@kenmore retiring this refrigerator. Sad to see it go. pic.twitter.com/X0uELUjc8t
— Steve Garfield (@stevegarfield) June 9, 2014I'm sad to see this member of the family go. We've been together for a long time! My Aunt Minnie bought us this Kenmore Coldspot refrigerator as a wedding gift. It was a very generous gift. My Aunt Minnie was a saver and she'd have been pleased that it lasted for such a long time.
FINDING A NEW REFRIGERATOR
Trying to find a replacement has been a chore.
This Kenmore refrigerator is counter depth, with a freezer on the bottom that has a door, and NOT a drawer. The cabinetry in this kitchen was built around the dimensions of this unit, so the new unit could only be so high and wide.
We shopped for a long time.
Many online search tools came up with Jenn-Air, but it wasn't clear that those units were inbuilt units with not stainless sides to them. In order to use one of those, we'd need to bring in a carpenter. Also, one of our friends told us to never buy Jenn-Air under any circumstances! The conflicted with other friends who recommended it.
We asked a lot of friends if they liked their refrigerator. NO ONE DID.
Some things we heard:
- Fridge sticks out to far. It's too deep.
- Fridge was too tall, Had to shave the cabinets to make it fit.
- Fridge broke numerous times.
- Fridge bottom drawer is inconvenient.
Many new refrigerators have drawers on the bottom. We like a door with shelves.
Many new refrigerators are wider than 33". 33" or less was our size.
SHOPPING
In the end, we wanted to visit a store to see the refrigerator in person. One one of my personal Facebook threads, asking for help, the CEO of Yale Appliance showed up, after being added into the conversation by a friend. THAT was cool.
We ended up visiting Yale Appliance a few times and finally found what could be the only refrigerator on the planet that fit our requirements.
Here it is:
Fisher&Paykel E522BRX4:
Height - incl. feet and hinge cap 67 1/8in
Width 31 1/8in
Depth - including handle 29in
Depth - door closed not including handle 28 1/8in
IT'S IN
THE BEER FITS
The LED lighting is nice and bright. There's lots of room for beer. A 1.5L bottle of wine will have to go on the door.
I had read reports that newer refrigerators are noisier than old ones. I tested the difference with a db meter and there's no difference.
I'm happy we finally made the decision. Really the only one. Hopefully, if you've got a similar space in your kitchen, this will help you decide what to do.