New Refridgerator - which brand?

[Rusty Heap]

Looking at new refridgerators for our kitchen. Any brands to stay away from? 25-27ish cu foot, most likely in stainless.

The new French Door tops with Bottom freezer seem ideal for easier access to food or big platter storage. Our present 16 year old side-by-side seems to always push food to the back and you lose items till they spoil, plus putting a simple dinner plate in there takes up the whole width of one shelf.

LG brand has some nice features, (ice machine in the door and doesn't take up a huge hunk of the upper left back corner) but seem to have a really bad repair rate, but then again so do Bosch or Kenmore or Whirlpool and so on.........each seems to get scorned on the web reviews

So which to stay away from? I mean a fridge is simply supposed to keep food cold, so a good compressor, door seals, and shelving/drawers that don't crack or break is all I ask for. Through the door ice/water is a must.

Digital controls and touch screen displays are not on my "must have" list. When most fridges are in the $2K-$2800 range, you'd think they'd make a better quality product.

so what brands to embrace, and which are the problem models?

Best 'fridge web review site I've found, any others?

Refrigerator Reviews, Ratings and an Ultimate Refrigerator Buyers Guide

[Porsche-O-Phile]

May not fit your look (more retro style) and they tend to be on the small side, but look at Smeg. I love them.

I personally don't care for the stainless look (the commercial kitchen aesthetic in residences is played out IMHO) and went a different route myself with all black appliances.

I was really tempted to go with the orange Smeg unit though.

[pwd72s]

I'm thankful that Cindy stayed away from stainless or "fad" colors for our kitchen remodel. Just basic white for all the appliances. Sure makes things easier when the time comes to replace one.

[FrankyV]

I have an Amana french door with bottom freezer and the only complaint is the icemaker takes forever to dispense ice, apparently due to a design flaw.

In less than eight years, my Amana wall oven, LG dryer, LG washer, GE Profile range, Lennox AC and Lennox furnance have all needed major and expensive repairs after being installed new in my new home. The oven, AC and dryer have broken down twice. I asked the service guy what are the best brands and he said they are all crap so just buy the cheapest you can.

[Rusty Heap]

Maybe Skanky has the right idea, which is sad, that major appliences have become "disposable"

even at Lowes, the gal said most fridges regardless of brand only last ~10 years if you're lucky.

While LG has some great features, for some reason they (Korean) don't allow distributors to stock parts, soooooo even if covered under warrenty, it's 2-5 weeks lead time to get a part in........so good applience stores (not big box stores) can't service what they sell and most won't carry LG then......

This LG 31 cu foot is nice feature wise, but not if it's not going to last.

LG LFX31925 30.7 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator with Spill Protector Glass Shelves, Humidity Crispers, Air/Water Filters and External Ice/Water Dispenser

[azasadny]

Stay away from GE. I like the Bosch appliances that we have been replacing our crappy GE appliances with, although I don't have any 1st-hand experience with a Bosch refrigerator.

[stevepaa]

Look at Samsung. The interior layout is superb. A wine rack and cola rack.

[madmmac]

Like the french doors......truly hate the bottom freezer.

Maytag at one house is a piece of crap and design. Broke a couple of interior pieces and had a couple of thermostats replaced, still have to set it at 43 degrees or it will freeze the stuff in the fridge.

The Samsung at our other has has a much better interior layout and have never had any problems with it.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by stevepaa

Look at Samsung. The interior layout is superb. A wine rack and cola rack.

+1. We bought a Samsung last spring and love it.

[schamp]

I made the mistake of buying GE for the kitchen. Top of the line oven, microwave and their best top of the line matching fridge and freezer (think sub zero). Lasted about 6 years maybe before either failing completly or leaking etc. Buy anything but GE. The GE repair guys charge a show up fee of I think it was 70 bucks. In the house about 5 minutes and said their refrigerator needed 1000.00 in repairs. I paid them to leave.

[azasadny]

Originally Posted by schamp

I made the mistake of buying GE for the kitchen. Top of the line oven, microwave and their best top of the line matching fridge and freezer (think sub zero). Lasted about 6 years maybe before either failing completly or leaking etc. Buy anything but GE. The GE repair guys charge a show up fee of I think it was 70 bucks. In the house about 5 minutes and said their refrigerator needed 1000.00 in repairs. I paid them to leave.

Same here! We bought all GE appliances when we redid the house and the GE Profile appliances have crapped out or will soon. The worst is the GE Adora washer and dryer. The washer is literally falling apart and GE knows the product is defective, they just don't care... The only GE product that's working as promised is the SmartWater water heater.

[Aurel]

We had an LG french doors and were very happy with the price, quality and function. Will probably get the same one again for the new house. I think it was this model:

LFC20770ST LG Large Capacity 3 Door French Door Refrigerator (30" Width) - Stainless Steel

[Dan J]

When the guy that designed my kitchen said Sub Zero I thought he was nuts but the thing is really well built and 12 years later works like day one. Now the Thermador cooktop and Bosch dishwasher? Not so great, both gone

[David]

We have the 29 cuft Samsung which I believe also makes the GE. It's been a good fridge for the last couple years but the ice maker died a while back and had to be replaced. Funny thing is the Samsung icemaker was $80 and the exact same GE was $120.

[regency]

Well, we re-did our kitchen and went with all new GE stuff. Guess what? it's all crap. Already had to replace the microwave, only about one year old. Won't buy GE again.

Side note: Those GE "JET Engine" commercials have me scared too fly.

Steve

73 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

[LWJ]

I have said it before. I love my Sub.

As for GE? I had a top of the line GE dishwasher at my last house. It ruined the floor. I placed a claim with GE. They paid. It was defective.

Most appliances are disposable today. I hate that.

Larry

[mthomas58]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

Maybe Skanky has the right idea, which is sad, that major appliences have become "disposable"

even at Lowes, the gal said most fridges regardless of brand only last ~10 years if you're lucky.

While LG has some great features, for some reason they (Korean) don't allow distributors to stock parts, soooooo even if covered under warrenty, it's 2-5 weeks lead time to get a part in........so good applience stores (not big box stores) can't service what they sell and most won't carry LG then......

This LG 31 cu foot is nice feature wise, but not if it's not going to last.

LG LFX31925 30.7 cu. ft. French Door Refrigerator with Spill Protector Glass Shelves, Humidity Crispers, Air/Water Filters and External Ice/Water Dispenser

We are in the market too and the LG 31 cu ft is where we are leaning. LG makes the Kenmore model for Sears and it has a nice feature - the freezer drawer front also tilts out for easier access. According to the salesman at Sears only the LG and Samsungs have separate air flow chambers and compressors for the freezer and fridge so food will stay fresh longer.

[wdfifteen]

5 year Samsung owner here. It has french doors and bottom freezer. It's great. A big advantage is that is has a separate evaporator for the fridge section so the temperatures are a lot more stable. Interior layout is great too.

[look 171]

Originally Posted by SkankyFrank

I have an Amana french door with bottom freezer and the only complaint is the icemaker takes forever to dispense ice, apparently due to a design flaw.

In less than eight years, my Amana wall oven, LG dryer, LG washer, GE Profile range, Lennox AC and Lennox furnance have all needed major and expensive repairs after being installed new in my new home. The oven, AC and dryer have broken down twice. I asked the service guy what are the best brands and he said they are all crap so just buy the cheapest you can.

You can thank the mother******* tree hugger energy star gov reg for that. I almost no longer suggest which brand to buy unless it is high end where people think they do not break. They do. they just take a little longer then your standard run of the mill ones. Ref. is going to break within the first 7-8 years. 10 if you are really lucky.

[HardDrive]

We have a Miele. My wife and I love to cook. My wife is veg, and we are astonished at how long produce lasts in this thing. If you use a lot of vegetables, its worth looking at a dual compressor unit. It will be more $$$, but I feel worth it.