Had A Scare Yesterday, And Thought My Fridge Was Dying

[lxskllr]

Turns out it's ok, but it got me interested in what kinds of fridges are out there. Seems like everything's shittastic anymore. I entered "can you still buy old style refrigerators" as a search, and got these two sites...

Northstar retro fridges, 1950 retro refrigerators, contemporary and modern kitchen appliances

Elmira’s Northstar ranges offer state-of-the-art Fridges features and Northstar refrigerators are the coolest appliances (Energy Star, large storage)

www.elmirastoveworks.com

Retro

Take your kitchen to another time with Big Chill's retro line. All ranges, fridges, cooktops and more feature a retro outside with a modern inside.

bigchill.com

Seems like there's other companies making these too. The above stood out cause they're Canadian and US made respectively. Might be others too. That was a little older style than I had in mind, but that would work. Spendy, but that's fine. I'll happily pay to not have computers in my food cooler. Hopefully it isn't something I'll have to deal with for a long time, but it's nice to know there's options.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah I have an older style Kenmore, I will mourn if it dies. They are pushing the smart stuff so hard now, soon that will be the only option you can easily get, just like with TVs. Actually I will be sad when my TV dies too, I really don't want a smart TV in my house. Or anything smart for that matter.

Glad to see there at least still are companies making the more traditional stuff but since they're specialized probably harder to get. Hopefully they're also built to good standards.

 

[highland145]

Appliance costs up 50% and you can't get them anyway. Just bought spare washer/dryer because of the rentals...cheap brands. Crosly's...$1k.

Try your local repair place.

 

[highland145]

Think you can still find a US washer that doesn't judge your whities. Fridges...??

 

[bbhaag]

Think you can still find a US washer that doesn't judge your whities. Fridges...??

Speed Queen is still made in the good ol' us of a last I checked but it has been a couple of years so don't hold me to that.
Fridges.....good fucking luck.

 

[brianmanahan]

those old lead-lined fridges can come in handy

 

[Torn Mind]

I have a real retro freezer from the 50s. Still runs like a champ. Bought it for cheap off craigslist.

 

[pauldun170]

Turns out it's ok, but it got me interested in what kinds of fridges are out there. Seems like everything's shittastic anymore. I entered "can you still buy old style refrigerators" as a search, and got these two sites...

Northstar retro fridges, 1950 retro refrigerators, contemporary and modern kitchen appliances

Elmira’s Northstar ranges offer state-of-the-art Fridges features and Northstar refrigerators are the coolest appliances (Energy Star, large storage)

www.elmirastoveworks.com

Retro

Take your kitchen to another time with Big Chill's retro line. All ranges, fridges, cooktops and more feature a retro outside with a modern inside.

bigchill.com

Seems like there's other companies making these too. The above stood out cause they're Canadian and US made respectively. Might be others too. That was a little older style than I had in mind, but that would work. Spendy, but that's fine. I'll happily pay to not have computers in my food cooler. Hopefully it isn't something I'll have to deal with for a long time, but it's nice to know there's options.

That Northstar manuals page proudly announces its product line are Whirlpool\Kitchen Aid\Midea etc wearing hiptster clothes.
Midea is a Chinese brand.
Whirlpool is an American brand that assembles things in American places with components manufactured in all sort of places.
Kitchen Aid is a subsidiary of Whirlpool.

Whirlpool - > Made in America with the same chinese parts as everyone else

 

[Red Squirrel]

This is the sort of crap that makes me want to learn more about fabrication like machining etc. Getting to a point where if you want something good you need to make it yourself.

 

[pauldun170]

For comparison, lets look at the "1952" they are selling for $3600
Either get a $3600 refrigerator with a crappy shell
Or just get what it actually is for $700

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/whirlpool-18-2-cu-ft-top-freezer-refrigerator-white/1073095.p?skuId=1073095

Same refrigerator.
Same grab bag of cheapo components.

 

[pauldun170]

The $6795 "1958" model is actual a $1700 Whirlpool Model:WRF535SWHB

 

[pauldun170]

As for Big Chill, I'll let Jill sum them up

 

[pauldun170]

.....and your welcome.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Pretty sad, even if you're willing to pay a lot you still get garbage!

Capitalism! Then again communism does not really bring anything better. Soviet TVs used to explode. We need a totally new system entirely because let's be real, none of them seem to work.

 

[lxskllr]

Well, at least I know there's still base models that don't do more than cool. I like the hipster styling, but I can live without that. I just want my appliances computer free.

 

[stargazr]

We just replaced a 30 year old Admiral fridge with a Frigidaire. Just the basics, works great so far just really shows the fingerprints with the stainless finish. It was around $800.

 

[Muse]

The week I bought my house was a doozy. The branch manager of my bank where I did (still do) my checking (Washington Mutual at the time, bought out by Chase/JP Morgan later) told me my loan was a lock, a for sure thing when I was in escrow. But the bank backed out at the last minute saying my not having a working central heating system was a deal breaker. I scrambled and bought the house outright. Had $1000 left (but a decent full time job) and went to local appliance store and with that $1000 bought an unboxed Amana refrigerator that has a bottom freezer, yeah, same week escrow closed. This was 21 years ago and I still have that fridge. Before that we had a series of refrigerators that never worked great. I used to defrost them personally, a real chore, periodically. For a while we had two fridges, I maintained both. When I bought the house I kicked out my 2 remaining house mates.

This one has stood the test of time. No ice maker. I was worried about the nasty smell you usually get with refrigerators after some time. Did some research. I keep an open box of baking soda in it, little more. Occasionally clean it out. NO SMELL SO FAR!!!

I'm good to it, don't leave the door open like people do. I don't make it work more than necessary! It's full! Well, close, I can always get more into it, but there's never a lot of obvious space in it. I rarely eat out, cook for myself.

It's Energy Star, but I suppose there are less watt consuming refrigerator/freezers out now, but maybe not by a lot, don't know.

Amana changed hands a couple times in the interim, they're now part of Whirlpool:

Are Whirlpool refrigerators made in the USA? As the largest of all the American Appliance companies, the answer is yes. Based in Benton Charter Township, Michigan, with major manufacturing centers throughout North America, Whirlpool employs tens of thousands of American workers.Jun 1, 2020

Of course, this isn't a "smart" fridge. There are a couple dials, I guess, I never touch them. I have thermometers in the fridge and freezer, they say about 40F and 0F, which is my target.

 

[BurnItDwn]

we had a 80s model top freezer that died a bunch of years ago.
My MIL got us a used french door type with bottom freezer when that happened (i didn't ask for it, or want it, but, wife liked it..... and MIL wanted to thank us for paying to fix her car multiple times when she was broke, and to let her stay with us for a couple years to fix her credit until she was able to buy her own inexpensive place to retire in FL)

Anyhow, the french door one "looked nice" but was a piece of crap, ice built up around the freezer seal and needed to be chipped off with an axe or a pick like once every 2-3 weeks.
it died and we got rid of it and got a "top freezer" style with a regular ice maker.

Its a Lucky Goldstar branded one ... so I dont expect it to last forever, but, was reasonably priced under 1K, and its like 24 cubic feet so holds a bunch of food well.

 

[IronWing]

We bought a cheap traditional Whirlpool. It works. We had to tape down the temp control dial as the flip-up shelf cover thingy on the door would rub on the dial every time we closed the door, turning the temperature ever so slightly higher. It was becoming a source of marital discontent. We also removed the pointless shelf cover thingy.

 

[MtnMan]

Think you can still find a US washer that doesn't judge your whities. Fridges...??

Our Kenmore washer has a "whitest whites" setting. Is my washer racist?

 

[IronWing]

I hate those energy efficient washers that run like a 90yo asthmatic climbing a staircase. <flop> <rest for five minutes> <flop> <rest for five minutes> taking four hours to finish a load.

 

[highland145]

Our Kenmore washer has a "whitest whites" setting. Is my washer racist?

Does it cut eye holes in your sheets?

 

[lxskllr]

I don't even know what brand my fridge is. I don't see any logos with a quick look, but it's probably a kenmore. I think it's from some time in the 80s. The only "feature" it has is an ice maker, and that was disconnected decades ago. It's exactly what I want in a fridge. Cold on the bottom, colder up top, and no pcboards.

 

[MtnMan]

Does it cut eye holes in your sheets?

We don't have any white sheets, so that is really a question I can't address.

 

[dullard]

As for Big Chill, I'll let Jill sum them up
View attachment 46176

I mean, it is right there in the link description "All ranges, fridges, cooktops and more feature a retro outside with a modern inside.":

Retro

Take your kitchen to another time with Big Chill's retro line. All ranges, fridges, cooktops and more feature a retro outside with a modern inside.

bigchill.com

I'm not sure why Jill was unhappy that she got a modern appliance with a retro look slapped around it.