Does anyone have one of the new french door refrigerators?

[SW FL Dem]

Here a link to a pic of one.

http://www.maytag.com/mths/products/product.jsp?model=MFD2560HES&cs=0&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

If so, do you like it? I like the look of it but I wonder if I can deal with having to bend down and open the freezer to get ice. It would be nice to be able to get party trays in the fridge or a frozen pizza in the freezer.

[merci_me]

1. I have one.................

Ours is a Kenmore Elite and we bought it in June 2003, so lots of time to stop staring at it. LOL There is something so wonderful at the beginning when you open those doors and see everything at once!! Also, a heck of a lot less waste.

I LOVE it. I don't even give it a thought about bending to get things from the freezer. First of all, the drawer pulls out and the shelf with the ice bin also pulls out, so you are looking down at a wide open, easy to reach shelf. It's not really a "bend" at all. Getting the ice is no more of a bend than reaching to pick up a book off a kitchen chair seat. Certainly nothing like the contortion to try to find what's in the back of a regular fridge. For that matter, items in the freezer are more accessible than a top freezer since it pulls out and everything in there is in full view.

With the regular top freezer fridge, which I still have in the garage, I find myself out there practically standing on my head to see whats in the fridge while the closed freezer door is right in my face. If you think about it, the fridge contents are always changing and the ice cubes are always in the same spot, no searching for them and moving things to get to them.

The thing you need to think about, they're taller than some, so if you have a cabinet over the fridge, take that into account. I'd have taken the cabinet out if I had to. Also ours is 36 inches wide, we had JUST enough room. Finally, they're deep! My husband took down the wall board and framed in an opening to be able to slide the fridge back another 4 or 5 inches, so it fits flush with the cabinets.

BTW, Sears was selling the Elite for $1850, but we went to their scratch and dent clearance center. We went in every week for 2 months, because we needed bisque, but they always had plenty of white, black and stainless available. Finally we found one that had a 5 inch scratch down the side that's up against the wall. Price---$1100.

We were at my sisters for several days last summer and my husband was always bending and searching for mustard or pickles or a can of beer.
He's now decided my pressuring for the Elite was a stroke of genius.

Mary

[Stinky The Clown]

2. I had one a looooong time ago

When we bought this house in 1980, it had the original 1972 kitchen. And in it was a gawdawful brown (what was the brown version of Harvest Gold?) french door refrig. It had a bottom freezer. Just like the new ones, except .......

The new ones have freezer drawers, as far as I know. (My old one had a lower freezer, but it was a door with shelves inside - very hard to get to stuff in the back) Certainly the ones I have seen have drawers. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. You use the refrig more, and if it is on top, you bend less. Period. Now, if the lower section is the freezer and is on a pull-out system, you may have to bend a little, but it isn't "deep" bending like it might be in the refrig portion. The ones I have seen I like very much.

Our current unit is a 1980 Sub Zero with a new stainless steel skin on it. It looks similar to the one in the picture below. The biggest difference between then and now (efficiency aside) is that ours has a door on the bottom which reveals an inside slide-out basket. The new ones have the entire lower section as a drawer attached to the door. Much more convenient.

[merci_me]

3. Another thing I do

I have wide mouth square jars, the kind Classico sauce comes in and smaller square ones that some brand of preserves comes in. I switch all of my relishes, pickles, peppers, olives, etc. to those jars and keep them on the two middle half-shelves, which roll out. One is set for the height of the Classico jars and the other is set for the shorter preserves jars. Then I can use whatever space in front for other things and just roll the shelves out to find the jars. Being all the same size and square is very efficient, not to mention very attractive.

If the jar isn't big enough I put the original jar out in the garage fridge. Plus, we buy some things in gallons, so I just bring in what I need. I'm still (almost 2 years later) doing a happy dance about the SPACE!!

Mary

[eleny]

7. Thanks - What a great idea

[Lugnut]

4. I wish

I don't have enough room in my kitchen for one. I'd settle for a regular one with a bottom freezer drawer. A house we rented at the beach two years ago had a bottom freezer drawer and I fell in love.

[NMDemDist2]

5. me too, I had an ancient pink one from the 50's in a house i rented

when we bought this house I got a brand new Amana with a bottom freezer

while it's not the french style I still love it years later

[onecent]

6. We had a refrig we bought in 1986 - the freezer was on the

bottom...

Just bewarned...IF you have grandchildren...

We lost control with the popcycles....and ice cream products.

Actually it didn't bother us that the grandkids got their own, but the parents weren't real fond of it. That's what we are for - to give 'em treats... all 15 of 'em

[trotsky]

8. This is what I bought last year.

The Maytag "Wide-by-Side"
http://www.maytag.com/mths/products/product.jsp?model=MZD2667HEW&cs=0&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

I absolutely love it. In case you haven't seen these before, the sections "overlap" in the middle - on top, the refrigerator part is wider, while the narrow freezer part contains just the icemaker. On the bottom, it's reversed - the freezer is wider, and the refrigerator has
just the crisper drawers. Click the "interior view" link for a good pic.

The great features of a side-by-side (ice and water dispenser, etc.) together with the width to accomodate pizza leftovers in the original box! I can wholeheartedly recommend one of these.

[eleny]

9. I saw this one today

I stopped at the Appliance Factory Outlet - a chain here in Colorado. I saw the Jenn-Air and the LG brand fridges with the French Doors. This is the LG http://www.us-appliance.com/lrlg21cuftsi.html

We have a very good air conditioner made by LG, so the brand is familiar. The LG drawers and whole interior felt more substantial. I also liked the brushed stainless door.

The only question I have is about access to the very large meat tray. In these models it sits below the fruit and veggie crispers and is the width of the entire fridge. So, you have to open both doors to access it.

I really like the spaciousness. Maybe it's no bigger than most but being at eye level makes it feel bigger as well as more convenient. I'm very tempted by this model since it's cabinet depth, too.

One more thing. We don't have access to a water line where the frdige has to sit in my kitchen. But the water & ice taps aren't on the outside of the door and the ice maker in this freezer doesn't seem to take up any space inside. There's a bin for the ice but we can just dump a small bag of ice in there. The water storage is well hidden so it doesn't take up storage room inside the fridge or freezer.

I'm really tempted to switch from looking for a side by side to this French door type. It looks like it could really meet our needs for space.