Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

American fridge freezers?

52 replies

Crispyduckandpancakes · 05/12/2021 11:35

I am tempted to buy a frost free American fridge freezer as we never seem to have enough space in the fridge and I am always battling with the freezer drawers, which are overflowing and stuck with ice.

Are American fridge freezers worth buying and which brand would you recommend? I don't have a budget as such, but part of me thinks that the technology must be quite similar, so that £1000 should be enough to buy a decent model.

All suggestions gratefully received!

OP posts:
Clutterbugsmum · 05/12/2021 11:42

I don't know what ones would meet your budget, but I can say the first one we had was a LG side by side and found the freezer side was pretty useless. It was just too small. We now have a Samsung one that has the freezer at the bottom and has much better use of space for the freezer.

lljkk · 05/12/2021 11:45

Bigger freezer will just mean more ice. Or are you saying these are guaranteed ice-free models?

How long does anything live in your freezer before you eat it?

Floralnomad · 05/12/2021 11:47

What actual space do you have to put it in as that is the main point . For a large side by side model a budget of £1k would be very limited .

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Home improvement
BIWI · 05/12/2021 11:52

We looked into these when we had our kitchen done. What I found was that the actual space in the freezer is pretty limited - especially if you buy one with a water/ice dispenser. Instead I went for side-by-side stand-alone units. So a Samsung fridge next to a Samsung freezer - both 60cm wide and full height. The space in them is amazing, and I have loads of freezer space.

However, each of them was £700+, so together would way exceed your budget.

Just be careful if you're only looking online - it's very easy to think that you're getting lots of space in the American ones. Much better to go to look at them 'in the flesh' if you can.

Bagelsandbrie · 05/12/2021 11:52

We have this one which is sort of half way between a full American one and a normal one. It’s fabulous. Tons of space!

Duxiejhrhrvjz · 05/12/2021 11:53

I have a normal above and below fridge freezer that is ice-less. I’ve had it for 10 years and it still never makes ice! Amazing! Would never go back!

Original poster
Crispyduckandpancakes · 05/12/2021 11:59

I do have enough space and I can afford to pay more than £1000, but I am just not sure whether the more expensive models are worth the hefty price tag.

At present, we are using a standard, retro style fridge, but it is about 10 years old, isn't frost free and it is just a bit too small for the three of us (I live with my vegan daughters who like to keep their food separate).

I would like something frost free, but it doesn't need to be all singing and all dancing, just basic but bigger. An ice make would be useful but I don't want a model which needs to be plumbed in.

I have been looking at specs and prices for the last couple of hours and am now feeling a bit bog eyed, can't see the wood for the trees! So I would be very grateful for a few recommendations about what fridge freezers people have which are spacious, frost free, and reliable. Value for money is more important than actual price.

Thank you.

OP posts:
Original poster
Crispyduckandpancakes · 05/12/2021 12:01

Bagels I was looking at that one, so it's good to know that you are pleased with it. On some of the comments about other models where the freezer section was on the left instead of below, a criticism was that the space wasn't wide enough to fit a frozen pizza.

OP posts:
RubyFakeLips · 05/12/2021 12:02

The side by side shelf system, is in my experience a nightmare.

I ended up buying plastic boxes to put on shelves as you can never see whats at the back. Also holds less than standard drawers.

Frost free or whatever its called is a revelation, but we have switched to the traditional style with drawers at the bottom.

RubyFakeLips · 05/12/2021 12:04

Yes, pizza issue true for some of the very large boxes. I would measure largest things you regularly buy and may freeze.

I also measured the trays/dishes i use to freeze food before buying new freezer (we're a large family and I often freeze entire dishes).

KittenKong · 05/12/2021 12:05

Good if you need loads of fridge space! We use them when in America - but standard sizes of food there are bigger!

ShipwreckSunset · 05/12/2021 12:12

We have a side by side American style and find it really good, but we don’t use the freezer that much, i think if you do you might find it a bit small. Can fit std size pizzas in though. I find the shelves better than the drawers it has at the bottom just to be able to see everything there. I would have thought it would be fine for 3 people.
The fridge is great and you would buy same again. We have an LG without plumbing, I’m not a fan of ice cold water!

Original poster
Crispyduckandpancakes · 05/12/2021 12:12

On the other hand, I was thinking that it would be easier to see the contents if the freezer part were on the left, whereas if things are in a drawer it requires a degree of rummaging!

OP posts:
Libertaire · 05/12/2021 12:13

We bought a Hisense ‘American-style’ fridge freezer last year. The fridge is simply enormous. It’s just the two of us so our weekly shop looks a bit lost in there. The freezer is tall with lots of shelves & drawers but it’s quite narrow, so it’s difficult to fit in big flat things like large pizzas. It is genuinely frost-free because (I think) it freezes by circulating cold very dry air. We paid about £530 from AO, which assuming we get a decade of use out of it is a complete bargain.

Original poster
Crispyduckandpancakes · 05/12/2021 12:14

Shipwreck, cross post, you have answered my query, thank you!

OP posts:
BIWI · 05/12/2021 12:29

@Crispyduckandpancakes

This is the freezer we have . The ice-maker isn't plumbed in, and it's a slimline one that fits nicely into the door.

And this is the fridge that goes next to it

downtonupton · 05/12/2021 14:31

we have a small one - love it a lot - not side by side though, we have the drawer freezer - but not with doors

I love the freezer drawers so easy to find things, they arent unstable like the plastic inner drawers were.

we have this one as only had a smaller space to fit it in but they make bigger ones
ao.com/product/hb16wmaa-haier-american-fridge-freezer-stainless-steel-48432-27.aspx

downtonupton · 05/12/2021 14:32

[quote downtonupton]we have a small one - love it a lot - not side by side though, we have the drawer freezer - but not with doors

I love the freezer drawers so easy to find things, they arent unstable like the plastic inner drawers were.

we have this one as only had a smaller space to fit it in but they make bigger ones
ao.com/product/hb16wmaa-haier-american-fridge-freezer-stainless-steel-48432-27.aspx[/quote]
and it is frost free

Cookerhood · 05/12/2021 14:35

Don't get aside by side one, the narrow freezer is a nightmare, everything kept sliding out. We now have one with the fridge above (double doors) & freezer below - it's so much better (Samsung).

user290814356289 · 05/12/2021 14:36

The freezers are small.

DramaAlpaca · 05/12/2021 14:37

I have the same side by side set up as Biwi but my Samsungs are older models. I'm happy on the whole and capacity is huge, but because the fridge is deep rather than wide stuff does tend to get lost at the back. Also, the outside fridge temperature display now only works with the door open, but that's only a very minor annoyance.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 05/12/2021 14:39

Don’t buy LG.

Don’t buy fancy extra features - it’s just more to go wrong.

Get one with the freezer below and fridge above.

They really are totally frost free. I’ve had them for 15 years and haven’t defrosted a freezer in that time.

ZZTopGuitarSolo · 05/12/2021 14:43

I prefer the models where the ice maker feeds ice into a container in the freezer itself rather than an in-the-door unit. The door unit kept freezing solid. But that might just be a dodgy model I had. It also takes up some of the storage space inside the doors, which we didn’t want to lose.

You can also get an interior water dispenser rather than one that’s on the outside of the door. We prefer that too.

ginislife · 05/12/2021 15:00

I had a Samsung one in March 2004 and only this year have I replaced it. It hadn't exactly packed up but was definitely on the way out. And in any case I'd had a new kitchen and it was looking a bit tatty. I've replace it with another one - which has turned out to be internally larger than the old one. I think it was £1200. Freezer isn't huge but then I'm terrible at leaving stuff in the freezer for years and then it goes in the bin so doesn't bother me much