Fridge/freezer replacement

[JhnWil875]

Well I did write 'cheapest appliance that suited my requirements', for example a Candy Sprint washing machine with grade A wash and grade A energy consumption for £169.99. Has about 20 programmes and a 32 minute wash, I only use 2, the 40 and 60 degree ones.

Now it only has a 1000 spin instead of a 1600, but I aint interested in paying out lots for a machine whose spin will shave 10 minutes off manual drying time and knacker the bearings.

Also spares are cheap.

Downside to the machine, the bearings cant be easily replaced but I can live with that knowing that it is less than half the price of some other classier better build machines.

Dishwasher, lowest model Bosch which cost £200, only has two main wash programmes instead of 20, does not have dinner plate warming, countdown timer, LED display, water quality sensors, audible alarms, delay timer or silver finish but does have the only 2 programmes that I would use anyway, standard and economy with a grade A wash and Grade B energy.

Beko 11.3 Cu. Ft. Frost Free Fridge Freezer, £240, Grade B energy, does not have antibacterial coatings, LED readouts, built in radio or teasmaid but does keep my food frozen at -18 and my food rerigerated at 7' C.

All 3 appliances paid for on Barclaycard and have a 2 year warranty, washing machine is now 3 years old and Fridge Freezer and Dishwasher 15 months, so far so good.

When it comes to energy considerations the difference between a B and an A is not so great as to justify me spending more than about £50 more on a Freezer.

The main thing I do is to research a new purchase to try and make sure it does not have a bad reputation before I buy it as then I am at least in with a fighting chance of it lasting and doing the job I want it to.

Ultimately buying an appliance is a personal choice and it looks like we both go completely different ways about it, You obviously like, need and use digital displays, alarms, timers, aquajets, radio's and anti-bacterial coatings on your appliances and I dont need these frills.

Good luck to both of us I say.

John.

[Andy Hall]

I've had a Miele washing machine for about 12 years. It came with a 5 year warranty - they now do 10. It has been in daily use at least once a day, usually more all that time and has never skipped a beat. All servicing can be done from the front, which is good because it is seriously heavy of itself and has one of their tumble dryers stacked on the top. Condition is still pristine.

Miele dishwasher has 7 main programs including a top section only. We use about half of them and the half load is useful. It's among the quietest machines on the market.

I warm dinner plates in the Aga.

Liebherr freezer and Maytag fridge freezer.

I deliberately avoid things with antibacterial coatings.

I have other domestic appliances to make the tea.....

Not really. I look for quality and reliability first, then reputation and features.

Then I strike a very hard bargain on price.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Pinot Grigio]

I bought a Bosch frost-free fridge/freezer last year and am very pleased with it. Definitely would not go back to one that you have to defrost. It digitally displays the temperatures of both the fridge and the freezer which incidentally never change from -18 and 04. I'm sure they should rise when the doors are open. If the freezer door is left open, it beeps at you to let you know.

It is basically very quiet, but makes a few funny noises now and again but they are not annoying.

The biggest problem I found when choosing a new fridge/freezer was getting both comparments to the size I wanted. So I ended up with a 6ft tall model. The door shelves are not too bad when you compare them with other makes and are reasonably well made. It comes with a few extras like a hanging bottle rack which I instantly took out.

One thing I have really noticed is how much better it stores salad items. My old f/f they did not keep well. In this f/f lettuce stays crisp for more than a week.

In this thread, disappearing ice-cubes was mentioned. I just replace them every couple of weeks if they haven't been used. I haven't tried it, but have thought they could probably be transferred to a bag and sealed.

Anyway I have no regrets on my decision, and would definitely recommend a Bosch.