Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

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earlgo
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by earlgo »

Ha, we bought a Whirlpool about a year ago because SWMBO wanted a freezer in a bottom drawer. It works much better and stuff is easy to find. It came with an internal ice maker, but we do not have well water that is suitable so we did not connect it. Unfortunately, every once in a while when it starts up one would guess that the compressor was self destructing. Other times it is fine. It sure keeps us on our toes listening for the ultimate failure. Oh and this one has wheels but sits on levelling screws so if it needs to be moved for dusting, etc., I have to find the wrenches and level. PITA.
--earlgo
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Thanks for your comments, folks (and hi Ken — good to hear from you). Yes, it is annoying that things are not made to last. And the manufacturers redesign so the parts are different, and parts for the old ones often become unavailable. I've had several sources say the control board for this fridge is not avail. Had a similar problem with my Dewalt planer. The feed roller rubber crapped out and new rollers are not avail. Paid extra to get them refurbished but still cheaper than a new planer. I suspect that modern manufacturing only keeps parts until the warranty runs out for the last production of a specific model. And, of course, by doing a redesign they can force folks to buy new. Grumble, grumble.

We're going to make the rounds this afternoon to see what we can find.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
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SteveM
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by SteveM »

The reason Speed Queen laundry machines are so reliable is that they have mechanical controls.

Laundromats buy speed queen machines for a reason.

Steve
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liveaboard
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by liveaboard »

My last fridge was whirlpool. The machine didn't fail but the door rubber disintegrated after a few years, the paint was bubbling up from below too.
The plastic trays started cracking early on.
So when the thermostat failed, I jury rigged one I had on my parts shelf [as you do], and ordered a new fridge.

I had a whirlpool washing machine too.
I will avoid that company in future.

Electronic controls; I have a US made marine airconditioner [water cooled is the main difference] in a boat in Amsterdam. A power spike fried the wonderfully complex electronic control board.
Now it has a simple thermostat and a power relay.
It doesn't do reverse cycle anymore though.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Liveaboard:
Thanks for the un-encouragement. I have been looking at Whirlpool. The one we have now is GE and the design errors and omissions are almost criminal. I'm hearing that any new fridge these days has a lifespan of five to seven years. I found a chart somewhere on line that showed that many brands have a rate of service calls of between 20 and 24 percent in the first year. Not encouraging. But I did not verify the validity of the chart so I don't know if that info is true.

I'm with you on electronics. I don't like touch screens. Give me rotary or toggle switches.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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liveaboard
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by liveaboard »

The fridge we bought is cheap, maybe it will only last 5 years instead of 6 like ones that cost double.
Cheap fridge with no ice maker and no obvious electronics [could be some hidden in there]. Just a dial thermostat.

So maybe it will last longer than ones that cost double...
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Well you are lucky. Wifey wants the ice maker.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
SteveM
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by SteveM »

Greg_Lewis wrote: Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:22 pm I'm with you on electronics. I don't like touch screens. Give me rotary or toggle switches.
Too many cars have touch screens these days.

I need to be able to feel the buttons to work them without looking.

It's against the law to talk on my phone while driving, but I have to text my car to turn on the a/c?

Steve
RONALD
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by RONALD »

When we built our house in the 70’s, I installed a Sub-Zero Refrigerator in the Kitchen.

By around 1998, it was functioning but was getting a little worn inside.

We bought a new Sub-Zero in May of 1998, and before I installed it, I reinforced the floor, they are too heavy for the ordinary sub-flooring, and that first one sagged a little; I added a metal plate to distribute the load.

So ye olde one now sits in the basement where we fire it up if we have some extra stuff to cool, and the newer model 650F, now has 22 years on it.

I think, Sub-Zero is still assembled in Wisconsin, whether all parts today are made in the USA is unknown.

It has the bottom freezer you guys prefer.
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Mr Ron »

I would look for a refrigerator made in Europe. Europeans generally are much more frugal than us yanks and insist on getting their money's worth. I was surprised to hear Bosch was giving problems.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
SteveM
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by SteveM »

Mr Ron wrote: Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:42 am I would look for a refrigerator made in Europe. Europeans generally are much more frugal than us yanks and insist on getting their money's worth. I was surprised to hear Bosch was giving problems.
The issue with some imports is parts availability.

Steve
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Way OT, recommend a good refrigerator...

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Well, we're looking at Amana, Maytag or Whirlpool. We suspect they are all made by the same parent company. The ice maker design and water filter locations are identical on all three. We want the ice maker in the door as the others use an auger to push the ice toward the dispenser, a system we have now which is problematic. The ice bin of this type holds much more ice than we need and when the defrost cycle runs the ice melts slightly and then clumps up and does not dispense easily. And the bin is cumbersome to remove. Also we just don't need that much ice on hand. The in-door ice maker is gravity feed. In the end, it probably doesn't matter all that much as the lifespan of these things is limited and this one will probably last until we're both in nursing homes drooling on our shirts.

We talked to one dealer who says that some factories had shut down due to the virus and delivery for some models is out to August. Fortunately everything else on our existing unit works so we'll just play with ice trays for now. Thanks everyone for your input.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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