[stags]

Time to replace the frige and wondering what brand to get. Only have room for a 26 cu.ft. side by side right now and no plans to remodel the kitchen anytime soon so no mega boxes.

Frigidaire seems to be well liked online but I want to hear what my fellow Pontiacers have to say. I'm willing to pay more for "Made in USA" if there is such a thing so whatcha got?

[gary bennett]

frige on top, freezer on bottom.single door. i bought an amana a couple of years ago. we like it

[carcrazy]

All I can say is I'll never have another side by side! 26 cu ft and still can't get a pizza box in it!

[jetallman]

Originally Posted by carcrazy

All I can say is I'll never have another side by side! 26 cu ft and still can't get a pizza box in it!

X2 wasted $1500

[madokie]

yeah about 7 year ago i needed a new one, and looked it up at the library in consumer guide,(consumer reports??) and the Kenmore (sears) was highly recommended,so thats what i got and so far so good,a month after i got it we needed a new one at work and a fridgadaire showed up , it was exactly like mine except for the name.Dont get a SXS not efficient, and Dont get a icemaker either, it hurts the efficiency, use Soapstone ice cubes , being sold on line. just wash after use and put in ice cube storage bin in freezer, no BPH or unknown chemicals in your drink, and drink wont be diluted either,(Boozers use Soapstones for this reason) save on electricity and water.1/3 of your normal electric bill is the fridge, get as small and as efficient as you can.my Kenmore had a higher efficiency rating than anything in its size that lowes or home depot had.FYI my old Tappan microwave will take a full size pizza box !!!!!! i just take out the glass turntable and reheat the hole thing.

[Deadhead]

Kitchen Aid is good. Freezer on top for me. I think it is same as Kenmore.

I have never met a person who likes side-by-side. All my customers who put them in renovations or new homes end up hating them.

[jeffgoss]

New Kenmore refrigerators are made by LG. Not sure how much I like them. I own a Samsung 3 door with bottom freezer. It has been trouble free for 3 years now, but have seen problems with them and the LG stuff.

I still like the Whirlpool/KitchenAid/Maytag/Amana models (they are all owned by Whirlpool now). I don't care for the Frigidaire or GE models.

[69goatboy]

Bought an LG a few years ago because Home Depot had a major sale on it. Fridge on top, freezer on bottom. No problems so far.

But if you're shopping for the man cave, you got to get this one:

[Simple Man]

I like our SxS, wouldn't go back to a top mount.

Ours is a Whirlpool, about 8 years old. No problems at all, just keep the condenser clean, and change the water filter once a year or so.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/n...made/index.htm

Where appliances are made.

[PonchoV8]

I've got one side by side. I like the freezer on the bottom setup better, I believe.
Bending over to get stuff out of the fridge is kinda dumb.

[stags]

We've had a Kenmore side-by-side in the kitchen since we built the house and it works for us but we also have an over-under in the garage for bulky stuff.

After looking at some today, I'm over the Frigidaire - feels cheap - but I am liking the slide out freezer on the bottom design more. After rechecking dimensions, it turns out one of these would fit fine.

Now to decide on a brand. We really liked one of the Samsung and one Whirlpool we saw. We want to look at the Amanas too. Thanks for all suggestions and feel free to throw out some more.

Mark O.

[John V.]

Our first house came with a large coppertone Kenmore SxS already with some miles on it. We left it behind when we moved away in '95, it was about 20 yrs old. I recall having a door switch replaced, don't remember any other issues (except my wife hated the color).

Moved into a new home, bought a white 25 cu. ft. Kenmore SxS. Moved it twice and then replaced it earlier this year, 18 years new. I don't recall any repair part expense. Sold it on Craigslist about $100, it was still in good shape (door handle vinyl was looking kinda worn). For about last 10 years, we kept a cheap Kenmore over & under in the garage, same as stags. It is smallish, mainly used for beverages and freezer items, like loaves of bread, ice cream, frozen pizzas, meats, etc. Very useful while raising 4 boys.

Now just the 2 of us, so the garage fridge only gets plugged in at the holidays if we are having company.

Bought new stainless steel Kenmore French Door fridge with the bottom drawer. Ice maker in the fridge door.

It is counter depth. It is rated about 25 cu. ft. but it would never work with the kids. Fridge doesn't hold a lot compared to the SxS it replaced. My wife likes the bottom drawer set up but the counter depth really limits capacity in the fridge and freezer in my opinion. Makes plenty of ice for 2 of us but would never have kept up like the old SxS if the kids were still here.

But it looks great. Counter depth means less intrusion into the floor space. But forfeits capacity.

Had one issue with the new one. Has door open chimes but apparently the freezer door wasn't quite shut one day but not enough open to trigger the alarm. Ice cream was soft and frost over everything was my clue that night. But that was operator error.

And the ice cubes have had a tendency to freeze together, jam the dispenser (easy to shake them up in the bin but still, not perfect).

I would take another big full depth SxS if we still had kids at home. And it would probably be a Kenmore. Not because of past experience, just because I liked the looks, price, and features (water & air filters for example) as much or better than other brands when we shopped a few months back. Not sure who makes our new one. I did NOT like the ice cube tray mechanism (and not because of the freeze up issue) but it matched the other appliances we were buying for the kitchen redo so wasn't a deal breaker. And there weren't many of this type (which my wife really wanted) that offered in the door ice cube maker, so I couldn't be too choosy.

Good luck with your choice. My wife likes ours, that's all that really matters.

[Andre]

About the only appliance I ever gave any input on was a Fridge. A few years back we got a Samsung (yeah, like the TV) Side by side, with fridge portion on top with shelves that can be configured differently, pull out drawer for canned drinks at waist level, and silde out deep drawer freezer with internal drawers in the bottom. We were also locked in to s particular size due to width, depth, and height (because of overhead cabinets). Its a good piece, but then again there are only 2 of us, and we aren't in and out of the fridge all day long.

[fiedlerh]

Stay away from GE. Knew someone who put it in the alley after 4 years due to a design defect. The condensate drain would freeze, back up, and then it would stop cooling. GE denied there was a problem.

[tom s]

I will second the GE Monogram.My first set lasted 4 yeras and my latest is having a problem after 3.VERY expensive and IMO,not worth the money.Have a GE tech coming friday.Have no clue what I will do next time.Tom

[mrrat1]

Originally Posted by jetallman

X2 wasted $1500

My Whirlpool Gold has plenty of space for a pizza box, it also has lights on both sides. Its our first side by side, and we are very happy so far!
1.5 years old.
We bought a package deal....micro, DW, stove & fridge.

[David Jones]

We bought a Whirlpool Gold back a couple of years ago. I decided that the one with the whole icemaker unit in the door was a good idea. So we bought it. Then I spent the 1st year meeting the repairman at the house to let him in to fix the icemaker in the door. It would either freeze the water line or the icemaker would simply cut itself off (bad switch). All seem to be fixed now. The fridge is also fairly noisy during it's various cycles. And if the ice bin is a bit low, when that icemaker spits out it's 6 cubes you'd think it had tossed them through the door.

Other than that it keeps stuff cold.

[stags]

Lots of good advice here, thanks. Most of the units I've seen so far have the ice maker in the door so I hope they've worked the bugs out . Good idea in theory - never saw much use for those little door racks in a freezer - but not so good if the design is troublesome.

Since the unit we are replacing is a Kenmore and was good to us, I'll take a look at the current line. Thanks for the heads up on Monogram. A salesman tried real hard to sell us that package when we built the house but it seemed too pricey. Maybe a good thing.

[mrrat1]

Originally Posted by David Jones

We bought a Whirlpool Gold back a couple of years ago. I decided that the one with the whole icemaker unit in the door was a good idea. So we bought it. Then I spent the 1st year meeting the repairman at the house to let him in to fix the icemaker in the door. It would either freeze the water line or the icemaker would simply cut itself off (bad switch). All seem to be fixed now. The fridge is also fairly noisy during it's various cycles. And if the ice bin is a bit low, when that icemaker spits out it's 6 cubes you'd think it had tossed them through the door.

Other than that it keeps stuff cold.

this one slipped my mind............I'm a light sleeper and hear it dropping, and refilling. Bedroom is above the kitchen.

[Sirrotica]

Just bought an LG refrigerator bottom freezer unit as they are rated pretty high, they also make units for Sears. A couple years ago we purchased an LG HE washer and dryer have been good so far. We also bought a dishwasher at the same time and went again for a Maytag and the 5 year extended warranty.

I have 2 friends that work in the kitchen dept. of the local HD and that's the brands they have in their own homes and recommend them highly, we shall see.

I will never again have a side by side fridge, hated it but when I married my wife she already had it. They're great if you need exercise by bending over to pickup the stuff that falls out of the freezer onto the floor when you open the door. The ice maker took up at least 35% of the room in the freezer. Probably why we need an upright freezer in the garage taking up valuable real estate.