No More Forgotten Food!
Written: Jan 14 '05 (Updated Jan 14 '05)
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Pros: convenience, adjustable shelving, glass drawers/shelves, bottom freezer location
Cons: ice maker option has sensor issues sometimes
The Bottom Line: Recommended for cooks on a budget that need to customize food storage
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| phoenixx's Full Review: Amana ARB220ZC (21.9 cu. ft.) Bottom Freezer Refri... |
I purchased the Amana ARB220ZCW, which is this model plus the optional ice maker in the freezer, in white, in Summer 2004 for our new house. I chose a bottom freezer set up because I found it helps me to see what I have in the fridge first, since that is the part of the unit that gets the most use - no more forgotten foods moldering in tupperware in the back of the fridge!
I purchased this product from a local appliance store because they were able to give me a better deal than Sears, and included delivery and set up - a godsend. This was definitely not a plug and use appliance. This 21.9 cubic foot unit was delivered in one piece, completely wrapped and taped. It has a variety of glass shelving, pull out glass shelves, glass sliding drawers and glass compartments for fruit and meat. All of the shelving in the entire unit is fully adjustable - you put it where you need it most. A very nice feature that allowed me to leave room for tall items, make a special slot for flatter items and hang the sliding bread basket exactly where it would get the most use.
In the door there is room in the bottom for full gallons of milk and liter bottles of soda, in addition to a set of white, deep adjustable shelving that you can set to the right height for your condiments, jars, etc., a roomy butter compartment that holds a box of butter/margarine plus a tub of low fat fake butter also, and an egg compartment deep enough to put two 12 egg containers on top of each other if needed. The door is specially made to hold the extra weight of heavy milk jugs, water jugs and soda bottles - so no fear of over use.
The freezer has the optional ice maker in it, located on the upper left section. By choosing the option you lose some freezer space, but it is well worth it as our family uses ice heavily. The bottom basket stretches the whole width of the freezer, and pulls out for easy access to all your frozen food items. The top half shelf also pulls out and is a smaller basket style shelf for smaller items. There are two shelves on the door, non-adjustable but deep enough to keep odd shaped or small items from falling out when the door swings open.
The doors on both the freezer and the fridge open to the right, and the handle is the new style poly/plastic "lip" that runs up one side of the fridge and across the top of the freezer a little. Both doors seal immediately upon closing, with no issues keeping the cold in and the doors stuck closed. This unit is quieter than my former fridge, but not as quiet as some that we looked at - you notice when the motor kicks on, but once it is going it fades into the background.
One quirky thing about this fridge - only the most heavy duty magnets will stick to its surface. I'm not sure why, and it is truly a minor problem, but I did have to go out and buy all new industrial strength magnets to replace my old stand by set. It was necessary since we use our fridge as a communications hub for messages to each other, phone messages, calendar items, etc.
The freezer defrosts itself. The ice maker option uses a wire sensor to tell the machine when to make ice, and it does have its own simple water filter. We haven't had to change ours yet, so I'll have to tell you if it is as easy as it looks in the manual once we do. The main concern with the ice maker is that the wire occasionally gets locked in place - depending on whether it is up or down, you either get s little too much ice, or not enough. Amana (Maytag) has been very helpful in working with us on this issue - replacing the wire assembly and sending a tech out to reset the attachment joint - all at no charge,
In all I'd have to say that this has been an outstanding unit for a reasonable price. It will be in our home for years to come.
Energy Usage: $32.75 / year
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 710
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Epinions.com ID:
phoenixx
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Member: Leslie
Location: New Hampshire
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 15 members
About Me:
Cleverly Disguised As A Responsible Adult
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