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Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronstar
Al, I think have the same fridge. But mine is a Kenmore- same as whirlpool. The flapper has a little piece that sticks out of the top that is supposed to fit into a slotted component mounted to the underside of the fridge top. The slot is curved and makes the flapper rotate as the door is closed. The rotation allows the flapper to sit flush and the door to close.
It looks like your flapper is not fitting the slotted component correctly. Definitely something that should be fixed by warranty.
They replaced those parts several times. The appliance repair place wasn't great, a lot of poor reasoning.
It's working well with my there-I-fixed-it modification.
I actually got a Sears Master Protection Agreement after the fact ($71). The Sears rep said "I'll transfer you know, and remember, you don't want to mention that you already have a problem."
But I think I'll come up against the "It's not broken, it's a feature" problem there, too. With my fix, it might be smarter just to stay with this fridge, which is otherwise okay.
I was about to buy a new stove from Sears, since ours recently turned on by itself . Yes, came down in the morning and the over was on (with the dial set to Off).
I will be buying from Costco. 90 Day return policy, and they'll even come pick it up for free.
>A looped bungie cord ...
If we hadn't spent $1000 for a brand new fridge, that's what I'd have done.
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That's the way it's supposed to work The flap on the left door has to be in place so when the right door closes, it seals. I thought it was a poor design, but if you like the French door fridges, that seems to be how most or all of them work.
You are a smart guy, so you could figure it out and adapt. I have put a bunch of these at $998 less the Lowes discount or Home Depot coupon into rental properties. Tenants love the look. You can almost see them drool when they find out the house has stainless appliances. However, the phone calls about the fridge after they move in are good evidence of the reason most tenants are still tenants....
I prefer side by side fridges, but the tenants love these. Go figure.
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Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Huntsville, AL/Helen, GA
Posts: 6,002
I've got a Maytag that's the same basic fridge design--but with the refrigerator drawer and bottom freezer. And it has an alarm.
The left door's just got to be closed before the right one. If I leave the left one slightly cracked, it's not such a problem because it's refrigerated--not a freezer. But we still find ourselves from time to time not getting it completely closed.
I think it's easier to just learn how to close the doors on this fridge (they do close--it's similar to a cabinet with overlapping doors, which we learn to close a certain way) than to jerryrig and offbalance and possibly interfere with the workings of a major appliance to close them the way I want. And probably void the new warranty with blocks under it and possibly drilling into it to install bungee cords
More importantly, do the doors needing to be closed in a certain order bother Lena this much? Are you happy with the refrigerator otherwise?
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,887
I'm curious - what is the attraction of french doors on a fridge?
I don't get it - opening one larger door seems as easy as opening a smaller door, and easier than opening two doors when the thing you are looking for ends up on the other side, or you don't know what side it's on (spouse put it way, or you forgot, and you have a 50-50 chance, so 1.5 door openings on average in that case). Plus, you need access on both sides for the door to swing (may or may not be a problem, but I don't see it as an advantage). And with a single door, it's obvious that the sealing is simpler, and probably more effective.
We had a side-by-side once, DW hated it - freezer was too narrow for some things. Then we got a bottom freezer, and we don't understand why those are not more popular. We go into the fridge far more often than we go into the freezer, so having that food all at a more accessible level is a plus. It always seems weird to me when I use someone else's top-freezer fridge, that everything is so low.
There is some talk that bottom-freezer models are less efficient, not sure why - cold sinks so it seems to make sense that you want the coldest on the bottom. I guess some concern that being closer to the compressor could be an issue? But I checked the Energy Label ratings, and ours was as efficient as a similar top freezer, so in practice, not an issue.
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 14,404
Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50
I'm curious - what is the attraction of french doors on a fridge?
Novelty sells? "Hey, look, now they have fridges with French doors! You couldn't get those before. It must answer a need and be better, else why would they have changed it? And so shiny!"
They do help in some locations. An island in the kitchen is now seen as highly desirable, even in kitchens that are really too small to need one. Things can get so cramped that a narrower door on the refrigerator is better than a wide one. For the freezer access, you still have to stand to one side can pull it open.
So, one poor design choice (island in a too small kitchen) spawns more trouble.
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17,237
Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50
I'm curious - what is the attraction of french doors on a fridge?
I don't get it - opening one larger door seems as easy as opening a smaller door, and easier than opening two doors when the thing you are looking for ends up on the other side, or you don't know what side it's on (spouse put it way, or you forgot, and you have a 50-50 chance, so 1.5 door openings on average in that case). Plus, you need access on both sides for the door to swing (may or may not be a problem, but I don't see it as an advantage). And with a single door, it's obvious that the sealing is simpler, and probably more effective.
We had a side-by-side once, DW hated it - freezer was too narrow for some things. Then we got a bottom freezer, and we don't understand why those are not more popular. We go into the fridge far more often than we go into the freezer, so having that food all at a more accessible level is a plus. It always seems weird to me when I use someone else's top-freezer fridge, that everything is so low.
There is some talk that bottom-freezer models are less efficient, not sure why - cold sinks so it seems to make sense that you want the coldest on the bottom. I guess some concern that being closer to the compressor could be an issue? But I checked the Energy Label ratings, and ours was as efficient as a similar top freezer, so in practice, not an issue.
-ERD50
I will give my 2 cents which means nothing....
Some like the look.... if I got one for my house it would be for space savings... IOW there is a 'wall' just behind me when I open the fridge... it swings to the right which is toward the kitchen... if it is open at 90 degrees you cannot get into the kitchen easily... good thing it opens a bit wider... now, I could not have a wide fridge as I just do not have any more room... IIRC, I have a 24 or 25 ft fridge that sticks out more than it is wide..
As to your bottom freezer... when I was young we had one and it was much better for the fridge part... but, getting stuff out of the freezer was a pain... there are no shelves and you kinda stack everything on top of everything else... with a side by side you have a lot of stacking options... but, we have a full sized freezer in the garage so can put something in there if we have something 'big'...
But, if I had to choose between a top or bottom freezer the bottom would win every time...
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17,237
I will point out that 50 years ago my dad bought a fridge that had an auto opening feature... there was a button on the door and if you pushed it an arm would turn and open the fridge... we had the fridge for at least 15 years... it never broke... and that is with 6 young kids using it all the time...
So, I do not see why they cannot add something to close a fridge when it gets to a certain point like they do with car trunks.... we are talking about very expensive fridges here and adding a few bucks should not have an impact on sales....
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Join Date: May 2013
Location: ATL --> Flyover Country
Posts: 6,649
Quote:
Originally Posted by samclem
Don't go too far with the unlevelling of the fridge. If you do, the ice maker may not work right (trays won't fill, water dumps into freezer cabinet) and/or the defrosting cycle might not drain water in the right way, result in "yecchh," esp in a place like yours that has high humidity.
None of the French door fridges seal as well or reliably as those with conventional doors. That's the price for making a fashion statement.
This..plus the compressor works best when it's level.
We have a similar fridge (Kenmore) but with the ice maker in the door and it closes without issue, even when done "slowly". I was going to post a video, but ya'll don't need to see my portly self.
As far as dependability of new appliances go, I think they are not nearly as reliable as they once were. My Dad had two water heaters that lasted 25+ years before requiring replacement. The oven was also 25+ years old and the built in stove is still going after 44 years. Whereas I have had to replace a washer less than 5 years old, our 4 year old dishwasher sucks out loud and the fancy fridge died within a month of having it (and after a terrible experience w/ Sears service, I will NOT be buying any appliances from them ever again). So...I think there maybe some credence to the "planned obsolesce" argument.
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OK, since the French Doors swing out only ~ 1/2 as far, I can see that as an advantage, depending on your kitchen layout.
Now, those two drawers on the previous post actually look nice to me. On ours (and most fridges I think), there are two drawers inside. You need to open the door, and then open the drawers. And for the drawer on the door hinge side, that door has to be swung a full + 90 degrees. We normally store specific veggies in those drawers, so I would know to go to those drawers for those. But I would still want a single main door (above the outside access drawers).
That would sometimes avoid opening the door and letting the warm air in. And the door would be open for a shorter time. A drawer won't lose as much air, it would stay in the drawer.
I was going to post a video, but ya'll don't need to see my portly self.
Portly? Portly?
Aw gosh, you are ruining my pre-conceptions! I visualized you as being trim, athletic, probably active duty military, with a crew cut and not having even one ounce of excess weight to spare.
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Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
Portly? Portly?
Aw gosh, you are ruining my pre-conceptions! I visualized you as being trim, athletic, probably active duty military, with a crew cut and not having even one ounce of excess weight to spare.
HA!! That's pretty good. Since retiring, I have put on about 20 pounds (not terribly surprising) but I still keep the hair short (NOT a crew cut, however). I tried letting it grow out some, but I can't stand it. Same goes for facial hair. So, there have been *some* downsides to retirement, I can't bring myself to look that bummy!
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HA!! That's pretty good. Since retiring, I have put on about 20 pounds (not terribly surprising) but I still keep the hair short (NOT a crew cut, however). I tried letting it grow out some, but I can't stand it. Same goes for facial hair. So, there have been *some* downsides to retirement, I can't bring myself to look that bummy!
(adjusting my mental image of you)
Oh OK! I agree, there's a limit to how bummy one wants to look, even in retirement.
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Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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As far as "why" on the French Doors, in our case it was the island. Our kitchen is fairly small and when we renovated it, we moved the fridge (there was a closet there w/ washer and dryer) to where you see it. Also, on the other side of the island is the oven and there is only about 2" of clearance between it (when open) and the island, so we couldn't move it closer "that way". So, to have a fridge big enough for all our crap, French doors were necessary.
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Return that defective thing. I swear the more bells and whistles the more issues. Same goes for washer and dryers. When did people start needing a washer with 40 different options, steaming, folding, nuclear waste cleaning, etc etc. Wise up and buy the bare essentials when it comes to things with motors.
I'm curious - what is the attraction of french doors on a fridge?
For me, it's wider access to the inside - easier to find things imo. Also, the doors aren't halfway across the kitchen when open & so heavy with long moment arms such that the door could get out of alignment. I'd think those with lower strength levels - like some oldsters - would like the lesser weight. Of course, freezer on the bottom with pull out drawer is most efficient for maintaining coldness.
We have the so called "counter depth" - lesser depth - for the visual appeal of the front aligning loser to the counters (You pay extra for less volume. Oh well. ). That said, this manufacturer, & I'd guess most, say to do push the frig all the way back against the wall but to allow 2" space. We did that & of course it still stick out beyond the counters.
I've lived in a house with a refrigerator that did exactly that same thing. My boyfriend just blamed it on me being careless and not shutting the door. Thank you for the video. Now I don't feel so bad bout the break up. (Ha!) I don't have much else to offer except my condolences and the fact that his frig was over 10 years old and still works great other than that one design flaw. Just don't blame your wife if someone doesn't shut the doors carefully. Divorces are more expensive than refrigerators.