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A problem with top-freezer models is that they are generally every manufacturer's "bottom of the line" units that seldom have high-end quality features.
Not everyone needs or wants "high-end" refrigerators; all refrigerators keep the food cold or frozen.
I see what you mean but overall I still liked our side by side better.
no worries. To each their own. Definitely nothing wrong with a side-by-side if it suits your needs! We just find the new french door much more space-efficient for us.
Not everyone needs or wants "high-end" refrigerators; all refrigerators keep the food cold or frozen.
I meant high-end in terms of quality. "High-end quality" is what I said.
I think I made the point clearer with the example of the top-freezer design not having energy-efficient design. Clearly, if someone is trying to save money they would want energy-efficient design. Cutting back on features is one thing, but I don't think anyone wants to cut back on basic design and construction quality.
Preferring a top-freezer design shouldn't require accepting a noisier, less efficient, shorter-lived machine...but that's what manufacturers are making.
A problem with top-freezer models is that they are generally every manufacturer's "bottom of the line" units that seldom have high-end quality features. I'm not seeing any that have modern energy efficiency technology, for instance. They're like the "economy cars" American car makers produced in the 70s...cheap by design and cheap in design.
Funny since cold air sinks and the cold from the freezer actually cools the refrigerator section. Would be more efficeint to keep the freezer on top.
I know I have posted this before but I HATE our french door refrigerator. I like the freezer on the bottom though the drawers are hard to keep organized. What I really dislike is having to open two doors to get into the refrigerator section. Putting large items in it is a hassle since you have to deal with two doors. We use to have a single door freezer on the bottom which we liked much better. The only problem is to get the larger capacity you either must go for french door or side-by-side. I swear next time we will get the smaller refrigerator and deal with it. Jay
Not everyone needs or wants "high-end" refrigerators; all refrigerators keep the food cold or frozen.
I agree that not everyone needs high end. However, I certainly don't think ours (or similar priced models) is anywhere near high end or luxury. Ours is mid-grade.
I agree with you that there is nothing wrong with a cheap top-freezer model if that is all you want and need. No argument there and I don't think anyone is saying that you needed to spend more and I would feel no obligation into trying to talk someone into buying more than that if they were content with that style.
However, there is a BIG gap between bare-bones minimum (aka "not caring about anything but keeping the food cold") and high-end. This big gap is filled with various mid-grade refrigerators with combinations of options and features such as ice-makers, filtered water, flexibility in where the freezer is located, flexibility in the internal compartmentalization, etc. Items that maybe cost a few hundred extra and may be viewed as worth it to some people in an appliance that gets used multiple times a day.
You seem to imply that anything above the bare-minimum is high-end. It's kind of akin to you buying a 2-door civic with no AC or power windows (which is fine) but then referring to a 4-door civic with AC, power windows, and an mp3 player as "high end" even though there are other much more expensive luxury cars on the market.
Last edited by Sunbather; 06-02-2014 at 03:36 PM..
I was researching refrigerators a while back, and found a number of sources that said that water lines and the accessories they go to are the most frequent item requiring service in refrigerators.
-- The built-ins run $4000 to $8000 each. Ouch. And a little searching should reveal that they aren't as reliable as they used to be (but this is true for virtually all refrigerators). The shorter life-expectancy of today's refrigerators is a good argument for leaning toward frugality and toward basic models. There may be some prestige associated with style, but there's also some stigma attached to "slave to fashion" and "fool and his/her money."
I was researching refrigerators a while back, and found a number of sources that said that water lines and the accessories they go to are the most frequent item requiring service in refrigerators.
-- The built-ins run $4000 to $8000 each. Ouch. And a little searching should reveal that they aren't as reliable as they used to be (but this is true for virtually all refrigerators). The shorter life-expectancy of today's refrigerators is a good argument for leaning toward frugality and toward basic models. There may be some prestige associated with style, but there's also some stigma attached to "slave to fashion" and "fool and his/her money."
Agreed, but many people are talking about fridges in the $1XXX range which is why I don't understand where that is getting called "high-end." It's like the gap between the low-end and the high-end is completely ignored here and if you want any feature other than keeping food cold you're paying for superfluity. I don't see anyone saying to buy a $4000 fridge, but people are acting like a $1400 fridge should be a 1% luxury.
Funny since cold air sinks and the cold from the freezer actually cools the refrigerator section. Would be more efficeint to keep the freezer on top.
Compare the energy efficiency labels. You're rarely see the lower end models--the top-freezer designs--will also have less energy efficiency, rarely if ever achieving "Energy Star" ratings. Cheaper designed cooling systems? Less insulation? Whatever--the point I'm making is that manufacturers don't build the different designs to equal levels of efficient design and technology.
1. What's your preference: top freezer, side-by-side, or french door with freezer below.
2. There's no water line in the kitchen for a fridge: is it worth it to have one installed and get a fridge with an ice maker or water/ice in the door?
3. Brands that you like? GE, Samsung, etc?
My preferences:
1. Top freezer
2. I think an ice maker is worthwhile. I never use the filtered cold water in the door.
3. Mine is Kenmore and I love it.
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