I might be able to buy a new refrigerator...but which one?

[Vida Winter]

I haven't bought a new refrigerator in a very long time. Our old one is having problems (freezes everything, parts breaking). I don't know whether to get a top freezer, bottom freezer, side by side, or what. Which features do you like, and why? Oh, and it can't be the super expensive kind.

[milovany]

Do you have access to a separate freezer? We bought a new fridge a couple of years ago, and LOVE it. It's "freezerless" -- meaning it's all fridge. There's so much space inside. It wasn't super expensive; I think we paid about $500-$600 or so at Sears.com. I have a separate full size freezer, too.

[lynn]

Our Sears Kenmore has lasted 13 years without any major problems.

[gingersmom]

I have a top freezer/bottom fridge that I like. There are times though that I wish I had a separate freezer.

 

The house I am moving to has a side by side fridge/freezer. Not so sure about that. I'm not sure you can get something large in the freezer section. I plan on buying a separate freezer.

 

I have had seriously awful experiences with Sears. Even if it was free I would not buy it there.

[matrips]

I hate our side by side! It came with the house and is newer so I feel stuck. I can never find anything in there, its so narrow. And its a preety large one. We left behind our old Amana bottom freezer, which I absolutely loved! Though I read the post of the whole fridge and separate freezer- I really like that idea!

[Cindy in FL.]

We have a Kenmore french door fridge with the freezer on the bottom. It wasn't cheap and we have paid for it at least twice over in repair bills. I like the design of it, but I wouldn't buy this fridge again.

[gardenmom5]

I have a SxS. don't get one. they are actually fairly narrow on the inside - and I have a large one. I plan on replacing it with a french door in the next year or so as it's getting old.

 

first, decide your budget.

 

if you need to stay basic for budget, you're looking at a standard freezer on top. they will be the most economical, so then it is just deciding on other features, make, model, etc. they have also been around a long time and most will function well.

[T'smom]

I really liked my freezer on the bottom refrigerator I had before we moved. That is what I would go with if I was shopping for a fridge.

[Happy]

For years we had a side by side...and as the years went on, I grew to hate it. Too narrow and deep--couldn't even put a frozen pizza in the freezer. We moved it to the garage last winter and purchased a French door Kenmore Elite on sale. Ooo la la....I LOVE it. Big, bright, and spacious. It's easy to get in there and see what's available. I wondered if I would hate the pull out freezer, but I really like it. These models of K. E. are made by L.G. and get good reviews in Consumer Reports. Lastly, the shape of the fridge and handle is pretty...it's a nice swoop of a handle, very smooth and graceful. If I'm gonna look at this thing for a few years I wanted to enjoy seeing it. This was the first new, non-scratch and dent we've ever bought...

[cjzimmer1]

I will be the lone dissenter and say that I LOVE my side by side. But then I've always had the biggest I could get so maybe that makes the difference. My first one was 28 cu ft and my current one is 31. I can easily put 6-8 gallons of milk in one (plus all my daily stuff), I can store my 4 gallon soup pot in it. I've had up to 5 half a sheet pans in at one time. I regularly store a bushel of peaches or apples or peppers or oranges in the produce drawers. I have no problems storing pizzas, large pans of any size etc. I keep hearing about people who can't store pizzas and my only though is they must have a much smaller size than I have.

 

My sister raved about her french door fridge and so when I bought my new one I went to the store fully expecting to buy one, however when I tried my dishes (yes I toted my 4 gallon soup pot, my roaster and several 1/2 sheet pans along with me) and tried them in various models and sizes of fridges, the 31 cu side by side held far more of my dishes than the 31 cu french door model (not to mention the produce drawers were incredibly tiny on the french door models I looked at). I have 2 other freezers so I didn't really worry about the freezer space (but yes it holds frozen pizzas, party sized boxes of lasagnes etc just fine too)

 

So my recommendation is to take some pans/bowls you are likely to have in your fridge and "try" them out in the fridges and see what works best for you.

[Vida Winter]

The one we need to replace is a side by side General Electric. The freezer in the side by side is a waste of space. I have had it for about 15 years although we didn't pick it out in the first place - it came with a house we bought. Thanks for the tips - I like the Kenmore french door type with freezer on bottom and I also like the freezer-less fridge.

[Tap]

I hate our side by side! It came with the house and is newer so I feel stuck. I can never find anything in there, its so narrow. And its a preety large one. We left behind our old Amana bottom freezer, which I absolutely loved! Though I read the post of the whole fridge and separate freezer- I really like that idea!

 

 

I would just buy a new/used one that you like off of Craigslist and then sell the one you have. You may be off by a couple hundred dollars, but you will have the one you want without feeling like you are paying for two at the same time (one in mortgage and one on its own).