Need Advice: Buying a New Refrigerator!

[You Know Me]

Okay girls...I'm going to try this board again...because I miss everybody and also need some expert advice!

I'm going to be purchasing a brand new refrigerator...my very first that I get to pick out all by myself!! Exciting stuff, huh?

Here's my dilemma...I'm single...live alone...son is 18 years old so not marrying and providing grandchildren (yet!). I absolutely LOVE to cook and keep a wide variety of ingredients on hand, many requiring refrigeration.

What do you all think would be a suitable size for me? I'm quite sure I don't need the largest available...but is a 21.9 cu. ft. going to be big enough?

And...I've always dreamed of a side-by-side with through the door ice and water dispenser...do you all prefer the side by side or freezer on top?

And on the ice/water dispenser...thumbs up or down? Keep in mind I don't have a house full of kids who are going to be "playing" with it...just little old me for now...leaning towards the Kenmore, just because Sears has such good service...

Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

P.S. In case you haven't guessed...it's ME! DEANNA!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by You Know Me (edited 07-11-2000).]

[Natasha]

Ahem - I was wondering yesterday if that was you because:
a) Name was just too cute
b) You Know Me seemed to know an awful lot about obscure Hispanic cheese
c) The question to Maelynn sounded like it was from someone who knew the board well
d) I knew you would miss us too much to stay away! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif
e) All of the above
(I m picking e)). Anyway, welcome back and I hope for the sake of ALL us BB fans that the proposed changes will make this board easier to use!

Hey - if you re buying a refrigerator, guess your house hunting is going well! I won t be offering any advice on refrigerators at the moment - maybe tomorrow. Too tired right now to give advice on potentially-expensive home appliances ...

[Beth]

I thought that was you, and I wondered how you were staying quiet. Just incognito, huh?

Re the fridge: First thing to do is measure the space in the new kitchen, including depth, and check around the space for anything (cabinets, doorways, etc) that might block the doors from opening completely (I acquired my first side by side as the result of my parents moving into a house that had a door frame that kept their freezer door from opening fully.)

Second: don't get a side by side unless you have room for a fairly large one, even if it's going to be used mostly for you. Unless you get up to at least 23 cu ft, you probably won't get shelves wide enough to hold all the kinds of things you'll want, esp in the freezer section.

The ice and water dispensers are nice, but I think they are more useful in homes with small children who cannot reach the door standing open for long periods if they could. That said, my retired parents haven't bought one without once they had it.

Check the shelves and doors to make sure you'll have handy space for condiments as well as turkeys, tray, or whatever.

As for brands, I had my grandmother's Kenmore, and it's still working but we left it in CA. The only problem I ever had with it was the icemaker thermostat, and that was a fridge that was over 15 yrs old. I've had an Amana now for some time, and have been happy with it. If I were shopping, I would probably be looking at Kenmore, Amana and GE, unless I was going to be able to put in a huge Sub-Zero or the equivalent....SMFTWU (slapping my face to wake up)

Hope that helps some.

[TamiK]

My new refrigerator is a Maytag 25 cu. ft. freezer on top. I opted out of the icemaker and water dispenser because I drink only distilled water and make my ice with it, too. Also, they just take up too much space IMHO.

This is my first refrigerator that is NOT a side by side, and I really like it. The produce bins are much bigger and I can actually put longer serving dishes or platters on the wide shelves. One feature mine has (probably all do now!) is pull-out shelves. I can slide out all but 1 shelf to see what's in the back.

My Maytag has been happily humming along with nary a problem for a year and a half now. If I weren't looking at Maytag, I'd look at Kenmore.

And . . . if you've always lusted after the side by side . . . go for it! Who deserves it more?

[Cathy]

We purchased an Amana 21 cu. ft with the freezer on the 'bottom' about a year ago and absolutely love it! It is so easy to see what is inside without stooping over. The drawers and shelves are right at arms reach. Sears carries one too that is made for them by Amana even though it has the Sears name on it. You may want to take a look at one before you make a final decision. We have had a two different friends of ours buy one too because they liked ours so much.

[Gail]

Beth, I think, made some excellent suggestions regarding space and door placement. I too, was lusting after one of those fridges you describe, but then I started thinking about my own habits and realized what was most important to me was space in the freezer. Like a squirrel, I stock up. Then there are leftovers-- or if you're cooking for one, portions of meat packages that get divvied up. Anyway, I started looking for fridges with the most freezer space, since that was my need-- and at the time I found that side-by-sides didn't offer as much freezer as I wanted-- plus the icemaker thingy took up valuable space I needed for storage. Do you use that much ice anyway? And does the tap water in your area taste that good? (I'd rather drink battery acid than drink ours)

What are your habits? Do you store a lot of supplies that need refrigeration and you need a good rack system on the door? Does one model have produce drawers which are bigger or deeper than the others? Are you a slob and you need something that cleans really easily? Does your son come over and raid your fridge? Only YOU know the answers.

Look at what your needs are, the space you have to work with, the energy efficiency (let's not forget they cost money to operate)and the budget you have to work with. I'm sure you'll come up with the right decision!

PS Lose the alias. Like the name said, we knew you... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif



[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 07-12-2000).]

[Mamasue]

Okay....Millon Dollar question....

Why did Deanna change her name?

Don't know about size...that would be up to you on how much space you need. But I would vote for a Sears product. The majority of my appliances are Sears and they are dependable, long life span, service is excellent too.

Have good day! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Deanna]

Thanks for all the comments. Can you tell I HATE MAKING DECISIONS? I am happy to spend the money for whatever I need, but hate making decisions. I should hire a personal shopper to buy my car, fridge, and house for me. I'll just send money!

Regarding the name change...I was trying to reset the "cookies" to see if I could get the board to function better for me and thought it might be a good idea to start from scratch. Well, that experiment didn't work.

That's the ONLY reason I changed my UserName...just to see if I could reset and get it going...

And THAT's why I said "You know Me!" http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[BethH]

Deanna (a.k.a. You Know Me),

I have a Whirlpool side by side that I enjoy. I really like the ice/water dispenser because our tap water usually tastes fine. However, we are having algae problems in some of our water supplies here so its tasting pretty icky--I'm just going with my Britta until the problem is solved.

Comments about lack of freezer space are right on, though. I have to put those delicious and oh-so-bad for you DiGiorno Pizzas on the diagonal to get them to fit!

[Anne]

Hi Deanna. Have you included energy efficiency in your list of desirables for a new fridge? Sunfrost makes a normal size fridge (inside dimensions - outside is larger due to insulation) with freezer on top that uses about 15% of the electricity of mainline brand of comparable size. The plus side is that these fridges keep produce much fresher than conventional fridges. sorry, no auto ice maker.

[JodiL]

Hi Deanna,

We just moved into a new house recently, and decided to buy a Kenmore, side-by-side, 25cf, fridge with through the door water and ice. We did a lot of checking around and Kenmore's prices were really good, and it's actually made by Whirlpool with Sears's name on it (this may change from year-to-year, but they're always manufactured by one of the big-names). Also, I like having the side-by-side because it has more freezer space and the multiple shelves keep it more organized. Finally, I try to drink a lot of water and now I use it filtered from the fridge instead of buying bottled water, so its worked out to actually save us money! Good luck with your search. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[LynnSC]

Well I can't resist a comment on this topic. I recently purchased a Whirlpool Gold Freezer on the bottom refrigerator and love it! My dh and I compared prices all over, Best Buy, Lowes , Sears etc. In the past we always bought Sears without question but when comparing, Sears isn't always the best and around here the service isn't so great. Anyway, Amanna makes the bottom freezer models for all of the other companies from what I understand. We got the largest model. They are about to discontinue it since they have had lots of problems getting them to start up properly. We had probs with the first one we got and they replaced it for us. We haven't had any problems with this one. The shelves slide out for cleaning and the freezer has a basket on the bottom so you can easily access the contents. I just love mine and wouldn't choose anything else. We didn't go with the ice and water in the door because we have two kids that would make a mess with it. A friend of mine bought a really large side by side with the filter for water and loves it. I guess it is a matter of space and preference. Personally, I never want any other kind of refrigerator now than the one with the freezer on the bottom. :-)!!! BTW, ours was special ordered through Lowes.
Lynn

[BeckyM]

Sounds like you've already got lots of advice, but I couldn't resist adding my own. We just moved into a new home in October and bought a new fridge to go in it. I've always loved the side-by-side models, so that what we got. For me, it's easier to see what I've got in there if I have more smaller shelves than if I've got only a few bigger shelves -- especially in the freezer section. I also have to put my DiGiorno pizzas a bit slanted to make them fit, but I usually manage. I think we got close to the biggest one there was, so the pizza doesn't have to slant too much. Anyway, I love our refrigerator and would probably choose the same one again.

My only regret is that we got the water/ice in the door option, but we decided to cut costs by NOT getting the one with the built-in water filter. I had been drinking Brita water for a while, so when I tried the water out of our fridge that hadn't been filtered, I thought it tasted yucky. So I don't even use the water from the door of the refrigerator -- I still use my Brita filter. I suppose we should get an in-line filter to put in the water line going into our fridge, but if I had it to do over again, I would have spent the extra money to get the filter in the actual refrigerator.

Good luck choosing! And have fun stocking it for the first time! I really loved "moving in" to my nice new refrigerator!

[Deanna]

Wow! This is better than Consumer Reports!!

Thanks again for all the comments, giving me lots to think about. And the energy efficiency is definitely an issue to look into.

I've pretty much decided to go with the side by side, filtered water/ice through the door, and get the 25.8 cu ft. The 21.9 just doesn't sound "wide" enough.

I've heard plenty of folks say they love their freezer on the bottom style, but remember, I'm older! (43) And I don't want to have to stand on my head when I'm 60 to get the ice cream out for the grandkids. Assuming this fridge lasts that long!

Now...I can't get in the property to measure until next Wednesday (18th)! And the model I'm considering is ON SALE through Saturday the 15th. Guess I will just have to wait and order it closer to Sept. 15 with hopes that it will go on sale again.

[Mamasue]

Originally posted by Deanna:

Now...I can't get in the property to measure until next Wednesday (18th)! And the model I'm considering is ON SALE through Saturday the 15th. Guess I will just have to wait and order it closer to Sept. 15 with hopes that it will go on sale again.


Deanna.....does this mean you got the house you wanted? http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[lorilei]

You read my mind, Mamasue... I was just going to ask the same thing!

So, tell us about your new place, Deanna!

[Beth]

Deanna, talk to you realtor and the fridge saleman. Your realtor should be able to help out, but sounds like this is moving very quickly, and stressed out sellers may not want to be bothered by anything. Better to try to work with that rather than getting them unhappy and leaving a messed up house, dying yard or something.

Tell the fridge salesman (or woman) your situation. They should be able to honor the price a couple of days beyond, or let you buy it with a later delivery date that can be cancelled if it won't fit. I would advise not counting on someone else taking the measurements, because they may not get what you really want. I'd also measure the actual unit in the store and not take the measurements off the card. Sounds like a pain, but a fridge that won't fit is a bigger one.

[Beth]

Gail, you sound a lot like me...I opened every door and checked the freezer vs fridge space on every unit, not just the total cubic footage. They vary by a foot or so between models of similar type. Next, you look at how it's arranged and, like you said, how much is eaten up by the ice maker and dispenser. Most of us have come to accept the loss of some space to an ice maker, but the dispenser will rob you of more. I don't mind too much, but it's because I have a second fridge with a top freezer that's wide enough for anything.

[Deanna]

Ohhh! Keep those comments coming!

I don't use as much freezer space as I did when my son was home...but the WIDTH of the freezer shelves is much smaller on the side by side. A girl here at work just told me the first time she bought a DQ frozen cake it wouldn't fit in her new side by side freezer...

But...other than holidays, I'm not a purchaser of huge items.

And, our water tastes fine around here, but the big plus with these new water/ice dispensers is they have a built-in filter!

[CathyS]

This is great advice!! I too just bought my first place, and the fridge is probably about 30 years old. Does anyone have any guesses to how long a refridgerator should last?
Congratulations, Deanna!!

From Cathy, whose home improvement ideas have become much much greater than her pocketbook!



[This message has been edited by CathyS (edited 07-13-2000).]

[Deanna]

Well girls, here it is! I didn't notice before the neighbor's garage door doesn't match. That kinda sucks but, hey, if that's the only thing I find wrong when I get there, I'll be happy. I was so nervous when I went through the place I probably didn't notice a lot of stuff. It's 22 years old, 3 large bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 10 x 20 kitchen, family room with fireplace and bookshelves built in, mudroom/utility room off kitchen, and patio with privacy fence. 4 ceiling fans! Washer and Dryer (4 yrs old) stay!!

Cathy, I'm with you on the home improvement thing...fortunately this one is in really good shape so anything I do will not be NECESSARY but OPTIONAL! Don't remember if the fireplace has a mantel, but if not, I know someone that custom-builds mantels for high-dollar homes. And the kitchen is currently carpeted (nice carpet) but kitchen carpet bugs me. As much as I cook, I'm always dripping something and insist on a good scrubbing every week, so linoleum is definitely going down soon.

Okay, you can check it out here...go to the bottom of the page and click "Our House..." http://home.sprintmail.com/~msphoebe/index.html

[This message has been edited by Deanna (edited 07-13-2000).]

[Beth]

Cathy, I'd say old refrigerators last longer than new ones, but you're still probably overdue. Think 10-15 years is what they say now. I left one behind on the last move because it was approaching 20 yrs. old. One thing to consider, the older units use a lot more electricity. Also, if it goes out, you'll loose a lot in lost food. If the fridge starts to falter, check out a new one. We were without a fridge for almost a week when I was a kid...the fridge burned.