Purchasing New French Door Fridge TODAY -- Any Advice?

[liu]

Our 20-year-old GE refrigerator died last night, so we are going to purchase a new French- door refrigerator (double doors on top with bottom freezer). Our current space is about 38" wide with 6' height, and we don't have time to remodel!!!!

I solicit any last minute suggestions, advice, warnings, experiences. etc. I'd love to hear it all before we make this major purchase. What should we buy? Most important to us are: the most refrigerator space we can fit into our space, and the most reliable, best-made refrigerator for this space.

Thanks for anything you can offer!

[mnosyne]

This month's Consumer Reports has a feature on refrigerators (brands, type of model, frequency of repair, etc.). It's a good thing to look at.

[liu]

mnosyne, Yes, this was the first place we searched, both online and our set of old issues. Coincidentally, the new issue that was in my mailbox today (AFTER returning home from our purchase!) featured the reliability of various products, including refrigerators!

[othervoice]

I've been in the market myself. I wish I had your space. I'm looking for the French doors also. I also must have an ice maker. Whirlpool makes a nice one and I just bought a new Whirlpool stove and washer and dryer. So far I'm satisfied. I searched at length through Sears and the people in their sales department were untrained and unprofessional. I went to Best Buy and found their staff extremely easy to deal with. Plus the prices were a little better.

[Jane917]

Let us know how you like your new fridge. I will soon be in the market for one myself for our new house that will be completed in a few months. My parents bought an Amana French Door and seem to like it. I am somewhat addicted to my ice/water on the freezer door, so don't know if I would really like the French Door. The Whirlpool fridges are highly rated in the recent consumer's report magazine.

[liu]

Hi, Jane917. Actually, we looked for the Amana French-door, but it was not on the floor of the appliance warehouse. Our time was precious, and we really felt compelled to purchase something so we could get delivery as quickly as possible...maybe we can still salvage a few of our sauces in the fridge that we now have!

So, in our "rush," we were directed by the salesman to their KitchenAid (made by Whirlpool) French-door, 25 cu.ft., model KBFA25ERSS (stainless steel). Actually, all of the French-door bottom freezer refrigerators look pretty similar -- with minor differences. Of course, it's the inside "workings" where we need to trust the saleman. We had just purchased two other major appliances at this same warehouse, so we were hoping that the salesman gave us his "A" game. I will know only in time...

I will say that we compared a few, side-by-side, and some were sloppier when closing the freezer drawers than others; the KitchenAid seemed pretty solid.

If anyone else has any experience with these, I do hope they will post. And to everyone here who did post to assist in our decision process, I thank all of you!

[Jane917]

My current fridge is a Kenmore made by Whirlpool. It is 5 years old, a side-by-side, and I am very happy with it. I would take it to our new house, but the buyers of our current house wanted the refrigerator to stay, and it seemed like a small concession. Thanks for the tip on checking the integrity of the doors. I might have time to go look at appliances this weekend. Jane

[liu]

Jane917 -- When I reading back through every Chowhound post I could find about refrigerators, quite a few pointed out that if the freezer drawers were not pushed in completely, the freezer door would not close securely. There is supposed to be an alarm on many fridges that will signal an open door, but I think this was too slight an opening to detect for the alarm to signal, so the door remained open.

So, when I was pushing and pulling on the freezer DRAWERS to see how easily they pushed in and out, I noticed that some were sloppy and others were a little more secure...pretty much the same difference as in file cabinets. And full, these drawers are under much more stress.

One other feature I noticed that was different from my 20-year-old GE was that the water filter is IN the fridge, instead of on the outside back. In the past, we needed to move the fridge to change the water filter; now, the design permits much easier changing: just push aside a quart of milk!

I will know more about all of this after tomorrow when we are getting delivery. I am really anxious to see how everything fits...will I gain or lose weight?

When you shop, I would definitely compare the Amana with the KitchenAid (Whirlpool). I would love to hear about your findings...happy shopping!

[liu]

othervoice -- Thanks for conveying your confidence in Whirlpool products. Indeed, they do make many appliances with other names on them...KitchenAid, for one.

I love Sears for many things, but appliances are not among them. We have purchased major appliances from them in the past, bought their service contracts, and then had much difficulty getting service within a reasonable time (two weeks wait on a washing machine is not reasonable!). I much prefer an appliance discount store. I am glad that you found better service elsewhere. Did you buy a fridge yet? I hope you will report back.

[othervoice]

Glad to see you had some luck finding what you needed, unfortunatly we need to do some remodeling in order to fit the size we need. I've been so busy cooking in my new oven I can't find time to go shopping...:-)

[liu]

"...can't find the time to go shopping..." Ha-Ha! It must be fun to cook in your new stove! Your Whirlpool washer and dryer -- which ones? We just bought the Whirlpool Duet front-load washer, and are quite pleased with it. We have it on a drawer stand, and I love that extra space!

On the other hand, I am not so pleased with the new KA fridge. First, even though we bought stainless steel, the sides are black...not to our liking. We thought the stainless wrapped around the sides further. Also, when we just transferred our foodstuff into it, it seems much smaller than our 20-year-old GE. I am just not liking the inside shelf/drawer configuration; on the other hand, the freezer drawer at the bottom is much larger than we need, even with the ice-maker taking up space.

Enjoy your new appliances, and when shopping for a refrigerator, take your time.

[Jane917]

Sorry for your initial disappointment with the KA, but perhaps with a bit of time you will adjust to the new configuration of the shelves and drawers. When I got my new fridge 5 years ago, I remember not being able to find anything because of the new configuration. Now I will have to go through that all over again when I buy a new fridge for my new house. I am not sure yet if I will take the leap to stainless steel. I guess it will depend on the rest of the appliances I chose, but I still like the "cleaness" of white appliances. Jane

[liu]

I, also, prefer white appliances, and they give off more light in the kitchen and laundry room.

Jane, a huge thanks to you for your support and encouragement!

[Jane917]

Liu, does the French door fridge also come in white? I think I have seen them only in stainless. I live in a small area in Washington, and don't have a lot of choices to shop. I want to get the largest fridge for the space, even though we have an extra fridge and full freezer in the garage.

I have to pick out stove, diswasher, and microwave too. Any comments on these? Jane

[liu]

Hi, Jane!
Yes, we have seen the French-door refrigerators in white; actually, we have seen different white surfaces (some smoother or bumpier than others), but I don't remember which brands. I think the bumpier finish will appear cleaner. I must tell you that the stainless is very difficult to keep smudge-free.
Our KitchenAid refrigerator is 25 cu/ft., the largest we could find in the French-door style; it does protrude beyond the cabinets, but we wanted the extra space. KA also makes a 20cu/ft. that is not as deep, therefore will blend better with cabinet depth. For our use, however, nothing smaller would have served us.

I can't offer you much information on your stove or microwave, but I know if you post separately on those, you will stir up some useful responses. However, just a couple of months ago we bought a Miele dishwasher. It's an Optima model, not their costliest, but not their simplest. I wanted a digital readout of the time remaining on the wash, and I also wanted a model that offered us a little more insulation for noise control. We are very happy with the Optima. It has the silverware rack at the very top, so the other two tiers are all for dishes. Although the regular cycle is a little long at about 2 hours (yes, there are shorter options), it does a very nice job of both washing and drying.
We seriously considered the Bosch, but I was told that the drying system is different and not as effective as the Miele -- for our use because I like to unload the dishwasher as soon as it is done.

Happy shopping!

[cleaningmom]

I was wondering if your KA refrigerator has been reliable and quiet over the past 2 years. I have been searching for a reliable refrigerator for months and need to make a decision soon. Thanks for any help!

[Normandie]

cleaning, not liu here, but I noticed your post and just thought I'd throw in my two cents, for what they're worth. ;-) We built our house about four years ago and my budget priorities at the time were to buy good cabinetry, and the cooktop and hood of my dreams, figuring I'd update the other stuff later. So, I bought a fairly fundamental KitchenAid refrigerator. Not the least expensive model, but most certainly not their top end. Knock on wood, no problems whatsoever, so far. I have one tiny complaint, which is that the kickplate was cheaply made and poorly designed. It hasn't broken or split or anything, but it's hard to put back on the clips that hold it after I remove it for vacuuming, etc. However, inside the appliance--well, it maintains temps very well and for something that was so reasonably priced it has as standard some of the features of the more expensive ones I looked at--e.g., all pull out shelves, all items height-adjustable, inside and on the door, except for the bottom bins (obviously), everything easily dissembled and reassembled for cleaning, two vertical bottle holders so I can set wine on its side, etc. I will let you know that I refuse to buy refrigerators with automatic ice makers, so I cannot attest to KA's if you're interested in that feature. We've just upgraded the oven in the kitchen (delivery this week), and I look forward to doing that with the refrigerator at some point, too, but there's no pressing need. This has served well mechanically and practically, so far.

[Politeness]

cleaningmom, your best sources for actual consumer experiences are probably here: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/ and here: http://forums.consumerreports.org/n/p...

From the latter forum, there are two recurring themes: (1) through-the-door water and ice models are far and away the most repair-prone, and (2) it seems that LG jumped into the North American refrigerator market before it got its product sorted out, and purchasers of LG refrigerators are really beta testers.

As our refrigerator is more than 14 years old -- still running well, knock on wood -- we have been doing pre-research in preparation for the inevitable; and on the basis of comments on the above fora, were we to have to replace ours today, we probably would go with a KitchenAid KBRS22KVxx (where xx is the color code). If Miele (or Liehberr, which apparently is a subcontractor for Miele refrigerators) sold regular depth refrigerators in North America, they would be at the top of our list to check out, but one gives up a lot of storage space with cabinet-depth refrigerators.

[liu]

Hi, cleaningmom!
More than two years later, our KA (Model #KBFA25ERSS01) French Door with bottom freezer has been running without any hiccups! It took awhile to get used to the configuration (as it might take with any appliance change), but we have not had any service needs. For example, after two years, I have become used to having to open both doors to pull open the large storage tray. We have an ice maker, but we chose not to have water come through the door. There is an inside spigot which has been fine as long as you don't remove the glass too quickly while the water continues to drip for a moment after shut-off.

Like most fridges, they are meant to be used. If we are gone for some time and don't open and close the door, we might return to a few pockets of semi-frozen foods in the refrigerator section. However, with normal, daily use the cooling seems pretty even and appropriate for the various sections and drawers.

My friend, who has a side-by-side, is frequently complaining to me about the limited capacity for trays in her set-up. We came from a side-by-side, and this French door model is much more adaptable to wide trays. Also, as others have mentioned, the inside is made for easy cleaning.

I don't know your preferences, but I would not select stainless steel exterior again. Smudges show and the stainless panel calls for more continuous maintenance. Also, on our particular model, the front is stainless while the sides are black. The black was a bit of a surprise; we thought the stainless would wrap around. Perhaps this style has changed, however, since we bought ours.

cleaningmom, I do hope you will post and let us know how you are doing and what decisions you are making.

[othervoice]

We also bought the Duet and so far so good. Sorry to hear about the fridge,
Are the shelves adjustable?

[p.j.]

liu,
We went shopping for a new fridge on Sunday, also in a semi-emergency mode (we have a smaller second fridge/freezer in the basement). We also noticed how the refrigerator compartments were smaller, relative to larger freezers, and we didn't like the shelf configurations, which only allow for shorter items, not wine bottles, etc.
We decided yesterday afternoon to spend $150 and fix the 14 yr. old Whirlpool, and take our time shopping for a replacement.
I share your frustration with current refrigerator design, and the lack of choices. Argh! p.j.

[liu]

Hi, p.j.! Yes, you are exactly correct in pointing out that the shelf configuration does not permit tall storage.

We are using the doors for tall bottles, but this space is not adequate. I like to keep several water bottles in the inside fridge, and the space that is left is not enough for juice bottles or wine bottles or tall sauces. I echo your grumbles of lament: "ARGH!"

I think you are wise to give yourselves the necessary time to smartly shop for your fridge; it is such an important purchase that can make or "break" the smooth functioning of your kitchen.

Happy leisurely shopping, and please do let us know what you find.

[p.j.]

Thanks for your kind reply, liu. I feel very lucky that we were able to find someone to come out and diagnose the problem at a reasonable price, so we could avoid having to buy something that would just be upsetting. As you said, a refrigerator is a major purchase, and one that is expected to be "lived with" for years.

Re "argh": I feel so frustrated that industrial designers seem to be so clueless about what people need to store in their refrigerators! I don't think we are so abnormal as to need a couple of square feet of shelf space for water bottles, wine, ketchup, etc.

BTW, I felt somewhat the same frustration yesterday, searching with my daughter for an appropriate 8th gr. graduation dress. Who are these designers and what are they thinking???
I will report back, p.j..

[liu]

I'm laughing, p.j. about the graduation dress designers...why is "appropriate" so difficult to find?? Perhaps the same engineers who design refrigerator shelves are also concurrently designing graduation dresses!

Just this morning I spent -- uh, rather, wasted -- quite a bit of time trying to put away my groceries and find a space for a carton of grapefruit juice AND a bottle of grape juice..."argh" yet again!

I will look for an update from you on your refrigerator shopping!

[coney with everything]

Same issue here--just bought an LG botttom freezer, not French door. It is smaller than our old POS Frigidaire that it replaced, which we knew going in. But the shelf configuration is not friendly to taller containers, and they tell you not to store milk in the door but it really is the only good place for it.

[liu]

Even with the French door fridge that we have, the doors are the only place to store tall bottles and milk containers. Otherwise, if the shelves are configured to hold tall items, the remaining others are too short for anything.

[p.j.]

Liu,
Fortunately, knock on wood, the 16 1/2 yr. old Whirlpool is still working, although we did have a problem with the drain line freezing up last spring. Apparently it is a design flaw. Other than the fact that most of the drawer glides are broken and the handle screw keeps loosening, it is doing o.k. My dollars are now earmarked for college tuition!
p.j.

[liu]

Hi, p.j.!
I think 16+ years is ancient for a fridge in today's arithmetic...glad to hear yours is still ticking!

In the long run, I'm sure your college education will prove more useful than cold milk or access to whatever is in those drawers that won't open!

[p.j.]

Hi Liu,
Our milk is staying cold, and we use the drawers (larger than the drawers available on new fridges - one for fresh fruit and the other for some of our veggies) everyday: they just don't glide smoothly. A bit of a shove to close them .
In other words, the fridge is working just fine.

It is our son's current college education that is being paid for. Then our daughter's.
Take care, p.j.

[jujuthomas]

I bought an Amana french door fridge last year and I LOVE it. I can't believe how much more room it has than our old one - in the same amount of space. The only issue we've had is that the water line froze for the filtered water - the repair man from the appliance store said they are aware of it and have addressed it on the newer models.

[liu]

jujuthomas -- Did you buy stainless steel? If so, how are you maintaining it? If not, what color did you buy?

[jujuthomas]

I bought black, not SS, although I was tempted. But I'm going for a less modern look when I renovate (someday).

[paradox]

I saw a Samsung French door at Lowes. The saleswoman there seemed to be very knowledgable and helpful and said that the Samsungs had had the fewest reported problems of the brands they sell. They're also priced well. We're looking at the platinum color (fake magnetic stainless). Has anyone had any experience with Samsung refrigerators?

[Jen76]

We just bought a black Samsung French Door model at Lowe's. We've had it a little over 2 weeks now and so far so good. I love it. We originally had not intended to get through-the-door ice and water, but my husband decided he really wanted that feature. Since Lowe's had a great sale, we saved quite a bit off the MSRP, too. Here's a link to the model we purchased:

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/ap...

I feel like we have a lot more space in the refrigerator portion than we did in the old Side-by-side we had. And I'm surprised at how big the freezer is and I love that my toes are no longer at risk of being crushed by some falling frozen hunk of something.

I really think the styling is the nicest of all the brands. So far it's running great. It's very quiet compared to our old one. The only minor complaint we might have is that there doesn't seem to be as much vertical space for tall bottles. But, that is sort of solved by the flip-up shelf, so it's not bad.

[liu]

Hi, Jen76!
It sounds llike you are pretty happy with your Samsung French door fridge.

I completely agree that this design does not offer a lot of tall-bottle space. I have had to adapt and think twice about tall purchases.