JumpyTheFrog Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We need to buy a new fridge. I've only ever had regular fridges. What are the pros and cons of a side-by-side fridge? We don't care about a water dispenser or an ice maker, and we have a medium size chest freezer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I can't say that I have a preference for freezer on top or bottom...though, I don't see how having it at the bottom benefits me, but I can say I hate. hate. hate. side by sides. Ridiculous. How can you use that space? You can even put a frozen pizza in there. I don't like them at all. Awaiting the day I can replace this one that came with the house. (though, hoping not to jinx myself here as we can't afford to do so any time soon LOL) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We need to buy a new fridge. I've only ever had regular fridges. What are the pros and cons of a side-by-side fridge? We don't care about a water dispenser or an ice maker, and we have a medium size chest freezer. I would never buy a side-by-side again. Even with only two people in the house, we can often not fit larger bowls/platters into it. I'd go with a freezer on bottom, fridge on top model for my next purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I voted freezer on bottom. We need another fridge and/or freezer. The one we have now (provided by the landlord :)) is a top freezer. We pack it so full sometimes that things fall out. I figure with a bottom freezer things wouldn't fall out. If not that then I would go with a side by side freezer. I will never own a top fridge if I have to pay for it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) I have a freezer on the bottom with french doors on the fridge. I love it. Our old fridge died and I knew I didn't want a side-by-side because you cannot fit large items into them. We got a scratch and dinged discount on our fridge because it was a floor model. :) Edited September 5, 2011 by Sis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Years ago, my in-laws had an old-style fridge with the freezer on the bottom. I hated it. (It actually had a door, not a drawer, so you had to get down on your belly to get anything very far back.) I had a side-by-side for 16 years and never hated it, though it was troublesome around the holidays when I had larger platters to be kept cold. Our fridge died last year and I shopped around and ended up with the French doors for fridge and freezer drawer on the bottom. I love it, if for nothing else because the fruits and veggies are up at eye level. :D Actually, I love it for a number of reasons, but that is the biggie. I do wish it had a larger ice maker, but that is the only fault I have found with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We went from a side by side to one with a double door on top with a pull out freezer, and I love, love, love it. I can now fit my large casserole dishes and pizza boxes, and no major rearranging is necessary evey time someone wants to get something to eat or drink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I would never buy a fridge with the freezer on the top or a side-by-side. What I would love (that I don't have) is one of those cool new French-door fridges, where the fridge on top has two side-by-side doors, and the freezer is a drawer on the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristusG Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I loathed my side by side fridge. A few years ago we got one with french doors on the top and a freezer on the bottom and I like it MUCH better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We just got back from shopping for a new fridge. Evidently our power outage did something to our fridge and it keeps tripping the circuits whenever it's turned on. Dh hates the bottom drawer. He thinks it makes things harder to find since they wind up piled on top of each other. So, it looks like we're getting another side-by-side. We never really entertain since our house is extremely small so never really need capacity for big platters. Our current side-by-side will fit an entire crock pot crock or a large pizza box inside. The new ones have pull out baskets for the freezer and two produce drawers plus a smaller snack drawer in the fridge (perfect to put snacks for little dd) plus gallon capacity on the door. We do have a small stand-up freezer currently in storage that we're hoping to be able to find a place for someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsbaby Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I HATE our side by side. We have a perfectly good bottom freezer fridge out in the garage. Problem was, it had no water/ice feature. Unfortunately the space for our fridge would only accommodate a side by side (of those with with the water/ice). So, we bought it and it's awful. I don't know where I would store half of our stuff if not for the fridge in the garage!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I absolutely HATE side by side refrigerators. I will never, EVER again own one. The storage ability in one is AWFUL. We always had the older freezer on top, refrigerator on bottom, but we recently got a Samsung refrigerator on top (french doors) and freezer on the bottom. I am SO GLAD that the side by side is gone. Do you understand how much I absolutely HATE THEM? They don't store as much, it's hard to keep them organized, hard to find stuff in them. I'm SO GLAD we didn't have to wait until our refrigerator broke. We're remodeling the kitchen and NO WAY was I keeping that side by side here. We sold it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I can't say that I have a preference for freezer on top or bottom...though, I don't see how having it at the bottom benefits me, but I can say I hate. hate. hate. side by sides. Ridiculous. How can you use that space? You can even put a frozen pizza in there. I don't like them at all. Awaiting the day I can replace this one that came with the house. (though, hoping not to jinx myself here as we can't afford to do so any time soon LOL) The slide out freezer on the bottoms truly are wonderful. You can organize them beautifully, and they STAY organized. I also have a pull out shelf on the top of the freezer, and a side space for juice cans, etc. I actually LOVE the freezer on the bottom more than I thought I would. I'm SO with you on the side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I can't say that I have a preference for freezer on top or bottom...though, I don't see how having it at the bottom benefits me, but I can say I hate. hate. hate. side by sides. Ridiculous. How can you use that space? You can even put a frozen pizza in there. I don't like them at all. Awaiting the day I can replace this one that came with the house. (though, hoping not to jinx myself here as we can't afford to do so any time soon LOL) Ditto. We have one after only ever having the traditional freezer-on-top kind and I won't mind a bit when it dies. My dream fridge is freezer on the bottom with french-style doors on top that open onto one big compartment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 So interesting that so many of you hate the side by sides. We love ours. We loved our last one so much that we got another one when we moved here. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) Not sure how old your children are, but one handy thing about the side-by-side is that you can have both refrigerated and frozen items at child height. With a bottom freezer, my little folks wouldn't be able to reach most things in the fridge, especially since the shelves are so deep. So we're sticking with our old side-by-side for now. That said, I agree that they have some very annoying characteristics. The freezer compartment is awkwardly shaped (maybe not such a big deal since you have a chest freezer). We've also had a lot of problems with things getting lost at the back of the fridge, though it's been much better since we started using turntables on a couple of the upper shelves. They've really saved our (leftover) bacon, not to mention our hummus, jam, and yogurt. :) If you do get a side-by-side, I highly recommend trying this. If we needed to replace our fridge, we'd probably just get a top freezer model, as we haven't found them to be any less convenient than the other styles. I also seem to recall reading somewhere that they tend be less prone to breakdowns, since the fan is working with nature rather than against it (i.e., cold air wants to sink, not rise). Edited September 5, 2011 by Eleanor fixed link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeturn Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 My nice newer side-by-side is sitting in the garage of our new house. Inside we have the teeny, tiny freezer over fridge model (that does fit in the spot, I'll give it that). I do think there is more room for things in the top/bottom model even if I have having to bend over to get to it. BUT if you have a toddler or plan on having one in the future go for the side-by-side. The top/bottom is so much easier for my guy to open and get to things (heavy drink pitchers) on the top shelf. Drives me nuts as he is in and out of it all day long. I have now decided toddlers are why side-by-sides were invented. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Not sure how old your children are, but one handy thing about the side-by-side is that you can have both refrigerated and frozen items at child height. With a bottom freezer, my little folks wouldn't be able to reach most things in the fridge, especially since the shelves are so deep. So we're sticking with our old side-by-side for now. That said, I agree that they have some very annoying characteristics. The freezer compartment is awkwardly shaped (maybe not such a big deal since you have a chest freezer). We've also had a lot of problems with things getting lost at the back of the fridge, though it's been much better since we started using turntables on a couple of the upper shelves. They've really saved our (leftover) bacon, not to mention our hummus, jam, and yogurt. :) If you do get a side-by-side, I highly recommend trying this. If we needed to replace our fridge, we'd probably just get a top freezer model, as we haven't found them to be any less convenient than the other styles. I also seem to recall reading somewhere that they tend be less prone to breakdowns, since the fan is working with nature rather than against it (i.e., cold air wants to sink, not rise). Actually our bottom freezer model makes it easy for ds (3) to get in the fridge. That is the only thing that annoys me about it. He stands on the drawer (while it is closed) and browses. I usually have stuff for him where he can get to them and stuff he cannot have on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danybug Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We had a bought a freezer on bottom and used it for about 5 years. We recently moved and the house has a side by side. We put our old one in the garage to use when this one breaks down. Other than the ice on the door, I am not really in to the side by side. It is most awkward for the freezer side. Anything big is definitely not getting in here. The fridge on the bottom freezer is really nice and the best feature. The space and layout is great. The freezer worked for us except I am not sure if you could get as much in there as when it is on top. I say this only because ours had a drawer that pulled out and you might not be able to get a ton of freezer made containers in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaTanya Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (or any new refrigerator, actually), be sure to measure your space. I really liked the looks of the French door/freezer on bottom models when our last fridge quit, but none of those fit my space. My measuring tape saved me several hundred $$$ that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I have had freezer on top, side by side and now have freezer on bottom with french doors. love, love love it. I hated the side by side with a passion--even though it had ice/water in door. My freezer on bottom model doesn't have ice or water in the door. I gave it a lot of thought and decided I didn't want to give up door space or interior space in my frig to have it...and the models I had viewed had a small ice maker. (they may have improved that since I looked a year ago). So I have no ice or water in door, but a good ice maker in freezer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) To me a side-by-side IS a regular 'fridge, as that is what I grew up with, and what I have always had. In our current house we managed to find one at Sears that did not come with water-thingie in the door - I would rather have the extra freezer space. We do not have an ice maker either - it is there, but we never hooked it up. We use the bin to hold frozen veggies :D and have a few ice cube trays on one shelf. I am short, hate trying to dig into a top or bottom freezer, and like the convenience of shelves in my freezer. I might as well add, I do have a hand-me-down upright freezer in the basement to hold on-sale turkeys, frozen pizza, etc. as that will not fit in the upstairs freezer. I think, though, that you should get the type of freezer you are used to. Edited September 5, 2011 by JFSinIL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsAlimar Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We just had to buy a new fridge a couple of weeks ago. We went with the Samsung French doors with the freezer drawer on the bottom. I love it! The freezer drawer has a top drawer so it can be organized and it's not just one big drawer that makes it difficult to find things. I can't stand side-by-sides. They always seem so squashy and it's difficult to put large items in them because they aren't wide enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 The slide out freezer on the bottoms truly are wonderful. You can organize them beautifully, and they STAY organized. I also have a pull out shelf on the top of the freezer, and a side space for juice cans, etc. I actually LOVE the freezer on the bottom more than I thought I would. I'm SO with you on the side by side. We must have the same model. The freezer is very easy to keep organized boxes on the left, fruits, veggies and rice on the right, juices on the narrow shelf, and meats in the slide out drawer). I highly recommend samsung. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenpatty Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We just bought a new side by side two weeks ago. I looked at the bottom freezer ones, and really wanted to like them since they're all the rage, but I just don't like the idea of having to bend over & dig for stuff. My back isn't the best, and then there's the thought of hair & skin cells falling off of me into the freezer. LOL, I don't know why I think about that, but I do.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We need to buy a new fridge. I've only ever had regular fridges. What are the pros and cons of a side-by-side fridge? We don't care about a water dispenser or an ice maker, and we have a medium size chest freezer. I have a 29cf sxs, so it's big. I *really* like the new dutchdoor with bottom freezers. My next fridge will be one. since the bottom is a drawer (or multiple drawers) they are more efficent like a chest freezer, and some are well designed to find things easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 We HATE our side by side. It is just...small on all accords! We would love to have a freezer on bottom style when this one bites the dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 For as long as I can remember I have wanted a side-by-side. Finally 2 years ago we needed a new fridge. Of course...we bought a side-by-side. I was so excited! I thought it would be the best thing. I HATE IT!!! :crying: I can't believe how many times I have said I hate my fridge. Why didn't anyone TELL ME!!!?? Ugh! :cursing: :banghead: This puppy is so huge....but why is there so little room inside??? Unfortunately, we bought it brand new and it will probably last forever. We'll never buy another one.....not until this one ever dies. But, with the way this thing is built it will probably last longer than I will. And....you could buy a used car for what this cost new. I would never buy a fridge with the freezer on the top or a side-by-side. What I would love (that I don't have) is one of those cool new French-door fridges, where the fridge on top has two side-by-side doors, and the freezer is a drawer on the bottom. Ooooooo yeah! :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I really wish I would have went w/ the french door freezer on the bottom, when my side by side dies that will be the replacement. When buying this one I wanted an old school traditional freezer on top but they didn't make them in the larger sizes(that I could find locally). I loathe the side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I have a freezer on the bottom with french doors on the fridge. I love it. :iagree: I love the fridge on top because then I don't have to bend over and I'm in the fridge much more than the freezer. And I like the french doors because the space needed to open one or both doors is much less. It has water in the door too (but not ice - it does have an ice maker though. We have a bonus fridge in the basement with a freezer on top and fridge on bottom, and I'm always having to bend or kneel down to get stuff out. I used to have a side by side, and I actually preferred the side by side to the fridge on bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eewaggie99 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I hate our side by side. No room in the freezer and it's impossible to put any platters or cakes in the fridge. Every time we've moved hubby has purchased the fridge without me there. Since he likes the look of the counter depth side by Side, it's all we've ever owned. We're moving again and we won't get a side by side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I can say I hate. hate. hate. side by sides. Ridiculous. How can you use that space? You can even put a frozen pizza in there. :iagree: I hate my side-by-side. HATE it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Love, love, love having the freezer on the bottom. I will never purposely own a top freezer again. I don't use the freezer as often as I use the refrigerator. I love having everything I use most often being right at my eye level. I don't have an opinion as far as single door vs dutch doors, as I have the single door. As long as the freezer is on the bottom, I'm good to go. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I can not stand the new style with the large door on top and bottom freezer. My parents have one and when we house sit for them the kids are constantly opening the freezer up, and the top door always slams open when you try to open it because it is really heavy. Also the kids can't reach anything in the fridge, and really there did not seem to be as much fridge space especially for tall things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.