Frigidaire -- A Cool Way to Store Food
Written: Jul 11 '06 (Updated Sep 08 '07)
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Pros: height-adjustable spill-safe shelves, individual humidity controls for drawers, energy saving
Cons: room-temperature water dispenser; limited space in freezer door
The Bottom Line: A beautiful side-by-side stainless steel refrigerator.
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| dlstewart's Full Review: Frigidaire 26.0 Cu. Ft. Side-by-Side Refrigerator ... |
It is interesting when appliances all seem to decide to die at the same time. It’s like they have an internal clock ... boing! ... time to spend money. I had purchased a new refrigerator and a week later learned that my brother’s refrigerator had also died. While I went with a GE refrigerator with a bottom freezer, my brother decided to buy the Frigidaire Side-by-Side Refrigerator (model # FRS6L9EFSS).
Overview
This stainless steel Frigidaire appliance has a 26 cubic foot capacity. The overall dimensions are 69 3/8" high (including top hinge) x 33 3/4" deep (counting door handles) x 36" wide. It has an ice-maker and built-in water filtration system as well as a frost-free freezer.
Refrigerator -- Inside the Door
At the top of the refrigerator is a control panel with a digital display with controls for the freezer temperature and fresh food temperature. There is also an indicator for the air filter. When the light is green, the filter is okay, a yellow light means the filter is about 80% used, and a red light indicates that the filter is completely used and needs to be replaced.
The first bin at the top of the refrigerator door is a clear butter compartment with a flip-up door. The refrigerator comes with three extra-deep door bins that are wide enough to hold a gallon of milk. Each of these bins is height adjustable in the door. However, my brother found that with all three bins crowded into door that they were too close together. I saw what he meant. With all three bins in the door, they were so close together that a gallon of milk would not fit. So out came one of the bins so that the other two bins could be spaced so that milk and tall bottles (such as ketchup) could be placed in them. Note that all the door bins have see-through fronts, which makes it easy to see what is inside them.
There are also two fixed bins in the bottom door area. These two bins are shallow, and will not fit a gallon jug of milk. However, they are good for storing a 2-quart container of orange juice as well as other drink bottles and condiments such as mustard and relish.
Refrigerator Interior
The shelves inside the refrigerator are SpillSafe, meaning that the glass shelves are slightly recessed to help contain spills.
The first shelf at the top of the refrigerator has a crank in the front of it. When I first tried it out, the crank reminded me of the old hand-crank windows where I once lived (to open and close the windows, the crank had to be turned either clockwise or counterclockwise). In the fridge, turn the crank to lower or raise the shelf to gain extra space. The shelf is designed this way so that you don’t have to unload the shelf to manually move it for adjusted height.
There is a plastic wine/soda holder at the side of the fridge that will fit either a bottle of wine, six cans of soda, a 2-liter bottle of soda or a carton of eggs. It slides onto the side of any shelf. I can see where this holder will be useful, but while it is not flimsy, it makes me wonder if at some point it may break. If desired, the wine/soda holder can be removed. While it is in the refrigerator, depending upon the way the shelves are arranged, a carton of eggs neatly fits beneath it.
Moving down the fridge interior, there is a Fresh-Loc meat keeper. There is also a Fresh-Loc Hydrator, and this bin has a clear divider to create two separate areas. Beneath this is another Fresh-Loc bin (but with no divider). All the Fresh-Loc bins have temperature control sliders, and the tops of the bins are shelves. These bins are fixed in position.
The Freezer -- Inside the Door
Starting at the top of the freezer door, there is a shallow bin that is used to hold a small container of frozen chives as well as some other small items. Another small, even narrower shelf holds a few freezer-packs that are designed to fit inside a lunch bag to keep its contents cool.
There are also three bins just the right size to hold a brick of ice cream. The wire bins tip forward to easily retrieve the contents from the compartments. All in all, I don’t consider that the freezer door offers much practical storage space, other than the three bottom bins, which can hold ice cream cartons.
The Freezer Interior
Inside the freezer’s interior, the manufacturer calls the top bin an “ice cream shelf. Instead of ice cream, the shelf holds an assortment of frozen meats. Behind this compartment is the on/off switch for the ice maker. The container for the ice is located beneath the top bin.
At the right of the freezer, beside the ice bin, is a narrow shelf that is designed to hold a small pizza box vertically so that it leans against the side of the freezer wall. If you don’t like frozen pizza, this slot can also hold a frozen dinner or another narrow box. And under the ice container is a slide-out shelf. However, the shelf has no stoppers. If the shelf is pulled out too far, it tips forward and will spill its contents.
There are three wire bins in the bottom half of the freezer. One of the bins is smaller than the two large bins beneath it. This smaller bin has a shelf atop it. The shelf slides out, but like the other shelf, it has no stoppers. All of the bins pull out, and the wire allows one to see the contents inside the compartment.
The Doors & Alarm
The refrigerator/freezer doors look very nice ... and impressive. There are two long vertical handles (one on the freezer door and one on the refrigerator door). The doors easily open and close. Should the doors be left ajar too long, an alarm will sound. It doesn’t beep for long. Once it beeps, it goes silent, and then it beeps a few moments later if the door is still open.
The stainless steel doors are designed to be smudge and fingerprint resistant. So far this has proven true. However, the door handles are another matter. With four people, plus guests, constantly opening and closing the doors, the handles quickly become loaded with fingerprints. The smudges wipe clean, though, with a damp sponge.
My sister-in-law enjoys cooking. On the side of the refrigerator hangs not only a calendar (on a magnetic hook) but a series of stainless steel round containers that hold spices and herbs (also magnetically attached).
Automatic Ice & Water Dispenser
The family is enjoying the ice and water dispensers on the front of the freezer. There are seven buttons above the ice and water dispensers (ice on the left and water on the right). The buttons from left to right are: Extreme Freeze, Extra Ice, Cube, Crush, Light, Filter Status and a Lock button to lock out use of the dispensers.
So far there have been no problems with leakage. The ice and water dispensers work well. However, the buttons are very stiff to push. Note that the water dispenser does not provide cold water. When the water dispenser is used to fill the first glass, the water comes out room temperature. The second glass has cooler water, and the third glass colder water. If one wants truly cold water, ice needs to be added to the glass.
The Extreme Freeze button will freeze food at a faster rate. The small ice cubes are made eight cubes at a time. The Extra Ice button increases the ice production time, which is great when guests are in the house. The Cube and Crush button drop either cubes of ice or crushed ice into the glass. The Light button turns on a light that illuminates the dispenser.
There is a water filter that will need to be replaced. As mentioned above, there are warning lights that let you know when the filter is done. The manufacturer recommends changing the filter every six to nine months. Replacement filters sell for about $40.00.
Purchasing & Energy Savings
This Frigidaire model cost $1528.20 at Lowes. The delivery fee was $65.00, and a 4-year protection plan another $89.97.
Energy Star compliant, this model uses an average of 618 kWh a year. The estimated operating cost for a year is $56.00.
Update -- September 8, 2007
My brother was at the house today, and I asked him how his refrigerator was performing. He said it's great. One thing he did notice, however, was that the warning light for replacing the water filter never came on after a year of owning the refrigerator. So he replaced the water filter anyway. After replacing the filter, he noticed the water had a much stronger flow. About three months later, the warning light to replace the filter came on. My brother believes the filter warning light is based on time rather than a sensor. He was able to manually reset the warning light.
Summary
The family is enjoying this Frigidaire Side-by-Side Refrigerator/Freezer. Everyone is a constant visitor to the external ice and water dispenser on the door. At a recent party of about ten people, the crushed ice dispenser saw steady use and kept up with the demand. The refrigerator is fairly quiet, too. Mind you, this household is not super quiet with kids and animals running around, plus the television and video games in constant use ... but no one has complained about the refrigerator being noisy. Plus, the stainless steel fridge looks great in the kitchen!
I hope you have found this review useful.
Enjoy your day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com
Warranty
One-year limited warranty from original date of purchase.
Please read my other reviews:
GE Profile Refrigerator with Bottom Freezer
Maytag Gemini Electric Range with double ovens
Broan Allure III Range Hood
Whirlpool Over-the-Range Microwave
T-Fal Avante Elite Convection Toaster Oven
Oxo Good Grips 14-piece Professional Knife Set
Keurig B50 Coffee Maker
KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Mixer
Hamilton Beach BlendMaster 12 Speed Blender
West Bend Automatic Egg Cooker
Maytag Dishwasher
Dyson DC14 Animal Vacuum Cleaner
Info Globe Scrolling LED Message Center with Caller ID
Copyright 2006 Dawn L. Stewart
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1528.20
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