American Fridges

Builderwoman!

Anyone seen any good value in Stainless American Fridges around? We're having problems with ours and are looking for a replacement.

Any help gratefully appreciated.

knighted

the biggest mistake people make with the american fridges is they put them in a cabinet or build a cabinet around them -these fridges are not designed to be enclosed as the motor has no fan to cool it so needs an air flow to prevent overheating -if u put it in a cabinet put two vents in the cab to try to create airflow -it will give the motor longer life and wont cut out as often

hobie

Do you have a Harvey Norman local? .....

They seem to be plugging Big fridges a lot on the radio .... :rolleyes:

texas star

D.I.D Electrical have loads of different brands, was in there over the weekend.:)

10-10-20

knighted wrote:

the biggest mistake people make with the american fridges is they put them in a cabinet or build a cabinet around them -these fridges are not designed to be enclosed as the motor has no fan to cool it so needs an air flow to prevent overheating -if u put it in a cabinet put two vents in the cab to try to create airflow -it will give the motor longer life and wont cut out as often

Ah - not always so... The 'better' fridges have an intake below the door which is fan controlled.
All you need to do when you are designing the cabinet is to ensure that the top of the cabinet/fridge isn't enclosed, and that the lower intake remains dust/clog free.

Builderwoman!

Hi guys,

We have the fridge in a cabinet which has plenty of space at the top and doesn't have a solid back so air circulates under and above it. That's not the issue. The current one is freezing everything in sight in the fridge area. It's a warranty issue and we may be waiting too long for a replacement so might have to look at another model. Was in Harvey Normans and DID and didn't see a stainless steel one that I liked. Guess I have to keep looking or comprimise! Any further suggestions welcomed.

mossym

we got one in finucanes in limerick, they had a few different ones. might be toof ar from you, sounds like you are in dublin

however, don't go by what you see in the stores..most of them can be ordered with different finishes, so you should ask Ours was only in the store in black but had different versions available to order

GrumPy

Builderwoman! wrote:

Hi guys,

We have the fridge in a cabinet which has plenty of space at the top and doesn't have a solid back so air circulates under and above it. That's not the issue. The current one is freezing everything in sight in the fridge area. It's a warranty issue and we may be waiting too long for a replacement so might have to look at another model. Was in Harvey Normans and DID and didn't see a stainless steel one that I liked. Guess I have to keep looking or comprimise! Any further suggestions welcomed.

What ones didnt you like? Power City have a decent range.

knighted

10-10-20 wrote:

Ah - not always so... The 'better' fridges have an intake below the door which is fan controlled.
All you need to do when you are designing the cabinet is to ensure that the top of the cabinet/fridge isn't enclosed, and that the lower intake remains dust/clog free.

i know it doesnt apply to them all ,but the ones on the market at the moment ie less than 1500 euros -very few have fan cooled motors -(like an intregrated fridge)
its ok having an intake once a gap is left all the way round the unit as what comes in past the motor to cool it must have somewhere to exit -

smashey

I saw some in Currys. One even had a small LCD tv built into the door.

squire1

smashey wrote:

One even had a small LCD tv built into the door.

Crikey.:eek: How much time would a person be reasonably be expected to spend standing in front of their fridge? A lot less than would warrent putting a TV in it I would hope.

Builderwoman, Alo Donegans in Naas are agent for a number of large maunfacturers. They would have a catalogue with a full range. Whirlpool comes to mind but they may do more models. Worth a visit if for nothing more than to see what is on the market at the moment. Maybe use them to find the model you want and then get a better price somewhere else.

A lot of the American Fridges come with different finishes, you buy the basic model and then the stainless steel panels just slide into place. The advantage is, you can get replacement panels if they become dented or scratched.

beldin

We got a Samsung one in Harvey Norman with a brushed stainless steel appearance. You have to wait for their sales as the prices rise and fall.
B&Q also do some. Saw our one for another 100 cheaper there although it has gone back up in price again.
Having said that Harvey Norman were happy to hold onto the fridge until we wanted it which was for a couple of months and then delivered it within a day so we were very happy with them although I think delivery was extra.

Builderwoman!

Irish grumpy...didn't like some of the finishes on the door handles and internal layouts on some of them weren't good. Also some of the doors were pretty light weight. Will have to keep looking and stop being so fussy I guess!

Smashey, Currys didn't tell me on the phone about that one!! Not that I'd be interested. Much prefer a nice flat screen TV somewhere else in the kitchen.

Anyway thanks squire for Alo Donegans info...didn't know they did Fridges etc. Might just check up on what's available and give them a call. Also didn't think of B&Q..thankd beldin

Do-more

Rather than an American style fridge freezer we went for fridge and freezer side by side similar to this purchased from Discount Electric in Mountjoy Square. Huge capacity and easily organised. Still very happy with it 5 years on...

Builderwoman!

You know Do more I saw something similar in electrical shop last weekend and if we didn't have a unit there made for an American size f/f I would jump at this type of combo. Soo sorry we didn't think of it when planning our kitchen. I guess we got hung up on the American style fridge with ice and water and you know there's very little room in the freezer of them which is a huge disappointment to me! Maybe in 20 years when we can afford to revamp our now brand new kitchen!! Tks for your suggestion though.

Builderwoman!

101020 - As a matter of interest...to me going shopping for a new fridge this weekend..what would you consider "better brands"? And why? Any advice gratefully appreciated.

Thanks

10-10-20

Anything with a A-energy star rating and a Whirlpool label...
http://www.whirlpool.com/catalog/category.jsp?cat=96&N=20000097+4294966118

Builderwoman!

Whirlpool???Why???

byte

Samsung seem to be good too. I believe Whirlpool have a good warranty, compared to others.

Builderwoman!

Saw a nice Samsung one in DID with stainless steel doors and it's 999 with free microwave this weekend. It's tempting for that price. We've had nothing but hassle with two other brands (both fridges ended up going back!) so I think that we will seriously be considering this one.

byte

Dare I ask what the other brands were?

Builderwoman!

You may indeed byte Smeg & Magtag Admiral. 10 months of hassle between the two of them. Top brands, my eye!

byte

Oh, big brands alright. I'd have thought Maytag to be reliable. Especially since they're owned by Whirlpool. I'm not sure what input Whirlpool Corp. has in Maytag manufacture. I'm not all that familiar with Smeg, apart from those old style fridges.

Builderwoman!

Yeah byte big brands, big more and big trouble for us. We've had 10/11 months of trouble with these two fridges at present. The Admiral is now not working for less time than it worked if you know what I mean! It's been uplifted by the Irish Agents for them later this week and good riddance to it. It's a design fault with the single cooling system is causing the problem with this.
PS - What's a modulator???? Just curious....