OT Refrigerator Recommendations

Botch

lkapigian said:

lkapigian said:

I just had it delivered ....DOA, Strike 1 on Samsung, bringing another tomorrow 

Gaah!  @Ikapigian, thanks for posting this info, even though I'm sure you'da rather punched the wall today.  
 
My Whirlpool is 23 years old and one of these days I'll have to replace it; these personal experiences carry a lot of weight for me.  Thanks again.  

stlcharcoal

nolaegghead said:

We like our 28 cf Samsung.

I have nearly the same one.....from 2014.  I had the upper ice maker replaced twice and the thermostat replaced all in the first year.  Now the lower ice maker doesn't work and I have to bust ice build up off every two weeks.  Love the fridge, but would buy it without ice makers next time.  My repair guy was a hardcore BGE guy, so we became fast friends.  He said the ice makers on these things are constant trouble.  I think I paid $1200 for it as the sears outlet.

lkapigian

Thanks @Botch @stlcharcoal , the fridge they hauled away was a used and abused Fridgidaire , never missed a beat..this was the first High Tech major appliance I have purchased , now I know why I have stayed basic ..

sumoconnell

I think Yeti should make a fridge, maybe partner with someone to do it and put a YETI label on it.. folks would say 'uh - it keeps cold all year long!" and pay 10K for it!  

I think that is really true.  Not even a joke.  

HeavyG

lkapigian said:

texaswig said:

That's not good. 

Not the happiest camper, they did jump,on it while the delivery people were still here and bringing another in the AM system cooling works, quiet as heck but something wrong with the display control , no ice water and no ability to do anything ...No one even knows what the flashing Fault Code is...looks good in place though 

Is that a doorway to the right of the fridge?

lkapigian

HeavyG said:

lkapigian said:

texaswig said:

That's not good. 

Not the happiest camper, they did jump,on it while the delivery people were still here and bringing another in the AM system cooling works, quiet as heck but something wrong with the display control , no ice water and no ability to do anything ...No one even knows what the flashing Fault Code is...looks good in place though 

Is that a doorway to the right of the fridge?

@HeavyG just goes in my laundry room, the fridge is pulled out a bit at this point, it goes back in

lkapigian

New one delivered today, works fine ( so far) when they delivered the one yesterday, it was the delivery guys first one of that model, today they said they have 7, best of luck to all

nolaegghead

FYI - We subscribe to Consumer Reports - the top rated in this category are Samsung and LG.  Our last LG is still running fine, after 11 years in the shop.  The new Samsung also has had zero problems.

lkapigian

nolaegghead said:

FYI - We subscribe to Consumer Reports - the top rated in this category are Samsung and LG.  Our last LG is still running fine, after 11 years in the shop.  The new Samsung also has had zero problems.

Thanks @nolaegghead . I understood things happen, so this wasn't to bad. I really like the layout/design 

nolaegghead

The initial Samsung delivery was a total fail.  One of the doors had a big dent, so it never made it in to the house.  Took a few weeks to get a replacement, but that replacement was perfect. 

These new refrigerators are complex compared to what was sold decades ago.  Microprocessors, sensors, lots of lighting, mechanical wizardry, valves, plumbing. 

If there are manufacturing defects, those should be ironed out in the warranty period.  There are lemons, every manufacturer has turned out their share.

I'm not a fan of Consumer Reports for everything, but one thing they do is survey users and gather statistical data on reliability to compile model and brand reliability summaries.  You might hear about someone with a bad LG, who knows someone with the same problems.  That doesn't mean ALL LGs suck, necessarily, but if CR identifies a brand with thousands of annual surveys that sucks, I trust that more.

This isn't commercial equipment.  You should treat it delicately, don't just rip out the ice-maker if you don't know how it comes out.  That and kids, and doing thins like turning it off for 4 months because you're in a seasonal dwelling is what breaks stuff. 

We seem to almost never have problems with appliances.  Granted, if we do, I'll fix myself if not under warranty, but most problems have an external cause, and if you fix stuff yourself, you better understand it.   Don't let microprocessors trick you into thinking high-tech is junk....generally everything is on one or two boards and is easy to replace.  I'd rather tune up a 2017 car than a 1968 model, despite the increase in complexity.  Computers are your friend.

lkapigian

nolaegghead said:

The initial Samsung delivery was a total fail.  One of the doors had a big dent, so it never made it in to the house.  Took a few weeks to get a replacement, but that replacement was perfect. 

These new refrigerators are complex compared to what was sold decades ago.  Microprocessors, sensors, lots of lighting, mechanical wizardry, valves, plumbing. 

If there are manufacturing defects, those should be ironed out in the warranty period.  There are lemons, every manufacturer has turned out their share.

I'm not a fan of Consumer Reports for everything, but one thing they do is survey users and gather statistical data on reliability to compile model and brand reliability summaries.  You might hear about someone with a bad LG, who knows someone with the same problems.  That doesn't mean ALL LGs suck, necessarily, but if CR identifies a brand with thousands of annual surveys that sucks, I trust that more.

This isn't commercial equipment.  You should treat it delicately, don't just rip out the ice-maker if you don't know how it comes out.  That and kids, and doing thins like turning it off for 4 months because you're in a seasonal dwelling is what breaks stuff. 

We seem to almost never have problems with appliances.  Granted, if we do, I'll fix myself if not under warranty, but most problems have an external cause, and if you fix stuff yourself, you better understand it.   Don't let microprocessors trick you into thinking high-tech is junk....generally everything is on one or two boards and is easy to replace.  I'd rather tune up a 2017 car than a 1968 model, despite the increase in complexity.  Computers are your friend.

Well said @nolaegghead . I'm an HVAC contractor and deal with and stand behind the technology. We have our equipment issues, but that is where " customer service" has the opportunity to shine

nolaegghead

No kidding!  Now I know two of you on the forum.

I picked this up at a pawn shop a few weeks ago.  Like new $300...  haven't used it yet but i have some equipment i need to sevice.  Always felt a little guilty destroying the ozone layer.  Also get to reuse freon...

lkapigian

nolaegghead said:

No kidding!  Now I know two of you on the forum.

I picked this up at a pawn shop a few weeks ago.  Like new $300...  haven't used it yet but i have some equipment i need to sevice.  Always felt a little guilty destroying the ozone layer.  Also get to reuse freon...

That’s a bargain @nolaegghead

nolaegghead

Price was $500.   I bought a guitar and before walking out the door said, look, I don't want to insult you but I'd pay $300 incl tax for this right now if you need to make some sales.  They took it.  Tested it as well as I could (it sucked) and paid.

NPHuskerFL

nolaegghead said:

Price was $500.   but I'd pay $300 incl tax for this right now if you need to make some sales.  They took it.  Tested it as well as I could (it sucked) and paid.

Get a threaded liquid line drier and as you recover you'll clean out impurities. Looks to be taken care of aesthetically wise. In my experience if they cared enough to keep it from getting banged up it will likely give many years of serviceability. 

Smoker317

We have had our Samsung for just over three years now.  It appears to be the older model of what you just purchased.  Zero issues, I just change the filter when it tells me to and once a year I pull the fridge out from the wall and dust off the coils, etc.  We really like our fridge, looking at the picture, I still need to adjust that left door...  maybe I will get on that later today... LOL.

Botch

nolaegghead said:

Price was $500.   I bought a guitar and before walking out the door said, look, I don't want to insult you but I'd pay $300 incl tax for this right now if you need to make some sales.  They took it.  Tested it as well as I could (it sucked) and paid.

What axe did you get?  

lkapigian

Smoker317 said:

We have had our Samsung for just over three years now.  It appears to be the older model of what you just purchased.  Zero issues, I just change the filter when it tells me to and once a year I pull the fridge out from the wall and dust off the coils, etc.  We really like our fridge, looking at the picture, I still need to adjust that left door...  maybe I will get on that later today... LOL.

@Smoker317 same one, I'm liking that extra door even if it makes the main area smaller 

Smoker317

The extra drawer rocks, we keep all of our cheeses, fresh lunch meats for the week, butter sticks, etc., in this drawer (know that the drawer has four different temperature options from 42 degrees down to 29 degrees, we keep ours at 33 degrees with success for aforementioned that we store in that drawer.

It sucks others are having problems, but so far this is turning into another Samsung extended warranty deal where if I had a crystal ball... 

I would not have purchased the extended warranty.  the 28 cubic feet is awesome, in the photo one can see that this fridge sticks out about another 6" from the planned 1987 house build which renders one drawer hard to get into and one slim cabinet a pain; but for our family well worth the small sacrifice in convenience of accessing a drawer/small cabinet.

Eventually we may get screwed, but we are happy Samsung customers thus far...  Love our oven/range, etc.

lkapigian

Bump  

After 2 years of ice maker issues Lowes is sending me a full refund on the Samsung Showcase....think I will keep the money and buy a countertop ice maker

nolaegghead

lkapigian said:

Bump  

After 2 years of ice maker issues Lowes is sending me a full refund on the Samsung Showcase....think I will keep the money and buy a countertop ice maker

Sorry it didn't work out.  After 3 years our ice maker stopped working.  I pulled it out and took it apart, put DeOxIt on the switches and contacts, assembled it back together and it still didn't work.  Then I read about the reset switch.  Hit that and it's been working fine for the past 6 months.

lkapigian

nolaegghead said:

lkapigian said:

Bump  

After 2 years of ice maker issues Lowes is sending me a full refund on the Samsung Showcase....think I will keep the money and buy a countertop ice maker

Sorry it didn't work out.  After 3 years our ice maker stopped working.  I pulled it out and took it apart, put DeOxIt on the switches and contacts, assembled it back together and it still didn't work.  Then I read about the reset switch.  Hit that and it's been working fine for the past 6 months.

They have installed 2 new icemaker and 1 circuit board in the last month, I can hit the reset and it will drop ice once...they ordered a new sugar and sensor ...kind of hoping the communication between lowes and the services lags and they still come put the part in 

HarrisFrampton

Get the extended warranty if you can. Had the same fridge and had a lot of issues with the ice maker. After 4 repairs, they gave us a full refund. Bought a newer version of the same fridge as they have "upgraded" the ice maker. Time will tell.

lkapigian

HarrisFrampton said:

Get the extended warranty if you can. Had the same fridge and had a lot of issues with the ice maker. After 4 repairs, they gave us a full refund. Bought a newer version of the same fridge as they have "upgraded" the ice maker. Time will tell.

The extended warranty is how we got the refund 

Lowcountrygamecock

3 year extended warranty or 5 year?  We just bought a new whirlpool French door lower freezer. My old one went 17 years with minimal issues until the compressor failed last week. We went with the 3 year warranty on it. I figure if it makes it that long it should be fine hopefully. 

nolaegghead

Lowcountrygamecock said:

3 year extended warranty or 5 year?  We just bought a new whirlpool French door lower freezer. My old one went 17 years with minimal issues until the compressor failed last week. We went with the 3 year warranty on it. I figure if it makes it that long it should be fine hopefully. 

Compressors are like automotive drive-trains...if they last a few years they usually go forever.  Ice makers are the Achilles heel. 

And the more bells and whistles you have, the more mechanical and electrical complexity you have and the more likely something will break.

Markarm4119

Back in 2010 bought entire Whirlpool Gold appliances, icemaker started acting up month 6, technician was a 30 year appliance vet. Said to by extended warranty, we did 6 months later and 4 service calls later, I wrote a letter to Whirlpool CEO, very professional within a week got an email with links to pick out a new fridge. Not 1 problem since then. Moral of the story, when you get a lemon, address the issue , particularly in today's world of social media. Also second the opinion to just say no to Electolux.

Botch

Smoker317 said:

I just change the filter when it tells me to and once a year I pull the fridge out from the wall and dust off the coils, etc.  

Hmm, since I haven't done that in 24 years, mebbe a project for this weekend...

lkapigian

I got a hold of the servicing facility, I am still on the schedule for the parts to be installed so best case I have a working fridge and my money worst case Lowes cancells the repair and I still get my money

NorthPilot06

Good luck!  I love samsung’s innovation but it seems as though they tend to have recurring issues. Either way, a refund isn’t half bad!