Lots of Room, but No Space - Amana ABB2524DES 25.1cf Bottom Freezer Refrigerator
Written: Jul 24 '04 (Updated Jul 26 '04)
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Pros: Roomy freezer with two slide out baskets.
Cons: Seems short on refrigerator space. Doors not real Stainless Steel.
The Bottom Line: This stainless steel refrigerator has a fantastic freezer with two baskets; 6 adjustable split refrigerator shelves; 3 crispers and a beverage rack. Seems short on refrigerator space.
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Hubby was getting in one of his money spending moods again. Our stove needed replacing. He figured since we were replacing that, we might as well replace the refrigerator and microwave since a retailer was having a once a year sale for "special people."
The Refrigerator Arrives!
Getting the refrigerator into the house was a bear! We have a split entry home with a modest "landing" before you either have to go up or down stairs. We had to take the door off both the refrigerator AND the house, and that was just to get it into the house. Thankfully the retailer delivered it for us. Although hubby measured the available space, somehow we messed up a bit. Once in the kitchen, we had to trim the bottom trim off the cupboard above the refrigerator for it to fit, about 1/2"-1".
The Guts
Is it Amana - or is it a Maytag? (the Amana tag is outside the refrigerator, the Maytag tag is inside. Maytag manufactures appliances for Amana.) The door has 6 compartments for items like catsup, sweet and sour sauce, and one long shelf for gallon jugs of milk. You can put the shelves anywhere you want, but be mindful you will need a little extra space to actually pull your item out of the bins. This saves finding small items permanently at the back of the refrigerator.
Six mini bins hang from the door, at the location of your choosing. They are about 12" and 14" wide, 3 of each, including a butter keeper with pivoted hood/cover. No egg keeper, although I heard those weren't good for your eggs anyway.
The interior depth of the main shelves are: 15" deep x 13" wide. You can put two shelves side by side for one wide shelf. White (spill-proof) shelf edges add another 1/2" or so to the dimension of each shelf. I've never spilled anything yet, so I don't know how well they work. It certainly has be better than the old refrigerator. Cleaning spills from beneath the old Westinghouse crispers seemed like drudgery!
Two 7" deep fruit/vegetable/meat crispers are on the bottom. I think they keep fruit better than the 30 year old Westinghouse we moved to the basement to chill pop and melons.
There is also a beverage rack directly under the top shelf to easily grab your favorite canned beverage. We tend to keep our 2 litres of pop and bottled juice on the top shelf. Alongside the beverage rack is a 3" deep clear drawer that would be handy for cold cuts, cheese or meat.
Freezer
This is what I think really makes this refrigerator. The old Westinghouse refrigerator had a freezer perhaps 12" deep. You put a bag of peas on the bottom, followed by a piece of meat and a 1/2 gallon of ice cream perched precariously on top. When you closed the door, you hoped it would slide in the right direction, toward the back. The Amana has two pullout baskets on gliders. You open the freezer by pulling out the drawer with a horizontal handle. Once inside, two baskets securely hold your frozen items. One basket is about 6" deep, the other one about 7". Throwing stuff in and retrieving it has never been so easy. Things don't get buried forever in this freezer.
I have never had to clean the freezer, but I imagine it would take a bit of thinking about, how to get underneath the baskets.
Do NOT buy this refrigerator if you have back problems! I have very rare back problems, but I can just imagine my anguish bending over to get ice cubes and being in pain!
We added an icemaker to our refrigerator for an additional $30, or perhaps it was included as a sales perk; I don't remember. The ice tray sits at the rear of the top basket and is perhaps a 11 x 13 x 3" rectangle. We fill perhaps 4-6 32 oz glasses per day with ice, and it meets our demands.
Space
Believe it or not, we don't think this refrigerator is spacious! We are used to a refrigerator with 4 shelves vertically. This has three. We bought a whole watermelon and looked at each other. Where in the world we would put it!? We ended up putting it in the old refrigerator we were considering disposing of. The split shelves are adjustable, but there just doesn't seem to be enough horizontal space. Perhaps if the freezer were smaller, this wouldn't be a problem.
This refrigerator doesn't have a water/ice dispenser; a craze I've never caught onto. The only time I drink water is when we dine out, and that is because I'm too cheap to buy a beverage.
Outside dimensions
35" wide, 33.5" deep, including handle; 68.5" tall. The height may vary from front to back.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1200
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remnjava
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Member: Carol
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Zekiah born 11-3-03 6lb 14 oz 19 3/4" dark curley hair blu eyes
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