A new American or two separates

[dwelly]

We definitely need to buy a new fridge freezer but there’s a debate about what to buy. My wife and son want an American (style) side by side fridge freezer – and the key reason is that it must dispense ice-cold water….! Personally I just want it to keep our food fresh or frozen – the extra gadgets don’t do it for me. I’d be quite happy with a separate fridge and freezer, side by side…

I’ve looked everywhere but can’t see something that fits a budget of £800-1000. The American-style f/f in that budget range are Samsungs and LGs etc but the reviews are terrible. So, is there anything out there that might just keep all of us happy?

[quickwash]

Re: A new American or two separates

Hi,

I was just about to tell you that there was someone asking the very same question on the refridgeration section and then realised you and the other poster are one and the same :rolls:

There are ordinary fridges that dispense cold water too 😉

good luck

quickwash :plug:

[don]

Re: A new American or two separates

Hi

With that sort of budget I would definately go with a matching pair. You can get a pair of Bosch in 171cm high from the Avantixx range for the budget you mention.

HTH 🙂

Don

[dwelly]

Re: A new American or two separates

Don and Quickwash – thank you both for your answers.

I’m sorry about the confusion and asking a similar question elsewhere. I didn’t know until last night this General Appliance forum is the better place for that type of question.

I checked the Bosch range suggested Don but the one thing that’s missing is the ice-cold water function.

Persuading my wife to accept a separate fridge and freezer combo that doesn’t have that ice-cold water function might be quite difficult…

[Martin]

Re: A new American or two separates

dwelly wrote:Persuading my wife to accept a separate fridge and freezer combo that doesn’t have that ice-cold water function might be quite difficult…

I’ve no idea where you plan to locate this America style fridge/freezer (with cold water drinks supply) but it is essential to locate it immediately adjacent to the incoming cold water mains, for obvious reasons. Also essential you choose a make and model that incorporates a replaceable cartridge filter otherwise that cold water will taste pretty stale.

Once installed the chilled water will taste a bit off for a few weeks until the plastic taste dissipates from the internal pipework and chilled water reservoir. If you buy one that includes an ice maker a similar effect will be realised for a while too. Keep all foodstuffs covered especially garlic, curry and fish products as that can taint the ice cubes in very short order.

HTH?:D

[dwelly]

Re: A new American or two separates

Quickwash said there are “fridges that dispense cold water too” – but finding them isn’t so easy by the look of things.

Martin – the “machine” – whether it’s an American or two separates – will be situated close to our cold water supply and a plumber friend has already told us how it will be connected.

My biggest worry and immediate task is to find something that satisfies the wife’s criteria so any advice on a suitable American f/f or two separates would be much appreciated.

[quickwash]

Re: A new American or two separates

Hi dwelly,

I expect the ones i have seen have perhaps got the wrong sort of water dispensers, probably the sort that you put water in from a container maybe, dont know :rolls:

The only american style f/f i have seen that is recommended as being any good is the one that ken has, if he still does, but its £3000. On here somewhere or ask ken 😉

The cheap copies will obviously give you problems in the end, but you get what you pay for tbh.

Side by side seperates would be better if you can get them as if one gets a serious defect that cant be repaired then you only have to replace the one, but as you say if they cant be found then what can you do.

Wouldnt one of those machines that provide cold water be ok instead? My dad has one with a giant size bottle attached (pretty cheap he says) and the water is lovely and cold with no funny tastes 😀

regards

quickwash :plug:

[dwelly]

Re: A new American or two separates

Thanks for that Quickwash. I’d be happy getting everything separate but “she who has to be obeyed” doesn’t see it that way… 🙂 I’ll keep looking…

[quickwash]

Re: A new American or two separates

Blimey if i had a husband i bet he wouldnt be obey me 😆

Good luck with the search 😉

quickwash :plug:

[dwelly]

Re: A new American or two separates

Hopefully there’s some method to my madness, Quickwash. I get her the machine she wants this time and when I fancy something in the future I’ll remind her of this situation..! 🙂 Sounds good in theory anyway…!

[kwatt]

Re: A new American or two separates

dwelly wrote:I’ve looked everywhere but can’t see something that fits a budget of £800-1000. The American-style f/f in that budget range are Samsungs and LGs etc but the reviews are terrible. So, is there anything out there that might just keep all of us happy?

The competition there has thinned.

You can have, up to about the £2K mark, a Korean thing (make your own call given my tone on how good they are) or an Italian made Whirlpool thing, or one of its many clones.

You might get a GE (proper American FF) but it’s serviced and spares supplied by GDHA now which, let’s put it this way, isn’t exactly news that made me especially happy. It could be worse. I guess.

You can get an Amana (maybe), another Whirlpool clone or a Mexican made “American” fridge freezer. You will pay for it though, pay lots.

Then there’s the Turkish Beko machine which, to be fair, there’s not been too much complaining about thus far and the issues that have cropped up seem reasonably okay to fix. They have humped up the price of water filters though so the total ownership costs have risen.

There’s a Bosch thing, but I’ve heard of complaints about them. And, since it’s a Bosch, it’ll be the same as the Neff and Siemens versions, you just pay more for the names. Also, filter costs…. positively scary!

There’s also the Electrolux ones. Anything with an Electrolux, AEG, Zanussi or Tricity badge on it and they don’t seem to be causing any grief. Filter costs, okay but not the cheapest.

It’s a total nightmare at the moment as there is very little choice in reality.

These days, I’m not even sure what I’d buy. Probably the Liebherr even allowing for the, on occasion, slower that I’d hope for spare parts. But then, you’e looking down the barrel of over £2K for the SBS machine, nice though it is without doubt. Filter costs are steep for that as well but, as has been said, you get what you pay for.

As for a matching set to meet the criteria, I think you’ll struggle to get what you’re after there from separates.

HTH

K.

[quickwash]

Re: A new American or two separates

Hi dwelly,

I like your thinking 😉

And i told you ken would know :lesson:

Good luck with it

quickwash :plug:

[dwelly]

Re: A new American or two separates

Ken – that’s a very thorough review of the market and many thanks for taking the time to do that. As Quickwash said, “you know” what’s out there so that in itself gives me more confidence about our decision.

I’ll have another look this weekend, speak with my wife and decide which one of the options is most palatable within our budget. I know she won’t spend in the £2k region so it will be a compromise regardless.

You mention water filters quite a few times. Sorry about my ignorance of these things but why is there such a huge variation between different brands? Is it just down to poor quality in certain brands?

[kwatt]

Re: A new American or two separates

Yeah, I do go on about the water filters and with some justification as it’s a thing a lot of people forget when they buy a fridge freezer that needs one.

Typically they are replaced every six months, twelve months or when the light tells you, which is usually six months as they’re on a simple timer.

But, for the machines to work and you get ice and water without grief you need to follow the regime and it can become expensive over the whole life of the appliance. I recently did some work on this for another project and it can cost you an additional £1000 over a ten year lifespan so, it’s well worth thinking about.

The nice clean ice and water, whilst still a whole load better and cheaper than buying water from a supermarket, can get expensive.

So far, from my simplistic messing about, the GE is cheaper in this respect as the filter lasts twelve months and not six like most. Looks more expensive than some up front but it’s cheaper over the peace.

But when you’re looking at a difference of hundreds of pounds it’s well worth taking into consideration when you’re buying IMO.

K.

[Andrew7]

Re: A new American or two separates

Hello dwelly,
I hope my post could be of any help to you… I see that you’re looking for a new fridge to buy, I made a quick search now and I think you might find Dixons codes useful, I guess you will find what you need with lower rates. So give it a try :wink:.

[Author]

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