...would be more long term reliable, a new hotpoint frosting one or a used Miele frost free? I could get either for similar money. I'm inclined to say no to the Miele as its frost free, what do you think?
NT
Some months ago - actually before christmas 2010, I asked something simlar here, but it was about replacing an upright half-height freezer. At the time, the reply was that if it wasn't broke, don't replace it, however we were tempted by shiny low energy and an offer from the in-laws so we bought new... But the supplimental advice was to get something with as few moving parts as possible. So no fancy digital controller, just a simple knob thermostat. No on/off switch either - just a 'fast freeze' button and a simple indicator to let us know it was too hot...
It's a hotpoint (replaced a 20 year old hotpoint with near similar level of controls), and so-far so-good.
With regard to frosting - it has frosted up a little - once and it was probably our own fault for not shutting the door properly for a few hours - so we defrosted it properly which took well under an hour to do, and was easy, as hotpoint now have a sculpted bottom tray with a little tube to help channel out the water!
So, based on that, I'd suggest go for minimal technology - less to go wrong, and doing a defrost every now & then isn't really a hassle - big laundry basket, some blankets, unload freezer into basket, defrost, and load it up again. Simples (as some irritating little rodents might say)
Gordon
I have a de-frosting one.It works fine except that the water does not drain away as it is designed too, as a result we have to sponge water out of the fridge periodically.
That's why I'm inclined toward the hotpoint thats not frost free.
Usually poking some wire down the drain spout and waggling unblocks it.
NT
We have separate Beko frost free fridge and freezer which both work well. With frost free you do lose a fair amount of capacity though so that air can circulate.
Whatever you do never, ever buy a Hotpoint 'Frost Free' one as it will be anything but. Not only will it not be frost free there is more chance of your ice cream keeping frozen in a Hotpoint cooker than in one of their refrigeration range. If they were any better they'd still be completely f*cking useless.
As for most reliable, something using R12 and built more than 30 years ago - so both your options are a compromise :)
You've been unlucky, and (so far) I've been lucky. I have separate undercounter larder fridge and freezer, both Hotpoint. The non-frost-free freezer is 14 years old, the frost-free fridge is 13 years old. I haven't yet had any problems with them. Of course, having said that.....something very bad will happen soon!
I'm a Miele fan (dishwasher excellent, washing machine brilliant, vacuum pretty good) but I've heard bad things about Miele fridges/freezers.
Don't they just badge them? We have a bosch twin compressor model that seems pretty good. must be 14 years old now (hmmm...tempting fate there)
Darren
My own experience of hotpoint ff ffs is such that I wont bother with frost frees in future.
I had a look at the Miele, and didnt see anything out of the ordinary about it. Had it been a frosting type I might have said yes, but not a frost free.
NT
My experience of a "frost free" freezer isn't good. I had one which had a fan and a heat exchanger in a duct with some heater.
It only took one occasion where the freezer door was left open, for the heat exchanger to frost up where the defrost mechanism stops working, leaving it and the ducting full of ice. It then took simply ages to defrost, and was best done by dismantling the offending ducting.
Liebherr make fridges and freezers for Miele so I'd get one of them (and I did).
Avoid frost-free freezers like the plague. They are unreliable and expensive to repair.
Much more to go wrong with a frost free, I'd avoid that type.
We have a Hotpoint Mistral fridge freezer, dual compressor thingy. must be getting on for 10 years old. The freezer works well the fridge isn't quite so good, temperature sensor problem I think. It had a tendancy to freeze things...
Thought it might be the pot on the control board but couldn't find a fault with that, the sensor disappears down a hole in the rear right corner and I suspect is rather sensitive to vertical position. It's been OK since I repositioned it a year or so back.
The freezer does need defrosting about twice a year but that's not a serious issue. I'd rather have something that works reliably with a little attention, than something that is unreliable with no attention.
hear hear
NT
Not my experience. I had no problem with my previous frost-free, built-in fridge-freezer, which could have been 15 yo when I left it in my previous house; brand unknown, as it had been installed by the previous owner. I opted for a built-in Electrolux 4.5 years ago that I moved here.
Not my view either. These appliances should work for me, not vice-versa. Can't be bothered with defrosting, it's a thankless inconvenience for which there's never a good time.
YMMV.
Kostas
Liebherr.
I've had a look, but the only likely contender I saw on the Liebherr site was CN3913, which turns out to cost over =A3700, and I thnik its a frost free too, which is a flat no as far as I'm concerned. Even if its not frost free I just cant see that its anywhere near worth it. Fridges and freezers are probably the only appliance I dont mind getting cheap brands. Most dont come with 4 freezer drawers, which I want.
NT
They have a factory a couple of miles from here molishing cranes. Perhaps there's a factory shop there selling fridges :-;
I've a Siemens stainless steel frost free fridge/freezer which has been perfectly reliable for two or three years. A few weeks ago it decided to let me down. Calls to local refrigeration firms were unsuccessful when I told them that it was frost-free. This was of course at a weekend so in desperation I bought a beer-can type fridge from a 24-hour Asda store just to keep my milk from turning into yoghourt. I dumped a few packets of frozen vegetables in my brother's freezer. As I got back from the Asda store the Siemens machine was working correctly again...
And is still working properly. I suspect that the problem may have been connected to the (then!) very high ambient temperature.
Miele fridges are made by Liebherr.
[Don't know why, why would a heavy crane maker have a sideline in domestic appliances?]
Don't be a wanker
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