Have you addressed the clearance issues with either of the newer units?

nope. I'm optimistically assuming the new side by side will fit the same way my current one does. The measurements are the same. Not sure about the hinge issues but from the model in the store, it seems to open the same way.

There's really nothing I can do short of remodeling the whole kitchen to deal with the layout issues. And that's not gonna happen.

I looked up HiSense and it's a Chinese company; the first one to sell big fridges in the US, AFAICT. SMAD sells small 'fridges here but not the full sized models.

We knew it was coming.

[EDIT]: Haier is also a Chinese company and they sell a full sized fridge in the same configuration as the HiSense - so similar they may be the same unit.

We have a 20 cu ft counter depth Maytag french door model with a freezer drawer. It replaced a GE Monogram side-by-side built in that we installed when we remodeled the kitchen in 1992. There weren't any french door designs back then, and we didn't want to spend the supermajorbuckos for a SubZero; the GE was an equivalent design but a bit less expensive. The GE had several problems from the onset, including an annoying habit of the lights staying on even when the door was closed. Ruined a holiday when we woke up one Christmas morning to find that the lights (four 40W bulbs) had been on all night and the frig was up over 70 degrees. Switch got replaced and it still happened and we had a couple of defroster problems.

We finally got tired of dealing with it and bought the Maytag instead.

Personally, I'm not a fan of side-by-side at all. If find that the compartments are so narrow that I can't easily store anything of a reasonable width (like a frozen pizza). And it seems like you have to take out five things to get to the thing in the back. The french door style allows much better access. It is also somewhat easier to find french door units without a water dispenser in the door.

I would avoid Samsung. Problems with the things freezing up, and the customer service and warranty repairs are a total nightmare.

Our biggest limitation now is needing a zero clearance door because the refrigerator is right next to a wall. Also need a counter depth because it's right next to a doorway.

We have a large upright freezer in the basement, so we don't have a ton of stuff in the freezer drawer that's in the kitchen unit.

quote:

Originally posted by Lisa:
nope. I'm optimistically assuming the new side by side will fit the same way my current one does. The measurements are the same. Not sure about the hinge issues but from the model in the store, it seems to open the same way.

There's really nothing I can do short of remodeling the whole kitchen to deal with the layout issues. And that's not gonna happen.

The specs should tell you what the width of the unit is with the doors open 90 degrees.

Otherwise, you can tell if you try opening the door in the store The doors on some of them go crazy wide.

edit: Side-by-side units (if they aren't built-ins like SubZero) can be quite short and it can be a challenge to fit a french door style in the same opening. A friend had to raise the cabinet above her refrigerator in order to make the switch.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't be concerned about a bottom freezer on a refrigerator. We have an Amana frig with a bottom freezer that replaced an old refrigerator/freezer a few years ago that has not had any issues. Last year, our side-by-side gave up the ghost and we bought a Maytag french-door with a bottom freezer which has been fine. Given that we have a long-working 25 cubic foot chest freezer, we mainly rely on the refrigerator/freezers for short-term storage, bu they don't seem to be an issue for us.

I can relate to the symptoms you described earlier. As thing go wrong in a refrigerator/freezer, things tend to thaw in the freezer while the cooling provided by those things keeps the refrigerator side relatively cool. The ability of your unit to recover after the (possible) coil ice-up due to a defrost timer malfunction suggests that could be the issue. Did the freezer compartment ever recover from the failure? that might point to other problems.

Big Al

The freezer seems totally recovered. We emptied it completely and by that night, it was making ice and the ice was staying solid. I just checked and it's like -8 in there right now, fully loaded.

Also, regarding the door clearance, we do have a tiny (like maybe 2.5") gap where the other side of the cabinet opening is...at the baseboard this would probably be more like an inch. And the wall angles off, so I don't need to worry about the handle clobbering the wall. The hinges/doors do stick out past the cabinet a bit so I would hope I have enough clearance for the hinges -- I guess it's just a question of how wide the hinge would need to swing. I'm having trouble envisioning the hinge issues you are describing so I thought some photos of my fridge might help.





The main issue I have had with this fridge and door swing is that when opening the right side, I can't get it far enough open to be able to do things like remove the drawers for cleaning. Access is otherwise fine but the drawers and shelves cannot come out without pulling the fridge out so I can swing that door all the way open.

You can see the corner of the kitchen island in the first photo - the picture makes it look roomier than it is - if we had a fridge with full width doors, I belive they'd hit the island. And you can't pull the fridge straight out of the opening without hitting the island -- you have to angle it into the wall where the wall steps back, if that makes any sense.

Also in the second picture, the side of fridge closest to the camera is actually touching the side of the cabinet opening in a long area from about 2 feet to 4 feet off the floor - as in there's a big scrape along the side of the fridge from sliding it in and out there - no clearance at all.

Fun times!

Thanks for all your help/suggestions!

This is what a zero clearance hinge looks like when the door is opened. Notice that the "thickness" that is the door stays within the width of the refrigerator box.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQwaaBH2-Ak

There are some refrigerators that don't employ this type of hinge. Instead, the door pivots such that it swings the door wider than the actual width of the "box" that is the refrigerator.

A non-zero clearance hinge can make the space required to open 90 degrees several inches wider than the opening required for the frig. In other words, you can't put it next to a wall.

Pics of my installation. It works, but it's very tight and is only possible because of the zero clearance hinge.

We should move the filler strip from the left side of the opening to the right just to give us a little more opening swing on the right. Should have done it when we had the frig out a couple of years ago to install a new floor, but didn't think of it then. Will likely do a little shuffling when the frig is replaced at some point.













As an aside...that doorway into the kitchen is less than 30" wide, and we have to take the doors off the refrigerator to get it through the opening. We figured that out when they delivered this one.

Thanks WTG! That makes sense now. I think we don't necessarily need a zero clearance hinge but I will keep it in mind.

Sorry about all your layout issues - I thought I had it bad. You would think kitchen designers and architects would think about these things. They should be sentenced to live with their own kitchens!

Well after behaving itself perfectly for a week, today the freezer is 40+ degrees and all is melted again. It's a really bad time to deal with trying to get a new fridge (Mr. Lisa's dad passed away unexpectedly yesterday morning and we are trying to organize whatever passes for a funeral under the current stay at home laws) so I am just going to have the guy put the circuit board in and hope for the best.

I'm so sorry for you and Mr. Lisa. My condolences.

Lisa, I am so sorry to hear about Mr. Lisa's father! Please accept my condolences.

Thank you. It was not Covid, but I feel like it was Covid-influenced -- if not for the pandemic, I think he would have gone to the ER sooner - he held out because he was afraid of catching something worse in the ER. I doubt the Covid death statistics factor that in, but they should.

My condolences to you and Mr. Lisa.

Lisa, I’m so sorry for your loss.

@@@@@@@@@@

Lisa and WTG, you have even tighter refrigerator spaces than I do! Mine is next to a wall and cupboard to the left, where the cupboard doors are at a 90 degree angle to the fridge doors. So the fridge has to be counter depth or it would block the cabinets. But on the other side of the fridge is a doorway, where we can let it overhang if we need to. Also, there is a cupboard above the fridge, which means the fridge can’t exceed a certain height.

We used to have a side by side. I really wanted something where I could fit wider items, so we went for French doors with freezer on the bottom. The freezer is a big drawer, with a smaller pull out shelf above it. The bottom drawer is like a pit that is always full, and I can never remember what’s in the lower reaches. I don’t love it.

There was only one refrigerator with French doors/bottom freezer, short enough to fit into my space. It’s a Fisher & Paykels. It’s an ok fridge, but I don’t love it. It’s functional, so there it is.