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Here are the notes from my reviews of refrigerators…
General Notes:
The fact of the matter is, prices and styles are changing all the time. So who knows which refrigerator we’ll actually end up with.
And I don’t know if these random notes will actually be useful to anyone else, but they are simply here to prove that a visit to the local Home Depot & Lowe’s helped to point me in the right direction as far as picking out appliance for our log home kitchen.
I was also able to get a better feel for overall sizes & dimensions, as well as finishes. In the end, it’s important that I find a stainless steel fridge/freezer that doesn’t show fingerprints, has a fully functional ice & water dispenser, and the largest capacity fridge & freezer space.
One thing that really caught me by surprise was the fact that the model names are rarely specified. And it’s next to impossible to find fresh food capacity vs freezer capacity. Heck, at Lowe’s they don’t even list the size & dimensions on their products, let alone the other types of details I was interested in.
Lowe’s had the biggest selection, but they provided the least amount of information about their products — without having to ask a salesperson to look everything up for you, that is. It seemed much simpler to shop and find the answers to your own questions at Home Depot. (Though I must say, the salesperson at Home Depot was very helpful on this day.)
Frigidaire
- side by side doors
- 26 cu ft
- 16.48 fresh food cu ft
- 9.49 freezer food cu ft
- 69-1/4″H x 35-5/8″D x 31-3/4″W
- $998 (Lowe’s)
MY NOTES: It’s black, not stainless. And the interior shelves seem cheap.
GE Profile Energy Star
- side-by-side doors
- 25.6 cu ft
- 16.02 fresh food cu ft
- 9.53 freezer cu ft
- $1,999 (Home Depot)
MY NOTES: Doors are killer tight! My 1st choice for freezer space, but 2nd choice for quality.
GE Profile
- french doors
- 25.5 cu ft
- $2,498 (Lowe’s)
MY NOTES: Ice maker is too thin and has way too small of a drip tray (speaking from experience).
GE
- side by side doors
- 25 cu ft
- 15.9 fresh food cu ft
- 9.49 freezer cu ft
- 68-3/4″H x 31-1/4″D x 35-3/4″W
- $1,198 (Lowe’s)
MY NOTES: Has adjustable temperature water dispenser. (Not sure why you’d need that.) Ice can be cubed or crushed (…that’s true for most GE dispensers, but for some reason, not other manufacturers’). Has a black body with stainless doors, and the doors show fingerprints very badly.
LG
- french doors
- 25 cu ft
- 69-3/4″H x 34-1/4″D x 35-3/4″W
- $2,399 (Home Depot)
MY NOTES: Ice maker in the door is tall & thin on the backside of the door, so it doesn’t take up valuable shelf-space. But the ice door is hard to close & is likely to be left open without realizing it. Makes crushed ice, while some don’t. Freezer door is weak (flimsy) and doesn’t close well.
LG
- french doors
- 69-3/4″H x 31-1/4″D x 35-3/4″W
- $1,699 (Home Depot)
MY NOTES: Couldn’t find fresh food vs freezer capacities. No ice & water dispenser.
LG
- french doors
- 25 cu ft
- 69-3/4″H x 34-1/4″D x 35-3/4″W
- $3,099 (Home Depot)
MY NOTES: Has a digital ice dispenser read-out. Blueish glow-light inside the refrigerator looks futuristic.
Maytag
- french doors
- 24.8 cu ft
- 17.8 fresh food cu ft
- 7.3 freezer cu ft
- 69-7/8″H x 34-1/4″D x 35-5/8″W
- $1,399 (Home Depot)
MY NOTES: Doors are self-closing with a magnet-type of closure.
Maytag Ice20
- french doors
- ice & water dispenser
- 25 cu ft
- 18.3 fresh food cu ft
- 6.61 freezer cu ft
- 70-1/8″H x 35-1/4″D x 35-5/8″W
- $2,299 (Home Depot)
- side-by-side doors
- 25.6 cu ft
- 15.5 fresh food cu ft
- 10.1 freezer cu ft
- 69-3/4″H x 33-1/4″D x 35-1/2″W
- $1,898 (Lowe’s)
- side by side doors
- 23 cu ft
- 68-3/4″H x 24-3/4″D x 35-5/8″W
- 14.0 fresh food cu ft
- 9.0 freezer cu ft
- $1,898 (Lowe’s)
MY NOTES: Nice pull-out freezer drawers; holds up to 120lbs of food. Has a great door sealer! My 1st choice for quality, but 2nd choice for freezer space.
Whirlpool “gold” model
MY NOTES: Nice ice-maker to accommodate wider pitchers, etc. But it doesn’t have a real drip tray — just a thin piece of plastic. Fingerprints don’t show up on this one. One of the largest freezer capacities.
Whirlpool “stainless look”
MY NOTES: Nice brushed stainless look… no fingerprints! Love the counter depth, but overall capacity is not great.
…As you can see, the GE Profile Energy Star and Maytag Ice20 were my top choices.
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