Thread Number: 88794  /  Tag: Refrigerators
Looking for new French door refrigerator
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Post# 1133422   11/13/2021 at 12:17 (895 days old) by aragrond (Idaho)        

Would like to hear recommendations on new French door refrigerators. Want to replace my 8 year old LG side by side. Was not happy with it.




Post# 1133424 , Reply# 1   11/13/2021 at 12:32 (895 days old) by bradfordwhite (central U.S.)        

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You've been unhappy with it for 8 years?

Post# 1133425 , Reply# 2   11/13/2021 at 12:36 (895 days old) by fan-of-fans (Florida)        

Best to avoid the ones with through the door ice dispensers. They are much more complicated because the ice maker has to be in a separate compartment in the fridge with colder air blown into it.

So stick with ones with either just water in the door dispenser or no dispenser. If you want through the door ice, best to stick with a side by side.

I have also heard, but no personal experience, to avoid Samsung and LG.


Post# 1133438 , Reply# 3   11/13/2021 at 17:01 (895 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)        

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Let the LG be a learning experience.  That means you should avoid Samsung as well.

 

One thing Whirlpool seems to still be good at is making refrigerators.  I think you'd be happy with any French door model that is Whirlpool-sourced.  Some here have praised GE refrigerators as well, but I have trouble considering anything GE to be reliable now that Haier owns their appliance division.


Post# 1133443 , Reply# 4   11/13/2021 at 17:14 (895 days old) by MattL (Flushing, MI)        
Ice and water...

Well the last 3 fridges I've had over 30+ years have never had an issue with either the ice or the water dispenser.  I would not buy a fridge with out both, I use them often.

 

I'd opt for WP 1st. then GE.


Post# 1133565 , Reply# 5   11/14/2021 at 20:16 (893 days old) by WhiteWhiskers (Silicon Valley, California)        
KitchenAid makes wonderful boxes

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If your kitchen layout has the width and you have the $$$, you can't go wrong with KitchenAid.

  Photos...       <              >      Photo 1 of 2         View Full Size
Post# 1133582 , Reply# 6   11/15/2021 at 02:47 (893 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)        
LG

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We have an LG French Door counter depth with Ice and Water in the door.  Going on 4 years old no issues.  The ice never jams or freezes up.  We use it multiple times a day.  Not everyone has a bad experience with this feature.


Post# 1133716 , Reply# 7   11/16/2021 at 18:11 (892 days old) by nmassman44 (Brooksville Florida)        

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I concur on the LG fridge. We have one and no issues so far and it runs perfectly. This fridge has two ice makers and they perform their jobs well. So far. We absolutely love this fridge.

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Post# 1133724 , Reply# 8   11/16/2021 at 20:02 (891 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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A friend in DFW area recently got scammed buying a 9yo LG french door unit via Facebook Marketplace.  Compressor, fans, everything ran but no cooling.  I found a saddle tap on the compressor stub line, indication that it had previously been serviced.  He contacted LG service online on Sat 10/25, received an acknowledgement on Sun 10/26.  Confirmation on Mon 10/27 that a tech will arrive Tue 10/28, which he did well within the scheduled timeframe.  Fellow said the compressor warranty had been extended to 10 years but 1) applied to the original purchaser with receipt in-hand, and 2) was void since some other service had previously been in it for unknown reasons and actions and left the tap in place, which LG factory service would never do.  He said the repair could be done at full but it's not reasonable under the circumstances.  The service call was voided/canceled so no charge.

The FB seller's profile was gone when he checked back.  I would have advised do not buy that refrigerator at that price if I'd been consulted.

His city has monthly free heavy trash pickup but the Oct date had passed.  They charge for off-schedule pickup.  We took off the doors, set the unit in the driveway alley with the shelves and drawers stacked beside.  It was gone the next afternoon.

He bought a new LG online from Costco on Wed 10/29.  Delivered on Sat 11/6.  I'll surely hear if/when it has trouble.


Post# 1133753 , Reply# 9   11/17/2021 at 03:59 (891 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)        
Mike,

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This is the one we have.  Looks pretty close to yours.  You said yours has two ice makers?  Ours has only one.  I didn't realize two was even an option.  Ours is counter depth.  Is yours?  If not, maybe that's why you have the two ice maker option.


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Post# 1133775 , Reply# 10   11/17/2021 at 09:39 (891 days old) by vacerator (Macomb, Michigan)        
Is that an

Interactive smart screen? Pricey, but it's sharp.

Post# 1133786 , Reply# 11   11/17/2021 at 14:48 (891 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)        
It's not a smart screen, at least ours isn't

chachp's profile picture

 

It actually a window into the inside of the frig so you don't have to open the door to see what is in there.  You knock on the window a couple of times and it turns on the inside light.  It's gimmicky and I don't ever use it.  Hubby wanted the one with the smart screen but when we got ours people were having way too many issues with them so we compromised on this model with the window.

 

A co-worker of mine had one with what is essentially a tablet.  I think his was a Samsung and he had nothing but trouble.  All kinds of network issues in his house and he felt there were too many security holes with it.  It was replaced twice and the third time around he got one without the smart screen.


Post# 1133913 , Reply# 12   11/19/2021 at 00:15 (889 days old) by mark_wpduet (Lexington KY)        

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Sadly - there are no good options for refrigerators.....It's a total gamble with any of the brands.

In other words - there's no Miele or Speed Queen for refrigerators.


Post# 1133914 , Reply# 13   11/19/2021 at 01:51 (889 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay)        

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The "internet of things" is turning out not to be much of a thing, and I'm not even remotely crestfallen.

 

My 2009 KitchenAid Architect Series is only smart enough to count the number of ounces on its display when I dispense water, which is just right for me.  I would miss that feature enough to pursue repair rather than replacement when the time inevitably comes.


Post# 1133916 , Reply# 14   11/19/2021 at 04:25 (889 days old) by kimball455 (Cape May, NJ)        
GE French Door

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HI ...

 

After the fire, I had the fun of shopping for appliances. One requirement for the fridge was two ice makers. Not too many fridges have that feature. Found this GE. It workes well and I have the option of just using the through-the-door ice or for party time both ice makers. It has a feature called 'show case lighting' a series of led units that really light up the interior. 

 

Harry



CLICK HERE TO GO TO kimball455's LINK

Post# 1133918 , Reply# 15   11/19/2021 at 06:31 (889 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
A Lot Of TOL Bottom Refs Have Two Ice Makers

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They do this because the IM in the top does not produce much ice and what it does produce is not as cold and dilutes your drinks.

 

The IM in the lower freezer section still produces 0F ice and makes a lot more of it per day.

 

French-Door-Bottom-Refrigerators are in general a lot of trouble for many reasons.

 

1 putting all the freezer food in a pull out drawer loses a lot of space and the drawer track systems wear out and get  out of wack and cost a lot of money to fix.

 

2 the French door design causes a lot of expensive gasket problems and door closing issues and wastes energy.

 

3 putting an IM in the top refrigerator section is the most ridiculous complex and troublesome thing you could do to a refrigerator.

 

4 Bottom freezers are very hard to clean the floors of and the gasket at the bottom never gets cleaned till it starts to get ripped apart,  another expensive repair.

 

5 IMs in bottom freezers are about twice as much trouble as IMs inside a top freezer model due to things getting jammed in the shut-off arm etc. [ and IMs are still the single biggest thing that causes costly repairs and property damage from leaks etc ]

 

The best of the bottom freezer refs in our experience are the Whirlpool products that are built in the old Amana factory in Iowa, the WP BFRs built in Mexico are a cheaper design and give more trouble, We do not recommend any other BFR, the worst ones are Electrolux, Sam-Sung, GE and LG seem to be a little better but we still won't even brother with them. Yesterday I was at our appliance distributor and I always go through the scrap pile to see what came in, It looks like you are walking into the new appliance showroom, they were at least 11 gleaming SS FDBF refs there with I&W through the door that were just waiting to get crushed into scrap.

 

If you have a newer complex refrigerator take very good care it, keep the gaskets clean, clean under it every few years condenser etc and don't slam doors and drawers etc and just realize you will be lucky to get much over 10 or 15 years life out of it.

 

John L. 


Post# 1133919 , Reply# 16   11/19/2021 at 06:44 (889 days old) by jamiel (Detroit, Michigan and Palm Springs, CA)        

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That seems exactly my parents' experience...they had bought a GE french door which gave them no end of trouble for the last 15 years. It only had the single icemaker, which piddled cubes into the drawer. The water dispenser inside the left door seemed to need three hands (one to open the door, one to hold the glass, one to push the button). Every time I visited I needed to get onto the floor to sort out one thing or another with the freezer drawer. I think they were finally on their third circuit board....

Years earlier a family friend had a BF GE Americana with the self-filling ice tray---my mom was entranced, as was I (seems like it solved all the problems, and introduced none...how much sensing capability in excess of a human eyeball was needed to properly keep an ice tray reservoir full...plus it wasted no space--the entire ice drawer wasn't more than a couple inches tall0.


Post# 1133921 , Reply# 17   11/19/2021 at 07:36 (889 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)        

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I have two WP bottom-freezer units, one KitchenAid in the kitchen and another (2007) Amana  in the garage.  

 

The kitchen is a french-door, counter-depth.  It was on closeout at the now closed Sears store for $649.  IM in the freezer, water tap inside left door.  I didn't want any through-the-door anything and counter-depth was a must so this fit the needs at the time for a super price.  Shortly after it was delivered, I had warranty service out for a freezer drawer track off-kilter and once adjusted, it's been fine ever since.  I wouldn't do the french door again for most of the reasons John cited above.  

 

The Amana (WP) garage unit was being hauled out of a neighbor's two years ago, they said it was getting noisy and running all the time.  A 2007 model, it had the original defrost drain nipple design that tended to clog and degrade, replaced that, cleared the iceberg in the freezer and it's worked perfectly ever since.  It's a single-door, full depth model, no ice maker.  Love having the cavernous extra-space, particularly handy this week to keep the overflow for Thanksgiving plans, and a bag of sprinkled ironing today :-)

 

Have replaced an ice maker in an LG BF ref a couple of times for a friend, she's had it for 10+ years, but what a pain to work on.


Post# 1133925 , Reply# 18   11/19/2021 at 10:00 (889 days old) by appnut (TX)        
Which WP BM produced at old Amana plant

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John, you have said this several times, but which model is produced at the old Amana plant and not produced in Mexico?

Post# 1133927 , Reply# 19   11/19/2021 at 10:29 (889 days old) by combo52 (50 Year Repair Tech Beltsville,Md)        
Better Bottom Freezer Models

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Hi Bob, the easy way to tell is WP puts a  blue label on the outside that says built in America

 

john L.


Post# 1133930 , Reply# 20   11/19/2021 at 10:54 (889 days old) by appnut (TX)        

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OK. Thank you.

Post# 1134001 , Reply# 21   11/19/2021 at 20:18 (888 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT)        
LG

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Our sister-in-law bought a French door LG 2 years ago and it's born a nightmare, I think she's had it replaced twice and this one might be oak, but 3 months old so time will tell. Ice maker and thermostat issues a well as good door seals. Our 2 10 yr old WPs are still working perfectly.


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