French Door, Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator - New Owners, Please Post
We are about to purchase a French Door Refrigerator with a Bottom-Freezer. It seems that our choices are limited to Amana, Maytag and KitchenAid. Perhaps there are others which we do not know.
If you have purchased such a new refrigerator within the past year or so, would you please post here and let me know what you selected and what you like and do not like about it.
I thank you for any input you can offer.
liu
Jul 30, 2006 04:44AM
I've been on the refrig-shopping circuit and saw a Jenn-Aire bottom-mount french door model that looked great. Don't know much more beyond its good looks since I'm looking for something else. Also you might check out the LG line.
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Sarah, you are correct. LG does make this refrigerator. Thanks for the reminder. We looked at LG quite awhile back -- I think one of the large home stores (Home Depot or Lowes) carries LG.
I was told by our salesman today at Pacific Sales that Amana makes this particular refrigerator for themselves, but also for KitchenAid and Maytag. It is quite obvious because the inside looks the same for all three; the exterior finish is a little different on each.
We were told the advantage of the KitchenAid is that they add 5 years onto the 5-year warranty for the refrigerator that has their name on it. Even if it is a partial warranty, this is a plus.
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We bought a Maytag in late Spring. One reason we bought it, Sears had a great sale. We had researched all brands and were leaning toward Maytag anyway. We have a limited space to put it and Maytag fit with a few inches to spare under the cabinet. I love it. It is huge, top and freezer. I like the ice up on top so the freezer is bigger. The crank up and down shelf was great when we had a party and stacked appetizers to store. The produce drawers are large and you can see what is in them. In fact most items are easier to see because they are up at sight level now.
The only negative is sometimes we think the freezer drawer is shut and it isn't in far enough. But there is an alarm to let us know.
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Janet -- thanks for your vote for the Maytag (which we are told is made by Amana). Yesterday we saw that it does have that nice feature of the crank-adjustable shelf; you can easily change the height without clearing off the shelf! This is a nice feature, as you pointed out.
Also, much thanks for the warning. We have, on occasion, noticed that our garage refrigerator is cracked open because someone left a produce drawer slightly out. I appreciate this reminder because we have never owned a freezer with such a drawer.
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I bought a Maytag about a year and a half (maybe a little more) ago, and I truly regret it. It is not the French door model. It's a side by side cabinet depth. The problem with it is that about six months ago, it started defrosting *everything*! I called for warranty service. They had to replace the fan that pushes cold air into the freezer and refrigerator. I lost about three hundred dollars (or more) worth of frozen food, no idea how much in refrigerated food. Maytag did supply a new fan at no charge, but I had to "eat" (pun intended) the food loss costs.
The interesting thing is that the original model fan had so many failures that Maytag contracted another company to design a new fan and a housing modification so it would fit into the space of the old one. I would assume that the same fans were used in many models. Caveat emptor, as the saying goes.
Other problems with my Maytag: I have three "crisper" drawers, one specifically for meats. It freezes things. If I wanted meat that frozen, I'd take it out of the freezer. And there is no way I've been able to determine, either via the manual or trial and error, to adjust the amount of cooling of the drawer as there was with previous non-Maytag units I had that had this same feature.
The movable shelves in the door do not always stay put.I have had one pop out when I was taking food from it. And I'm not too thrilled with the way the interior space is utilized. I think it could be done better, but then again, I could be wrong on that count. It may be a problem with all counter-depth refrigerators, but I didn't have a lot of choice. Because of kitchen door placement the refrigerator had to be counter-depth or seriously block the kitchen door.
Overall, I'm not a happy camper where Maytag is concerned!
I would very strongly urge you to go to a store and do a hands-on inspection of any refrigerator/freezer you are considering buying. If they don't have any stocked models, take some empty milk cartons and containers that you use regularly and try them out. The heck with what other people think. You're gonna have to live with it!
Things that I learned to take into consideration the hard way are refrigerator doors and how they open in relationship to the configuration of your kitchen. My present kitchen has an island that allows me to place things on that counter when I'm getting several items from the refrigerator at the same time. My last kitchen only had a coutertop on one side of the refrigerator, so for that kitchen I had a "one door" refrigerator (plus freezer) that allowed me to have the door open next to the counter.
I will add that my daughter has a French door refrigerator and loves it. Her kitchen also has a breakfast bar within easy reach of the open refrigerator, so she doesn't have to do the open/close routine to get several things out at one time. Sorry I don't remember what brand hers is.
Good luck with whatever you decide. And take it from one who knows: If you make a mistake, you have to live with it a looooooong time.
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I believe Kenmore also makes one
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Have a friend that has had nothing but trouble with her Maytag. It has been replaced once and repaired several times and still will not keep a decent temperature.
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We have the Maytag as well. Love the bottom freezer. The amount of space top and bottom is gaudy -- you can put something like 5 gallons of milk in the door! We have a single top door and have to give it a little extra nudge to make sure it's shut.
One word of caution: Do not buy online from homedepot.com. We did b/c we were out of town, and the first one was a lemon. The local Home Depot delivered, but refused to do anything afterwards. Completely washed their hands of the mess. Maytag came out twice, determined it was a dud, and replaced it. Haven't had a problem since.
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LPM - You have room to spare in your fridge? Are you sure you are a ChowHound?
Seriously, I am glad to hear this, and space is my biggest concern. Thanks for your input.
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That is so funny. I now know that I am a chowhound...officially.
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Hello, webecoxs!
Yes, I believe that was item #2 on the 'Hound Oath that you took when you originally logged in: "I promise never to see any space on my fridge shelf." And I think #1 was that you will always travel great distances to experience THE BEST of a category: the best coffee, the best chocolate truffle, the best berry cobbler, the best goat cheese, etc. etc!
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If only I had room for something besides condiments in my fridge!
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I chose the JennAir model, which has a flatter profile than the curved front LG, so it looks better with my other appliances.
So far, so good. Freezer works splendidly, and the fridge is quiet. We haven't hooked up the water line to the ice cube maker yet, but I think there's a turbo-charge party-time icemaker function.
Good luck!
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Liu, We have the KitchenAid and absolutely love it. I have their big stand mixer, toaster, etc. I've always been impressed with their quality.
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We are definitely considering the KitchenAid. One of the features that appeals to us is that it comes in a white finish that is easy to clean. Some of the other white refrigerators have textured handles that are more difficult to keep clean.
Thanks for the vote, Leper. Do you also have a KitchenAid dishwasher -- which we are considering along with a Miele and Bosch. ?????
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We have had the LG French door refrigerator for almost two years now--we got it right after it came out. We love it! We have the standard (as opposed to cabinet) depth with the 'titanium' finish--looks like stainless steel but doesn't show fingerprints. In general, I'd have to say we are very satisfied. Given our kitchen shape, it was either a model like this or a side-by-side, which we loathe.
Two things that are a bit annoying: sometimes the freezer door can be slightly open (with something closed in it) without the alarm sounding; the ice cube shape is curved in such a way that the cubes are not as pleasing as they could be when in a cocktail. There are five ice cube sizes, though--more than any household needs.
I suspect that the other models if made by the same company would have the same traits.
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Thanks, Laurella, for your review. This is very helpful information, and someone else pointed out what you have mentioned: beware of the door ajar. Thanks!
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We bought a 22 cf LG French door titanium refrigerator with the water in the door, not the ice. We had a problem with the water spout leaking every time we took a glass and held it there, and after FOUR service calls, and a lot of stalling, and a lot of grief, LG finally agreed to exchange the unit. The new unit works nicely but the ice maker is a little cranky and we just discovered the freezer, after a sixteen day trip away from home, seemed filled with frost flakes. So probably next time I'd try Amana, just because LG as a manufacturer doesn't care about their customers, isn't easily accessable, and it takes a lot of pressure to get them to really correct thing. The repairman told me they are much too new and have sales that went through the roof, and therefore can't handle it. I actually had a Customer Rep hang up on me when I went ballistic with them because no one could give me an answer, or any promise of getting back to me with one. The LG attitutde was they move in mysterious ways, another department is responsible and you can't contact them, etc. etc. Other than that the engineering is quite good. By the way a letter to the President in Korea was never answered - that's sums it all up.
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We agree about LG attitude. You buy it, they could care less about you, espically if there is a problem. I still can only get 1/2 a small glass of cold water out of my unit. The emails I received from them were insulting. Never buying an LG item again!!
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I can't comment on the particular model that you are looking at, but I just sold a house and a Jenn- air fridge. I bought it because of the crank shelves- absolutely loved that. But I probably spent more in repairs than on the fridge itself. Worst offense was a poor seal. I am going to re-do my kitchen in my new house, and I will NOT buy another Jenn- Air. I also had a downdraft Jenn-Air stove and that was also bad news.
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Thanks, carfreeinla. Eliminating helps a lot! The Jenn-Airs are on the store floors, but I will think of you and walk-on-by!
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We are looking for a replacement for our Amana refrigerator that has lasted over 20 years! I like the freezer baskets on the GE Profile Artico, but am concerned about the seal on the French doors on the fridge. It does not have the "flippy thing" that the Maytag's do. Does anyone know which of these technologies is better?
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Don't know about GE refrigerators, but I do know about GE quality. Love it! I have two ovens installed like a double oven. One in an Advantium (240v) and the other is a Trivection oven. Both are incredible. And I'm having the new GE touch-control cook top installed in the morning to replace the previous cooktop that had knobs on it. Want the flat look with the new granite countertops. The GE cooktop is the best thought-out I could find. It is a 30 inch electric with two burners that function as different sizes. I've had cooktops before (inclding the one I'm replacing) that *claim* to have burners that adjust to the size of the pan, but fact is they didn't. On the GE, there is a button you tap to choose the size burner/pan you want to use.
When I started my kitchen remodel TWO YEARS AGO, I looked at every appliance line that is available in the U.S. Initially, I thought of GE as "American made. Ho hum." I looked at every fancy foreign import on the market. In the end, it was GE's innovation that won me over. And now it's dependability and quality that will keep me with them. I'm looking forward to doing another 22 pound turkey in two hours in the Trivection oven next week!
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We have a GE side by side fridge and I can't stand it! It's less than 4 years old and we've already replaced the compressor and the ice maker won't do anything but crushed ice. Also, the water filter is at the BACK of the fridge, which means clearing everything off the top shelf when you have to replace the filter.
my 2 cents stay away from GE for refrigerators.
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Yikes. We bought a bottom freezer GE Profile almost 2 years ago and so far so good - but I hope we don't have the compressor problem.
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i'm new to this post and am looking for similar info. we have a 25 yr old basic ge refrig which we will soon replace. other than having trouble opening the crisper door on the right side because of space issues, it's been just fine. we are thinking of a french door bottom freezer and wondering if this is a good idea, as i understand we lose space. we like BASIC - NO icemaker, NO water dispenser. we love usability, well designed shelving, reliability, energy efficiency, long life. do you have such a refrigerator in your life? what is it? we're now considering ge profile...we're open to going back to the top freezer mode too. i've spent too much time looking at consumer research, consumer reports, etc. without getting a real fix on it. thanks!
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Buy the Amana french door bottom freezer drawer appliance. I don't have the icemaker hooked up. It doesn't come w/ water dispenser. The shelving IMO is well designed -- you can move around the shelves that are half the width of the refrigerator.
I'd stay away from LG, or at least that's what my trusty appliance dealer advised since they don't have a long repair history.
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We have a white GE Profile French door/bottom freezer w/no ice maker or water. They do make them but you probably have to special order it. (Ours took a week to get.) We got the Profile because it comes with a 5 yr warranty on the compressor, vs 1 yr for the "regular" model.
We've had it since March, and love it. MIL bought a similar one shortly after we got ours, only with ice.
My only gripe is they don't have enough door shelves and extras are insanely expensive. I found one at an on-line appliance parts store for $35 + S&H, where directly it was$75+!!!
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My mother has the Amana french door/bottom freezer in stainless and I covet it!
The flippy thing you're talking about? Between the french doors? This one has it, so you can open and shut it from either side. Works like a charm.
As a matter of fact the seal is so strong on the fridge and freezer that you really have to give it a good tug. Better tight than loose I figure.
Good luck with your shopping.
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Thanks for the information. I appreciate your help!
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Hi. Also similar question about french door, bottom freezer but with the external ice maker. We've narrowed it down but still LG, Kenmore or Maytag competing. Consumers is more in love with Kenmore than Maytag me thinks. Any suggestions on this type of frige? Thanks
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We've got the Kenmore Elite, and love it.
Plenty of room and haven't had an issue with it at all.
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ditto on the Kenmore Elite. I LOVE mine. One thing to be careful about....you need clearance on both sides. the way the refrigerator niche is configured in my kitchen, one of the doors can't swing open far enough to pull the shelves out all the way.
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""Consumers is more in love with Kenmore than Maytag me thinks.""
Kenmore (AKA Generic Trademark of Sears) is actually a relabeled item from other manufacturers too numerous to mention them all here. Now that doesn't make them bad or anything as my Kenmore chest freezer is about to hit 20 shortly.
Also BEWARE that Sears has been known bug you to death to plug their Extended Service Warranties.
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We have "bought into" various Sears Extended Service Warranties. What convinced me to avoid their plans in the future was when they told me it would be several weeks before they could service our washing machine; we were captives of their incompetent ways.
If you have a good appliance service technician, he/she will offer you far better service than Sears can.
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my parents are actually building a house from scratch and remodeling another house and so they've been slowly buying pieces to put into the kitchen... you may want to look at top of the line brands like sub-zero/wolf... we haven't looked too much at the french door fridges, but i have seen many of these at the showroom and its the next on their list.... these brands actually go on sale dramatically, as new designs come out all the time and so they go 50% off or more.... and when they do, these prices are similar to kenmore and maytag, etc.... my parents have been looking at these brands at expo and other specialty stores with these brands and i guess they have sales frequently so our garage is slowly piecing together two kitchens and they are getting all of this stuff at great deals (before we have enough money to remodel and build haha)
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This is good information, mabziegurl; however, aren't the Sub-zero and Wolf refrigerators all built-ins? I think we are leaning more toward free-standing models so that we can maintain the cabinet space that we have.
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there have both built in ones and free standing refrigerators my parents have been looking at free standing refrigerators, i'm not too familiar with the brands they have been looking at, i don't know high end refrigerators. the last time i visited, we were looking at thermador and wolf ranges, but they definitely had free standing ones in the showroom =)
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We bought a GE profile 22 cu.ft french door refrigerator almost exactly one year ago. Right now I would have to say I cannot recommend it. Here are the problems we are having:
Although there is an alarm on the doors to let you know if they, or the freezer drawer, have been left open, it does not work as well as it should. Several times the freezer drawer, or a refrigerator door, have not been completly closed and we didn't know it. it seems if the doors are closed enough so that the interior lights go out the alarm will not sound. Unforunately, close is not close enough.
Then last week we started having trouble closing the french doors. The door gaskets are starting to stick out too much and prevents the doors from closing unless you close them both at the same time. G.E. is coming this week to check that problem out.
Then there is the problem of losing space. If you check it out you will find that a GE, top freezer, 22 cubic foot model has about 3 to 4 cu ft more usable space than does the french door model.
The only reason we purchased the GE 22 cf french door model was that it fit exactly into the space we had. I thought the Amana was better made, but it was too big.
Hope this helps.
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I am going to buy a french door refrigerator since my (hated) side-by-side is on its last legs. My question is about the seal. Does the GE you mention have the "flippy thing" (for want of a better term) as part of its sealing mechanism or just rubber gaskets? I would have bought an LG on sale at BestBuy this past weekend, but it just had the rubber gaskets and it seems to me that the "flippy thing" probably provides a more durable seal. I have four teenagers and I know that the doors will be constanly opened and closed and I'm afraid that the rubbing of the two seals together will cause them to wear out faster than seals on any other type of fridge. I have had two bottom-freezer fridges in the past and loved them, but went to a side-by-side to increase the amount of refrigerator space I had and the side-by-sides were the only way to do that 10 years ago. Could you all comment on the durability of the fridge door seals?
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Wondering how you made out with the GE problem, I bought the same refridgerator around the same time and have the same problem with the doors. Had the GE people twice to fix it. The doors are not like on other refridgerators, the alarm has to work.
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""Then there is the problem of losing space. If you check it out you will find that a GE, top freezer, 22 cubic foot model has about 3 to 4 cu ft more usable space than does the french door model.""
BEWARE Xx Cubic Feet is the total capacity of the refrigerator + freezer compartments. Check for a door sticker showing the breakdown of the compartments. Also note the door space could throw things off as more modern ones are somewhat deeper or extends into the shelf area.
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I am also looking to buy a new frig. Can't decide wether or not to go with French Door (I like the looks of the Jenn-Air and Kitchen Aid) or pay the extra (a lot extra) for a sub-zero.
I bought one about 8 yrs ago and had a lot of problems with it. I moved and heard they always did. Ice maker problems that caused ice to build up in freezer. No prob if you didn't use ice maker, but a prob if you wanted ice! I will be renovating so size isn't very important.Thanks!
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I am thinking of buying the Thermador french door refrigerator, does anyone have one to let me know if you like it.
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We bought the Kenmore French Door fridge w/Bottom Freezer in late 2004, it's the non-counter depth model, no outside water delivery, but there is a spout for chilled, filtered water just inside the left door.
We love this fridge, and have been very happy with it. I just replaced the water filter (you can find them on eBay).
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I'm glad to hear you're satisfied with the Kenmore, for I went ahead & bought one since the side-by-side died. Since time was of the essence, we purchased a clearance model to get it into the house as quickly as possible. The french door bottom freezer was what I was looking for anyway and I'm glad I went with the fridge with the "mullion" seal. (Turns out the "flippy thing" has an actual name). I'll let everyone know when the seals wear out--hopefully in about 20 years (ever the optimist!)
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By the way the French door is much better than, say, any side by side. The bottom freezer is nice; we got the LG because unlike others at the time the front door actually tilted forward. In terms of design I don't think you can do better than French door, after years of both top and bottom freezers. You can see everything in the bottom freezer and yet have the french door open and look at one or both sides. The 22 cf is I think the largest they all make and most of them are similar. Watch out for the light at the right and left top, which may not permit you to put in tall items. The drawers for veggies and then for meats are amazingly deep and pull out completely. French door is a welcome improvement in design. As I said before, I'd go Amana or even Kenmore if they have a similar model.
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We have an Amica Freshline+, which might only be sold in Central Europe (i.e. Poland where we live). The freezer is on the bottom. Each of the doors has been open when we come back to the fridge. It hasn't always happened. In fact, it just started happening since the beginning of September and more frequently lately. The freezer door has done it maybe 2-3 times and the fridge door, perhaps 3 times. I have tested the doors and tried to re-create the open door mystery, to no avail. The last time it happened I noticed the produce drawer was slightly out and full of heavy vegetables (it's quite deep). When the freezer door had done it I had noticed one drawer in it was slightly out as well. The front of the fridge is very slightly lower than the back, but the seal "looks" in good shape.
The seal is POWERRFUL when you close the door. In fact, if you get it even slighlty close it pulls itself shut. Then the vacuum factor kicks in and it is nearly impossible to open the door for the first few seconds after closing it. Afterward, it settles to a normal seal that is rather easy to pull open.
My woman thinks I am just forgetting to close the fridge, which is absurd. Last night I had opened each the freezer and the fridge and since the last time I had opened the freezer this happened and she chewed me out I made sure it was absolutely closed, as I did with the fridge door. But she went in and the fridge door was ajar. They are not wide open when they do it... only about 1-2 inches.
What could it be??? Am I losing my mind???
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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We just installed a new clothes washer, and I watched how important it was to the techs to make sure that it was level: back to front and side to side. So, I will suggest to you the obvious; take a level and check your fridge on both planes to confirm that it is firmly seated and level. It should have no wobble whatsoever.
From other posts I have read here, I have determined with these French door refrigerators that the drawers must be fully closed or the doors will not seal. Perhaps this is something else to check.
Please write in what you find as a new fridge will be our next appliance. We are leaning toward the French door model, but perhaps there are some inherent problems with its design that have yet to be resolved.
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We bought the Kenmore Elite french door/bottom freezer about a year ago and I LOVE it! I had the Amana in my previous house, and my one complaint was that you had to open the door to access the filtered water. (which is why we didn't go with that this time around) In the Kenmore the H2O is on the outside, but the downside is you can't get ice from the dispenser because the ice is below in the freezer.
Anyway, I love the 2 fruit/veggie drawers, and the full width drawer at the bottom is great for all my random food (cheese, prosciutto, etc.) I also like the fact that the shelves are glass, so very easy to clean, and also that they split in two--that is, you can make a shelf the same height all the way across, or split it apart in the middle. I've found this very useful, and now have 2 m