Pros: Hi energy efficiency, rounded door corner on the right and left
Cons: A little on the noisy side because of the high efficiency compressor
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this product because of the high energy efficiency although it may be a little on the noisy side with the higher pitch compressor noise
peterdmar's Full Review: Kenmore 68972 / 68974 / 68979 (18.2 cu. ft.) Top F...
Here is my review on the Sears Kenmore model number 68972 basic energy efficient top freezer white refrigerator. It comes in four colors, white, black, stainless steel and off-white. On this model, the icemaker is optional. I didn't not need the icemaker, so I did not have one installed. We purchased this refrigerator to use as a second one in our kitchen, because the other one is always overflowing with food. Our 13 year old 21 cubic feet whirlpool brand refrigerator is somewhat quieter than this new one. That one is also energy efficient although not quite as energy-efficient as this new one. This new Sears Kenmore product is Energy Star rated at 383 kW hours per year in energy consumption. For convenience, we have the two refrigerators arranged side-by-side as well as having all of the refrigerator doors reverse to open from the right. Being that in that direction is toward the stove and sink. The two refrigerators are about the same height at 66 inches.
The positives about this product: 1. Four height adjustable door bins that can hold gallon size containers 2. Two spill resistant slide-in tempered glass refrigerator shelves 3. Clear plastic deli or meat drawer attached to one of the shelf 4. condenser coil underneath the refrigerator at the rear 5. Extremely solid and rigid plastic door panels and shelf as well as the liner in both compartments 6. Two humidity regulated transparent crispers like most of its type tend to be on the small side toward the rear because of the compressor and condenser coil 7. High energy efficiency 8. Rounded corners on both the refrigerator and freezer doors
The negatives about this product: 1. Noisy compressor emitting a slight high-pitched sound 2. Wide temperature swing in both the refrigerator and freezer sections 3. A slight rattle in the freezer caused by the evaporator fan which I fixed with the application of silicone rubber caulk 4. A non-removable drain pan underneath the refrigerator on the right side 5. A plastic coated wire shelf for the freezer instead of a glass one 6. Kind of flimsy slide in tempered glass refrigerator shelves that may not support heavy items well
I really like the feature of the four door bins that you can insert on the door of the refrigerator at various heights to accommodate taller containers. The bottom door shelf can only accommodate up to half gallon containers. The butter compartment is not adjustable or movable. While shopping for a new refrigerator, I noticed some other products have flimsy door shelfs and liners. On this product, the spill resistant tempered glass refrigerator shelfs appear to be a little weak in the middle when you start loading it with heavy food items. To play it safe, I decided to reinforce one of the shelve with a piece of quarter inch by 1 inch almost 26 inch in length aluminum stock attaching it to the very edge. I drilled three small holes through the plastic trim on the edge, being very careful not to drill near the glass and attaching the aluminum stock with some number six screws. The aluminum doesn't show when you look at the shelf with the refrigerator door open other than the three small screw heads. The shelf with the crispers appeared to be sturdy and rigid unlike the other shelves, and should support a decent amount of weight on them.
The energy efficient compressor runs at a higher speed than an earlier model thus admitting a higher pitched sound. The noise is not too obtrusive but nevertheless is noisier. It's something that we all may have to learn to live with as a trade-off for better efficiency. This new refrigerator obtained its efficiency by using a higher efficiency compressor rather than more insulation along. It also has a thermostat that has a wider temperature swing than on our 13 year old refrigerator. The cycle between the compressor running and off is somewhat longer than our old refrigerator and may account for the wider temperature swing. The refrigerator designers have several ways of making an energy-efficient refrigerators. The first method is using thicker walls like in the case of our old refrigerator. The walls on that unit is about 1 inch thicker all around as compared with one new one. Most new energy-efficient or Energy-Star rated units achieve their efficiency by better insulation as well as using a high-efficiency compressor. And the final one perhaps that they use to achieve efficiency is by running the compressor at the least amount of time over all. Even the automatic defrost cycle is set up to run differently for some models. This refrigerator does not features adaptive automatic defrost cycle where defrosting is done as needed instead of on a time clock basis like in the past. Under this condition defrost may not occur if the doors don't get open. In place of a clock, a piece of electronics in the form of the circuit board is used instead to regulate defrost. One way to find out if this is the case is to push the light switch on and off in five rapid sessions. When you do this, the defrost cycle will commence. To stop the defrost cycle, just push the switch five rapid on-off. I gave this refrigerator a try by doing this and do not get any response.
To make sure that the optimum temperature is maintained, I installed a digital indoor outdoor thermometer on the outside of the freezer door. The thermometer only comes with one remote probe and one internal one. I modified the thermometer by moving the internal temperature probe. I soldered the probe onto a pair of wires and encasing the probe inside a plastic tube and hermetically seal both ends with silicone rubber caulk. The other ends of the wires are soldered to the circuit board of the thermometer at the solder point where the original probe was connected to. With this modification I now have two remote probes. I have one tape inside the refrigerator section and one inside the freezer. With this addition of this thermometer I am able to set the refrigerator to the correct optimal temperature much easier. When set to the starting recommended default temperature, the refrigerator temperature varies from a low of 35°F to a high of 48°F for an average of 42°F. And the freezer a low of -8°F to a high of 20°F for an average of 6°F. For more ideal temperature, I have the temperature dial turned halfway between the default and full cold. And the dial inside a freezer turned all the way to the right colder than the default. With this new setting, the refrigerator temperature fluctuate between 32°F and 40°F for an average of 36°F. And the freezer temperature fluctuating between -14°F and 10°F for an average of -2°F. Having an almost full refrigerator as well as freezer will stabilized the temperature to a much greater degree.
The final thoughts about this product: The easy to clean condenser coil. The condenser coil is located in the back lower section underneath next to the condenser fan and compressor. To access you have to remove three screws on the back and remove the lower cardboard panel. Be sure to unplug your refrigerator while doing this. This design is much better than one with the condenser coil attached to the back of the refrigerator. The problem with the condenser coil on the back is that it's easily damage plus you cannot push the refrigerator up against the back wall. When at my local Sears store, they did not have this model on display. So I have to guess after looking at the pictures on-line at Sears website to see what this model would be compare with. After comparing several models from various manufacture I came to the conclusion that this refrigerator is made by Frigidaire. I've also went to Frigidaire's website to compare their various models. It seems that, none of Frigidaire's product has the same configuration although close. I've noticed that Best Buy has a almost similar product by Frigidaire on display so I decided to go down to the store to look at the actual product. After this comparison I decided to order one from Sears online. It arrived three days later. This Sears product has better door storage than the Frigidaire at Best Buy with the identical refrigerator and freezer shelves.
Update July 15, 2009: With the use of the temperature probes inside the refrigerator and freezer, the best way to get a more accurate picture of the temperature inside is to dunk the probe in a small container of water. I've tried this and then wait 24 hours and then rechecked the temperatures. I had repeated this consecutively for several days, adjusting the control and wait another 24 hours and adjust again until I got my ideal temperatures for both compartments. With the use of this method, I was able to adjust the temperature average to a more ideal range of 0°F in the freezer and 36°F in the refrigerator section. This unit seem to have a wider temperature fluctuation than an average refrigerator since it doesn't run as often. The compressor spends more time "Off" than "On" any given time and during the automatic defrost cycle the temperature in the freezer reach 35°with the temperature probe in the air on average for about 15 minutes and then the unit turns "On" to cool again. My eventual setting is with the refrigerator control set at about two o'clock and the freezer temperature control set at maximum cold. I have to use this setting to achieve this temperature as described. On this model, the normal starting point setting is at 12 o'clock for both controls.
I will update this revealed as I learn more about this product in the future.
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