Are there any refrigerator companies that make a reliable fridge anymore ??

[ultrarunner]

Sad when the only thing that remains is the name...

Grandma had an in with the local appliance store that was heavy marketing Amana... so the entire family has Amana... all still working plus the old Norge from the 50's in the shop... coldest beverages in town.

I find the cheap refrigerators the best value... when I have to buy new.

Lots of Magic Chef in the apartments from the 90's going strong... bought 4 new boxes 3 years ago from Home Depot for $299 each... 16 cu ft. Figured not much in them plus they deliver and haul away...

Got a little ticked off when an energy program offered new refrigerator swaps to low income in one building... I had all Hot Point boxes... not a lick of problem and fit perfect to the space...

Anyway... I said only if the lease was amended to state Tenant responsible to supply refrigerator... everyone was smiles and the new boxes arrived.

Two didn't make it two years... two are still working... the good thing is I am no longer responsible...

 

[Steppenwolfe]

We have built two new kitchens in our last two homes, one 15 years ago and the other 7 years ago. We put in Jenn-Air appliances in both and no problems at all at either.

 

[3930dave]

I did contact GE they told me sorry NO techs in my 49249 zip code.We are moving on for the next nightmare fridge purchase.

I'm keeping my 25+ year old Frigidaire fridge as long as I can. Mechanical dials, old school. Once that one passes on, I'll be having a serious look at these guys.

Energy Efficient Refrigerators, Freezers, and Sustainable Living Products - Sun Frost

If you need ice makers, 4k tv built in, internet connectivity...... not happening. They got their start building tiny bulletproof vaccine fridges for the proverbial middle-o-nowhere use.

Once I get serious about one, I'll contact them.... I want to find out what they use for compressors, and will take that info to "A Guy" I know for feedback....

They have AC fridges, or DC for off-grid too.

Good luck C.

Rgds, D.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yeah, I had to rebuild the icemaker too in the Maytag. Some plastic damage in the geartrain or something like that. OH, yeah a lightning strike took out the control panel circuit board too. I replaced that too.. None of these parts were terribly expensive. I did the work myself.

Appliance Parts | Huge Selection | Expert Repair Help | eReplacementParts.com

It doesn't pay to call repairmen any more, you have to learn to fix things yourself. Good help is hard to find.

The repair men my sister in law calls have been idiots...

The Bosch Dishwasher was not draining... the factory service said it was the pump... the replacement pump with service is more than buying a new one... she paid the $110 service call.

Went on line and found a $19 part caused standing water... put in the part and 4 years with no problems...

Same with the their front loaders... factory service said it needed a new $400 board replacement... my brother said not in a million years... would put it on the highway with a Lemon Sign...

He went online and found instructions on how to reset the board to factory default... it involved pushing a certain sequence of key strokes and holding.... did that and three trouble free years since...

When you think about it the internet is a fantastic resource for those so motivated...

 

[jaydee325]

This may be an easy fix. Since the freezer is cold, that tells me the cooling system is working. I kind of doubt there is separate cooling units for freezer and refrigerator section.

With the freezer on the bottom, there has to be a fan to move (lift) the cold air into the fridge section. It could be as simple as a failed fan or a plugged/iced over duct.

Try the online appliance repair outfits like I suggested. They have helped me troubleshoot appliance issues.

Good luck either way you go.

I did contact GE they told me sorry NO techs in my 49249 zip code.We are moving on for the next nightmare fridge purchase.

 

[PILOON]

Gee, my 28 year old 22 cubic foot freezer is still running great as is the same vintage fridge that lives close by.

The newer fridge in the kitchen gave up the ghost last year and I keep my fingers crossed for the new one.

My window air conditioner (3 years old) quit on me but my 25 year old still runs great but just won't fit the window.
Someone said to me that anything under $200. is now considered a throwaway as repairs are impossible at the current labor/parts costs.
I believe him other than if U can DIY. (and find parts)

I have a very nice dehumidifier (about 8 yrs old) that the fan simply blew apart.
(Probably cost 2-300$ at the time.)
Parts (fan) no longer available.! OK, I hot glued it back together and works OK , for now.

I'm a handy guy.
Microwave was kaput and I knew the exact part needed but 'not available' complete assembly only!

Shareholders need the dividends and the management need their bonuses!
Heck managements mismanage and the firm declares bankruptcy but management still gets the bonus.

Guess I was in the wrong working sector, LOL. (or work for the Gov't)

 

[PILOON]

same with me, forget GE and Whirlpool, they are NOT the companies they once were!..

No, probably all owned by offshore company that bided for the trade name so that they could fool us for another 2 5 years believing we were dealing with a reputable American firm.
That's how it is today!

 

[KennyG]

All the main-stream big box store appliances are cr@p. You have to go to the high end custom stuff to get anything that will last, which most people can't afford. Most of that stuff is $10K and up.

Forget the high end stuff. Because it's relatively low quantity production, parts become unavailable sooner than the more standard equipment. We have a huge Kitchenaid refrigerator that malfunctioned when it was 6 or 7 years old. Parts were unavailable but we were able to send the motherboard (did you know refrigerators now have motherboards?) to a third party company and get it rebuilt. We have a Meile washing machine that the door gasket went bad at 10 years. It was available but only from Meile at $220. I patched it with a piece of inner tube and rubber cement and it's holding. I scrapped a $1200 Bosch dishwasher that was 5 years old because I got tired of fixing it every six months.

Appliances are a crap shoot. I find that they last pretty well but once in a while you get a bad one.

Also, to correct some of the comments, Whirlpool is still an American company that sells world wide but most of the US products are made here.

 

[jaydee325]

GE and Whirlpool are US publicly traded companies.

My son used to work for Whirlpool at their world headquarters in St. Joe, Mi. Most of the design/engineering work is done there. Parts/assembly is for the most part, sourced off shore, just like the auto manufacturers.

As an aside, refrigeration is a looser segment profit wise for Whirlpool. Overseas companies (LG etc) are eating their lunch in this segment.

No, probably all owned by offshore company that bided for the trade name so that they could fool us for another 2 5 years believing we were dealing with a reputable American firm.
That's how it is today!

 

[fried1765]

Remember when refrigerators just worked and they weighed a ton too?

6 years ago the neighbor down the road did a 400k addition/remodel to the old family home...

Of course all new appliances... all of Grandma's appliances pushed out to the curb.

The first year they were pleased as could be... said energy use was down a third yet they added 30% more square footage...

Fast forward to 2020 and everything they had bought... all the stainless appliances, Intstahot, Garbage Disposer, Compactor, Neptune Washer/Dryer, Oven has all been replaced... except the electric cooktop set in granite.

The kicker is I took their old Maytag washer/dryer pair and old refrigerator and dishwasher and they have had zero problems in my rentals... we were talking over the holidays and he said it was mistake simply thinking new is better...

My take is are you really saving given the high cost to repair/replace not to mention the inconvenience?

PS... a builder trick here is to create a recess in the wall cavity behind the refrigerator to pickup extra depth so the standard refrigerator appears to be counter depth...

Depending on framing you can pick up 3 to 5 inches...

"PS... a builder trick here is to create a recess in the wall cavity behind the refrigerator to pickup extra depth so the standard refrigerator appears to be counter depth...

Depending on framing you can pick up 3 to 5 inches..."

Kinda difficult to do that, when the counter with the refrigerator is on an outside wall.