[Ben M.]

I've had 2 new ones in recent years. I went solely with the biggest yet no frills options models I could get. Freezer on top, fridge on bottom. White Kenmore and white GE, only had an ice maker in the freezer. Neither were more than $600 and both worked perfectly without issue.

I would say the biggest issue I read and hear about is the super fancy models with expensive electronics and strange compressor routings.

[John V.]

George, only going by what the label inside the door says. IIRC, this Kenmore may have been made by Samsung. Whoever labeled it for Sears also offers a similar model with the same door closure design and I think same ice maker. You could buy both at Sears. I remember we bounced back and forth trying to decide which one would work best for us. A big factor was having matching appliances including a double oven, micro, & dishwasher.

Model is 795.72043.112 if you want to check it out. Probably don't make this one any more but perhaps an equivalent.

Counter depth limits the choices, least it did when we were looking.

Has the water and ice dispenser on the outside. Convenient but in addition to the small cubes, tends to be messy spitting out the cubes. I don't use the crushed ice feature, but lots of ice "particles" come out with the cubes and miss the glass.

Also, fairly frequently I have to open the unit and "declump" the ice.

My wife used to complain that the old ice maker would get hung up on occasion, a cube would get stuck in the "tray" and I'd have to manually remove it. I've gotten used to this one but I'd say it has been more tedious to use than the old one ever was.

[indymanjoe]

sears will put Kenmore on any appliance they get a deal on,it may be a samsung.The first 3 digits before the . are a good way to tell who made it.110.###### means whirlpool heres a list http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/sears.shtml

[george kujanski]

Good info, thanx.

George

[lust4speed]

We just replaced our fridge during the July 4th sales events. With the same refrigerator model, white cost $60 more in my area than stainless (and the sides of the stainless are just painted black).

The more research I did, the more confusing things became. If one article listed a brand as the least problematic, the next thing I read had that same model at the bottom of the list. For what it's worth, here's the 2015 report from J.D. Power on refrigerators (listed by top freezer, bottom, side by side, etc...): Refidgerator Survey

I ended up buying a relatively inexpensive Whirlpool side by side with the water and ice in the door. Nothing fancy, and was pretty much a lateral move from our 13 year old GE. It keeps frozen stuff frozen, and cold stuff cold on the other side - and that's really all we needed.

[Deadhead]

Excellent info with Appliance 411! Been looking at fridges for a few months. Will need one for new place. Thought some were going on sale per TV. 30 days ago I had written down several models and corresponding prices for ones I thought might be good. Went to check the Lowe's "sale". They had marked the original price up $100 +- on one and then put on sale for a price that was still more than what it was 30 days prior. Have a Kitchen Aid I have had good luck with currently. Not even sure the brand exists any more.

[george kujanski]

Yep, the more research i do the more confusing it is. I guess the best plan is to consider they are all created equal and go for the color, size, and options you want then beat on the price.

Went to a large, local appliace house last nite (ABT for you Chicagoland guys), the sales rep must have been drinking the Samsung Kool-Aid. I tend to be cautious with a stranger's advice regardless what I'm buying.

In any case the Samsung fits my list except it does not have the Space-Saver ice maker in the door (like some models.

I need a counter-depth, (22 cu.ft. size), white, french door, water and ice dispenser in the door, with preferably the space-saver ice maker.

GE has one that fits the bill except in that size it is only in stainless...........

I'll check some more retailers that have other brands to look at.

George

[John V.]

Originally Posted by indymanjoe

sears will put Kenmore on any appliance they get a deal on,it may be a samsung.The first 3 digits before the . are a good way to tell who made it.110.###### means whirlpool heres a list http://www.appliance411.com/purchase/sears.shtml

Good info.

Makes my fridge an LG which rings a bell. They must have been the guys that had the similar model and same type of door closure mechanism.

Good luck finding the one you need George! And more importantly, hope the one you pick works for years to come!

[Simple Man]

Kitchen Aid is still around, a product of Whirlpool.

[beemergary]

Originally Posted by indymanjoe

Stainless is a HUGE markup.No one mentions that stainless doesn't mean scratch-less or dent-less.Just the name says Stain Less..my white chit doesn't stain at all.And white today is white in 10 years.Remember Bisque,Avocado Green,Harvest Gold LOL
If you really look,you can see a stainless unit is just a 1000 unit wrapped in 100 dollar appliance grade stainless for about 1000-1500 more in the price.

There Chinese Stainless not real old fashion stainless. Take a magnet and see if it sticks.

[David Jones]

We also to replaced an Amana fridge a few years ago. Damn that Amana was nice. Plugged it up in 1988 and it died a quiet death about 25 years later. In the years in between it quietly did what it was supposed to do. After a fair amount of looking we settled on a Whirlpool Gold. Not such a great move. For over a year we were on a 1st name basis with the Whirlpool service guy. It seems that ours (ice maker completely in the door) has a tendency for the ice maker supply line to freeze up rendering the ice maker useless. After a few trips the fix was somewhere in a new upgraded supply line, some added insulation and taking the door off and apart a number of times. Now it works except when the ice maker cutoff switch cuts itself off from time to time. Beyond that and the amazing amount of noise the fridge makes as it does its various tasks the Whirlpool freezes things on the freezer side and cools things on the fridge side.

Would I buy another or recommend the brand?

Not in a million years.

[george kujanski]

Well we bought a fridge this weekend. We needed a "counter depth" (approx 30" deep) which limited our choices. We also wanted the french door, in white.

There were a number of choices in LG, Samsung, Kenmore(LG) but my wife wanted a Kitchenaid. The Kitchenaid had fewer options at a higher price point but she wanted it because it had stainless handles on an otherwise white fridge, 20 cu ft vs the others that were 22, 24 cu ft.

So whatever, she got the Kitchenaid.....got it at a Sears Hardware/Appliance store, better price, possibly because the stores are privately owned, the main Sears store had a higher price.

Our old Amana still cools but I have repaired/ignored other failures over the 25 years...here we go with another Whirlpool product...time will tell

George

[Old Goat 67]

We settled on a Kitchen Aid a few years ago aslo George.
It's been fine except for recently the defrost thermostat had to be changed, $10. Not so bad.

[Old Goat 67]

Update;

Compressor Run/Start/Overload unit went bad! $27.58 to replace. Boy, do I have a great appliance man I can call, never charges me - just tells me what to get!

He tells me the Kitchenaid should run now without worry for years to come. Those two parts are the only weak points. Hope he's right!

[Deadhead]

Our KA has been good. Had one issue where it stopped cooling. Compressor would not kick in, but everything would run. Had been through a period of multiple power outages with generator on and off at weird times. Not sure where I got the idea, but I turned the thermostat to the lowest setting, and let it run for about 10 minutes and then adjusted Temp back to normal. Been working fine for years ever since. Computer boards make them do weird stuff I believe. Good luck with yours.