topic Re: My Refrigerator Died in Home

My Refrigerator Died

Catty2 — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 02:09:54 GMT

Last night I started hearing a little chirp sound every once in awhile. I had the front door open and thought it was a bird at first. Then I realized the sound was coming from the refrigerator. I googled it and it said that sound can mean the fan or another part of the refrigerator has gone bad. Today the few things I had in the freezer were defrosted and the items in the refrigerator part are not very cold. So, tomorrow I'm going to Lowe's to look at what they have. I just want a basic top freezer white refrigerator, no ice maker. My GE died after 14 years so won't get another one of those. Any recommendations for a basic refrigerator? TIA

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Katcat1 — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 02:29:36 GMT

Give the old one a proper burial. lol Whirlpool, Kenmore evem Magtag. It depends on what you want to spend.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

LUVNLIFE — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 02:30:42 GMT

Sorry to hear that...what a pain. 14 years is a decent life span for a major appliance now days. They don't build them to last anymore. Hope you find one you like.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

sissel — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 02:34:44 GMT

I'm sorry know it's a mess when that happens. Please don't get a Samsung unless you like alot of noise. Never had a LG but read bad reviews. We get all our appliances in Lowes I like Whirlpool and now have a GE which I like. I have the side by side with water & ice and a good hefty price around $1,000. If you are just looking at top freezer then you should be much cheaper. I only have 1 fridge with just 2 of us and we are fine. Only problem is Lowes took a few weeks to get it in stock happy that my fridge was still going strong until new one was delivered. Around 12-14yrs is about how long they last some don't even make it past 10yrs. Wish you luck.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

millieshops — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 02:38:43 GMT

I wouldn't reject a brand that had a 14-year life span - that's way over the average for many brands including very expensive models even.

I've had good luck in the past with Kenmore for basic appliances, but with Sears in trouble, we really don't know who might buy that line from Sears.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

homedecor1 — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 03:01:33 GMT

Stay far away from Samsung!!! My fridge just turned 2 years old in August.

The first one had a bad compressor after 6 weeks -- dealer/Samsung replaced.

Second (and same one I have) -- was so loud compressor/fan ran 24/7 sounded like I was in a turbine factory. Samsung tech replaced celluiod and needed cover on back.

Now -- almost 7 months ago -- ice maker stopped working. My fridge & kitchen floor flooded due to "icing up"...

I've been fighting with Samsung to fix it! Nope only cover 1 year under warranty & my extended warranty does not include ice maker😖😖😖😖

Good luck in your search. I'd donate or trash it if I hadn't spent $2,300 on this junk! I should have bought the Maytag or Whirlpool I originally went to buy instead of salesman recommendation.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

gabstoomuch — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 04:14:12 GMT

Good luck to you. You are in a "quick need" spot, but do your research as best you can.

My fridge is slowly dying. It runs constantly and given that it is 27 years old, I am trying to buy a new one.

Unbelievably EXPENSIVE! I want the same as you. Just a regular fridge with a freezer on the top. Simple, right? Nope. It is so hard to find one that is just a simple fridge, and even "simple" is up around $800-$900!!!

I have been looking for a few months now, but I think my expectations are too high. I guess the days of long lasting appliances are gone. About 10 years is the max now.

There are fridges out there tht are $2500- $3000. !! Shocking to me. I never thought I would live in The Jetson's era but we sure are there. There are fridges that you can log into from the grocery store and actually look inside to see if you need ketchup (or whatever). I find that mindboggling!!

Anyway, I was just in Lowes yesterday, looking again at what I have already looked at, resigning myself to they just are not made like they used to be. BUT, the man helping me told me that there are going to be BIG sale prices the first 2 weeks of November.

Lowe's has to make their year end money on appliances before Thanksgiving, because once Black Friday hits, appliance sales plummet. No one really buys appliances during the holiday season, so Lowes (and maybe Home Depot?) run their year end sales early November.

I know you might not be able to wait that long but maybe they will give you an upcoming sale price early?

The man also told me (and he was an older man so he felt my pain that nothing last long anymore) told me that in the price range of $8-$900., GE actually makes the best for durability. In his opinion, Samsung and LG are the ones they have most customer complaints about.

No light in the freezer is what is annoying me. Manufacturers have taken the light out of the freezer! (Not the high priced fridges, the reasonable priced ones). Why take the light out of the freezer? It is almost a dealbreaker for me, but I am slowly accepting that I won't be able to buy a fridge if I stick to wanting a light in the freezer.

Measure your space before you go. I made that mistake. The size of fridges is not even the same anymore. Not the cubic feet, but the outer dimensions. EVERYTHING is so different now. Can tell I have not bought appliances in a very long time. I hate the new offerings.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Kachina624 — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 06:40:21 GMT

@Catty2. Have you considered having your fridge repaired? If it was a fan, it doesn't sound too serious or expensive.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Susan Louise — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 07:08:51 GMT

Our Kenmore fridge we bought from Sears when we got married in 2000 died last yr. We were very lucky they still make the same model now and after taxes it was about $430.

We spent a couple of weeks searching for a replacement thinking the newer types would be better...nope. We live in a small home so the dimensions were critical for the space in the kitchen. All the fancy side by side could not compare to our top freezer model in available space/sq ft in the freezer and fridge.

Some of the models we saw at various stores were useless IMO. When I opened many side by sides, the set ups for usage of space was wasted. I couldn't even visualize being able to keep even half the amount of food we kept in our model.

So new/different isn't always better.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Catty2 — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 07:33:59 GMT

@Kachina624

I don't know that it is just the fan. That's just one of the things that came up when I goggled the chirping sound. Rather than spend money on a repair at 14 years old, I will get a new one.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

phoenixbrd — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 07:52:07 GMT

Our top of the line expensive all stainless GE refrig was awful,,,,it was like a deep hole and organization was a challenge. Finally gave it away and bought a LG with a center drawer and I have never been happier with an appliance.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Sweetbay magnolia — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 12:04:42 GMT

We have a small GE top freezer, purchased in 2015. It was the most expensive of any of my appliances ($600). It's simple but does the job and fits the space in our 30 year old home.

I've had some relatives insist on bells and whistles of some newer ones but that doesn't appeal to me. Just keep it cold and frozen!

I don't like ice makers. To me it's just another supply line to keep un-clogged (we're plumbed for one but I don't use it, and my fridge doesn't have one). Any on-demand line like that increases flood likelihood, small as that chance may be. Don't need.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Citrine1 — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 14:16:48 GMT

I'm shocked to read that major appliances are lasting such a short time. Both my refrigerator and stove were purchased at the same time and are still going strong after 28 years. They are General Electric.

My spare refrigerator downstairs is about 20 years old. It is a Maytag and is just a plain, basic, no frills fridge.

Now diswashers, on the other hand, ugh. I replace mine about every 6 years.

Good luck on your search.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

RedTop — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 17:35:08 GMT

Only GE or Whirlpool for me; no ice maker. Whatever you buy, it will not last 14 years.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Tigriss — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 19:15:24 GMT

So I just bought a fridge on October 1st. Mine was dying and cycling between freeze and self-defrost. The temps were just getting too high for my liking. I went to my local shops and looked at what is out there now that is different from my old side by side with ice and water in the door (for small cups so a 2000 model). I panicked at the priced and did some research online for models and reviews. I kept remembering that people seem to constantly advise keep it simple. Lowe's had one with a computer on the door and the fancy door in door and computer through the door controls.

I measured all the models and 36" is now standard, but my spot is almost 36" I decided that I wanted more space around and went with a 33" model. I looked at what models were local (I live in rural America so not much choice) and hit the web to find reviews of them. There weren't tons of 33" models, so I got lucky with a $900 French door fridge with bottom freezer in bisque. It is a Kenmore that gets great reviews for its simplicity. There is an ice maker that actually makes lots of ice compared to current fridges (got to have iced tea Y'all!). The color was not important as mine was going to kick the bucket any day. It has plenty of room for me at 24.9 cubic feet of space. I now have empty shelves.

I didn't get a side by side, which is what I thought I wanted after my first shopping trip. I got to looking at how wide the freezer section and fridge sections were and thought that it would be nice to have it full width. I got the French door because of this and the space that I have it in needs 1/2 sized doors because I have a huge library table in my kitchen as an island. If I had a regular width door, it wouldn't open fully.

I really analyzed what I needed and what I wanted after that. I got lucky with a $2200 model for $900 and 5-year warranty from my local Hometown Sears store (not a regular Sears but the locally owned small store that is basically appliances, lawn, three mattresses, and some tools.) I financed it on the Sears card for 1-year free interest, so that was super easy. They delivered, set up, and hauled the old off. I did get me some shelf liners from WalMart to help with clean up in the future.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

ScrapHappy — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 22:44:21 GMT

@Catty2 wrote:
Last night I started hearing a little chirp sound every once in awhile. I had the front door open and thought it was a bird at first. Then I realized the sound was coming from the refrigerator. I googled it and it said that sound can mean the fan or another part of the refrigerator has gone bad. Today the few things I had in the freezer were defrosted and the items in the refrigerator part are not very cold. So, tomorrow I'm going to Lowe's to look at what they have. I just want a basic top freezer white refrigerator, no ice maker. My GE died after 14 years so won't get another one of those. Any recommendations for a basic refrigerator? TIA

I'd stay away from Kenmore. Nothing but problems since day one.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Catty2 — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 22:59:34 GMT

I went to 3 different places today and they don't keep that many basic top freezer models on display. I bought a Frigidaire from Spencer's (a chain of appliance stores in my area) and they offered me a 5-year warranty for $99 so I decided to get that. Lowe's was out of stock on the Frigidaire Energy Star model I was interested in. Home Depot doesn't keep anything in stock and would have to order what I wanted. It will be delivered on Tuesday since I have an dr. appt. tomorrow. Thanks for your input.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Tigriss — Sun, 21 Oct 2018 23:58:37 GMT

Dang that is an excellent price on a warranty! I pray you don't need it. Top freezer models are going out of style/not popular so places aren't keeping many in stock especially if they aren't selling in your area.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

kivah — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 01:07:36 GMT

@millieshops

My very basic Whirlpool refrigerator will be 24 yrs old in March. It was inexpensive and never needed to be repaired. One of my best purchases.

Re: My Refrigerator Died

Tyak — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 02:17:54 GMT

@RedTop wrote:
Only GE or Whirlpool for me; no ice maker. Whatever you buy, it will not last 14 years.

GE is out of the appliance business, they sold it to Haier, a Chinese company.

I have a french door LG, no problems and I'm very happy with it so far. I've had it for a little over 12 months.