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...we had gotten good service out of Kenmore (Sears brand) Refrigerators.
...built by Whirlpool.
We tend to buy middle of the road appliances...
That USED TO be me as well.
But since a recent bad experience I won't buy from the "Sears Holding Corp" ever again.
I even hesitate to return a broken Craftsman wrench under 100% warranty.
I'll only speak to my experiences and opinions.. Your mileage may vary..
My grandmother had a Kenmore 'standard' fridge.. Put in in 1976. I replaced it in 2005 for her because the drip pan underneath it rusted out and it was starting to leak water on the floor. She never had anything done to it. Remember the 1970s color schemes? It was the 'Emerald Green", which I always called "Puke Green"
I bought a used Hotpoint when I bought my house in 2006.. Buying all appliances at once, since the house had nothing left in it besides a dishwasher (Bought out of foreclosure) I wanted to save some money.. So found a guy who had a gently used 'standard' fridge and bought it for $100. It's still in my kitchen now, cooling quite nicely. I did, about a year ago, have to put a new evaporator fan in it, which I did myself, and that cost about $60.. Why was a fan $60? Because of all the "Green" initiatives. The fan, rather than just being a fan, is a variable speed fan so that they could make it save 2 cents a month on energy costs.
My neighbor bought his house when it was built, and they had, I believe it was a GE (If it wasn't GE, it was one of the GE-owned brands).. It is a side-by-side.. I've had to replace a defrost temperature sensor (Someone please tell me why anyone would put a sensor designed to open at 150 degrees in a freezer..), the icemaker, and the entire gasket set on that thing. One of the downsides to being known as the neighborhood fix-it guy. The real bad part about this thing is that when I've had to repair it.. It's a mess. I'm not a huge guy or anything, but you try fitting yourself into one of those side-by-side freezer compartments and working on it. Not fun. Which means it won't be fun for your repair guy, which means it'll cost you more on repairs.
I worked at Samsung for a while.. The fridges from Samsung.. Now, admittedly, I worked there, so I really didn't get to hear all the "Oh, I've never had a lick of trouble out of it" stories.. What I got to hear was "This POS is less than a year old, what do you mean the compressor has failed and it'll take a month to get the part from Korea?" and "Who designed this POS? The plastic pieces in my ice could have killed me, i'll sue!".. So, just mentioning that because I may be slightly biased based on what I saw. The fancier you get.. The more problems you're apt to have. Some of the Samsungs even had 2 compressors in them, which is what made them so expensive. One for the freezer, one for the fridge. I think LG does the same.
For me.. When I buy something, I want it to be reliable, and I want to replace it when *I* want to replace it, not because it's worn out or BER (Beyond Economical Repair). So, speaking strictly from that standpoint.. I would go with the classic tried-and-true top freezer/bottom fridge model. They're cheaper, easier to maintain, and less costly to repair. Stay away from anything that has 'zone cooling' in it. If you see anything digital in it.. Stay away. More crap to break.
The model.. Doesn't really make a difference to me. Your Samsungs, LGs and the folks who make the high dollar appliances don't make 'classics'.. So, whether you buy a GE, Whirlpool or one of their subsidiaries, such as Roper or Hotpoint.. You're less likely to have issues. I know that there will be people who go nuts over Roper.. But i've never had an issue with one of their 'classic' fridges.
Editing to add.. To touch back on Samsung a bit.. I know they did this, I assume others do as well. If the fridge fails under warranty (I think they have a 1 year/5 year warranty.. Which is 1 year on the fridge itself, and a 5 year warranty on the 'sealed system', basically the compressor).. If you lost the contents of your fridge while under warranty, they would cover that.. Had to show receipts and it was a PITA, but, they would cover the contents. I'd still stay away. That includes washers/dryers as well.. Even alot of repair people had no idea how to deal with those things. Too computerized. The washers, not being perfectly level would cause them to not run. They're almost too complicated to be consumer products. I lump LG in with this as well.
Just to mention.. I will say that the current vehicle I own.. No power locks, no power windows.. Only reason it has cruise control is because I couldn't find one that didn't have it, and since that's something I can choose not to use, I wouldn't care if it broke. Power locks or windows fail, big cost to get them fixed. So, just mentioning that to help explain some of my reasoning from above. A vehicle should get you from point A to point B. A fridge should keep things cold. Not reorder food for you or wipe your butt. So, don't get one that tries to do any of that and you'll have fewer problems.
Last edited by Labonte18; 06-01-2014 at 09:41 AM..
As mentioned... you need to look at the space and how is relates/functions with adjoining areas.
If clearance for walking is a problem... a side by side might be optimal.
If against a wall... maybe a conventional model would function best and many have swings that can be reversed.
I long ago stopped furnishing any free standing appliances in my rentals.
Some of the least expensive... i.e under $400 on sale or wholesale have been the most trouble free... the more complex the more to go wrong.
Ancient Amana is what I have at home... Freezer from the 60's and Kitchen Refrigerator circa 1980... built solid, weight a ton.
Most of my friends consider 10 years typical for new boxes...
Higher end models can have lots of room to negotiate... brother picked up a very nice, top of the line model with full warranty simply because the new models were coming out... almost like buying a car... the only thing is delivery was not included.
Last year a coworker bought a home and put in the purchase offer for an appliance allowance of $2,000 and her offer was accepted.
That's the thing about Real Estate... just about everything can be negotiated.
Another had their agent buy a new top end refrigerator as a house warming present... the home she sold them cost 1.4 million and the agent knew her clients were disappointed the existing refrigerator was only there as part of the staging... so she simply bought it as a gift.
When you invest in a premium brand fridge, like SubZero, you are getting a much better built unit.
Where that was true with pre-2000 year production units, it's just not the case anymore. The brand "conglomerated" in 2000, and as a result the products that Were commercial in nature, pressed into residential use (just like Wolf, which is part of that conglomerate and also has seen drastic quality decreases) are now no longer way over-built to last a lifetime. To put a fine point on this, consider another brand that's tied into the same group.... it's something you'll normally consider bottom range, disposable, cheap, junk, etc... Hamilton Beach. They produce the same level of counter top appliance, but rebrand it under one of the "Premium" names (Wolf I believe) to charge drastically more money. The companies make out like bandits and consumers get a $20 item for only $200 (well, if they're dumb enough to not do their homework and buy such a thing).
I'm not sure who's Currently making the Sub-Zero residential line refrigerators, but they are *NOT* the same units as were sold pre-2000 or in the commercial lines. What I'm *NOT* saying is that they are bad units, just far from worth the premium the name demands
FWIW, a $1300 Samsung does the dual compressor thing too and I'm sure there are others.
So many people say they like things 'at eye level.
OP, please note (and I'm sure you have) that the top freezer fridges have more food accessible and at easy reach than ANY the bottom freezer models.
If for no other reason than with the TOP freezer brand -- the FREEZER is at 'eye' level -- AND pretty much -- the top TWO inside shelves and DOOR shelves -- are ALL accessible withOUT bending over.
With the bottom freezer -- you ALWAYS have to bend over AND/OR crouch to get ANYTHING out of the freezer.
As it looks like you've decided...that's just too much bending over.
if you like food at 'eye level' -- IMO -- the obvious model that makes the most sense is the top freezer.
Even when it comes automatic ice makers in top mounts they tend to be more prone to overflows / icing up due to the way that they rely on a very simply "drop style" cut off switch.
I have not found this to be a problem with any of the four or five top freezer ice makers I've owned (and if mine ices up tomorrow, it's all your fault! )
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It is true that a SubZero is more expensive upfront but they are extremely long lasting and for folks doing a custom home "for the long haul" it is a "gold standard" for the high end.
Not all of us suffer from conspicuous consumerism.
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Originally Posted by rdflk
So many people say they like things 'at eye level.
OP, please note (and I'm sure you have) that the top freezer fridges have more food accessible and at easy reach than ANY the bottom freezer models.
If for no other reason than with the TOP freezer brand -- the FREEZER is at 'eye' level -- AND pretty much -- the top TWO inside shelves and DOOR shelves -- are ALL accessible withOUT bending over.
With the bottom freezer -- you ALWAYS have to bend over AND/OR crouch to get ANYTHING out of the freezer.
As it looks like you've decided...that's just too much bending over.
if you like food at 'eye level' -- IMO -- the obvious model that makes the most sense is the top freezer.
I agree.
I'll say it again: Headroom. You can bend over to dig stuff out of the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or crisper drawers in a top freezer model because the height of the refrigerator gives you the headroom to do so. There is no headroom with a bottom freezer - you either squat or kneel to get what you want, or you pay bigger bucks to buy a model with drawers or two swing out baskets, not just one.
And with the bottom freezer (at least with the fridge at my job, which has a very shallow top slide out drawer, and the bottom main door drawer that slides out) -- IMO you lose storage space because:
1) the top VERY shallow wire bin drawer is so shallow you can only put FLAT things in it or you wont' be ABLE to pull it open.
2) the drawer is open, coated wire -- so you'll likely only put certain things in it because others would fall through
3) you can't put tall things in the main bottom large drawer bin because they'd block BOTH the top drawer from being pulled out or the bin itself because the top of the time is 'stuck' and caught in the underside of the top wire drawer
4) there's no freezer DOOR storage shelf
AND not to mention -- for me anyway -- I'd never put an open container of any liquid in the bottom freezer.
Sometimes I'll put an open plastic tumbler of iced tea in my top freezer, just to chill it right quick, or maybe I want it to ice up. It can sit it right on the freezer shelf. It will stand right there. In the bottom freezer unless there's room to set it all the way down on the bottom of the door bin -- you're laying it across or tilted over other items in the bin. And if you have to fight or tug to get the door open because something is stick on the top shelf -- you're asking for spillage.
Also it's just quite clear, that with the bottom freezer not as much inside is easily visible at first glance. The only thing you can see right away is whats on top. You have to move stuff out of the way -- and dig to see more.
With the top freezer you can see many more things stacked and side by side, the second you open the freezer door.
With the bottom freezer I feel like I'm always fighting with SOMETHING about it -- either the food inside to see what's in there -- OR pulling out the shallow slide-out tray or pulling the door open if somethings STUCK under the tray.
AND -- as for 'reach' -- once the freezer door is open, you can sort of 'step in' closer to the freezer. With the bottom freezer, regardless of the fact that the top tray and bottom bin can be pulled open -- you're always standing in front of it, so by default you have to bend over and crouch more and reach in more to get to the food at the back.
With the top freezer you open the door and that's it. Simple really.
I think the best place to start is by measuring the width, height and depth of the space where the refrigerator will go. Also ask what kind of clearance you need as I think some refrigerators still require some space between the top of the unit and the cabinets above it.
Once you have the measurements of the space, ask what brands/styles will work in that space. You will probably eliminate 50% to70% of refrigerators that way due to the space limitations. Once you know what will work in the available space you can choose from these brands/styles.
You don't want to spend a lot of time deciding on a style/brand only to find out it will not fit in the available space. My biggest issue was finding a unit that was the correct overall depth for the available space.
These days, bottom freezers that come with multiple drawers and dividers are pretty common and not all that expensive. We just switched to a new french door bottom freezer.
We have always owned (or used with our parents) the old standard (bottom fridge top freezer) and side by sides until our recent fridge died. We decided on a french door and EVERYTHING about it on both the refrigerator and the freezer so much more space efficient and more easily accessible. The bottom freezer with multiple drawers and dividers is so much more user-friendly to us than the side-by-side freezer or the top-freezers I have used in the fast (the top styles are my least favorite).
For what it's worth, we have never had a problem with a through-the-door ice maker or water (no leaks or anything). Hopefully that will continue with this new fridge.
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Not all of us suffer from conspicuous consumerism. 
