Americian Style Fridge Freezers

dlambirl

Ok, so these are going into almost every new house in Ireland - are they any good. We are just in the process of looking at kitchen applicances so we can move into our new house. Of course, we were hoping to put an americian style fridge freezer but there are so many different types and i wanted to know is it better to go for a dearer one (Bosch one €1500 or Rangemaster €1700) or stick with the Samsung and the likes in Power City and DID that are roughly €800 - €900??

Thanks in advance

Doctor DooM

dlambirl wrote: »

Ok, so these are going into almost every new house in Ireland - are they any good. We are just in the process of looking at kitchen applicances so we can move into our new house. Of course, we were hoping to put an americian style fridge freezer but there are so many different types and i wanted to know is it better to go for a dearer one (Bosch one €1500 or Rangemaster €1700) or stick with the Samsung and the likes in Power City and DID that are roughly €800 - €900??

Thanks in advance

My advice would be to look at the more efficient power ratings, and to consider the overall size of your kitchen before deciding.

The cheaper fridges work fine, I know someone who bought a cheap ol one from me 10 years ago and it is still running.

Consider which features you really want/ need from the fridge and if you believe the extra features available from the superior models don't match your desires then don't bother. (Some people think an ice dispenser is the best thing EVAR, some a waste of time).

oxygen_old

Whats the energy consumtion on these like? I was thinking of getting one in my house. I think they look cool, and I would use the ice and water dispencer alot, but I dont keep alot of food in the house. My thinking is, if the energy consumption is equivelant to an under counter fridge and seperate freezer I wouldnt mind getting one.

Anyone know if this is the case?

crosstownk

I got a band A Whirlpool and it's working fine. Looks good (black).

Remember that American Fridge/Freezers need to be plumbed to mains water in order for the chilled water and ice maker functions to work - I very nearly got caught out by this.

enmac

I was brought up in a large family and our fridge was the size of a modern washing machine - nowadays people has less children but huge American fridges - it appears to me that most of the space in these fridges is not used and if is then more food ends up being thrown out

crosstownk

enmac wrote: »

I was brought up in a large family and our fridge was the size of a modern washing machine - nowadays people has less children but huge American fridges - it appears to me that most of the space in these fridges is not used and if is then more food ends up being thrown out

I was brought up with a similar arrangement.

I now have an American fridge/freezer and very little is thrown out. This is most likely due to the controlability of the appliance. All of the space is used. I don't like to waste and the fridge/freezer I have contributes to this.

Alun

enmac wrote: »

I was brought up in a large family and our fridge was the size of a modern washing machine - nowadays people has less children but huge American fridges - it appears to me that most of the space in these fridges is not used and if is then more food ends up being thrown out

I'd say that one of the main contents of our fridge these days seems to be half used jars / bottles of things that say "refrigerate after opening" on them. Previously they were jam packed full of preservatives instead .. I know which I prefer.

Dizzyblonde

I was going to buy an American style fridge freezer but went instead for the Fisher & Paykel one which is around the same size but doesn't have the water/ice features. It's fantastic having such a big fridge and I find that very little food, if any, is thrown out. Smaller frigdes get too cluttered and you can't find anything in them.

Alun

I'm not that interested in the water / ice thing either, plus plumbing it in where it would be located would be a PITA. I saw some nice Liebherr fridges a while ago when I was looking that fitted that bill too.

enmac

Alun wrote: »

I'd say that one of the main contents of our fridge these days seems to be half used jars / bottles of things that say "refrigerate after opening" on them. Previously they were jam packed full of preservatives instead .. I know which I prefer.

Not too fond of preservatives myself but I just don't see how an average family requires a big american fridge. There are four in my family and the standard sized fridge is never full - my sister's family have 5 and they manage perfectly with a standard fridge

You seem happy that you're utilising the big fridge quite efficiently however I would suggest that you are in a small minority.

Alun

enmac wrote: »

Not too fond of preservatives myself but I just don't see how an average family requires a big american fridge. There are four in my family and the standard sized fridge is never full - my sister's family have 5 and they manage perfectly with a standard fridge

You seem happy that you're utilising the big fridge quite efficiently however I would suggest that you are in a small minority.

Where did I say I had a big fridge? I don't .. I have a bog-standard, normal sized one, but was just pointing out that a large part of it, almost a complete shelf out of three in fact, seems to be full of half-opened jars of stuff most of the time.

There's only the two of us, and things get quite tight in there at times, especially at Christmas, so I can imagine that with a family, a larger sized fridge (not necessarily an American sized one, however big that is) would be a big advantage.

enmac

Alun wrote: »

Where did I say I had a big fridge? I don't .. I have a bog-standard, normal sized one,

well then why did you reply to my post ? - I was clearly addressing owners of big american fridges

Alun

enmac wrote: »

well then why did you reply to my post ? - I was clearly addressing owners of big american fridges

Awfully sorry ... I won't intrude on your own personal threads in the future. But why, then, did you quote my post in replying if it wasn't addressed to me?

crosstownk

enmac wrote: »

Not too fond of preservatives myself but I just don't see how an average family requires a big american fridge. There are four in my family and the standard sized fridge is never full - my sister's family have 5 and they manage perfectly with a standard fridge

You seem happy that you're utilising the big fridge quite efficiently however I would suggest that you are in a small minority.

There's 4 in my family and we have an American Fridge/Freezer. Previously we had a standard unit (fridge over freezer). To be honest while there is more room in the fridge, a lot of it is simply space between the shelves. We've two crisper drawers which we find handy as we use a lot of fresh veg. In all honesty, these American jobbies are not that much larger than the standard fridge freezer - the space is more useable. As for the freezer section, it's narrow and doesn't hold a whole lot more than standard 3 drawer freezer. And storing a large pizza in the American type can be a pain in the butt.

Having had both types, I must say I prefer the American Fridge/Freezer but if I was tight on space the standard fridge/freezer would suffice.