Refrigerator Question

Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Peanut

Awesome Friend
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
19,945
Location
Bama
I just wrote in another thread that my fridge is 27 years old and I expect it to die soon. I don’t remember how many cubic feet it is. Knowing that number would make my internet shopping simpler.

Does anyone know how the cubic feet of a fridge is calculated? Is it as simple as inside depth x width x height? Does that number include the freezer portion? Thanks in advance… :)

Also, there many "brand names" that weren't around 27 years ago, mine is a GE. Feel free to mention a brand you like.
 
Last edited:
Here is the info you need.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/measure-cubic-sizes-refrigerators-37924.html
When I bought a new refrigerator my main criteria was would it fit in the place it had to go.
I had a space that was 36 1/2" wide and it had to fit in there.
My wife's criteria was French doors, a door in a door, a bottom freezer, water and ice in the door, and stainless steel.
I said as long as it fit I didn't care.
 
If I wanted I could put in a fridge 45 inches wide and 8ft tall... but I don't need anything that big. :D

I haven't shopped for a fridge since I moved to Los Angeles in '91. They have a weird tradition there. If you rent an apartment it will not have a refrigerator. You have to supply your own. It's the only place in the country where I have seen this oddity. I always wondered how and why this got started. Maybe an LA councilman decades ago was a refrigerator supplier and they passed some law.:D

The tradition continues... I've seen some of those "house flipping" shows recently that were filmed in the LA basin. If you watch while they show the updated kitchen it will not have a fridge. Maybe @Grimm can enlighten us to the history of this oddity... I've always wondered. :)
 
Last edited:
It's true, not all rentals have a fridge, but most do. We've been looking rentals lately. Compare areas by looking on zillow. It usually states what appliances are included.
Having had french door refrigerators, I wouldn't mind the other style with freezer on top, fridge on bottom. I do like fancy schmancy, the latest models with large freezer drawer in the bottom, French doors in the top fridge.
Having ice and water dispensers are great, but having to replace the filter can run on the low end, $20, or in store $35+. Ordering filters online is a bit of a savings.
Brand of fridge? The top names, Maytag, Fridgidaire, Bosch.
I really think some models can be lemons, and the same model but different fridge works fine.
 
@Peanut we may have different brands here but we found that Westinghouse and Fischer and Paykal are good brands. We have pretty much gone with Westinghouse for our fridges and freezers over the years. We have a 400lt fridge and 2 upright freezers with baskets which suit us because of DH's back injuries so he doesn't have to bend. Always hated chest freezers as there are always things that go to waste at the bottom and I have to practically climb in them to get things out.
 
I figured the cubic ft of the fridge I have now, its 15.1 cuft. At times it's just too small. Today I was looking at refrigerators in the 17.5-18.5 range. I learned something else I didn't know. A fridge with the freezer on the bottom is on average $300 more than one with the freezer on the top. What possible difference could that make in the price? o_O Evidently it somehow does.
 
We like Kitchen Aid, the first one we bought was built in 1994, last one with R-12, the one we have in the kitchen is double door frig with drawer for freezer compartment, cold water valve is just inside the left side of frig, that's good because I don't like water dispensers in the door. Total running amperes for both is just under 14 amps so they can easily be ran by the standby solar system. Bugout Bob, I think those Danby Refrigerators are Canadian brand, probably not available here in the lower 48 states.
 
@Peanut most welcome :D , because we preserve by freezing a lot of our garden produce we grow we have 1 400lt freezer purely for frozen garden vegetables and the other 400lt freezer is meat and dairy. Here anyway they are much cheaper to by separately than a combined freezer fridge unit so might be similar over there, they are called side by side combinations over here.
 
If you go with the slide out bottom freezer ,
Whether double door or single door top fridge ..You will never regret it.

Much more efficient.




Jim

We have a double door fridge with a lower drawer freezer. It is really handy. There is only a basket bottom so all the cold air dumps on the floor but I like everything else.
 
I figured the cubic ft of the fridge I have now, its 15.1 cuft. At times it's just too small. Today I was looking at refrigerators in the 17.5-18.5 range. I learned something else I didn't know. A fridge with the freezer on the bottom is on average $300 more than one with the freezer on the top. What possible difference could that make in the price? o_O Evidently it somehow does.
the theory is that cold air drops and warm air rises. The natural movement of air from top freezer down needs to be compensated for if the freezer is on the bottom and the extra components do that making for a higher cost. That combined with cost efficiencies gained through higher production levels of consumer preferred top freezers makes for a higher cost. I don’t know how much of that is truth but it is how a number of appliance people explained it to me in different stores at different times.
 
the theory is

Sounds logical… I did find and interesting store online that’s located in the big town. It is a “scratch and dent” appliance warehouse. Their website said everything they sell has a full factory warranty. It said some appliances were 70% off msrp. It’s worth checking out the next time I’m in town. Maybe I can find something that would be hidden by my kitchen cabinets. :)
 
Sounds logical… I did find and interesting store online that’s located in the big town. It is a “scratch and dent” appliance warehouse. Their website said everything they sell has a full factory warranty. It said some appliances were 70% off msrp. It’s worth checking out the next time I’m in town. Maybe I can find something that would be hidden by my kitchen cabinets. :)

I've bought scratched and dent before, and most times you can even find the defect.

They just can't sell it for same price as NON defected.


Jim
 
We bought our big Kitchen Aid from Lowe's they had dropped the price by about $500, so with my Veterans card giving a 10% discount we saved a great deal of money. Home Depot only gives Vets discounts if your VA card shows service related/overseas related duty.
 
We have a double door fridge with a lower drawer freezer. It is really handy. There is only a basket bottom so all the cold air dumps on the floor but I like everything else.


It also gives you a convient shelf at almost (my) waist level to set stuff on when looking through the frig.
 
If you can find our fridge , with stuff hanging all over the doors..:)

Just to give you an idea...
Ours is 4-5 years old and is Kenore Elite, which is Whirlpool I believe.
Wife loves it, for convenience ,
Me ...it's cold:rolleyes:

UNrWWd2SmB9zhF0BJamcLsH3lm8GYWfwC46e8TnurxYdY1DblYrVPSZD_fRzrtb0prGREjvM0wE4a0fYWCDYJawEDbnaoo-LuijtxImHwthei8alg5pPgHQlH3ixcgLa5Riit8tdCaH9HGmW4AXMaZluopaIa5xVYhiaYvMA29ZFd5POFjaxsvdZJj2oXzPmQ1CEfWehw798UsJFqp8ptoiqP4HePdP1M5gaetIIcgusbWYSgeYQrDpUY-DDsuxMzet2wocYsVZvHwSd0uZ_5hrM-YaXW9Sulyj7iJnlFFXDdMwuTCpPc5OgWhuVuZsuvAVzKkKzgpnozmvCz4UIx5K06AwNULVNfYTbBI77nv5IIWbNheEWvS29Rlspno3Whh9BGiTe4q1aQ8wViInbe0sbW1ohjW-BH5JMQ35PqwzHqYCtEWEF18X7EqJbGn_uCQyvNtrTT_so7wC6H3hmCqFOYxcS3baVuidy0zLMbxYZUobNgS5ubmNoMz8rr4NipwneGxlfXuTrbU5-0jmPlySdokz6jBRuOl7xprjgtmFv-aJWCzVBgiNjF2EbEJPwV9e6BiYfWa2J9lFbUy-a2aQb9l2JNuUTVvHO5P4n=w375-h599-no
LgQ8g5MkgWTbvuYnv7w1GPeKe5WkChw7OPfI19KAKa66-w1HDytvJsduBoGxOHl7E_T96rMd22aqwiJnBmN2BI6qwLfleV0PKsV0viCrzfXDF-I7lCyq2kDkic0Joc64N4vJX2dv-7jCOauRYlSKtApk9efQpDoD6PmrnIpGaFjifFlDR7g4VBp93uF3KZXGe1GN7cUkkx5TDJ0aq2bLo9QiGABD4l_-vLnMlpLDf1hi1-PG5Be7o1kKbP_4VOOdjr0FkLLMyplqsiR9erZmMcR56x4tkPX6GRBiGDucphd4SgVI3Kn7ncruhczIGemNCh4nLohivTVrkSKQ9Of7NKfZtYR4O5PpaKJ256rRZDaOkxbqBNo8UXWPjKU84HlaIdAYhMesqYTZHv2zSpXRWJTZ9DgyQy-wiChwNGDWnq3Pv1jewnFO4oatlH_l4GKiO3sigM4UDoBttnloi-gECYAvj0Xo_fwI0B8VGjnAzW_NKhTrM4sZxz4IXCekwWfE73x_2nDMNrpAUQB85WW40UdVT7eFbwDBIoV7avdHm3u-NlO0imjOM1ZgEpW2_QbQzh9Z-xRMWvCyH9KgqyIuJurQ-kBTY45eY03TQLyI=w449-h599-no


Jim
 
Way ahead of you there TLL but thanks.

The above links near the start of this thread insisted that I use measurements only in “feet”, silly. I was off the actual number by more than a cubic foot.

It’s easy to get the actual number. Measure in inches D x W x H of both the fridge portion and freezer portion. Add both numbers together then divide by 1728. There are 1728 cubic inches in a cubic foot. After you divide you have the actual cubic feet of your refrigerator. :)
 
I just wrote in another thread that my fridge is 27 years old and I expect it to die soon. I don’t remember how many cubic feet it is. Knowing that number would make my internet shopping simpler.

Does anyone know how the cubic feet of a fridge is calculated? Is it as simple as inside depth x width x height? Does that number include the freezer portion? Thanks in advance… :)

Also, there many "brand names" that weren't around 27 years ago, mine is a GE. Feel free to mention a brand you like.
This is just my humble opinion. Never buy GE. I used to be an assistant store manager for a big box store. GE products had the most problems and the worst, lousiest, customer service of any company I've ever dealt with. I could recount customers that the store bought back GE appliances so the customer would be satisfied. I had to sign off on it.
That's my story and I'm stickin to it.
 
I have a crystal cold. Propane.
It's 18 cuft. Freezer is on top.
18 is not too bad a number.

Made by the Amish. Right @ $2K
It should last the rest of my life.
 
Last edited:
If I wanted I could put in a fridge 45 inches wide and 8ft tall... but I don't need anything that big. :D

I haven't shopped for a fridge since I moved to Los Angeles in '91. They have a weird tradition there. If you rent an apartment it will not have a refrigerator. You have to supply your own. It's the only place in the country where I have seen this oddity. I always wondered how and why this got started. Maybe an LA councilman decades ago was a refrigerator supplier and they passed some law.:D

The tradition continues... I've seen some of those "house flipping" shows recently that were filmed in the LA basin. If you watch while they show the updated kitchen it will not have a fridge. Maybe @Grimm can enlighten us to the history of this oddity... I've always wondered. :)

Actually, it has to do with the maintenance and sanitation laws of rental units. All appliances in a rental unit in L.A. have to be inspected and in perfect order. Fridges can house pests and have issues being too cold or too warm etc. It is easier for landlords to just leave that chore to the tenant.

Funny since 3 of the 8 rentals we have lived in had fridges. BUT the leases did state that the appliance was not to be replaced by the landlord if it should die or need repair. The last rental had that clause about the stove. And it was still kicking when they sold that house.
 
Actually, it has to do with the maintenance and sanitation laws of rental units. All appliances in a rental unit in L.A. have to be inspected and in perfect order. Fridges can house pests and have issues being too cold or too warm etc. It is easier for landlords to just leave that chore to the tenant.

Thank you, a company I worked for transferred about 10 guys to the LA basin about the same time. All of us had to buy refrigerators when we rented apartments. None of us had ever rented a place that didn't come with a fridge and found this odd. Now it makes sense! ;)
 
As some know I got new flooring for my kitchen, lvrm etc. I had to move my ancient refrigerator. An old fridge will seem to run forever unless you move them… I was waiting for it. This morning my old fridge started making a strange noise, sort of a rattle… It was still working but… I’ve seen compressors go bad before.

Every fridge Lowes has is on sale this week. I found a 20 cubic ft model I liked… marked down $300. The old guy (only person working in appliances) said the computer told him 2 were in stock. He went in the back twice but couldn’t find one. This took an hour.

I settled for one he could find an 18.5 cubic ft Frigidaire, a black stainless-steel model. It was marked down $300 also plus a 10% military discount. I drove away with a new fridge w/3-year warranty for less than $670.

It wasn’t the one I wanted but it’s still a good bit bigger than my ancient 15 cubic ft model. It’ll do… A name brand I trust.

At least I got my black Friday shopping done on tues… :lil guy:
 
Last edited:
As some know I got new flooring for my kitchen, lvrm etc. I had to move my ancient refrigerator. An old fridge will seem to run forever unless you move them… I was waiting for it. This morning my old fridge started making a strange noise, sort of a rattle… It was still working but… I’ve seen compressors go bad before.

Every fridge Lowes has is on sale this week. I found a 20 cubic ft model I liked… marked down $300. The old guy (only person working in appliances) said the computer told him 2 were in stock. He went in the back twice but couldn’t find one. This took an hour.

I settled for one he could find an 18.5 cubic ft Frigidaire, a black stainless-steel model. It was marked down $300 also plus a 10% military discount. I drove away with a new fridge w/3-year warranty for less than $670.

It wasn’t the one I wanted but it’s still a good bit bigger than my ancient 15 cubic ft model. It’ll do… A name brand I trust.

At least I got my black Friday shopping done on tues… :lil guy:
So glad you got your refrigerator! This is usually the best time to shop for stuff like that. The stores are selling last years models to make room for the new year models.
 
$125 for mine from craigslist. $5 for my stove at an auction. Next year when the new house goes up I already have all the windows that I need from the same auction for $20. Bought 5 old cast iron sinks at auction for $5. Two bath, two utility and one kitchen sinks. Got two clawfoot tubs for $10 each.
 
Back
Top