Pick Your Refrigerator Lupita

October 8, 2016 3:25 PM

Mrs. W and I need a new refrigerator. We want freezer on top, stainless steel, easy to replace water filter, and, if possible, a tray that catches water if the fridge happens to leak ( if such a thing exists.) Do you love your refrigerator? Tell us about it.
posted by wittgenstein to Shopping (10 answers total)

It's tough to get and give refrigerator recommendations, since by the time someone has had one long enough to give a recommendation, the models have changed. But my own research has recommended these brands:

If you're mega rich- check out Sub-Zero or Miele models
If you're not mega rich- check out Samsung or Whirlpool models

Also, Sweethome has a refrigerator article which might help.
posted by bluecore at 4:24 PM on October 8, 2016

Freezer on top, that's tough. This Kenmore is the one I'd get if I wanted top-freezer... it has a water dispenser unlike most top-freezer models, and it looks like the filter is pretty easy to get to. Most top-freezers have optional ice-makers and no water dispenser. I've been really happy with my Kenmore french-door model.

Bare-bones I'd go with the Sweethome recommendation, but it has basically nothing but make-food-cold abilities.
posted by Huck500 at 4:29 PM on October 8, 2016

In your case I'd do a one-month subscription to Consumer Reports online to get access to their recommendations. Sweethome is good but CR is more rigorous.

(This is what we were looking for, but could not find it in the size we needed to match the available space in our kitchen...which turned out to be small. Rather than deciding to demolish a cabinet to make more space for the fridge we went with a freezer on the bottom. I've grown to like it.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:49 PM on October 8, 2016

Best answer: Just one data point: we bought Samsung refrigerator RFG298HDBP about 3 years ago and it recently has had these problems:
- lower (freezer) ice maker no longer makes ice
- water & ice accumulates under wide drawer at bottom of refrigerator, I need to pull sheet of ice out and throw in sink about once a week.
I know you are looking for a different type of refrigerator, but I think next time I'll avoid Samsung (not to say that other refrigerators might not also have problems after 3 years). FWIW.
posted by forthright at 5:15 PM on October 8, 2016

Freezer on top, that's tough

It was quite the opposite in our experience. We wanted the freezer on the bottom like we were used to, but we caved, not wanting to pay a premium for it. We now wish we had.

Aside from that, we're happy with the Whirlpool we bought. It's nothing fancy, the only "extravagance" being an automatic ice maker.
posted by pmurray63 at 5:27 PM on October 8, 2016

There are new fridges I covet. they have two doors that open out from the center, with deep shelves in both doors. Lots of room on top for refrigerated goods. Then there is a deep drawer just below the belt line that has a lot of room for easy to get to frozen goods, I imagine easy meals, or flat stored frozen items there. The bottom is the freezer, but it operates so smoothly, it is a giant drawer that slides out for easy access. The upper part is so available, you are not bending to get into it or see into it. Everything is within easy reach. I currently have a smaller fridge with top freezer. I find I am rooting around in the lower part of the fridge much more than searching the freezer, which is at eye level. Just an opinion. I looked at Home Depot, they have a lot of stuff. However a big, higher end furniture store has lots of appliances too, and a sales staff that can make deals.
posted by Oyéah at 9:03 PM on October 8, 2016

Best answer: My last Whirlpool fridge lasted 21 years. The current Whirlpool is almost 22 and shows no signs of stopping. All the plastic parts are still unbroken. It is a side-by-side fridge-freezer with ice maker and water through the door.
Question:How can a fridge leak? This is something I have never experienced, and the only situation that come to mind is possibly that the tray underneath that catches the defrost water is missing.
posted by Cranberry at 12:47 AM on October 9, 2016

Best answer: Or there can be more defrost water than it can handle, or an internal drainy thing in the freezer can get clogulated with ice until you de-clogulize it. ASK ME HOW I KNOW.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:45 AM on October 9, 2016

We just have the crappy early-90s-seeming fridge that was here when we moved in, but I can say that I know someone that got a bad fridge from Samsung and dealing with their service seemed like a real pain in the ass. Multiple times they had no fridge for several days.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:46 AM on October 9, 2016

Best answer: Another brand to check out is Liebherr. It's on the expensive side but very well designed, quiet, and works well. We love our. But I don't believe they have a model with a top freezer.
posted by ethidda at 11:03 AM on October 9, 2016