[jhuck]

I'm going to buy a new fridge. Who makes the best brand? What features should I look for or stay away from as far as reliability????

[woodchuck]

Try a search for information. what refrigerator to buy - Google Search

[denman]

As far as reliability simpler is better

Also just scan through a few pages of the Refrigerator forum and soon you will get a feel for what are the most common problems. Also look at the age of the units.

Personally I would not buy a ice maker / water dispenser seems they cause at least 40% of the problems. My daughter has this, has already had one flood but swears by this feature, go figure.

Me I'll make my own ice well actually the wife usually makes it.

Besides I do not like ice in my beer.

[Lorik]

Another item to consider- what's the refrigerator's rating for energy efficiency?
My local utility has an online calculator for both energy use and projected cost savings comparisons by Make and Model (with features) between your existing and ones you like. My 20yr Whirlpool S/S alone costs me $60 more annually in electricity than the new one I've selected! -same size w/ water/ice features :-) Some utility companies offer $$ incentives to help homeowners buy appliances with high rating! Check with yours first before buying!

[AmpDraw]

I prefer Whirlpool appliances across the board myself after being a residential service tech for many years and seeing all of it out there. I've been a commercial service tech for about the past 5 years so can't tell you whats currently the absolute best out there as far as residential equipment goes. One brand I would always stay away from is anything made by GE. They have an endless history of nothing but problems with all of their equipment, their focus is on making things look nice on the show room floor, not actual quality, longevity and reliability.

I think they (GE) still firmly hold the world record for an all time worst and most problematic compressor design ever produced by any one. I'm sure they would like the world to forget this, some of us never will.

[Icehouse]

Originally Posted by AmpDraw

I prefer Whirlpool appliances across the board myself after being a residential service tech for many years and seeing all of it out there. I've been a commercial service tech for about the past 5 years so can't tell you whats currently the absolute best out there as far as residential equipment goes. One brand I would always stay away from is anything made by GE. They have an endless history of nothing but problems with all of their equipment, their focus is on making things look nice on the show room floor, not actual quality, longevity and reliability.

I think they (GE) still firmly hold the world record for an all time worst and most problematic compressor design ever produced by any one. I'm sure they would like the world to forget this, some of us never will.

Their "Scotch-Yoke" compressor was one of the best, unfortunately they stopped making them and went with "Embraco and Aspera". Also when they stopped using paragon timers and switched to the Japanese one biggest piece of crap. JMHO