Refridgerator questions...........

[CathyA]

My fridge is about 25 years old. I'm really tired of leaning over to retrieve stuff low down and in the back, so I'm thinking of a bottom freezer style next. But the ones I've looked at (online) seem to have much less usable fridge shelf space. I keep lots in the fridge, so I don't have to go to the grocery store that often.

Just wondering if any of you have switched to a bottom freezer fridge, and have you felt like you had a lot less fridge space?
Thanks.

[Tradd]

My last apartment had a bottom freezer, and it did seem like I had less fridge space. I disliked having to bend over every time I wanted something out of the freezer,

[CathyA]

LOL.........I guess we need something with both fridge and freezer on top!

[sweetana3]

I love my double door upper with bottom freezer LG refrigerator. Its energy use is incredibly low (compressor hardly runs). Big bottom drawer with additional pull out shelf unit. The two door upper part opens without a divider for large wide items. And it has many ways to configure the shelves and drawers. (note that we do not have an ice maker because I did not want one).

Love it. The store where we got it said it was their all time best seller.

[SteveinMN]

You have to look carefully at the particular model in question. We bought a top-freezer and found freezer capacities varied quite a bit. The one we chose had more freezer space than many because I tend to freeze more than refrigerate and we didn't have a separate freezer. The bells and whistles can cost you space, too. Icemakers, ice/water in the door, even sliding shelves or baskets all chew into the space available. If we had to do it again (and I suppose we will someday soon since this fridge is 10 years old), I'd consider one of those "french door" freezers though, really, I have major sticker shock when I see $2,500 refrigerators that do not dance or present up-to-the-minute news on an Internet-connected screen on the front of the cabinet.....

[lessisbest]

1. You might want to check what Consumer Reports offers for information about the current "stable" of refrigerators. Most public libraries will have that information in the reference department, and that's where I would start looking. It may help prevent you from choosing a real "lemon". http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/refrigerators.htm

2. You don't say if you have a separate free-standing freezer, and that might make a big difference in your choice. I don't, so I have to have as much convenient freezer space as possible in my refrigerator (which is a 9-year old Kenmore side-by-side). I also didn't want an ice maker or water dispenser because they increase the amount of electricity the unit uses, and take up too much valuable space. When we checked the electric use with a Kill-A-Watt Meter, our refrigerator uses about 7-cents per day. We have a small portable ice maker we use if we need a large amount of ice, or I have an old-fashioned ice tray that works for the occasional tray of ice cubes.

3. You might glean some information from "Mr. Electricity" - http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/refrigerators.htm

[Radicchio]

I have a french door refrigerator with pull-out freezer drawer on the bottom. I love it! No ice/water in the door, per my preference. It does offer an icemaker in the freezer, which we chose not to hook up and also water inside the door, which we also did not hook up.

However, I do find that it does not hold as much as my previous refrigerator which fit into the same space. OTOH, it seems better organized now. One thing that makes this workable for me is the fact that I also have a refrigerator in the basement where I keep extra milk and eggs (and occasionally some other items). Without that, I would have to make more frequent stops at the grocery store to restock items. As I said, I do like my refrigerator and would probably put up with the extra stops at the grocery store if necessary.

[Tussiemussies]

We have the French door type refrigerator with the pull out freezer on the bottom. It is a maytag, the cheapest one you can buy of this type of model. The freezer has a second drawer that's height is not too tall. We love it although we may at some point if I start batch cooking, buy a freezer. We don't use the freezer that much so it really works out well for us. I find it much easier to reach for thing in the refriderator too.

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone. I do have another big freezer (which is usually always full). I'm also wondering about a single door, versus French doors. The double doors sound sorta like they could be a pain. What's your experience with those?
The prices of these fridges sure have gone up. I don't want all the bells and whistles either (ice cube maker/water through the door, etc.)

[Gardnr]

We bought a double door upper refrigerator with a bottom drawer freezer. We have a small icemaker that uses a little space in the fridge area and in-door water.

We went to a big box store and I opened every single item they had. I was looking for max freezer space. Ours has 2 upper drawers and a storage shelf in the door itself. It is challenging to find a lower freezer that doesn't eat up half the freezer space with angles at the back taking up half the base of the freezer.

I think these days its like kicking car tires. Put in the time to select the one that will work for you.

We came to this from an old side/side. The fridge holds a LOT for us :-)

[CathyA]

Yeah, I think I need to go look at all of them in person.......and kick a few tires.... :)
Thanks Gardnr.

[Radicchio]

I like the French doors---both the way they look and the way they function. One advantage is that I often only open up half the refrigerator at a time to pull out what I need. Of course, there are times when I need items from both sides and open both, but I don't have to always do so.