Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84 exptools; site ihu1h.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!ihnp4!ihu1h!parnass From: parnass@ihu1h.UUCP (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) Newsgroups: net.consumers Subject: Refrigerator questions (summary of responses) Message-ID: <654@ihu1h.UUCP> Date: Wed, 14-Aug-85 00:18:51 EDT Article-I.D.: ihu1h.654 Posted: Wed Aug 14 00:18:51 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 20-Aug-85 00:40:11 EDT Distribution: net Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 125 Here is a summary of responses received to my posting: "Refrigerator questions (plastic vs steel, self-defrost, etc.)": > From: ihnp4!ttrdc!levy > > My father had a refrigerator with a plastic liner in the freezer compartment > (I don't know about the refrigerator)--a Montgomery Ward unit. It did have a > propensity to be smelly, unless washed down fairly often with baking soda solu- > tion (and a fairly new box of baking soda with open top kept in the freezer). > The stuff the ice cube box was made of also was very bad about being smelly. > The fridge in the apartment I am renting is an all-steel (except for door > racks) lined unit, and there is apparently much less of an odor problem, even > the couple of times the defrost timer failed and the inside warmed up. Both > were frost-free units. Once my dad's fridge broke down and the stupid repair > person left the heat-defrost gun blowing inside the freezer while making an > errand to the truck, and a hole melted in the liner. (This would not have > been possible with steel.) Getting a new liner was impossible--but my dad > made enough of a stink to Montgomery Ward that they replaced the whole durn > refrigerator (with a floor sample unit of the same kind). > > As I have alluded to above, no-frost refrigerators have an Achilles' heel-- > the defrost timer. When this goes on the fritz, which in my limited exper- > ience seems to be fairly often, your fridge ignominiously dies, leaving you > with lots of thawing and spoiling food. (It would behoove one who has such > a unit to have a temperature alarm inside and to have a replacement timer > handy and know how to put it in. For some reason they like to die on Sat- > urday night.) Maybe certain units are better than others in this regard-- > I'm not sure. Of course I do like the overall idea of keeping all the food > cold all the time while the defrosting takes place under normal operation-- > obviously with the frosty kind of refigerator you must put the food in the > sink or someplace while defrosting, and if you don't have another refrigerator > in the house or an obliging neighbor, this is not good for the food either. > > With the cost of electric power as high as it is, it would seem to be smartest > to buy the most energy-stingy refrigerator (given your choice of frost free > or not already being made) that you can possibly afford. I'm sure you already > know how ridiculously high Commonwealth Edison's rates are, and how ridiculously > higher they get in summer for electric fan and air-conditioner users alike. > And keep the condensing (external) coils fairly clean--they can gather dust like > mad. I think I cut my monthly power use by $10.00 after using a vacuum cleaner > to blow several years' worth of dust off of the enclosed condensing coils of the > fridge in my apartment. > > Perchance I have shed a smidgen more light on the subject--or maybe not. ========== > From: packard!harvard!talcott!sesame!slerner > > I don't know about ABS lined units, although I must admit that I would > be very leary of them (I have 3 kids who are tough on everything...) > > I lived for years with a manual defrost, and hated every moment of it. > I got an auto-defrost and my elec. bill didn't show any change. (The > overall effeciency of the compresser matters SO much more than the tad > of elec used to defrost, it is false economy to chose man def for operating > cost savings. The only real difference is in purchase cost, and you know > what you can afford... ========== > From: bonnie!dnc > Full-Name: Don Corey > We've had an awful time with Sears. When they delivered our refrigerator, they > dropped it off of the truck an crushed the bottom so the door wouldn't close. > We needed a refrigerator so we accepted it, but asked for a replacement. Sears's > said they couldn't replace it, so we bought a GE and asked them to take their > refrigerator back. After a couple of months they showed up with a new > refrigerator which they tried to leave. We didn't accept it and made them take > the damaged refrigerator back. They then proceeded to bill us fo two > refrigerators. We eventually got the charge taken off our account, but five > years later we failed a TRW credit check because we owed Sears for two > refrigerators. > > Being slow learners, we ordered a stove from Sears this summer. My wife took > a day off from work to accept it, but they never showed up. Now they are billing > us for the undelivered stove. > > Obviously, a lot of people have better luck with Sears then we do, and > you probably won't have any trouble. However, it made me feel good to be able > to tell this story to someone. Thanks for listening. ======== > From: ihnp4!ut-sally!cyb-eng!topher > > Consumer's Reports did a report on refrigerators maybe a year ago. Based > on it, I bought a Ward's, which keeps completely as cold as I would like it > to (with plenty of spare cooling power; it cycles itself off) in spite of > temperatures in excess of 100F in my house. > > Cheers, > Topher Eliot Cyb Systems, Austin, TX (512) 458-3224 ======== > From: ihnp4!tektronix!tektools!barbaraz > > In article <651@ihu1h.UUCP> you write: > > > > Should I get a fully automatic self-defrosting freezer? > > Never owned one, and I know they require more electricity, > > but I'm tired of removing the ice. > > I have a GE, but I think it still applies. You can get "energy-saving" > refrigerators which have a dual setting. I've never had to put mine > on the higher-powered setting. > > I think the automatic defrost is definitely worth it to avoid the pain > of defrosting. The only thing I've noticed is that my ice cubes tend > to sublimate and disappear - it defrosts them too, down to nothing. I > guess you could keep ice in a bag, but it isn't a problem if you use > ice regularly. > Barbara Zanzig ========== > From: ihnp4!ut-sally!cyb-eng!topher > > Yes, my fridge is self-defrosting. It is 18.?? cubic feet, freezer on top. > I considered the side-by-side models, but unless you get a truly HUGE one, > the narowness of the shelves makes them unappealing (at least to me). The > Ward's has a nice full-width shelf in the freezer; very handy. > > Cheers, > Topher Eliot Cyb Systems, Austin, TX (512) 458-3224 -- =============================================================================== Bob Parnass, Bell Telephone Laboratories - ihnp4!ihu1h!parnass - (312)979-5414