as late as July 2020 I was going to buy an LG or Samsung Refrigerator

Sat Aug 29, 2020 1:29 pm

starting around May of 2020, i noticed that some foods such as orange juice tasted like fermented alcohol and yeast



a month later in June 2020, i put ice cream in the freezer and the next day it was all melted

i called Abmay and i had to schedule almost a month ahead of time in July 2020, as the techs were all booked and also due to COVID 19

the Abmay tech came in, said the compressor was blown, and i had another frigidaire fridge that i have not used in over 6 years, and its compressor was also blown.

he didn't charge me at all. he just saw the symptoms and listen to the motor and said it's cheaper to just buy a brand new one then fix an old one.

i asked him for a recommendation and he told me to stay away from LG and Samsung fridges. he told me their smartphones are good quality but their fridges are crap he sees lots of them all the time.

at this point i decided to go shopping,

i knew of top freezers and side by side but i never heard of french door refrigerators.

i went to forums and youtube and discover that LG has a real problem with their compressors and Samsung with their ice makers.

I don't plan to buy a fridge with water or ice maker as that is another point of failure.

my old fridge was a side by side GE profile i think they called it. it was so big and heavy and I don't think it had wheels.

when it was moved out, the entire area had maybe a couple of gallons of dust and lint. it was actually a potential fire hazard. as they were carting off the fridge, lots of that lint dropped over my carpet and all over the lawn.

i now know that yeah you're supposed to clean your fridge, the cooling coils need to be kept clean or else the compressor will have to work harder leading to early failure.

considering how much lint there was i'm surprised my fridge lasted as long as it did.

i want a reliable fridge, and i realize that the more complicated it is, the more points of failure.

a fridge with a water line and ice maker has more parts that can fail. a fridge with a touch screen computer screen can fail.

LG fridges have high end models with touch screens, as they also make smart phones, but their compressor dies quickly, leading to food spoilage.

Lowes Home Depot and Best Buy on their website has a $600 LG fridge i wanted to buy but it was sold out.

reading all the complaints I'm not sure i want it anymore.

based on this, the top freezer is the least expensive fridge and also uses the least amount of energy.

Lowes had a GE 21.9 cubic foot garage ready fridge for $818 which i bought and got it on Friday August 14, 2020

at 21.9 cubic foot its close to the capacity of $1500 25 cubic foot side by side and french door fridges.

it's NOT energy star but bill is estimated at $54.

it's louder than i would have liked, but it works. ice cream doesn't melt. it has wheels so i can move it. i plan to clean the compressor maybe as early as November

but yeah I was initially overwhelmed with all the different models of fridges, all the different feature sets, all the different brands. i saw at bestbuy lowes home depot sears, kenmore frigidaire, inspire, lg samsung ge amana whirlpool

i realize i just something that works and at least 20 cubic feet. i bought the last GE garage ready fridge at Lowes, and they are now sold out.

it turns out and I'm not sure it's a COVID19 but most of the fridges on their website is sold out, out back order, etc. the LG $600 fridge i wanted to buy is on back order. it is $220 cheaper and energy star and more quiet but will it last?

i hope my GE fridge lasts at least 10 years, and going forward i plan to keep it clean. it has wheels so i can easily move it, and so i plan to unplug it and vaccuum the cooling coils.

GE states they use the traditional reciprocating compressor. it's loud and not energy star compliant but it has a proven track record of reliability.

LG uses a linear compressor which is very quiet, energy star efficient, but on youtube a lot of dead ones.

obviously a fridge that doesn't keep food cool is no use.

i've learned that many of the repairs for LG fridges is around $800-1000, so buying a $800 fridge means its disposable. why spend $800 to fix it when i paid $800 brand new.

it has 1 year warranty so. LG and Samsung claims 10 years.

i've also learned of digitial inverted compressors. newer fridges including GE higher end models use a computer system to adjust the compressor, older systems just use a sensor, no computer.

this should in theory make the compressor last much longer because it's not being pushed as hard. in practice, the computer system that controls the compressor can fail, as it is electronic and subjected to heat and power outages and spikes, and that is also a costly repair.

on youtube there's a lot of videos from LG linear compressors broken because the seal ruptured to samsung ice makers not working. some complainers got a full $3000 refund from samsung.

for me spending $800 for a basic top freezer fridge from GE using proven reciprocating compressors makes more sense than spending $3000 on an LG with a questionable linear compressor

i hope it lasts another 15-20 years.

i bought this

https://www.lowes.com/pd/GE-Garage-Ready-21-9-cu-ft-Top-Freezer-Refrigerator-White/1001431370

GE actually sells an energy star complaint model that is otherwise identical to my fridge. i suspect it uses an invertor to lower energy consumption, but the increase in energy savings from $54 per year to $49, is an increase in price from $818 to $1200

a lot of people are complaining they bought an LG or Samsung, or even whirlpool, kitchen aid, amana kenmore, ge $3000 fridge and it breaks in a year or 2 or 3.

i hope my fridge lasts 10 years, and if it does break i paid $818


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Avatar
Svetlozar Momtchilov • 8 months ago

Our LG refrigerator (bought on 04/11/19 - almost $3000) stopped cooling just before Christmas (and there are 3 small kids in our household). We notified LG via the online repair form and via emails and there was no action on their side. I check the reviews of LG and figured out that there are many consumers experiencing the same problems:

- The LG refrigerator stops cooling within a relatively short period of time after purchase
- LG do not care to fix the problem

Orlean Miller • 8 months ago

Ugh I have an LG fridge and I have replaced the compressor in 2018 and now the replacement just went out and ruined all my food in my freezer!! So I now have to decide is it worth it to replace the compressor basically every year at $375 a time for just the parts!! My fridge is ONLY 4 years old too!! Wish I wouldn't have bought this LG set in my house. I already had to replace the heating element in my oven (LG TOO!!) at year 2 of having it so I'm sure that will need to replaced here soon too!

Darla Bustos • 8 months ago

I have had problems with my Kenmore Elite from the beginning. First year the ice maker stopped working 3 times until they finally replaced the door. 3 years and 7 days the whole refrigerator went out. It took a repair person 3 times every two weeks upon returning to fix it. Then 5 months later the refrigerator stopped working again. Every part in refrigerator has been replaced I am told by technicians. After 6 attempts every 2 weeks, I was told they said it may be 'contaminated' and wanted to replace all the parts all at the same time. It has been 4 months without a working indoor refrigerator. I have been informed Kenmore Elite is an LG product, I so disgusted, I paid $3300 for this and now sears warranty plan offers me $1972. I am at a significant loss to replace a refrigerator not even 4 years old.

https://www.classaction.org/lg-refrigerator-linear-compressor-failure-lawsuits

a lot of people complain about the ice maker not working, or that the water line for water is leaking damaging the floor.

my basic fridge doesn't have either, so it has less parts to fail. no ice maker it can't fail.

i really really wish GE would include an LED light in the freezer.

the fridge has an LED light but i'm not sure if i can replace the LED if it should go out. if not, it's a dark fridge. i'm sure a repair tech could do it but how much do they charge?

my GE fridge

GE Garage-Ready 21.9-cu ft Top-Freezer Refrigerator (White)
Item #1689315Model #GTS22KGNRWW

Garage-ready - tested to perform from 38 degrees F to 110 degrees F

Premium inner door - enjoy greater flexibility and organizational options with modular bins right on the door

LED lighting - find all your favorite foods under natural-looking light

it works. its a bit noisy, has no freezer light. but it works.

if anything it works too well. i have the freezer on the lowest, warmest setting and ice cream is still hard as a rock i have to microwave it for like 10 seconds to get it to be soft. and some of my fruits in my fridge were frozen.

it has wheels so i can easily move it and then clean it of lint and dust in the condenser coils.

repair techs and forums say that all the companies have whats called planned obsolesce. they build fridges and appliances to fail in like 10 years so you'll buy a new one.

LG apparently at failing after 1 year or 2 years is a bit extreme.

if my fridge lasts 10+ years I'll be happy with my purchase. my warranty ends in 1 year, so if it breaks in 2 years i'll have to buy another one. i lost $800 vs $3000

i'm still debating if i should buy Lowe's extended service plan. i have another week to decide.

a lot of people are complaining their fridge breaks after 2-3 years after purchase, mostly LG and samsung but every brand including Ge and whirlpool.

on forums they also complain that both the retailer they bought it from and the company don't offer good support.

consumer reports rate LG and samsung high, but apparently they are silent on these compressor failures.

perhaps consumer reports is no longer a good source?

if my fridge dies, well if its winter my garage is actually almost ice cold. i've had problems with the garage door not opening and i have to get a blow dryer to melt ice, but during summer it would spoil quickly AND i need to store food.

as long as my GE works without any issues i'm happy with it and it lasts 10 years i'm happy

if not i'm not happy. it could fail tomorrow. if i had bought an LG or samsung i'd have a lot more anxiety of it failing though.

hopefully in 10 years top freezer fridges will have LED lights in the freezer.