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OT - Refrigerator Suggestions

Got rid of my Samsung after 4 years last October. Ice went everywhere when you tried to get any. Replaced it with a GE. No problems.
 
Our 9 year old Samsung fridge is acting up. The freezer is set to zero but it's really around 10 degrees. Try setting it down to -10, doesn't help. Service tech says it's likely a sealed system issue (freon leak) or weak compressor, which is several hundred dollars to repair and it's hard to find someone that does such repairs. I replaced the temperature sensor, $18, myself. Didn't help.

Looking at reviews online for new refrigerators. Quite a few horror stories. I imagine frustration escalates quickly as food spoils. We've been pleased with Samsung, however several recent reviews indicate issues and trouble getting qualified service. Similar comments about LG. Leaning towards Whirlpool, maybe GE or Kitchen Aid. Thinking side by side, standard size.

Any suggestions, experiences are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Look into counter depth units. I have one and never miss the deep space. It takes up 25”, You can go as wide as you like.

I like stainless fronts. The new darker metal fronts are nice, but they may not be popular when replacement time comes. Had the same problem with a bisque color. Now I have two different front finishes.

Electrolux makes great stuff . Pricey but very nice.
 
Our 9 year old Samsung fridge is acting up. The freezer is set to zero but it's really around 10 degrees. Try setting it down to -10, doesn't help. Service tech says it's likely a sealed system issue (freon leak) or weak compressor, which is several hundred dollars to repair and it's hard to find someone that does such repairs. I replaced the temperature sensor, $18, myself. Didn't help.

Looking at reviews online for new refrigerators. Quite a few horror stories. I imagine frustration escalates quickly as food spoils. We've been pleased with Samsung, however several recent reviews indicate issues and trouble getting qualified service. Similar comments about LG. Leaning towards Whirlpool, maybe GE or Kitchen Aid. Thinking side by side, standard size.

Any suggestions, experiences are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Buddy you are gonna get varying suggestions...WHIRLPOOL ,just do it!! My st friend is using the washer /dryer he used in college86-90 lol, my mom is using her refrigerator in year20, i have bought all whirlpool(range,frig,microwave dishwasher)as well as washer /dryer,and all work like a champ...WHIRLPOOL for life!!
 
They are about to get our house ready after Hurricane Michael messed with us last year and I am about to replace a fridge damaged not by the cane but by the movers. The deeper I dig, the less confidence I have in any of them. I was hoping this thread would bring some clarity but no such luck.

I have about decided to just buy one with features I like (either that new door within a door offered by LG or the one that has 10-pound ice maker capacity) and just tack on the extended warranty, figuring even then to replace after 5 years.

It's a real indictment of the current state of vulture capitalism that tries to force-squeeze every last penny for short term profit at the expense of any trace of quality.
 
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Found this interesting:

Whirlpool(United States) now owns and makes Admiral, Crosley, Jenn Air, Magic Chef, Maytag, Amana, Viking, Estate, Inglis, Ikea, many Kenmore machines, KitchenAid, Kirkland, Roper and Sub Zero among many others that are lesser known. Whirlpool is the world’s leading manufacturer of appliances.

Electrolux(Sweden) owns GE, Electrolux, Frigidaire, Gallery, Gibson, Adora, Americana, Eterna, Hotpoint, Profile, RCA, Tappan and White Westinghouse among many others that are lesser known. Electrolux is the second largest manufacturer of appliances in the world.

Whirlpool and Electrolux simply gobbled up all the competition that used to force companies to make a better product.

Now, you really only have 4 choices: Whirlpool, Electrolux, Samsung or LG.

Who knows, you might get lucky! But if your going to get screwed it might as well be by an American Company!
 
I have a friend who is having incessant problems with the ice maker in his newer model Samsung refrigerator. My daughter is having the same problem with hers. Their appliances are inferior to their other products. Do yourself a favor. Buy a Maytag. Dependable appliances - all of them.
I know about the Samsung problems first hand. There is a class action lawsuit against them for the crap ice makers. If mine fails one more time, I'm getting my money back.
 
Never had any problems with this Maytag - just sayin'.;)
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There is no correct answer to what’s the best refrigerator. None are made to last more than 5 years know it seems. Use to be you could buy a large appliance and it would last decades. They really don’t make them the way they use to.

When we got married 44 years ago (in 1975) a friend gave me and my wife a refrigerator out of his shop. I can't remember the brand but it had to be made in the early 50s - late 50s at least. We lived in a rental house for three years before we build our first house and that refrigerator was still going strong. We took it to the dump when we moved but I wish I had keep it and put it in my basement. They don't make them like they use to that's for sure.

I will advise anyone to do this and I've never done it before and laughed at people who did buy them. But I think I will buy the extended warranty on my next refrigerator or major appliance. I think I mentioned this in another comment in this thread. But we bought a Whirlpool refrigerator from Sears this past November and the Ice Maker has gone out. I called Sears who referred me to Whirlpool and Whirlpool had me call some locally own repair shop in Valdese, NC a town about 30 plus miles from Marion. Whirlpool told me the repair people would be out the next day. Well we waited and waited and waited and they didn't come. So we called the repair people and they said Whirlpool was wrong and it would be August 26th before they got out this way - something in the neighborhood of two weeks later. That just sucks out loud. Literally just about two weeks later from what Whirlpool told me the original repair date would be.

To get back to your point I don't trust any of the refrigerator manufacturers today.
 
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I know a guy who owns and manages about 140 rental houses/condos in and around his town, ranging from mid-range to up-scale. He said his experience repairing and replacing refrigerators is that side-by-side fridges in the $1000 - $1400 range from traditional brands like Whirlpool, GE, Maytag, Frigidaire, etc is the way to go (basically whichever is on sale at the big box stores when he needs one). He said durability is about the same for all brands, but that the maintenance costs for "higher end" names like LG and Samsung are so that he almost always has to replace them rather than repair.
 
I know a guy who owns and manages about 140 rental houses/condos in and around his town, ranging from mid-range to up-scale. He said his experience repairing and replacing refrigerators is that side-by-side fridges in the $1000 - $1400 range from traditional brands like Whirlpool, GE, Maytag, Frigidaire, etc is the way to go (basically whichever is on sale at the big box stores when he needs one). He said durability is about the same for all brands, but that the maintenance costs for "higher end" names like LG and Samsung are so that he almost always has to replace them rather than repair.
That's pretty good info.!
 
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Samsung ice makers are notorious, above and beyond all others. Maytags were once excellent products twenty years ago. They have been cheapen to maximize profits. They are comparably good, but when was the last time you saw a Maytag commercial about bored repairmen? They aren't bored anymore. Like everything else, it's now quantity over quality.
 
You're the second person I've seen a bad Samsung review from. The other one's fridge didn't last 2 years.
If a Samsung appliance lasted 9 years that is a major positive review. Most Samsung appliance garbage won’t last two years.

Buy a whirlpool or one of their brands get the longest extended warranty you can get and be prepared to replace it within a year or two after the warranty expires.

There’s really no best appliance brand but the whirlpool family of brands is the tallest midget. Samsung is below an ice chest full of rotting fish on my “desire to own” list.

Also LG makes decent stuff except the one part that’s most important, the compressor. Read a bunch of LG reviews. Every review less than 2 years will be 5 star for features looks performance. Every review done after 2 years will talk about failed compressors and waiting for parts and ruined food.
 
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I know a guy who owns and manages about 140 rental houses/condos in and around his town, ranging from mid-range to up-scale. He said his experience repairing and replacing refrigerators is that side-by-side fridges in the $1000 - $1400 range from traditional brands like Whirlpool, GE, Maytag, Frigidaire, etc is the way to go (basically whichever is on sale at the big box stores when he needs one). He said durability is about the same for all brands, but that the maintenance costs for "higher end" names like LG and Samsung are so that he almost always has to replace them rather than repair.
I think there could be some truth to this. We replaced a disaster Samsung in August 2017 that was just 18 months old. Bought a Maytag French door. Been good overall but it started dropping water on the floor. Repair guy couldn’t find the issue but I just did. The drain tube in the bottom back is an S shape with double traps. It was clogged and wasn’t going to the evap pan and was running out under the fridge. Took it off and cleaned it and great again. Yea that should not happen but it’s minor in the overall scope of things that go wrong.

I have a side by side GE I bought in 2008. It’s in my finished basement here at our new house. It’s been rock solid for 11 years no issues at all. I think side by side is easier to design vs french door
 
Ha! Just had a convo with my brother who is looking to buy a new laptop and he asked which brands I had owned. I had to tick down the list and realized how absurd it was that I had purchased so many laptops. Prior to moving into our house, we lived in an apartment where washer and dryer were provided. They used the kind with bush buttons and such that most use now. We had to have our washer replaced 5 times. It got to be downright comical.

When we moved into our house, I bought an old school heavy duty Speed Queen washer and dryer like they have in laundromats. Just the regular old clicky dial you'd turn and an agitator in a drum that fills up with water.

It's amazing how appliance companies have managed to change everyone's thinking on this. Used to be you'd buy refrigerator or something and just naturally expect it to last 30 years or more. Now, you naturally expect to have to replace it within 10 years. And most people don't think anything about it. No idea how companies pulled that trick off.
All about marketing.
 
I just bought a Samsung 4 door refrigerator/freezer about 2 months ago from Best Buy. So far so good. We like it. It replaced an Amana which was at least 20 years old.
 
I like Kitchen Aid

We had two high end Kitchen Aid gas ovens in 3 months. The enamel inside the oven peeled off both of them every time we used them. The third time my wife said no more Kitchen Aid. We got a GE and it has been great.

My dad was in the business 50 years ago, when you could expect a Maytag to last 30+ years. Amana, Whirpool, Kitchen Aid, etc. were all good and lasted a long time. Sadly, there isn't a brand that you'll get that kind of life from anymore.
 
I always complained that I pay a lot for the electricity. And recently I spoke with a friend of me, and he told me that my refrigerator spends a lot of electricity. He advised me to find on the internet how to change that, and I did. I found an interesting article, on how to reduce the electricity bill. I will try those tips this month, and see if something will change. In case someone is interested if this tip work, and can post a comment after a month of using it. Hope my message will be useful.
 
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Just replaced my 20 year old Whirlpool frig with another one.

My Whirlpool oven lasted for 35 years.
 
Avoid LG and Samsung like the plague. The best seems to be Bosch, but they are very expensive. Pound for pound, I like my Whirlpool. Most of the appliance service people agree.
 
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We bought a top freezer LG Fridge last Summer. No issues so far, had a Whirlpool before that and the ice maker quit working after 2 years.

Last summer because of the pandemic they were out of stock. When I order our fridge we had to wait 6 weeks before it could be delivered.
 
Whirlpool is Maytag. They own it.
Just because a company makes everything doesn’t mean they don’t care about some products more. Stanley Black and Decker owns a lot of different tools, and A Black and decker drill from Walmart is going to break faster than a Dewalt, both made by same company.
 
Our 9 year old Samsung fridge is acting up. The freezer is set to zero but it's really around 10 degrees. Try setting it down to -10, doesn't help. Service tech says it's likely a sealed system issue (freon leak) or weak compressor, which is several hundred dollars to repair and it's hard to find someone that does such repairs. I replaced the temperature sensor, $18, myself. Didn't help.

Looking at reviews online for new refrigerators. Quite a few horror stories. I imagine frustration escalates quickly as food spoils. We've been pleased with Samsung, however several recent reviews indicate issues and trouble getting qualified service. Similar comments about LG. Leaning towards Whirlpool, maybe GE or Kitchen Aid. Thinking side by side, standard size.

Any suggestions, experiences are appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
We got a Whirlpool almost 2 years ago. My only complaint is it goes through water filters quickly and they're about $45 each. Also, we didn't think about this but the ice maker is right next to the wall. The door can't open far enough to gain access to the ice maker. So, if we need to get into it, we'll have to roll the fridge out and turn it a bit. And it will damage the engineered hardwood floor in there if you don't put some cardboard or something down to roll it.
 
Well a Sub Zero update. We could not go to our condo for a year because of Covid. Housekeeper told us that both Sub Zero units broke a few weeks ago. Repair cost $3500 for both of them. Because they are built in to the kitchen we would have to replace them with Sub Zero at a cost of $22K. So I am no longer recommending Sub Zero.
 
Only 9 years? That's a shame. I've been using the same Hotpoint fridge for 21 years -- hasn't ever been serviced. Probably just jinxed myself. :eek:
 
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