I despise buying home appliances such as refrigerators!

[DustyRusty]

In 1983 when I built our new home, I had installed a Sub Zero refrigerator over my wife's objections. That refrigerator lasted for 32 years until we had an intermittent power outage which locked up the compressor. At that time, I couldn't get anyone to install a new compressor since it was R12 and the new refrigerant was R134A the refrigerator was declared a total loss by our homeowner's insurance carrier. We had and still have 100% replacement insurance on the home, so all I had to pay was the $750 deductible. Since the old refrigerator was built in to look like a kitchen cabinet, so would its replacement. Unfortunately, that sizes had changed over the years, which required a modification to the original cabinets, and new cabinet door panels. The final cost for the refrigerator, modifying the cabinets, and getting new wood panels custom-made and stained to match the rest of the cabinets was just shy of $14,000. That refrigerator is 10 years old and has never given us a day's worth of grief. I have a bad feeling that when this one takes its last gasp of cold air that service parts will once again be no longer available since the R134A is being phased out and a newer refrigerant is taking its place. I just checked and the model that we have now costs $13,575 without the extras, such as delivery, set-up, and new wooden door panels. I dread the day that this one will require replacement.
Like most of the others that have posted, I hate buying new appliances, since I have no idea how long they are going to last. So far I have been doing well on picking them, but I have no idea of how quality has dropped or improved. We are on our 3rd Jenn Air stove and our second gas range. My wife likes to cook with gas and bake with electricity. The new gas range does both, so the Jenn Air is relegated to holding baking pans and cookie trays.
My wife has been making rumbling that the kitchen needs renovations. I have told her that I will leave that for her next husband to pay for since I only eat in the kitchen and I don't have anything to do with the cooking. I do the dishwashing with the help of a dishwasher. I think that this is either the 5th or 6th dishwasher we have replaced in the past 40 years.

 

[mcmxi]

So I have two big, fancy refrigerators in our garage that cost a combined $8000 +/-; one that dumps water on the floor and the other is a dry goods cabinet. The remaining 6 probably didn’t cost near $8000 combined and they all work perfectly. I’m doing fine with my antiques and rent house grade newer stuff.

And there's the mystery. There doesn't seem to be an obvious correlation between cost, quality and longevity any more. I probably got reamed with the discontinued model I bought, along with the "we'll give you the 5 year warranty at no charge" line ... but heck, I need a refrigerator now so what's done is done.

 

[TheOldHokie]

In 1983 when I built our new home, I had installed a Sub Zero refrigerator over my wife's objections. That refrigerator lasted for 32 years until we had an intermittent power outage which locked up the compressor. At that time, I couldn't get anyone to install a new compressor since it was R12 and the new refrigerant was R134A the refrigerator was declared a total loss by our homeowner's insurance carrier. We had and still have 100% replacement insurance on the home, so all I had to pay was the $750 deductible. Since the old refrigerator was built in to look like a kitchen cabinet, so would its replacement. Unfortunately, that sizes had changed over the years, which required a modification to the original cabinets, and new cabinet door panels. The final cost for the refrigerator, modifying the cabinets, and getting new wood panels custom-made and stained to match the rest of the cabinets was just shy of $14,000. That refrigerator is 10 years old and has never given us a day's worth of grief. I have a bad feeling that when this one takes its last gasp of cold air that service parts will once again be no longer available since the R134A is being phased out and a newer refrigerant is taking its place. I just checked and the model that we have now costs $13,575 without the extras, such as delivery, set-up, and new wooden door panels. I dread the day that this one will require replacement.
Like most of the others that have posted, I hate buying new appliances, since I have no idea how long they are going to last. So far I have been doing well on picking them, but I have no idea of how quality has dropped or improved. We are on our 3rd Jenn Air stove and our second gas range. My wife likes to cook with gas and bake with electricity. The new gas range does both, so the Jenn Air is relegated to holding baking pans and cookie trays.
My wife has been making rumbling that the kitchen needs renovations. I have told her that I will leave that for her next husband to pay for since I only eat in the kitchen and I don't have anything to do with the cooking. I do the dishwashing with the help of a dishwasher. I think that this is either the 5th or 6th dishwasher we have replaced in the past 40 years.

You just told our story. I opted to go with stainless on our replacement SubZero and the new unit fit the old opening fine. Took the installers about 30 minutes to pull the old one out and slide the new one in. The stainless steel model fits the old opening fine but we will be redoing the entire kitchen this summer. If we could have waited on the refrigerator we would have gone the wood panel route again.

Dan

 

[mcmxi]

Net time you over this way, Swing in and I'll give you a great fridge.
I need to rehome one of them.
I have 5.
NO you can not have the keg fridge!
I need that one to deal with the forum!

We did all new appliances for the house before we moved in, Samsung and LG was on the top of the list, LG won.
We have only had party Ice Maker Issues with our fridge, Knock on wood.
Nothing else has given us a lick of trouble, again Knock on wood!

That's very kind of you! I'll make sure the bed of my truck bed is empty when I pull the boat over your way this summer. I heard something about July 4th.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

I do my best to rebuild our older fridges, freezers, and washer and dryer. Even down to replacing the brushes in the motors or the whole motors.

New new stuff is built to fail. Kinda like 1980's new cars. Every seen how much plastic is under your late model car? Lol.. Plastic dehydrates and crumbles.

It's awesome new but it's dying faster than you.

 

[DustyRusty]

You just told our story. I opted to go with stainless on our replacement SubZero and the new unit fit the old opening fine. Took the installers about 30 minutes to pull the old one out and slide the new one in. The stainless steel model fits the old opening fine but we will be redoing the entire kitchen this summer. If we could have waited on the refrigerator we would have gone the wood panel route again.

Dan

I know when we got our refrigerator the door kit was an option. I would check to see if you can add the wood panel kit to your doors and remove the stainless steel panels. I have a spare 36" upper panel that accepts the wood panel and you are welcome to it. They sent a replacement when the installer thought that he had damaged it. Turned out that it was fine after the wood panel was installed so we never changed it. Just pay the shipping and it is yours.

 

[GSD-Keegan]

So, a little off topic…Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors now have a service life of say 7 years….they are programmed to (maybe) fail, or at least give an audible warning that they are past their service life. Who thinks that maybe the same service life programming is installed on other circuit boards like those found in appliances??.
Heck…at the 6 yr mark, just past the 5 yr warranty, let’s have the circuit board send an over amp power supply to the compressor motor and burn it out??

 

[imnukensc]

Samsuck should've stayed with making cell phones and TVs. I'll never own another Samsuck appliance again. FWIW, NIW, The "party icemaker" in our LG was giving us hell, too. Sounded like it was going to beat a hole in the side of the fridge trying to dump ice----if it would dump ice. Had it replaced under warranty and the new ice maker is great. No problems, and no noise, at all. They did some upgrades to the software (longer defrost time) and some kind of upgrades to the hardware.

 

[jyoutz]

I really do. A refrigerator/freezer is kind of a necessity and the LG that I bought from Home Depot 8 or 9 years ago crapped out again over the weekend. There was class action lawsuit against LG in 2017 due to numerous compressor issues so it was repaired under warranty about four years ago. Basically LG extended warranties to 5 years. Anwyay, I called around and it'd be four weeks or so before anyone could come out to fix it, and given its age, and this being the second failure, I don't think it's worth putting money into it.

One of the things I don't like about appliances is that I'm not interested in doing a lot of research, particularly for things like refrigerators or washing machines. I've had an LG washer and dryer for over 12 years with zero issues but that refrigerator has been less than stellar. Looking online at reviews is a horror show. There isn't a brand out there that anyone can agree on. The model I ended up buying has some terrible reviews and some good reviews. Most of the worst reviews can be found on Amazon whereas Best Buy and Lowes have hundreds of positive reviews. I don't know if refrigerators are hit and miss, even within the same brand, but I wonder if the way they're handled during delivery makes a difference.

I ended up buying a Samsung counter depth floor model that's been discontinued. The fact that I "need" a counter depth model limits my choices and typically increases cost. I didn't get a great deal or a terrible deal, but I have $2k less for fun stuff that's for sure. I have a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty too. Hopefully it'll last a good few years before it ends up at the local landfill. I have no idea how long a refrigerator is supposed to last, but these days I'm thinking it's a five year plan.

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I will make a recommendation. I stopped buying appliances at big box stores and now will only buy from local appliance stores that are big suppliers to builders and commercial businesses. They tend to carry better brands that aren’t offered at big boxes. For example, laundry equipment made in the USA by Speed Queen ( the same company that supplies commercial facilities and laundries). They also know more about their products. The local store I use will also match big box internet prices when the same products are sold. We bought an Electrolux brand refrigerator from this business 8 years ago and it still is working perfectly. On the other hand, the garage refrigerator is a real cheap Frigidaire brand and it also works perfectly and has been for 12 years.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Samsuck should've stayed with making cell phones and TVs. I'll never own another Samsuck appliance again. FWIW, NIW, The "party icemaker" in our LG was giving us hell, too. Sounded like it was going to beat a hole in the side of the fridge trying to dump ice----if it would dump ice. Had it replaced under warranty and the new ice maker is great. No problems, and no noise, at all. They did some upgrades to the software (longer defrost time) and some kind of upgrades to the hardware.

Yea with mine the heaters went out on the ice maker, and yes they have done some updates to the design.

 

[TheOldHokie]

I know when we got our refrigerator the door kit was an option. I would check to see if you can add the wood panel kit to your doors and remove the stainless steel panels. I have a spare 36" upper panel that accepts the wood panel and you are welcome to it. They sent a replacement when the installer thought that he had damaged it. Turned out that it was fine after the wood panel was installed so we never changed it. Just pay the shipping and it is yours.

Thanks for the offer but we are OK with the SS. My kids are grown and no longer bring friends in and challenge them to find the refrigerator

 

[BAP]

I will make a recommendation. I stopped buying appliances at big box stores and now will only buy from local appliance stores that are big suppliers to builders and commercial businesses. They tend to carry better brands that aren’t offered at big boxes. For example, laundry equipment made in the USA by Speed Queen ( the same company that supplies commercial facilities and laundries). They also know more about their products. The local store I use will also match big box internet prices when the same products are sold. We bought an Electrolux brand refrigerator from this business 8 years ago and it still is working perfectly. On the other hand, the garage refrigerator is a real cheap Frigidaire brand and it also works perfectly and has been for 12 years.

Plus, appliances sold at Big Box stores are not the same as the ones sold at an appliance store. Big Box stores appliances are built to a specific price point and the quality is different to achieve it.

 

[Old Machinist]

My last refrigerator purchase was a Whirlpool purchased from Home Depot. It has a flaw in the door ice dispenser and the cubes hang up in it then fall out later as they thaw. I have to open the door each time I use it and push the dispenser door open to make sure it's cleared. My wife can't figure it out for the life of her and she will just let it clog up and walk away. Home Depot would not take it back.

Whirlpool sent a tech out twice and never fixed the problem. The refrigerator is working okay so I just live with it.

I no longer purchase appliances from Home Depot. Make sure and look at their details for the return policy. Last I checked they don't accept returns on appliances. You are stuck with the manufacturers warranty when it goes out the door.

The last dishwasher I bought from Lowes was a dud and I returned it and bought a different model. No questions asked.

 

[GeoHorn]

The earliest recollection I have of any particular refrigerator was in 1954, …an all white, rounded-cornered thing with “Philco” in chrome lettering across the door, and a large chrome handle which when pulled, would issue a loud “click” and the door would unlatch to swing open.

When opened, it revealed all-metal grilles to support the food and an upper/inner door for a freezer compartment, inside were a couple of aluminum ice-cube trays with aluminum levers which when lifted, would break the ice into individual cubes.

That refrigerator moved three times as Dad bought and moved us into larger homes as our family grew. In 1963 it was moved to a beach-house on pilings down at the mouth of the Colorado River near Matagorda, Tx … where it survived two hurricanes, Carla and Alicia, (Hurricanes back then were only named after women’s names….I guess it was before we started getting Him-acanes….)

That particular piece of real-estate was not owned by the beach-house-owners…the actual lots were renewable 100-year leases out of a larger ranch, titled to an impresario-era family….. and were acquired by the State of Texas via “eminent domaine” ... Owners were given a year to move the houses off the property or lose them….(most owners simply abandoned, as did we)…..and in 2005, a public park and state-run RV-facility was placed on the exact spot of our beachhouse….

The last weekend spent at that house by family members was in the summer of 2002.

That Philco refrigerator was still running fine, tho’ it‘s exterior was becoming dilapidated from the harsh environment of the coast.

Similar model:

 

[Speed25]

I try to avoid appliances with circuit boards where possible, but outside of fridges and washers/dryers, it's getting very difficult. The simpler the better. I've fixed the washer/dryer a number of times as they're easy to work on with some help from YouTube. Usually it's a bearing or heating element, nothing too complicated to fix.

 

[D2Cat]

Who has the oldest appliance still i use and what brand is it?

We have a Hotpoint electric range installed in 1976 and still in use.

 

[DustyRusty]

I have a 1947 model dishwasher, but it is a little stubborn to get started and doesn't always do a perfect job. I would have gotten rid of it long ago, but I am not sure I can afford the disposal fees.

 

[xrocketengineer]

I finally ended up replacing the garage fridge. Since it took me over a year, to convince my wife to get a new one since the old one had been dead for longer than that, I had to settle for the latest generation refrigerant since 2022; R600a Isobutane. It comes with all kinds of warning labels about keep away from flames and combustibles to prevent explosions or fire but it is "garage ready".

 

[mcmxi]

I will make a recommendation. I stopped buying appliances at big box stores and now will only buy from local appliance stores that are big suppliers to builders and commercial businesses. They tend to carry better brands that aren’t offered at big boxes. For example, laundry equipment made in the USA by Speed Queen ( the same company that supplies commercial facilities and laundries). They also know more about their products. The local store I use will also match big box internet prices when the same products are sold. We bought an Electrolux brand refrigerator from this business 8 years ago and it still is working perfectly. On the other hand, the garage refrigerator is a real cheap Frigidaire brand and it also works perfectly and has been for 12 years.

I bought the new refrigerator from an appliance store. I killed two birds with one stone today. I took a load of crap to the dump and picked up the refrigerator on the way home. Dump trailers are a game changer when going to the landfill.

Now I just need to figure out the best way of getting the refrigerator out of the dump truck and into the house. No doubt it'll involve a tractor and pallet forks, or maybe the bigger bucket. There'll be a strap or two involved as well.

 

[Botamon]

Who has the oldest appliance still i use and what brand is it?

We have a Hotpoint electric range installed in 1976 and still in use.

Back in the early 80s friend of mine retired from the company we both worked for and moved away. He had a chest freezer he didn't want to take with him so he gave it to me. It is still in my basement and still works as new. It is a Sears "Coldspot" and if I remember correctly the tag on the back of it says it was made in 1952. Every couple years I have to empty it out and defrost it - but that's ALL that's been done to it since I owned it

I have a GE top-freezer refrigerator that is 34 years old and still works really well and had no repairs done to it. Like it because it has a super-efficient icemaker that really cranks out the ice cubes when needed - an icemaker that also has needed no repairs.