Speaking of fridges

[Jenise]

Bought a new one yesterday. My current Kitchen Aid has these problems:

1) the thingamajiggie that causes the refrigerator door to close after opening has failed and can't be replaced because KA no longer has this part in their supply chain--deliberate obsolescence. Can't even find it on used sites. I have to overtly push the door shut every time, and oh--the same thingamajiggie turns the light on when you open the door, so I haven't had light in about a year.

2) the cup-shaped chute in the ice maker that directs ice into your glass has become unattached and attempts to dispense itself too every time I get ice. I get ice a lot. Many times a day. My cat even knows it's bed time when she hears me refill my ever-present ice water glass late at night. Because of this, ice cubes occasionally spontaneously jump to their deaths, and some get trapped above and behind--half way in, half way out. I have to manually reach up there and feel around for stowaways. Sometimes I don't find them all, like Wednesday morning, and I wake up to a lake in front of the refrigerator which is ruining my wood floor.

3) it sporadically makes a clicking noise. This will go on for a few minutes when it happens.

4) on Wednesday when I found the lake, because it was so much more than usual I opened the freezer to see if I could see anything else amiss and discovered that the partition between the freezer and the fridge was hot to the touch.

So yesterday morning I rolled out of bed and went to my local appliance store. I described the above issues. None are good, but that clicking sound? That's the sound of a compressor trying to die. It took me three minutes to peruse the 48 inchers on the floor and choose LG's kuxury brand, not called LG but I can't remember the name, over Sub-Zero and Thermidor. French doors above, drawers below, including an ice drawer that makes two types of ice, of which one is large, perfectly clear cubes. It can only make about four a day but wow won't that be fun. So there goes 18 G's, but hey, can't live without refrigeration.

Yoicks.

Whew! My sympathies, Jenise. We are about 6 weeks out from a tear-down renovation of our kitchen (long overdue). We're keeping most of our appliances, though, apart from a dishwasher that is in urgent need of replacement.

I don't think the new refrigerator's brand name is Yoiks.

-Paul W.

Might as well be.

[Jenise]

Might as well be.

LOL.

Mark, wish I had a fridge I could keep. This one's been nothing but a pain since I got it (and meanwhile, the cheapo Kenmore in the garage just hums along). I could live with it if it would behave, but obviously it's not going to. Will never buy another Whirlpool product (which brand now includes KA as well as Viking, the brand of my evil stove). Best to replace it before it becomes an emergency.

Might as well be.

LOL.

Mark, wish I had a fridge I could keep. This one's been nothing but a pain since I got it (and meanwhile, the cheapo Kenmore in the garage just hums along). I could live with it if it would behave, but obviously it's not going to. Will never buy another Whirlpool product (which brand now includes KA as well as Viking, the brand of my evil stove). Best to replace it before it becomes an emergency.

Until 2017, Whirpool made the Kenmore appliances, too, FWIW.

At my old address, the Maytag appliances just kept on chugging.

At my current address, the fancy appliances need somebody to keep an eye on them.

[Jenise]

Until 2017, Whirpool made the Kenmore appliances, too, FWIW.

Really! Well I guess someone had to. Mine is probably 25 years old (I'm not the original owner).

[Jenise]

At my current address, the fancy appliances need somebody to keep an eye on them.

How are things working out with that weird stove of yours?

Good enough. The burners seem very hot but the oven runs about right. Just no low-and-slow for me!

Our previous refrigerator was a Liebherr, which ran like a champ and was still doing great when it came time for the remodel, fifteen years after we bought it. We gave to someone (can't remember who) and I'm sure it's still humming along in their garage. We bought a True fridge for the remodeled kitchen. The LCD (or whatever it is) display went out about two months after we bought it. It was replaced under warranty, but that certainly didn't give me a good feeling. The guy who fixed it told me that he rarely get calls to repair True refrigerators (either the commercial or home variety), so that made me feel a little better. I guess we'll see.

Oh, Mike, maybe I can ask you: I have a LiebHerr in this rental. Is the inside back of it supposed to be wet all the time? (I think so because it has channels and a drain but I've never seen a fridge like this! If I push something back to the wall, then condensate runs along the package and starts pooling on the shelf....

Yes, that's how they deal with condensation. There's a little shelf built into the back wall of the fridge that slopes to the left and has a drain hole in it. It drains into a tube in the back that leads down to a tray at the bottom. It's warm enough down there to evaporate that water. If that drain hole or the tube behind it get clogged, the vegetable drawer will fill up with water. This happened over and over with our fridge. I would take a piece of stiff wire and ream the little hole out from inside the fridge, which would fix it but only for a couple of weeks. I finally pulled the fridge away from the wall and unclogged the tube from the bottom. That fixed it.

[Jenise]

The guy who fixed it told me that he rarely get calls to repair True refrigerators (either the commercial or home variety), so that made me feel a little better. I guess we'll see.

I think we should all get our appliance buying advice from the service people!

Up here in the Fourth Corner, we have fewer options: certain brands are neither sold nor represented here, and some known brands like Viking have been given up on because of poor performance and even poorer part availability. Even some brands that would be okay in Seattle aren't wise choices 100 miles north. Thermidor is currently the best for reliability and part availability if problems occur.

Yes, that's how they deal with condensation. There's a little shelf built into the back wall of the fridge that slopes to the left and has a drain hole in it. It drains into a tube in the back that leads down to a tray at the bottom. It's warm enough down there to evaporate that water. If that drain hole or the tube behind it get clogged, the vegetable drawer will fill up with water. This happened over and over with our fridge. I would take a piece of stiff wire and ream the little hole out from inside the fridge, which would fix it but only for a couple of weeks. I finally pulled the fridge away from the wall and unclogged the tube from the bottom. That fixed it.

Good to know about the tube in the back!

Yes, I have already reamed the drain hole once. That seems to have helped. The water pooled under the vegetable drawer then started drizzling down the front; it would freeze on the gasket of the freezer door and I am like, "Where is this coming from???"

Yeah, Jeff, it took me a while to figure this all out as well!