom makes more sense.

Whatever you do, don't get Samsung. I hear they make terrible appliances.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

French Door w/bottom freezer is not 'basic'.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Does anybody make their own, or do they all buy from a common source and rebadge?

There are only a couple of companies that manufacture lawn mowers for example. Maybe TVs too.

 

[MrSquished]

This is the Frigidaire I have now. 750 clams

Frigidaire 18.3 cu. ft. Top Freezer Refrigerator in Stainless Steel FFTR1835VS - The Home Depot

The Frigidaire 18.3 cu. ft. Top Freezer Refrigerator has 2 full-width glass shelves and two humidity control crisper drawers for storing fruits and vegetables. It's equipped with bright lighting to keep

www.homedepot.com

 

[IGBT]

So far so good with this Samsung..

 

[DAPUNISHER]

So far so good with this Samsung..View attachment 63800

Good luck, I mean that. Every service person I have spoken with or watched a vid from, says Samsung is the least reliable of all the major appliance brands.

OP: Frigidaire makes old school all mechanical top freezer units in your price range. And if something does go wrong, the parts are cheap.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Be sure to get the extended warranty, you'll use it lol. Though that looks like a higher end commercial model, maybe those are better than the consumer ones.

 

[bbhaag]

Last year we purchased an LG LFXS26596S from Home Depot. https://www.homedepot.com/p/LG-Elec...-Stainless-Steel-LFXS26596S/305712398#overlay

While it's a nice fridge with a decent layout and storage capability it started to malfunction 6 months after we purchased it. It started to make some really loud fan noises and LG customer service said to defrost it before they would send a tech out. We did that and it still continued so they sent a tech and he basically said "Yeah they all do this." fiddled around with it for about 30 minutes then was on his way.

It still makes this annoying noise and now it's out of warranty. So I guess the to sum this up LG fridges suck IMO but we have the matching range and dishwasher and they work perfectly so stay away from LG fridges.

 

[snoopy7548]

So far so good with this Samsung..View attachment 63800

That almost-mirror finish would drive me nuts.

 

[IGBT]

That almost-mirror finish would drive me nuts.

...it's "Black Stainless Steel" per Samsung. Interestingly enough it really does well at hiding finger prints. I use distilled water to clean it...Samsung says the minerals in tap water and many cleaners will "swirl" the finish. I'm not wildly picky...but the finish is holding up well..I've had it about a year.