Innovative, but not perfect
Written: Aug 16 '07 (Updated Aug 24 '07)
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Pros: French door design, ice & water available at the door, filter system, alarm.
Cons: Ice delivery is marginal. Stainless finish is tough to keep clean. Filters are expensive.
The Bottom Line: Like the design. I'd purchase it again, but in black instead of stainless. Expensive, so make sure you get it on sale.
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| buzz-'s Full Review: Maytag MFI2568AES Stainless Steel (25 cu. ft.) Bot... |
We purchased the Maytag MFI2568AES in August of 2006. At the time of this review, we have been using it for a year.
When we were shopping a year ago, this "French Door" style was fairly new. Only a few manufacturers were offering this design. There were two deciding factors for the Maytag over competing models. First, it was one of the only ones that offered ice and water in the door. Second, it had a unique seal system that seems to be better designed to seal between the doors.
Our fridge has been perfectly reliable. No problems with circuit boards like some other reviews have mentioned.
I really like that the french door style puts the cold storage area up at eye level. When I open the fridge, I can see what is there at a glance. I don't have to get down on my knees to see what is on the bottom shelf. A great feature. I open the fridge probably 25 times a day, but the freezer only 2 or 3 times.
I've also discovered an unanticipated benefit of this french door design. We have young children. Having the cold storage compartment up high prevents our 2 and 3 year olds from easily opening the fridge doors and helping themselves. Once they get tall enough to reach inside the fridge, they are also old enough to understand our rules about eating. (e.g. A stick of butter is not a snack.) Fortunately, our 2 year old can't quite open the freezer compartment yet. Popsicles stay in a freezer in the garage just in case.
The extra width on the shelves is really nice for pizza boxes or big dishes that don't easily fit in a side-by-side. That width is also good when you need to store birthday cake or deli tray.
I find the overall capacity to be quite good. Yes, the icemaker does take up some space in the fridge compartment, but the icemaker has to go somewhere. Having it located in the upper compartment is the price you pay if you want to have ice available from the door. One benefit of having the icemaker up top is that you gain some additional freezer space below.
The filtration system seems to work well for both ice and drinking water. The light warning to order a new filter filter came on after about 11 months of use. I replaced the filter a couple of weeks later, before the indicator actually said to do so.
Replacing the filter is simple and takes just a couple of minutes. Just open the fridge, pop off the cover, and twist the old one out. Twist the new one in place, replace the cover, and you are finished. The filters themselves are not cheap. I ordered replacement filters from the least expensive online source I could find and they were $35 each.
One of my favorite features is the alarm that sounds if the fridge is left open too long. Nice to hear that beep in case one of the kids or a visitor doesn't get close the door securely.
The water and ice dispenser is acceptable overall. Several reviews have mentioned that the water was not cold. I actually measured the temperature. With my fridge set at 36 degrees, the water temperature is typically starts out about 45 degrees and gets warmer as you draw off water. I measured this in the hottest part of summer when the cold tap water at the kitchen sink measured 80 degrees.
The water and ice dispenser does have a lock button in case you want to keep kids from using it unattended.
The ice dispenser is only marginal. It can be slow to fill your glass and sometimes will spill ice. Once I understood how it works, I was able to figure out how to keep it working at it's best.
When you push the lever to dispense ice, a motor turns a spiral rod in the tray which pushes ice towards the dispenser. It may take a few seconds before ice actually starts fall into your glass. You will hear the ice dispenser moving and hear ice crunching. A tall, wide-mouthed glass catches the ice easily, but you can easily end up with a few ice cubes on the floor if you use a narrow or short glass.
I find that the icemaker produces plenty of ice for our family needs. I do wish it would dispense crushed ice, but this model only dispenses cubes.
An annoyance about the ice maker is that the cubes seem to occasionally freeze into chunks and impede the flow of ice. If you ignore the problem, it will continue to get worse until the the dispenser is completely blocked and no ice will come out at all.
I believe I know why this happens. When you are filling a glass, some room temperature air goes up into the icemaker compartment. This warm air causes a tiny bit of ice to melt and then freeze again, sticking cubes together. When the ice is partially blocked, people just stand there with the lever depressed waiting for ice to fall. This just lets more and more warm air up there and makes the problem worse.
User Tip:
I've found a simple solution to ice blockage problem. If I notice that I'm waiting a long time for ice to drop even when I think the tray should be full, I will just remove the tray and dump all the ice out. The tray will refill and ice flow is restored. I usually do this every couple of months. (Good excuse to fill a cooler and go on a picnic!)
This is our first stainless fridge. I loved the look when it was new, but like most stainless appliances, it is a pain to keep clean. I would buy black if I had it to do over.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 2200
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Epinions.com ID:
buzz-
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Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 1 member
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