Fridges with ice makers - do you have one?

[cattlekid]

If you are in an older home and are using the existing water line hookup for the fridge, make sure it's up to code. 

The jerks who owned our house prior to us used plastic tubing for the water line, instead of copper.  So the water line exploded one day.  My Pergo floor was ruined as we didn't notice the issue until water started seeping between the floorboards halfway across the room from the refrigerator.   

[2littlemonkeys]

We have a french door fridge too, with the ice maker in the drawer (as opposed to on the outside door.)  I love it and we use it most every day.  It's really handy in the summer when we scoop all the ice out to put into our little cooler.  It's run through the filter so that it doesn't taste like our delightful municipal water.

[RebeccainGA]

We have had a ice maker in both our homes since I've been married. I LOVE it - we drink iced tea and fruit punch (yum - Crystal Light...) all evening, and DP drinks it all day while I'm at work. We have the older sort of ice maker in both places, with the dispenser poised over a large bucket that fills with cubes. I can keep it (and do keep it) impeccably clean - I take the bucket out about once a week, right before bedtime (so we aren't without ice while we're awake) and wash it and dry it well, like I would with other dishes. The part that stays in the freezer isn't a concern - the cold temperature keeps it free from mold build up, and since I don't touch it, no bacteria to muck it up. I do occasionally wash it with a clean cloth and some bleachy water, and then just discard the next couple of batches of ice.

The icemakers people have concerns with at restaurants and such are the sort with an integrated bin that people are putting their hands (and upper bodies sometimes, depending on how large the machine is and how hygienic the people are) into, and so are constantly contaminating them with their germs - and since they are big bins with a machine fixed in place at the top, and often are fixed in place in a counter or in a wall niche, they are harder to clean than just washing them. 

[Hmmmmm]

We've had a side by side with an ice maker and water dispenser in the door for seven years and haven't had any problems with it.  The only issue that I have with the ice dispenser is that I kept finding little pools of water all over the kitchen floor.

I finally heard the "clunk" noise of ice cubes being dispensed and peeked into the kitchen to see my tuxedo boy cat dispensing himself ice cubes and then playing around with them on the kitchen floor.    I engaged the childproof lock on the ice/water dispenser and that solved that problem!

That is hilarious.

Hmmmmmmmm, how do you find the LG? Someone told me they found theirs unreliable. Then again, I had another 'unreliable' brand of washing machine and no hassles for 15 years, and my new 'reliable' one has difficulty after difficulty.

We've only had it for a year but have been very satisfied.  It replaced. 6 year old GE profile that we had continual problems with.  It had the motor and the compressor replaced and still we had problems with hot spots.  I gave up and replaced it though was not happy since we'd paid so much for it.

We picked the LG based on some consumer reports and the energy saving design of their compressor.  I also really like the two freezer drawers and how the ice maker is built into the door so you loose less fridge/freezer space.

[sparksals]

We have this fridge: http://www.samsung.com/us/appliances/refrigerators/RF263TEAESR/AA


I have the same fridge except we opted for the internal water dispenser and ice in the bottom freezer only.  We wanted the extra shelf and fridge space.

OP - make sure you shop around.  Many places price match.  The fridge below was on sale at Best Buy for $1100 when we bought it two years ago.  I went to Lowes, they matched the price PLUS had free deliver and haul away of the old fridge.   

We are VERY happy with this fridge.  I love the drawer across the bottom.  Even little yogurt cups fit in it.


 

I have your fridge, too.
No in door, but we got a great deal on in because it had a tiny dent/scratch on delivery and the original buyers refused it.

Corrected misquote.

We also got an additional 10% off after delivery b/c the installers dinged it.  It is not noticeable, but it was enough that I got a discount. 

[sparksals]

This is ours that we bought earlier this year.  I was concerned about organizing things in a bottom freezer as we'd had side by side for so long.  But I love this one with the two freezer drawers. 

I haven't been without a ice maker in 20 years.  Though we've replaced ice makers about every 5 to 7 years, we've never had a problem with the through the door feature.  I also like not having to open the fridge to get access to ice.

http://www.lg.com/us/refrigerators/lg-LMX28987ST-french-4-door-refrigerator

How do you like the double freezer drawers?  I find for my bottom freezer, I have to know what is in there.  I keep bread, frozen veggies, hotdogs, homemade stock in it.  I have an upright freezer I keep my meat in.

If you are into freezing and keeping a lot of meat etc. on hand, then you still need a deep freeze or upright b/c the bottom freezer isn't enough.

[sparksals]

We've had a side by side with an ice maker and water dispenser in the door for seven years and haven't had any problems with it.  The only issue that I have with the ice dispenser is that I kept finding little pools of water all over the kitchen floor.

I finally heard the "clunk" noise of ice cubes being dispensed and peeked into the kitchen to see my tuxedo boy cat dispensing himself ice cubes and then playing around with them on the kitchen floor.    I engaged the childproof lock on the ice/water dispenser and that solved that problem!

That is hilarious.

Hmmmmmmmm, how do you find the LG? Someone told me they found theirs unreliable. Then again, I had another 'unreliable' brand of washing machine and no hassles for 15 years, and my new 'reliable' one has difficulty after difficulty.

My friend has an LG fridge that caught on fire and they would not replace it.  They FIXED a fridge that caught on fire.  No thanks.

[Hmmmmm]

This is ours that we bought earlier this year.  I was concerned about organizing things in a bottom freezer as we'd had side by side for so long.  But I love this one with the two freezer drawers. 

I haven't been without a ice maker in 20 years.  Though we've replaced ice makers about every 5 to 7 years, we've never had a problem with the through the door feature.  I also like not having to open the fridge to get access to ice.

http://www.lg.com/us/refrigerators/lg-LMX28987ST-french-4-door-refrigerator

How do you like the double freezer drawers?  I find for my bottom freezer, I have to know what is in there.  I keep bread, frozen veggies, hotdogs, homemade stock in it.  I have an upright freezer I keep my meat in.

If you are into freezing and keeping a lot of meat etc. on hand, then you still need a deep freeze or upright b/c the bottom freezer isn't enough.

I find I can make better use of the space in the two drawers then I could in my side by side even though the cubic feet were almost identical.  Right now in my bottom drawer I have half a bag of ice, two gallons of ice cream, 4 dozen tamales, some frozen sausage, and some frozen veggies.  Couldn't really say what all is in the upper drawer.

I'll let you know if ours catches on fire.

[Iris]

Hi guys,

Just to update we went shopping today and bought





It turned out on the day to be the best value for size and our kitchen, especially since we got a floor stock model and saved a bunch on the already reduced price. And it has an ice maker! I like that the ice maker is contained to the freezer door which I wouldn't use much anyway. So all in all, feeling pretty happy. Thanks for all your help!

[Lynnv]

We have this fridge: http://www.samsung.com/us/appliances/refrigerators/RF263TEAESR/AA


I have the same fridge except we opted for the internal water dispenser and ice in the bottom freezer only.  We wanted the extra shelf and fridge space.

OP - make sure you shop around.  Many places price match.  The fridge below was on sale at Best Buy for $1100 when we bought it two years ago.  I went to Lowes, they matched the price PLUS had free deliver and haul away of the old fridge.   

We are VERY happy with this fridge.  I love the drawer across the bottom.  Even little yogurt cups fit in it.


 

I have your fridge, too.
No in door, but we got a great deal on in because it had a tiny dent/scratch on delivery and the original buyers refused it.

Corrected misquote.

We also got an additional 10% off after delivery b/c the installers dinged it.  It is not noticeable, but it was enough that I got a discount.

That is ours too.  No ice/water in the door.  But I love the french doors (I hated my side-by-side) and I find the drawer much more useful than the shelves in the old one, even though I think the side by side actually had more freezer space.  I do, however, have a medium sized upright freezer in my utility room, so freezer size wasn't such a huge issue for me.

[hobish]

We have a french door fridge too, with the ice maker in the drawer (as opposed to on the outside door.)  I love it and we use it most every day.  It's really handy in the summer when we scoop all the ice out to put into our little cooler.  It's run through the filter so that it doesn't taste like our delightful municipal water.

I have and do the same thing, and i love it. When Gish dragged talked me into buying the house having a fridge with an ice maker was one of my demands. We had to rip out a few cabinets and counters to make it fit, and it is totally worth it. It is an LG, and it has only been 2 years since we bought it (at 55% off due to some dents on the bottom, heck yeah) but we have not had a single problem with it.

[Betelnut]

I have an "in freezer" ice maker which is great but if I had my druthers, I'd go for the door-dispensed ice maker and water dispenser.  It is cleaner (no more digging in the ice bucket with hands) and having the water dispenser would be great.  When I stayed with my Aunt and Uncle this past year, I found that I drank a lot more water because of the water dispenser.  So convenient!

But ANY kind of ice maker (door dispensed or "in freezer") is so, so, so, so, so great. 

Oops!  Didn't see your update--yeah!

[sparksals]

We have this fridge: http://www.samsung.com/us/appliances/refrigerators/RF263TEAESR/AA


I have the same fridge except we opted for the internal water dispenser and ice in the bottom freezer only.  We wanted the extra shelf and fridge space.

OP - make sure you shop around.  Many places price match.  The fridge below was on sale at Best Buy for $1100 when we bought it two years ago.  I went to Lowes, they matched the price PLUS had free deliver and haul away of the old fridge.   

We are VERY happy with this fridge.  I love the drawer across the bottom.  Even little yogurt cups fit in it.


 

I have your fridge, too.
No in door, but we got a great deal on in because it had a tiny dent/scratch on delivery and the original buyers refused it.

Corrected misquote.

We also got an additional 10% off after delivery b/c the installers dinged it.  It is not noticeable, but it was enough that I got a discount.

That is ours too.  No ice/water in the door.  But I love the french doors (I hated my side-by-side) and I find the drawer much more useful than the shelves in the old one, even though I think the side by side actually had more freezer space.  I do, however, have a medium sized upright freezer in my utility room, so freezer size wasn't such a huge issue for me.

My mom had a side by side and she hated it too.  Since the freezer was so narrow, she couldn't fit a pizza box or other odd size item in it.   The only thing I don't like about my bottom freezer is it is hard to see what is in it.  I have to be super organized and only put certain things in there, otherwise, I would be pulling things out all the time searching.