Need new bottom freezer fridge - which one?

[Tony]

We've been using bottom freezer refrigerators for many years. They've always been Amana, mostly because when we first decided to get this type I couldn't find any other brand but Amana. I've had three over the years. Left the first one when we moved, that one was great. The next two Amanas were problematic. Got rid of the first of these after a couple of years because it was just a lemon. Couldn't hold temp, veggies would either not be cold enough or freeze. The last one, which we still have, is several years old but has started doing the same thing. The repair guy thinks it has a very slow leak; the last three years it's had to be recharged every year. The last time was just a month ago, and now it's either freezing the veggies or not keeping them cold enough, depending on how it's set. There's no happy medium. Oh, it's already had the temp control replaced. I'm just fed up with it.

I know Amana is supposed to be known for their bottom freezers, but I'm pretty sure I don't want another one. A search online shows KitchenAid and LG now offering the type we like (single top door, single hinged - not slide out - bottom door). Would like to hear if anyone has experience with any of these, or others I may have missed. Looking for somewhere around 21 cu.ft. capacity.

[Joe]

Lots of solid information in Consumer Reports recently. There are some real overpriced dogs on the market now, so be very cautious. HTH

Joe

[newman]

we purchased an LG about 6 months ago and it has been a really good fridg. it is a bottom freezer.

I know Amana is supposed to be known for their bottom freezers, but I'm pretty sure I don't want another one. A search online shows KitchenAid and LG now offering the type we like (single top door, single hinged - not slide out - bottom door). Would like to hear if anyone has experience with any of these, or others I may have missed. Looking for somewhere around 21 cu.ft. capacity.

[Art]

Amana, Maytag and Whirlpool all the same company. Basically you have a choice between those, which are identical or LG which also makes some Kenmore. I've heard parts problems with LG.

My Amana/Maytag bottom freezer with french doors is about 3 years old and has been perfect so far. The LG looks kind of cheap and according to Consumer Reports, cheated to get high energy star ratings.

[Art]

By the way, Lowes sells their 4 year extended warranty (5 full years guarantee) for $90 so consider buying there.

[Dee]

"Tony" wrote in news:1-mdnc20jaRYXn_bnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

My KitchenAid bottom freezer is now 14 years old. It is still working very well and, to date, has not needed any kind of repair.

Dee

[Tony]

We have other KitchenAid appliances and have been pleased with them. I wonder if the KitchenAid of today is the same as the KitchenAid of yesterday. That is, do they still make their own appliances, or are they in the Amana/Maytag/Whirlpool/LG/Kenmore/Sears/etc camp?

[Dee]

"Tony" wrote in news:pM6dnUCiSeasZX7bnZ2dnUVZ [e-mail]:

That is a good question. I also have a KitchenAid washer and dryer that are 15 years old, and both work very well. Who knows how much a company can change in 15 years? But I am glad you posted about KitchenAid's bottom freezers, because the last time I looked (a few years back) they had stopped making them and I was not looking forward to the time when I would have to replace this one with some other brand.

Dee

[itsjoannotjoann]

May I ask a question, please?

I don't have a bottom freezer 'frig, but whenever mine dies, and I hope that's a loooong loooong time from now, I would like to have a bottom model. My question is what is the difference or benefits of a hinged bottom door vs. a slide out door?

Also, do you pack your items flat or on their side to see what's in the freezer? That probably sounds like a silly question, but I've always wanted to know.

[Tony]

A matter of personal preference, I guess. With a hinged door freezer (at least on the Amana) you get one horizontal shelf. So you get two "shelf areas (top/bottom)" to stock your frozen goods. My wife and I like that because we only have to go to one or the other, depending on what we need. You also get narrow shelf compartments in the door (like the fridge door), good for small things. With a pull out drawer it seems like you'd have to be a lot more careful about how you pile things in, lest you have to unpack the whole basket to get something that may be on the bottom.

As to side to side versus stacked, I guess most of our stuff is stacked. A few things are side to side. I guess we use both methods! :-)

[Rudy]

KA is really Whirlpool..except for the re-branded Amana fridges I guess

[Rudy]

The slide: one handed, pull it open and there the stuff is. The drawer is actually a LARGE basket which has a top "drawer" (where the ice maker is)inside the slide that can be rolled back inside to acccess what may be below in the bigger part..

You can often just pull it out maybe 6-12" to grab what you keep handy in the top drawer (or ice cubes), then shove it closed with your leg (no hands)

The swing open type: IIRC you have to pull the door open 90 degrees to be able to get at the pullout rack(s) if it has any

Whichever way you like..when the drawer rolls out, you can see everything thru the sides front of the basket.

[Art]

The freezer door on the LG is the most interesting though I would probably not buy one based on distribution problems for parts.

[hillacc at yahoo.com]

I have the LG single top door, bottom freezer with door (not drawer), and I love it. I've been using it for two years. So far, it has held the temperature in both compartments just right; I don't even have to adjust for summer. I like the convenience of the two pull-out bins in the the freezer (and I'm not sure why anyone would think having to have the freezer door open all the way to pull them out would be problem -- if you have the clearance to pull out a large freezer drawer, it seems as though you would have the clearance to open a door). I don't have the icemaker connected, so can't comment on that except to say the ice bin is exactly the right size to hold a full bag of ice cubes. I like the way the shelves in both the refrigerator compartment and on the refrigerator door adjust (very easy). I did a lot of research before buying this one, and if I had to do it again, I'd probably get exactly the same model.

Jo Ann

[Art]

By the way, according to Consumer Reports the LG cheated on energy tests. LG new the standard test was a certain ambient temperature (I think 80 degrees) so their refrigerators turned off the anti sweat door heaters at that temperature. After Consumer Reports figured it out they lowered their rating a bit.

[hillacc at yahoo.com]

messagenews: [e-mail]...

Interesting -- I hadn't heard that. Probably "accidentally" overlooked the article in my CR to avoid the cognitive dissonance about my choice, LOL!

Jo Ann

[Tony]

Well, I went to the library and read the CR issue. So what am I to think that 3 out of the 5 top rated bottom freezers are Amana? I'm having a very hard time believing that with the clunker I've been living with.