Refrigerator...Side by Side VS French door

[Donna M]

LOL. True. But who buys frozen pizza anymore?

We had one for dinner tonight!

 

[tvguy]

We had one for dinner tonight!

LOL. I got them in my old side by side that we bought in 1983, our current one we bought in 2010 and never tried. We do buy the frozen individual pizzas from Schwans.

 

[cvjw]

We have the french door type, with ice/water on it, and we love it. It looks much like the picture above, with the extra drawer--handy for trays or platters, and has its own temperature controls. Ours is a Samsung--I didn't realize their ice maker was a known issue, but I will say that ours drips occasionally, and sometimes freezes up--literally--DH has to get out a hair dryer to free it up. We live in the south and are a family of 5, so we go through a lot of ice. (DS15, my iced coffee fiend, is usually the culprit).

If you are defrosting your ice maker with a hairdryer, you need to join the Samsung ice maker Facebook group. It has thousands of members. All dealing with the defective ice maker issue. I followed their instructions and ended up getting 60% of my purpose price back after owning the Samsung for 4.5 years. And it was relatively easy!

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I still buy FROZEN Pizza and I will never buy a side by side fridge.
Why? Because I've never had a desire to change what works for me!

 

[zackiedawg]

I buy frozen pizzas - fortunately they have no problem fitting in my side by side freezer which is about 13.5-14 inches wide.

 

[_19disnA]

Have the side-by-side doors with the freezer on the bottom and works great. I don't like the ones with lots of extras drawers since that takes away interior space. The exterior footprint is the same, there is just less room inside with those extra drawers.

 

[QueenIsabella]

If you are defrosting your ice maker with a hairdryer, you need to join the Samsung ice maker Facebook group. It has thousands of members. All dealing with the defective ice maker issue. I followed their instructions and ended up getting 60% of my purpose price back after owning the Samsung for 4.5 years. And it was relatively easy!

According to my DH, we've already had "the fix", which is reassuring (NOT!). However, he encouraged me to join the Facebook group (he doesn't do Facebook, himself).

 

[SC Minnie]

When our side by side was giving problems and needed to be replaced we went with a french door- freezer on the bottom. OMG I so regret ever getting a side by side. I LOVE the french door. Didn't think I would like the freezer on the bottom but love that too!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We have the KitchenAid with french doors and love it.
But, every time an additional door, drawer, or water/ice dispenser is added to the unit, the less volume you have to work with. Each component is wrapped in insulation in addition to the insulation surrounding the main structural unit or box.

 

[mrodgers]

The ex got a french door. I saw it, don't like it at all. It wouldn't work in my space because my fridge has to go in a corner so the left french door would take up the space needed to get into the fridge with the right door only opening part way.

That's what I don't like about the french door, the need to fully open wide for everything.

Side by side just doesn't look like as much space as bottom freezer. We had 2 bottom freezer fridges when I was married, much prefer that.

Now just need to address the fact that the only stock is huge and very expensive units. Anything more than 21 cu ft and I'll have to run outside and back in the back door every time I want to go into the bathroom or bedrooms with the limited space between the corner of the countertop and the fridge on the other side. It's already tight enough with my cheap 17 cu ft.

 

[cvjw]

According to my DH, we've already had "the fix", which is reassuring (NOT!). However, he encouraged me to join the Facebook group (he doesn't do Facebook, himself).

That is even better news. If you already had one repair, it will help you get a refund faster. Join the group and get started! Just took me a few weeks to get a refund!

 

[Kae]

I buy frozen pizzas. Judging from how many are in the freezer section at every grocery store, I venture to guess a lot of other people do, too. Red Barron Classic Crust Supreme. My DD's favorite!

My Side by side has a little shelf next to the ice maker for frozen pizzas.

 

[tvguy]

My Side by side has a little shelf next to the ice maker for frozen pizzas.

Never bought a frozen pizza since we bought this side by side (Kenmore made by LG) refrigerator 11 years ago but just checked, the opening is 13" across and 19" deep. According to the Walmart website a Red Barron frozen pizza exterior box dimensions as 1.25 x 12.31 x 12.31 Inches . So a frozen pizza WOULD fit no problem. Sure doesn't look that big but the tape measure doesn't lie.

 

[Moneypenny]

I've found I care more about not having the freezer on the bottom, than what the door configuration is. It's just a big mess of stuff dumped in there, and you have to take everything out to find what's in the bottom. Also, I'm short, so it works much better for me to have the freezer on top where I can put the infrequently used items on the top shelf. I use everything in my fridge pretty often, and even standing on my tip toes it can be hard to reach the very back of the top shelf, especially if it's small items (and large items can be kind of heavy for me to get down from there). I have an old fashioned freezer on top model, and when family comes to visit and stay long enough to go digging through my fridge, they all remark on how convenient it is and wonder why they ever switched to side by side or French door, LOL!

 

[twincruisers]

We probably use our freezer at 40% of max capacity so we're big fans of the french doors which puts all the fresh refrigerated items in the middle and the lightly used frozen section at the bottom for the long-term proteins or frozen berries. It minimizes our time at the bottom of the fridge so I'm a big proponent of french doors.

But as you can see, you have to see what your cooking habits are to really make a decision.

 

[Cloudy]

I went from a French Door to a Side by Side because I got a great deal. I hated that Side by Side! Couldn't wait for it to die. Luckily it stopped working after 3 years. I didn't even try to fix it. It wasn't the space I minded so much, it was having the fruits and veg at the bottom. No one would bend down to eat them.

 

[tvguy]

I went from a French Door to a Side by Side because I got a great deal. I hated that Side by Side! Couldn't wait for it to die. Luckily it stopped working after 3 years. I didn't even try to fix it. It wasn't the space I minded so much, it was having the fruits and veg at the bottom. No one would bend down to eat them.

Yikes. Mine is only 11 years old. 3 years should still have been under warranty. We elected to replace our previous side by side, a Montgomery Wards made by Fridgedaire when it was 27 years old just because we started wondering when it would fail. Of course, my parents bought a Montgomery Wards top freezer refrigerator in 1950 and it was still working (but had been moved to the garage) in 2013 when my mom passed away. Sold it at the estate sale, they are very popular with folks looking to drill a hole in the back for a tapper, and take the shelves out and put a keg inside.,

 

[MrsPete]

Where you're going to place the refrigerator makes a great deal of difference. You don't want the open door to create an obstacle when it's open. A plain left-or-right hinged door (while not trendy) is best for a whole lot of layouts.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Hi looking to get a new refrigerator at the end of the year during holiday sales. Just wondering if you
went from a side by side to a french door type and happy. Or even vice versa. Have a side by side right
now and DH likes the look of the french door style but I'm not sure.

Looking for experiences/recommendations. Thanks!!

Had a side by side and did not care for it. Each side is too small. Especially the fridge side. Stuck the side by side in the garage and got the french door style with freezer on the bottom...what a difference. So much better in every way possible. Highly recommend french door style.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Never bought a frozen pizza since we bought this side by side (Kenmore made by LG) refrigerator 11 years ago but just checked, the opening is 13" across and 19" deep. According to the Walmart website a Red Barron frozen pizza exterior box dimensions as 1.25 x 12.31 x 12.31 Inches . So a frozen pizza WOULD fit no problem. Sure doesn't look that big but the tape measure doesn't lie.

A 12" is an average size for frozen pizza.