Refrigerators

[BobnBev]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.

[retiredguy123]

According to Consumer Reports, it looks like LG gets the best ratings overall for the competitive market (not super high end).

[Bill14564]

We have had good luck with Whirlpool in two houses now. One came with the last house and was still there when we sold it 20 years later, the other came with this house and is still running six years later.

I replaced a timer and a fan in the first and a freezer-refrig vent door in this one. All three were easy do-it-yourself repairs.

[oldtimes]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.

We just bought a Frigidaire 4 door and love it. One of the bottom sections can be temperature controlled to be used either as a freezer or as additional refrigerator space or a cooler.

[kkingston57]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.

Had a top of the line Kitchenaid. Had big problems with the ice and water in the door. Have had a Bosch 3 1/2 years, no problems. Most of the refrigerator problems are in the ice and water lines. Do recommend counter depth. Goes great with the cabinets and does not stick out.

[dewilson58]

According to Consumer Reports, ......................

Seems like a logical place for BNB to research.

:shrug:

[JoMar]

Seems like a logical place for BNB to research.

:shrug:

Bosch

[shaw8700@outlook.com]

Had a top of the line Kitchenaid. Had big problems with the ice and water in the door. Have had a Bosch 3 1/2 years, no problems. Most of the refrigerator problems are in the ice and water lines. Do recommend counter depth. Goes great with the cabinets and does not stick out.

I did exact same thing about fifteen years ago. I bought a Kitchenaid, counter depth, to complete a kitchen remodel I was doing. I had to call out the repair guy numerous times to fix the ice maker. When I sold the house, I made it a present to the buyer. In our next house, I bought LG and haven’t looked back.

[jswirs]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.

Why? I have a Samsung and I love it. Only problem is the ice maker, or, it was a problem until I added a little caulking around the ice make bin, and defrost it with a hair dryer once a month. Now, no problems.

[Veracity]

We just bought a GE Profile 21.9 Cu. Ft. Counter-Depth Side-By-Side Refrigerator (model # PZS22MYKFS) and we love it. We had a Samsung, which we hated for multiple reasons, but mostly because it was extremely noisy.

[westernrider75]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.

We moved our Samsung to the garage when we got our new Thor refrigerator which has been faultless. But honestly we had no trouble with the Samsung either we just wanted a counter depth.

[jebartle]

Never ever get a sub-zero, worst maintenance ever!

[rsmurano]

We replaced our new refrigerator that came in our new house (had a bunch of problems) with the top of the line Samsung 5 door. The bottom left door in the freezer contains the 2 ice trays of different size ice and the bottom right door can be configured for refrigerator or freezer. The water is in the top left inner door in an automatic filled pitcher and also contains a shelf for 2 gallon containers and a shelf for butter. Never had a problem with it and I don’t take out an extended warranty either. It was $3000 but well worth it. Bought the top of the line Samsung gas range to replace the original range and have had no problems. Both units are connected to my iPhone to change temperature settings and to alert me if any of the doors are open and when the gas range has reached the desired temperature.

[Travelhunter123]

Why? I have a Samsung and I love it. Only problem is the ice maker, or, it was a problem until I added a little caulking around the ice make bin, and defrost it with a hair dryer once a month. Now, no problems.

Defrosting once a month?
That is a problem

[CarltonH]

Bosch...Side By Side...Counter depth

[Annie66]

Our Kenmore frig died a few years ago. At the time it was only 3 years old. We had several repairmen come out to replace the compressor, then the evaporator coils, then the distribution fan and the ice maker. I asked each repairmen what manufacturers to stay clear of if I bought a new frig. Each would tell me it was easier to identify the only manufacturers I should consider ---> Frigidare, Whirlpool, KitchenAid and General Electric. I was told that all the other manufacturers used LG parts that are poorly made. One repairman told me about 30% of his business was due to replacing LG compressors.

[forebubba]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.

Had an LG a couple of years back. Within 4 years we had so many repairs, including 2 icemakers, front control screen, main circuit board, and two compressors.
Lowes 5 year warranty was a $$$ savior. They refunded the full cost

[maistocars]

LG 27-29 inch - best there us IMO

[airstreamingypsy]

Never ever get a sub-zero, worst maintenance ever!

That's sad, I've had two of them and they were both great. I guess that don't make them like they used to.

[ridge]

We bought a LG and at 6 months we had to have it repaired. Fan went bad. I asked service guy which band he thought was best. Said all about the same. Often parts are manufactured by same company. He liked LG because they are very quite. All have a lot more electronics so an extended warranty might be good. We usually don't take an extended warranty.

[retiredguy123]

We bought a LG and at 6 months we had to have it repaired. Fan went bad. I asked service guy which band he thought was best. Said all about the same. Often parts are manufactured by same company. He liked LG because they are very quite. All have a lot more electronics so an extended warranty might be good. We usually don't take an extended warranty.
I would never buy an extended warranty for any product. You will almost always lose money.

[Bill14564]

I would never buy an extended warranty for any product. You will almost always lose money.

I don't disagree and I normally don't take extended warranties either, but I think about it differently.

Things I have lost money on yet keep paying:
- Car insurance - over 40 years
- Health insurance - over 35 years though I may be getting some of that back now
- Home insurance - over 30 years
- AAA membership - a few years now
- golf cart towing/rescue - a few years now

I pay all those because however unlikely it may be that I have a problem, I would rather pay the premium today than pay the cost out of pocket later. I wouldn't pay for an extended warranty on my wireless router, if I have a problem I'll just replace it with a different brand. I *might* pay for the warranty on a $2,000 refrigerator to avoid paying again to replace it in the next few years.

You almost always lose money on extended warranties but when you don't lose money, when there is a problem, you're really glad you have one.

[OhioBuckeye]

Yes, like LG. Don’t care for Samsung, I think they’re over rated, expensive & never held up for me. Just my opinion!

[kendi]

We’ve always had good luck with the brands consumer reports find as being reliable.

[kendi]

Yes, like LG. Don’t care for Samsung, I think they’re over rated, expensive & never held up for me. Just my opinion!

Samsung TVs have gone downhill as well.

[nn0wheremann]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.
I have never had a GE, Hotpoint, or Frigidaire that did not last at least 20 years.

[UpNorth]

Yes, like LG. Don’t care for Samsung, I think they’re over rated, expensive & never held up for me. Just my opinion!

LG compressors were the subject of a class lawsuit a few years ago. Had one fail in less than 3 years, and cost to "fix" was not worth it. Bought another brand. But no matter what brand, don't expect today's refrigerators to last like the ones you grew up with. They won't make it to your garage as a secondary unit. The more techno gizmos and gadgets added, the more problems that can happen. Keep it simple, and you might even get more than 5 years out of your purchase.

[SusanStCatherine]

I bought the top of line GE profile French door PFE28KMKUES. We had a faulty electrical harness which they replaced twice. The water filter for the waterline cost around $55 and they want you to replace it every three months and you can only use GE brand as they have a microchip on it. We have had trouble with these filters as half of them spew out excessive amounts of charcoal into the water. We've had 9 service visits and the problem still exists. So we use the bypass and cannot have filtered water unless we want a ton of charcoal in it. GE service is terrible and eventually my salesman went around them and delivered a new fridge. Most of the filters are still bad though. We had a GE fridge years ago and that completely failed on us. It was part of a class action suit that we got a few dollars back. So no more GE refrigerators for us.
The unit we stayed in for design had a whirlpool fridge that was amazing but I don't know how they hold up.
I hate stainless steel so the slate finish GE offered was what I chose. I love the finish but hate the stainless steel handles.
If you get stainless steel, make sure it resists fingerprints. Good luck.

[retiredguy123]

I don't disagree and I normally don't take extended warranties either, but I think about it differently.

Things I have lost money on yet keep paying:
- Car insurance - over 40 years
- Health insurance - over 35 years though I may be getting some of that back now
- Home insurance - over 30 years
- AAA membership - a few years now
- golf cart towing/rescue - a few years now

I pay all those because however unlikely it may be that I have a problem, I would rather pay the premium today than pay the cost out of pocket later. I wouldn't pay for an extended warranty on my wireless router, if I have a problem I'll just replace it with a different brand. I *might* pay for the warranty on a $2,000 refrigerator to avoid paying again to replace it in the next few years.

You almost always lose money on extended warranties but when you don't lose money, when there is a problem, you're really glad you have one.
I have all of those things except the golf cart, since I don't have a golf cart. But, I have them mostly for the liability coverage, where I have a large amount of coverage. But, if they raise my homeowner's insurance too much, they may lose me as a customer. I believe in self-insuring whenever possible. According to Clark Howard, companies that sell extended warranties only spend 8 percent of the premiums collected to pay claims.

[LeRoySmith]

The water filter for the waterline cost around $55 and they want you to replace it every three months and you can only use GE brand as they have a microchip on it.

You could cheat a little. I understand you can carefully peel the lable off one of their filters and stick it to the interior just behind where the filter hangs, this tricks the sensor into thinking there is a genuine GE filter installed. Then you can use a generic filter for much less money and better quality.

[Lottoguy]

I suggest you stay away from the water/ice despenser in the door. These types seem to have the most problems. Get the type with the water despenser in the fridge and the ice that drops inside the freezer. Samsung and LG have the most problems according to a YT expert online.

[rsmurano]

in our last house a few years ago, we had the top of the line Frigidaire and the warranty techs had to come out 8 times before they replaced the unit. We had a GE when we moved in and the tech came out 3 or 4 times for the same problem. Wouldn't replace the unit, so we replaced it. Samsung TVs are very good.

[snbrafford]

We bought a new LG in Sept. 2018. We've had the ice maker replaced twice. Just had the "10 year compressor" replaced. LG provided a new compressor but we had to fork out $1200 to have it installed (should have bought a new refrigerator).
My understanding is that new refrigerators have butane in the refrigerant and only a few technicians can work on them. In fact, the first technician we called came and said he could not work on it. We had to go to LG to find a technician who could install the compressor and that would keep the 10 year warranty valid. We were without a working refrigerator for over 3 weeks.

[lawgolfer]

Go online and read the Consumer Reports ratings of refrigerators. It is the definitive source for all appliances.

All you will learn on this forum is what make/model a person owns and he/she will tell you it is the "best".

[Topspinmo]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.

Who makes what brand?

Appliance411 The Purchase: Who Makes What? (http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/make.shtml)

You may be getting same thing with different name?

[Topspinmo]

///// double post

[MollyJo]

LG French doors w/bottom freezer approx $2,800. In 2.5 years compressor went out. LG paid for new compressor, I paid $650 labor. At 4 years, sealed refrigeration system leaked. I put refrigerator at the curb & called junk p/u. All brands basically the same…junk Warranties worthless, have to wait weeks/months for repairs/replacements. So disappointing…

[Pennyt]

Whirlpool. A repairman for our old refrigerator told us Whirlpool was reliable and easiest to get repaired should you need it.

[rothbear]

We had an LG for 8 years with only the replacement of a sensor. Then the compressor went bad. Compressor still under warranty but try finding someone to work on them. If you can find someone nearby that won't charge an arm and a leg I would still go with LG. Instead we bought a Fridgidaire Professional and it started having problems in less than a week. Fridgidair's customer service was the worst! They set us up with a repair person who was 2 hours away and never showed up or even called to cancel. We normally never buy extended warranties either, but we got a good deal on one from the dealer. I called them up and told them to send somebody down or come and get the piece of junk. Ended up having him come 3 times and order 2 different parts. Seems to be working now but I would never ever recommend Fridgidaire. Also has several inconvenient design aspects that are extremely annoying, including not chilling the water, just dispensing it.

[Snowbug]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.
I am partial to Fridgidaire appliances. Whirlpool is my second choice.

[JRcorvette]

They say to avoid ones with ice maker in the door. For some reason they have problems. Anything made these days is not built to last. Most are made in China. I would definitely get an extended warranty.

[JMintzer]

Never ever get a sub-zero, worst maintenance ever!

We had a Sub Zero in both our homes up north. 17 years on on, over 20 on the other. Not a lick of trouble that wasn't fixed in 30 minutes...

[BigDawgInLakeDenham]

Any new home owners getting rid of the brand new appliances you paid for to buy different ones, I will take them for free

[davidbhill]

No idea what is best, but I would suggest avoiding Whirlpool. Terrible customer service.

[Ignatz]

We bought a top of the line Samsung at our last house and it too had failures in both ice makers.

On the plus side, Samsung covered repairing the ice maker in the door when the unit was well out of warranty.

They wouldn’t cover the lower unit, but the repair tech fixed it as a freebie while he was at the house. Also gave me his cell number to call if it happened again.

I lost the number in the following year when the lower unit acted up again, so it went unrepaired.

The fridge became a gift to the home buyer when we moved.

[Yellowrose]

I asked my appliances repair man which brand he doesn't have to repair. GE Profile was his answer.

[SusanStCatherine]

GE tech said an appliance needs to be declared "not repairable" in order to get it replaced under warranty.

[Eabunte]

Just bought a Speed Queen washer and dryer. I have a set up north so finally replaced the HE Amanda set in the house here. Can’t go wrong with Speed Queen.

[Topspinmo]

No matter what brand need to pull out de-dust unit coils and fan at least one year, if you have pets every 6 months. Leave some space against wall for circulation. Low circulation and dust buildup create heat which kills most refrigerators compressors early IMO. Most people never pull refrigerators out and clean coil area.

[Topspinmo]

I suggest you stay away from the water/ice despenser in the door. These types seem to have the most problems. Get the type with the water despenser in the fridge and the ice that drops inside the freezer. Samsung and LG have the most problems according to a YT expert online.

It’s basically same unit just exits out the door and not visible. Three screws and unplug harness to remove. Ice makers had problems few years ago with plastic gear failure. The problem has been resolved.

[mikempp]

The one with the dent that's 40% off.

[OhioBuckeye]

Samsung TVs have gone downhill as well.
We’ll we just had a warranty problem with them.

[jswirs]

Defrosting once a month?
That is a problem
Why? You can't tell me you don't have an extra 10 minutes per month. Remember, I said defrost with a hair dryer. 10 minutes a month. No problem

[jimmy o]

Any idea which brand is best? Don't even mention Samsung.
I have recently been doing a lot of research on current refrigerator models, and also researched what appliance repairmen had to say on the subject. The results are dim:
*No matter which brand you buy the unit will most likely come from China. GE will offer the best chance of a US made product.
*You can expect about 5 years of operation before repairs will start being needed. Coughing up the money to buy a Viking might get you another year or two.
*The more doors you have on the fridge, the more problems
*The more options you have on the fridge the more problems
* Single most common problem with any fridge is ice maker. Never get one built outdoor ice dispenser. If you must have ice maker get one entirely within freezer, where you must open freezer door to get your ice. Just getting water dispenser in door not so problematic, as it doesn’t need to freeze anything.

That being said, we have an LG. It’s a newer model that was there when we bought the house 3 years ago. It has 3 doors, and an ice maker within lower freezer. So far the only problem has been inside light that stayed on even when door was closed. Repairman could not solve the problem. I did some on-line research and the solution was to swap the incandescent lights out with LEDs. Crazy as it sounds that actually worked. When this fridge conks out I’ll probably replace with a 2 door, lower freezer with ice maker inside the freezer. I will take the word of all the repairmen reviews I read and will but the cheapest one I can find and not worry about the model.

[OhioBuckeye]

You’re exactly right, but like I said it was just my opinion, some people might think Samsung is the best thing since slice bread. Just like cars likes & dislikes. I get the same model car because I worked for them but if tell you which brand someone surely will tell me they’re junk, that’s OK. It’s just my opinion!

[BobnBev]

Thanks to all who replied. My mind is whirling.:22yikes:

[mrf0151]

We've had a LG French Door Fridge for 12 years now. We do not use a lot of ice, so the indoor ice maker is just fine. Water delivery through the door works great.
We have had NO problems with this LG. We bought a 4 package of LG appliances at the same time, and all have had NO issues. Knocking on wood here.

[Byte1]

Any refrigerator that has the water and ice in the door (of the refrigerator and not in the freezer portion) will have problems with freezing up and being a royal pain in the ***. This is what the majority of the "expert" reviews said on Google and Youtube. They also said that you should get the ones with the ice maker in the FREEZER part, so that temperature doesn't fluctuate so often, which seems to be the cause when the ice maker is in the cooling/refrigerator section. Other than that, each one had their preference for brand. In my case, I replaced my old refrigerator (that was still working fine) with a new Samsung (which had good reviews and I bought on sale) and I have had to defrost my ice maker (in the cooling/refrigerator section door) at least every month or two. I understand that Samsung has been sued and have repaired some folks' machines free. When I contacted them, they wouldn't do it free, so I will continue to defrost mine until I replace it. The cost of repair can reach as high as $500. I like the idea of a filtered drinking water from the refrigerator, because the water here is not good at all. I also have a whole house filter that looks terrible when I replace it. The filter looks like it is covered with mud, which is surprising considering we live in the Villages and should have decent water.

[Topspinmo]

Any refrigerator that has the water and ice in the door (of the refrigerator and not in the freezer portion) will have problems with freezing up and being a royal pain in the ***. This is what the majority of the "expert" reviews said on Google and Youtube. They also said that you should get the ones with the ice maker in the FREEZER part, so that temperature doesn't fluctuate so often, which seems to be the cause when the ice maker is in the cooling/refrigerator section. Other than that, each one had their preference for brand. In my case, I replaced my old refrigerator (that was still working fine) with a new Samsung (which had good reviews and I bought on sale) and I have had to defrost my ice maker (in the cooling/refrigerator section door) at least every month or two. I understand that Samsung has been sued and have repaired some folks' machines free. When I contacted them, they wouldn't do it free, so I will continue to defrost mine until I replace it. The cost of repair can reach as high as $500. I like the idea of a filtered drinking water from the refrigerator, because the water here is not good at all. I also have a whole house filter that looks terrible when I replace it. The filter looks like it is covered with mud, which is surprising considering we live in the Villages and should have decent water.

My ice maker in the freezer and ice falls through trap door to outside. Only problem I had was when piece of ice stuck the trap door open small amount. That’s cause heavy frost build up. Just had to reach up and clear the problem and get rid of frost.

I won’t by LG or Samsung do to TV and appliance problems. Seemed to fail just after warranty out. Samsung gas stove very small leaks at burners, kept smelling faint gas and used lighter and seen slight flicker. 3 out of five flickered.

My refrigerator filter looks same after 6 or so months. Must be swap water?

[Topspinmo]

We've had a LG French Door Fridge for 12 years now. We do not use a lot of ice, so the indoor ice maker is just fine. Water delivery through the door works great.
We have had NO problems with this LG. We bought a 4 package of LG appliances at the same time, and all have had NO issues. Knocking on wood here.

1 out of 1000…:duck:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoD2O4XKS7Q

[Pairadocs]

We have had good luck with Whirlpool in two houses now. One came with the last house and was still there when we sold it 20 years later, the other came with this house and is still running six years later.

I replaced a timer and a fan in the first and a freezer-refrig vent door in this one. All three were easy do-it-yourself repairs.

Well our side by side Whirlpool is about 6 yrs. old now, has started to FREEZE everything in the refrigerator, the eggs, milk, lettuce, etc. etc. Now have set it down all the way to "1" (zero won't work as that shuts it off so have to leave it at least on "1"). Any ideas what's going on ????

[retiredguy123]

Well our side by side Whirlpool is about 6 yrs. old now, has started to FREEZE everything in the refrigerator, the eggs, milk, lettuce, etc. etc. Now have set it down all the way to "1" (zero won't work as that shuts it off so have to leave it at least on "1"). Any ideas what's going on ????
I don't know, but it sounds like something that can be fixed because, obviously, the compressor is working.

Call Beck's at 352-245-3598.

[Topspinmo]

Well our side by side Whirlpool is about 6 yrs. old now, has started to FREEZE everything in the refrigerator, the eggs, milk, lettuce, etc. etc. Now have set it down all the way to "1" (zero won't work as that shuts it off so have to leave it at least on "1"). Any ideas what's going on ????

If it was mine first thing I would do would be defrost by unplugging while was heating up frost melting pull it out and clean coils and fan. After the defrost plug it in monitor with infrared thermometer. If that didn’t work I would utube the problem see if their simple fix? It that don’t work call repairman.

Here’s one several on Utube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgfqB6pf6vI

It maybe as simple as that?

Some will as why defrost? Cause it could be ice build in blocking vents or doors. Besides defrosting and cleaning so won’t be embarrassing when repairman pulls it out and says should be cleaned every 6 months….:shocked:

[Bill14564]

Well our side by side Whirlpool is about 6 yrs. old now, has started to FREEZE everything in the refrigerator, the eggs, milk, lettuce, etc. etc. Now have set it down all the way to "1" (zero won't work as that shuts it off so have to leave it at least on "1"). Any ideas what's going on ????

Sounds like the same problem we had, just the opposite condition.

In ours, inside the refrigerator compartment on the top left side is a box with a filter and some vents. There is a little motor in there that opens and closes a vent to the freezer section. Ours froze closed which blocked cold air from coming to the refrigerator side and caused it to warm up. It sounds like yours is frozen open so that it never stops the cold air from coming into the refrigerator side regardless of how you set the thermostat.

First thing I would try is removing the box/motor/vent and allowing it to defrost. If nothing else is broken then this might solve the problem. Block the hole to the freezer while you are doing this and the refrigerator side should warm up. I actually replaced mine and I can probably find the invoice and send you information if you need to do that too.

Look for a YouTube on how to remove the box but it was pretty simple.