Refrigerator Replacement Question about Dimensions

[Mark & Mary Ann Weiss]

My wife wants to replace our refrigerator, which has been operating faithfully for 42 years. It's a Hotpoint. Anyway, I decided that it's a good idea from the energy savings aspect.

We looked at a bunch of models. All of the fridges today are much larger. Our old fridge is 24-1/2" deep, 31-1/2" wide and 63" tall. The space is tight, with 1/4" on left & right sides. Only 2-1/2" space from rear of fridge to the wall. The front sticks out a little beyond the cabinets by a door thickness. All the new fridges are much, much larger, starting at 32-5/8 W for a Kitchen Aid side by side, and going on up to 36" W for many models. Even the conventional top-freezers are still much deeper and would stick out 9" into the relatively narrow space in front of the fridge and would stick out like a sore thumb next to 26" deep cabinets/counters on both sides.

We looked at Sears, Zemel Bros and Scalzo appliance dealers and found nothing suitable.

Are there any other models or manufacturers that make fridges that fit in a

26" depth space?

-- Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION Hear my Kurzweil Creations at:

sites at:

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[jeff]

Hi,

There are "counter depth" refrigerators, but they are usualy a premium price for them! But they are not as deep as most others are! Many refrigerators today have an air over condensor which means the refrigerator can be pushed back against the wall as well and needs to air space, eliminating this....

Checking some of the manufactures web sites on-line is probably the easiest place to start...

Brands (186)

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[jim]

i had the same problem, a house that was built in 1972 and the kitchen had a space next to the cabinets on one side and a pantry on the other side... the ref. was just shoved into the opening there... well we were in the market for a new one.. a side by side by whirlpool... and like you said they are much bigger now... added space to have more insulation in the walls and doors to save energy(but to keep the same size interior. i had to take the moulding off the floor on both sides to just get the new one into the old space... it sticks out a little more, but thats is what we wanted... sure beats cutting the pantry wall out to gain two or three more inches...

[jeff]

Hi,

Should read: "refrigerator can be pushed back against the wall as well and needs **no** air space, eliminating this...."

jeff. Appliance Repair Aid

[Mark & Mary Ann Weiss]

We have the exact same setup. Cabinets on the left, pantry on the right. Short of major renovation work, we cannot move the pantry (a one-piece Riviera oak cabinet that goes from floor to ceiling and is tight into the corner as is. The passage in front of the refrigerator is only about 30" (an island with electric range and hood is directly across from the face of the refrigerator) now, and would be reduced by another 9" if we bought a smaller top-freezer model that's going for about $1199. It would jut out from the surrounding cabinetry and not only look bad, but become an obstacle in the pathway between the cooking island and refrigerator face. It's up against an outside wall on the 2nd floor, so knocking out the wall is just not worth it. At first, we were looking for a way to fit a Kitchen Aid side-by-side in there, and needed an inch more width, not focusing on the depth issue so much. Looking at both, I realize we're going to have a lengthy search for a suitable refrigerator. I wish it were as simple as sliding a cabinet over, or knocking out some trim, but in our case, it's much more involved. When the house was built, most refrigerators were the size of our Hotpoint model.

-- Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION Hear my Kurzweil Creations at:

sites at:

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[Mark & Mary Ann Weiss]

Thanks for responding. I perused the links and it looks like the site where my wife did her initial shopping/research. She's been looking at Kitchen Aid, but none of them have the depth we need. I looked at a few Hotpoint models from this site, but even their smallest is

5" deeper than ours. Do you know which manufacturers make "counter depth" refrigerators? I seem to be finding all the larger models so far.

-- Take care,

Mark & Mary Ann Weiss

VIDEO PRODUCTION . FILM SCANNING . AUDIO RESTORATION Hear my Kurzweil Creations at:

sites at:

-

[Dan O.]

You can find a number of different 'counter depth' or 'shallow depth' refrigerators at the following links. I don't know if any will fit in the width you have available though.

But as Jeff said, expect to pay a premium for them. :(

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

=Ð~~~~~~

[jeff]

Hi,

I found several "counter depth" unit at Jenn-air.....

This was the dimension on just one that I found....

reader required to view.

jeff.

Appliance Repair Aid