Cat Lady Kydia Music 🇺🇦

So besides Doots March Madness and the Song I've Been Working On, I’ve been researching refrigerators.

I'm 95% sure of the oven we want, but having more trouble finding a fridge/freezer combo that will
1) be reliable
2) be 36” wide
3) counter depth
4) French door
5) panel-ready
6) good customer support IN THE U.S.

And why are all refrigerators nowadays so muscle-y looking? This is another reason I don’t want stainless steel. 💪

Anyone have input/experience with a recent fridge purchase?

Apr 2, 2024 at 2:39amWeb
Show threadCat Lady Kydia Music 🇺🇦Apr 2, 2024

Also most fridge/freezer combos that fit these requirements are 84” tall and our ceilings are only 91” tall and the Miele sales rep said we couldn’t have a 84” tall fridge as a result because of how far you’d have to tip it to get it thru the door and installed …? Something about the compressor couldn’t tip that far or something. Anyone know if that’s true across the board?

#Appliances #Fridge #refridgerator #Kitchen #KitchenRemodel

Show threadSluether  Apr 2, 2024

@KydiaMusic any appliance with a compressor should be kept upright because of the oil in the compressor motor. My understanding is that tipping it too far could cause the oil to accidentally drain into the coolant lines.

I would think it'd be fine if you let the unit sit upright so the oil drains back, but I don't actually know. Every appliance I've seen with a compressor (AC, dehumidifier, etc.) is adamant about keeping it upright. I've seen plenty of people with window AC units sitting on their sides in a narrow window, so maybe it depends on the appliance?

Show threadNerviest InitialApr 2, 2024
@KydiaMusic
They had to practically disassemble our fridge to get it through our kitchen door, so that sounds bogus to me. Pretty sure they tipped it on a dolly too. Also, the height of your ceiling has no bearing on how high your door is, which is what would dictate how much they'd have to tip the fridge. Most people's doors are going to be 80 inches, so an 84 inch fridge is going to have to tip to get through them no matter how tall the ceilings are. But I'm not a fridge installer so I may be missing something.
Show threadEliseApr 2, 2024

@KydiaMusic We got a new Frigidaire, but nothing like that design. I can say that we had a Whirlpool freezer conk out after only a few years (right after the warranty expered, ofc) so if their refrigerators are the same way, that's not ideal

Huh... only thing that comes to mind is its diagonal height - if they can't carry it in upright and it has to tipped, standing it up might be an issue? 🤷‍♀️

Show threadNerviest InitialApr 2, 2024

@KydiaMusic
French doors may be hard to come by. It seems like they went out of fashion right after we bought our previous fridge, and now it's all partial-French-door top with drawer freezer bottom. Given the trouble we had with ours, full French doors may be more difficult to design.

My advice, based on two fairly recent fridge purchases, is to get an ice maker but not one which dispenses ice, and don't bother with a water dispenser. You lose more space with the mechanics and they're prone to breakage. Our current fridge makes ice in a big bin and we can just scoop out what we need. A water pitcher is easier to store and the filters are cheaper and less likely to leak all over your floor.

Samsung seems to be a reasonably reliable brand, medium price. We've had our current fridge for a few years now and are happy with it. It's stainless though.

Customer support is probably more a function of where you buy from than what brand you buy, at least in my experience. If you're concerned about it, it might be worth checking out various extended warranty options. But even then there's no guarantees, unfortunately. I've had decent luck with the Allstate protection plans that Home Depot uses, and they're reasonably cheap, but I don't know that they'd meet your needs.

Show threadCat Lady Kydia Music 🇺🇦Apr 2, 2024

@intransitivelie

Oh yes I do mean the kind where the French doors are on top with a freezer drawer on the bottom, rather than a side-by-side. Sorry that wasn’t clear.

Thanks for the tip about ice maker/water dispenser! I was ambivalent about the water dispenser, so that’s good info to know.
All the brands I looked at that actually fit most/all of my parameters required any repairs be done by a certified technician or it voids the warranty, tho.
When did you buy your Samsung?

Show threadNerviest InitialApr 2, 2024
@KydiaMusic
We bought our previous fridge... 9 years ago, I think? The current one, probably 3 years ago. Maybe 4. COVID has really done a number on my ability to figure out dates. The previous one was from HHGregg before they went out of business, but they still honored the warranty, which was good. The current fridge is from Home Depot.
Show threadCat Lady Kydia Music 🇺🇦Apr 2, 2024
@intransitivelie
Thanks! What prompted you to purchase your new fridge? New home/a move? What was your criteria?
Show threadNerviest InitialApr 2, 2024

@KydiaMusic
The previous fridge was because we moved to our house. But it was nothing but trouble, largely due to the water and ice maker, honestly. We had a warranty though, so they had to send a service tech, and then eventually they decided it would cost more to fix than it was worth so they gave us a percentage on its value to buy a new fridge.

Our criteria both times were a combination of price and size. Obviously we wanted to go for a decent fridge, but it was sort of a balancing act. The only complaint I have with our current fridge is the size of the freezer, but I think we really need a separate chest freezer, we just have no place to put it. But it's quite large. Not counter depth, standard, but not as tall. But we've got ours with a cabinet surround so the depth isn't an issue.

Oh, one other thing about the French doors: if your floors aren't level, it can sometimes cause issues, so make sure your installers shim up the fridge so it's level. We didn't and I had to do it later myself because the French doors wouldn't seal properly. If you've got a newer house it's probably not an issue, but our house is ancient and nothing's plumb.