The Fridge Fiasco

[mountainsoft]

Our 18 year old Whirlpool refrigerator served us well, but the defrost drain line kept freezing over and causing water to build up inside the fridge. I replaced the defrost timer twice, as well as the thermostat, fans, switches, etc. So we decided to buy a new fridge rather than keep throwing money at that one unsuccessfully.

Dec 18, 2022 - We went to Lowes and picked out a new Whirlpool refrigerator that was the same size and color as our old one.

Dec 22, 2022 - I removed the ice maker, disconnected the water line, and moved all our food into coolers. They showed up with the fridge but it had a big dent in the front door. So I rejected the fridge and put everything back in the old fridge.

Dec 26, 2022 - I disconnected and unloaded everything again, and Lowes showed up with another fridge. This one had a big deep scratch in the lower door. So I rejected that one too and reinstalled everything once again.

Dec 31, 2022 - Once again I disconnected and unloaded everything from our old fridge. This one looked good so they hauled away our old one and we waited the recommended two hours before plugging it in. Once we did it had a high pitched whine and vibrated badly. We could hear it through the entire house, and even had to turn up the TV in the living room to hear over the noisy refrigerator.

Jan 3, 2023 - Got a call the night before with a delivery window for another fridge. We waited all day, but no one ever showed. I got tired of listening to the loud noise, so I made a redneck repair to minimize the vibration by sticking a block of wood under one of the refrigerant lines. Still loud, but minimized.

Jan 7, 2023 - Lowes delivery showed up at our door, but they were only here to "pick up" the noisy one. They did not have a replacement. We couldn't live without a fridge, so I sent them away again.

Jan 8, 2023 - Called Lowes to try and schedule another replacement, but the gal told me we were beyond our 48 hour return window and she could only charge us for another one. What?!? How is this our responsibility, you have yet to deliver a working fridge and I'm only past 48 hours because you didn't show up for a scheduled delivery. After going in circles with her she finally gave me her manager and he reluctantly agreed to send out another replacement, but "this would be the last time", like I was some kind of perfectionist problem customer.

Jan 11, 2023 - Repeated the unload and disconnection, and the delivery showed up again. This time there was big smudge mark running across the lower door, and multiple small dents on the sides. Decided it was too significant to live with, so rejected this one too. I figured that was the end of working with Lowes and I would have to go the warranty repair route. At least our noisy new fridge looked nice. Then I got a call later that evening to reschedule another delivery. I was surprised, but OK.

Jan 14th, 2023 - Lowes finally delivered a refrigerator without dents or major scratches, and thankfully it runs quiet. Well, it's still noisier than our old fridge, but it's quiet enough to live with.

We paid $1099 for the fridge, plus additional for the ice maker kit. Over $1300 for the most basic 21 cu/ft top freezer model. Crazy. Of course, it went on sale for $749 just a few days after we bought it. I asked about getting the sale price since we still hadn't had a working fridge delivered, and was assured we could get the sales price within 30 days of our order. They just had to complete the order first. So, I called Jan 15th and spoke with the manager again to get the price adjustment. After lots of "administrative adjustment" he arranged two "gift cards" that could be applied to our credit card, but for some reason couldn't be refunded back to the original card. Weird, but whatever. By my math there was a $350 price difference, but the two "gift cards" only totaled up around $220. I don't know where his numbers came from but I was tired of dealing with this and just wanted it over. $220 was better than full price at least.

So nearly a month later, 6 attempts, and going through 4 refrigerators we finally have one that looks decent and runs quiet. There's still a tiny scratch on the front door and a couple tiny dents in the back, but it was obvious we weren't going to receive a blemish free fridge. I watched the guys unpack them when they got here, so these either left the factory that way or got tossed around on the boat from China.

Hands down this was the worst appliance purchase we've ever gone through. I'm just glad it's over. Hopefully this one will hold up a few years.

 

[yhoomajor]

Dents don't bother me. Picked up a fridge in November (50% off) from Lowes because someone had returned it due to couple of dents

 

[Qs Laptop]

Our 18 year old Whirlpool refrigerator served us well, but the defrost drain line kept freezing over and causing water to build up inside the fridge. I replaced the defrost timer twice, as well as the thermostat, fans, switches, etc. So we decided to buy a new fridge rather than keep throwing money at that one unsuccessfully.

What a hassle! Simply unacceptable to have so many refrigerators with defects on the exteriors.

Regarding your old Whirlpool. Did you research the drain tube issues? Did you replace the drain tube with the newer design?

I ask because my 11 year old Whirlpool had the same problem with freezing and backing up water into the bottom of the freezer compartment (this is a french door refrigerator with a bottom freezer.) It turns out the defroster drain tube was a poor design and it was replaced with an S-curve drain tube design. If I can find photos I took of them I will post them.

I know you probably don't want to hear this but it might have been possible to keep your old fridge by replacing the defrost drain tube with the new design, which I think was a $10 item.

 

[MichaelB]

I sometimes wonder if appliances with dents, dings, and scratches are returned to the warehouse and just assigned to another order, and continually sent out until they reach a customer who finally accepts.

 

[aja8888]

I sometimes wonder if appliances with dents, dings, and scratches are returned to the warehouse and just assigned to another order, and continually sent out until they reach a customer who finally accepts.

I believe they are. Ordered a *new* microwave and went to the local Lowes to pick it up. The box was clearly re-taped shut. So I opened it and it had a dent on the top. Clearly a return. Who do these people think they are kidding? Told them to give me a NEW one or I walk. They were out of NEW ones.....went to HD and got what I wanted.

 

[Souschef]

That reminds of the time we ordered a new fridge in black. The guys show up, unload the fridge, and I am looking down on it from our front deck. It was a white fridge!

I go down to talk to them and they look at the address and it was not ours. Fortunately, ours was on the truck. They install it and I asked them to remove the icemaker. The guy says he cannot because it is wired in.
I wait until they leave, take out the 2 screws on the side, and unplug it.

 

[braumeister]

The last two refrigerators I bought both arrived with sizable dents in the side.
In both cases, the dent was on the side against a wall, so would never be seen. When I called the store while the delivery guys were there, they said they would get me another, but offered me a very large discount if I would accept it. I took the discount and the appliances functioned perfectly for the rest of the years I owned them.

 

[COcheesehead]

Having built a house in 2020, this is the way things are now. We are in the house just over two years and we are still dealing with warranty issues on cabinets, windows, etc. Everything is on back order. Everyone is employing the unemployable. Every once in a while we still run into someone who cares or we get something fixed right. Those moments stand out.

 

[Sunset]

OP - Similar but not as bad a story for us getting a new fridge.

Had to wait 6 months for a new one to be delivered, and it was twisted so doors were off, even the delivery guy said I might want to refuse it.
Repack food in old fridge and wait.
Weeks later new one comes, it's all fine, and they take the working 20yr old one away.

Ours would leak out water, but I found sticking a wire up the drain tube cleaned it out, good for months to years.

What struck me was the 6 months wait during Covid. Imagine folks where a fridge has died

 

[Qs Laptop]

Here is the picture I took of the drain tubes. The old style had a "duckbill" type valve at the end of the drain pipe. It's flexible and closes down to a narrow slit so as to keep warm air out of the freezer compartment. The problem is the flexible "duckbill" valve would get gummed up with crap and completely close up.



Also a short video explaining the problem here, with this guy's DIY fix. He did not buy the officially sanctioned replacement tube:

 

[38Chevy454]

I believe a major part of the problem is that refrigerators are basically structural foam with very thin metal exterior. So very little dent resistance. Plus they are shipped without a big cardboard box, just some styrofoam padding around corners and plastic skids, with a plastic sheet over the frig to keep it cleaner. But nothing to really prevent damage like dents. The only good thing is if you can find a scratch and dent where the messed up area is hidden by a wall or cabinet, you can get it for considerable discount.

 

[Ian S]

Funny you should mention Lowes. Bought a gas grill from them a few years back and had them deliver it. Box looked fine and there was no evidence it had been opened. Went to assemble it and discovered a huge dent in the body of it. Had to take it back and get a replacement but made sure to open the new one up at the store to ensure it wasn't damaged too.

 

[Bamaman]

My 10 year old high line Kitchenaid side by side fridge has been leaking every other day. I got on YouTube and figured the problem was in a drip pan in the back of the freezer where an electric element heats up the frost on the evaporator every other day.

A plastic tube drains the ice water into a pan under the freezer and a fan blows air over the pain evaporating the drained water.

I bought some vinyl tubing and stuck it inside the S shaped plastic tubing and siliconed where the tubing went thru the drip pan above. So far, it's not leaked.

Have you looked at the price of refrigerator freezers? I like the kind with two doors on top, a refrigerator drawer in the middle and a bottom freezer drawer. Prices start at $2500.

But on Facebook Marketplace, you can find all kinds of late model refrigerators people are wanting to sell cheap--including high line models. Just stay away from LG & Samsung that are built for looks, not performance.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I had the same problem with the freezer drain line clogging. Found a YouTube video that showed me how to fix the problem.

Took the back off the freezer compartment. Thawed the frozen drain line. Then wrapped a copper wire around the heater bar (that does the defrost cycles) and ran some wire down into the drain line.

Now, when the defrost cycle turns on, some of the heat carries through the wire and down into the drain line and melts any ice that has built up. Has worked well for about 9 months so far.

 

[11522914]

I sometimes wonder if appliances with dents, dings, and scratches are returned to the warehouse and just assigned to another order, and continually sent out until they reach a customer who finally accepts.

That would not surprise me at all.

A couple of years ago I had a dryer delivered by Lowes. It had a huge dent in the side. When I said I didn't want that one the delivery person argued with me stating it won't affect the dryer from working.

Uh!!! I ordered a new dryer with no dents. Geez. Take it back.

 

[Time2]

I know you probably don't want to hear this but it might have been possible to keep your old fridge by replacing the defrost drain tube with the new design, which I think was a $10 item.

It is my skeptical, yet somewhat learned opinion, that buying a fridge now will have a much shorter lifespan than one bought 25, 30 or even 38 years ago.
My Kenmore side by side is 27 years old, although I have replaced water valves, defrost heaters and repaired the ice maker a few times, it still does the job of keeping food, frozen or cold. My friend is working with a 38 yr old fridge, both of us can afford new fridges, but it is not easy to spend money on something expensive that you lack confidence it will last 5 years.
And of course we would want the $2,500 fridge We is SWMBO!

https://youtu.be/rKJgYVhZ6-w

 

[freedomatlast]

I just bought a new SS Whirlpool refrigerator for the rental from Lowes. Miraculously, it wasn't dented when delivered. First time ever for that. However, one of the three rough looking delivery guys went on a self guided tour of the house while the other two were handling the refrigerator. When I went to see what he was up to and ask him what he was doing, he had a very guilty look on his face. Tough to get good help I guess.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I bought a new GE fridge last month from Best Buy to replace my 19 year old GE fridge.
Because the space for my fridge has a wall that hinders opening the door if it’s too wide Best Buy sent out a consultant to look at the space and we figured out which one would fit and still meet my needs. After having gone to multiple stores including a local appliance store for help in determining what would work this was a welcome service.

I was concerned about the fridge coming damaged because I heard tales similar to the OP.
It didn’t. Delivered, set up, and old one taken away. Delivery people were as nice as can be.

I paid $1400 for the new fridge which is the same price I paid for the fridge I bought 19 years ago. [emoji41]
Back then I was told appliances weren’t lasting very long but it sure did. Nothing was ever done to that fridge as I have no mechanical ability whatsoever.
I wonder if some of the appliances with fancy setups are the ones that don’t last? Mine is basic French doors, freezer on the bottom. Ice maker.

I guess time will tell.

 

[Texas Proud]

Dents don't bother me. Picked up a fridge in November (50% off) from Lowes because someone had returned it due to couple of dents

It matters where the dents are located...



My old fridge (which was replaced last year) had a small dent on the side and a bigger one in back... both were in places they would not be seen so bought it.... it worked many good years..


New one we paid over $3K for and had zero problems... however, it is stainless and I can now see a very slight change in a reflection of the light when the door is opened in such a way... who knows how it got there but it is OK by me...

 

[Time2]

I wonder if some of the appliances with fancy setups are the ones that don’t last? Mine is basic French doors, freezer on the bottom. Ice maker.

I guess time will tell.

That's what the guy in the video I posted above says, it's the

"fancy setups"

 

[Qs Laptop]

https://youtu.be/rKJgYVhZ6-w

Yay! According to this video my Whirlpool french door model with the inside-the-door water dispenser (not in-door dispenser) and the single "Jazz" control board is considered the best french door style refrigerator. (Time stamp of 12:30)

 

[mountainsoft]

Dents don't bother me. Picked up a fridge in November (50% off) from Lowes because someone had returned it due to couple of dents

If they're on the side or back I don't care much either, as they would be hidden behind the cabinets anyway. But these dents and scratches were right on the front doors and were rather significant. The blemishes are magnified because of the new smooth gloss finishes instead of the older textured finishes designed to hide fingerprints.

Our fridge is located on a side wall so we see the front of it looking down through the dining room, or even from the living room. Any blemish would be quite visible through most of the house.

As it is, rolling the fridge in and out so many times left small dents in the finish of the hardwood floor. You can't see it when you are in the kitchen, but if you look at it from the living or dining room, especially when light shines through the window, it looks like two big ruts in front of the fridge. If I had been thinking I would have laid down cardboard or something to protect the floor, but we were so distracted just trying to get a working fridge I didn't think of it. It's not the end of the world, but it's unfortunate. One of those "how can you be so smart and do something so stupid" moments.

We also have a couple of long dents across our front cedar deck where they rolled the new fridge out of the way to take out the old one. At least I can sand those out the next time we refinish the deck (I might try steaming them to see if I can raise the dents out).

 

[mountainsoft]

Did you research the drain tube issues? Did you replace the drain tube with the newer design?

It has been a while since I researched that, but I'm pretty sure our old fridge already had the new drain design.

 

[mountainsoft]

I believe they are. Ordered a *new* microwave and went to the local Lowes to pick it up. The box was clearly re-taped shut. So I opened it and it had a dent on the top. Clearly a return. Who do these people think they are kidding?

About 30+ years ago I worked for an appliance store that sold microwaves. We often "repackaged" ovens that were returned or rejected for various reasons. I do remember repairing a couple before packaging them up for sale again. I didn't work in sales, but I'm pretty sure they sold them as new and not as refurbished. That same company didn't pay their taxes and went out of business while my wife and I were on our honeymoon. We wouldn't have known other than we popped in to visit and they were packing up the store. So our marriage started with unemployment...

 

[gromit]

OP, I feel your pain. My new GE refrigerator I bought from Costco was installed today, about 2 hours ago. I ordered it on Nov. 8, but the 1st one was scratched. Weeks to try again and the second one had many scratches on it, all in parallel, like a machine had made them. The refrigerators were packed in plastic, inside a box and they were scratched before they were packed for shipping. Another 3 week wait for the 3rd try. Today, the 3rd refrigerator was fine and was installed. I just hope it runs fine for many years.
In contrast, I also bought a Whirlpool dishwasher at the same time as the refrigerator and the November installation went perfectly.

Lessons learned for me:
1. Even though I bought from Costco, GE provides their own logistics and delivery on appliances. Costco provides the delivery on some other brands. So even though Costco tried to be helpful, they were at the mercy of whatever GE wanted to do in terms of scheduling etc.
2. It was a great decision to go ahead and buy the new refrigerator and not wait for the old one to die.