Please tell me about your "american style" fridge freezers

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we want a bigger fridge freezer. we can't decide whether to have a side-by-side - or one where the freezer has drawers beneath the fridge.

do we bother with water/ice dispensers? if so, should we plumb it in or refill from tap manually?

please help me - I bow down to the wisdom of mumsnet :)

We've had our Samsung one for over 15 years. It's amazing. I use the ice dispenser and the water constantly. It is the best appliance ever.

PS. You need to plumb ours, but once in place it is great!

is it a side by side one?

We got one with 2 large freezer drawers below the fridge. I'd recommend against this as stuff gets buried too easily! Would be fine it if it was more split into smaller drawers/compartments though.

The drawer ones have a much bigger freezer capacity from memory, when we were looking. We also have a Samsung which has been brilliant. My only regret is not having got one that could dispense fizzy water.

Mine isn't American but is extra wide 70cm with a fill up water dispenser. Next time I'll get one which plumbs in as I feel like I'm always refilling and it isn't something the kids can do by themselves. I really like the width.

I have a black Samsung American fridge freezer and I bloody love it. Had it for 8-9 years with zero issues. Ice and water is used daily and there is SO much space in the fridge. The freezer is not so spacious but we compromised and got a a chest freezer and a plastic shed for the garden as we bulk buy our meat.

I looked at them, but ultimately realised that the freezers were not very big compared to the fridge - especially if you have an ice/water dispenser. So in the end, went for separate fridge and separate freezer - both 60cm wide, and tall.

Samsung freezer . This is the one, and the fridge matches it. The ice compartment is inside the freezer rather than being a dispenser. (I was advised not to get one with a dispenser as apparently they can break down very quickly).

Capacity is so big, that I actually make my own ice cubes now (have some giant cube silicone moulds) and the entire bottom drawer is kept filled up with ice!

We inherited a samsung when we moved into our house 5 years ago. I love it. Ours is plumbed but I'm not sure if I would bother recommending plumbed. As ours is plumbed there isn't a water reservoir and the 'cold' water actually is just the same temperature as the water out of the tap and there is nowhere in the fridge to store it for cooling, just the length of water tubing that travels through the fridge, which is only 100ml or so. So for cold drinking water a non plumbed one it probably better. Though having plumbed means I never have to remember to top up the ice.
My parents recently bought one, and one thing I notice about theirs over ours is that it is very tough to pull open. Theirs has flush handles (as they didn't want them sticking out). Ours has lever handles and looking at it recently when you pull the handle/lever to open it, it actually breaks the seal of the fridge as you pull the lever so that there isn't a slight vacuum so it is much easier to open the door. DPs one you do have to tug the door quite hard to overcome the seal.

Mine has the two freezer drawers and I would recommend it.
Great not to have to bend double to when using the fridge.
I didn't go for one with a water dispenser because I use bottled water anyway.

Fridge in top with mine, freezer below, no ice or water dispenser as I saw it as a gimmick and they always break or have issues.
It's been a complete game changer for me can't recommend it enough!

We have a Samsung with ice & water dispenser. I really don’t like the drawers in the fridge, there are 3 & I can’t pull them out far enough so you can’t put a big cauliflower in the veg drawer. I think it’s rattley and when I win a premium bond prize bigger than £25 I’m going to buy a replacement. I used to have a Gaggenau fridge which cost a lot more & I really miss it.

The ones with 2 doors tend to be more reliable and have higher energy ratings even when you consider extra features like ice / tap / smart screens.

We have a side by side one with a water dispenser. Had it for five years, the water dispenser hasn't been used in 4 years. The amount of space in the fridge is awesome, but the freezer is misleading. I can get more in my mums little under the counter freezer. but it's all shelves rather than drawers so that may be why.

As ours is plumbed there isn't a water reservoir and the 'cold' water actually is just the same temperature as the water out of the tap

That's strange. We also have a Samsung and it does has a reservoir in the fridge.

I absolutely couldn't be bothered with filling a tank, I would always go for plumbed.

I really like ours, I can't imagine going back to a standard fridge freezer ever again. Although I would consider matching full size fridge and freezer side by side as another poster described.

The amount of space in the fridge is awesome, but the freezer is misleading. I can get more in my mums little under the counter freezer. but it's all shelves rather than drawers so that may be why.

In America most people have chest freezers in the basement which is probably why the freezer space is minimal. I personally prefer smaller freezer spaces because I tend to ‘lose’ freezer food otherwise but I think buying a cheap freezer to put in the garage / utility as an addition might be a good idea for others.

We have a side by side with no water dispenser. It's not big enough.
We're a family of 5 including 3 teenagers and we had to buy a mini freezer for the overspill. Fridge is 50cm freezer is 30cm.

When we re do the kitchen we will have the same as a PP, full size separate fridge and freezer.

We have a Haier one with 4 doors, it's a good compromise as I was worried about the lack of freezer space in the tall two-door options.

Our is fridge all at the top, both doors, then two doors at the bottom for freezer, with 4 drawers inside and 2 trays at the top. It has water and ice, it's the best fridge I've every had.
We used to have one of the two tall door options and theres so much more fridge space in this one.

It's this one:

Fridge

I also have a samsung side by side. Wouldn’t be without the ice and water dispenser, ours does dispense cold water. Ours is plumbed which I prefer as no refilling etc.

Had ours 4 years and as pp said it does seem like the ice dispensers can have a short life. However ours broke recently, and while shopping for a new ff - that’s how much I like the ice dispenser! I discovered you can buy a new dispenser unit for £70 and it takes minutes to unscrew the old one and fit the new one. So ours is working fine now.

As for the drawers not opening- i found you need quite a big clearance either side of the unit to open the doors fully. If mine sits flush I can’t open the drawers to get a cauliflower in, so I pulled it out an inch which solves the problem.

Yes to the posters saying that the dues are so deep you need to be able to open the doors fully to 180 degrees. Because of this the does protrude quote a bit from the units around the fridge freezer. Mine does disturbed cold filtered water, so I'm assuming that's something that varies between models? I've never had a single issue with my Samsung, despite it being moved twice and having to have the doors removed to get it in etc. I would never ever go back to two tall separate units as my American fridge holds SO much more than a Standard upright fridge, even my previous 5ft tall one. The door shelves are super deep so I can but as many sauces , pickles etc as I want. I also took out a domestic and general policy with them directly and pay £6 a month to cover repairs.

We have a side by side one with an annoyingly narrow freezer and the bottom third of the oversized fridge is alcohol.

My dream replacement is the narrow side being a wine fridge and the wide side being fridge up top and freezer with drawers.

I have a Haier, I love it but with one caveat. The design of the doors is such that if you happen to have both open or try and open one before you've closed another, you trap your fingers and it really, really fucking hurts. Every single person who's ever used this thing has done exactly the same, from DH to both kids, their partners and the MIL. Though once you've done it a few times you do get wise to it 😂

I totally recommend the 4-door type with double door fridge above freezer below. The freezer part of mine is also double door and each side has 3 drawers of different depths. No need for plumbing - that just limits where you can put it.

Not American but I do have a water thing in my fridge. Complete waste of money as I'm the only bugger who fills it and I've lost space in my door.

We have a Samsung with a drawer freezer. I'd definitely get side by side as I feel like it takes forever to dig for things. Definitely get a plumbed version and both water and ice!