Column Refrigerator and Column Freezer Help Please

6 years ago

We are doing a complete remodel and I am struggling with the best columns to select. I currently have two side-by-side refrigerator/freezers and they are stuffed and disorganized. Of course, side-by-sides are notoriously small but I use every inch of both of them. So, I've decided on the column fridge/freezer option, but they are all counter depth and I'm worried I won't have enough space. I'm leaning to the 30" fridge and either the 30 or 24" freezer, I could do 36" but that seems like ALOT of cabinet space wasted (I have a "galley like" space with no space for an island)??? I've been in a researching "do loop" and I need to select something!!! I do want internal water, but that's about it for requirements. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated.

Featured Answer

NT_guy

6 years ago

So performance (not reliability)...my honest take:

I don't think there is a massive gap between the best and worst fridge, certainly not enough to justify the price difference between say the Frigidaire that wdccruise linked and the Sub Zeros.

You certainly aren't getting 5x the performance.

Here's what you are paying for, imho:

Aesthetic: the high end fridges typically install better when using a panel front and allow for the fridge to be flush with the counter.

Function: Sub Zero has the best air filter in the business and the only one (besides Viking, which I do not recommend), that filters the ethylene gas produced by ripening food.

It has a magnetic seal on their doors which improves performance but makes the door harder to open.

Spill proof shelves that prevent liquids from dripping to the next. Nice food safety and convenience feature.

One thing that SubZero does not offer, which I think they should, is an all metal / glass construction for the shelves on the door. Many of the other high end brands do this.

So all in all, you do get some modest performance improvements over an average priced fridge, but certainly not enough to justify the cost. If aesthetics are not important to you than I would go with a less expensive option that suits your needs.

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Comments (8)

wdccruise
6 years ago
- Frigidaire FGRU19F6QF Gallery Series 32 Inch Smudge Proof Stainless Steel Built In Counter Depth All Refrigerator
- Frigidaire FGFU19F6QF Gallery Series 32 Inch Stainless Steel Freestanding Upright Freezer
- Frigidaire TRIMKITEZ2 Trim Kit
-OR-
- Frigidaire Professional 1090395 2 piece Smudge-Proof Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances Package
A bit wider than you wanted but more capacity than those frighteningly-expensive and smaller-capacity column appliances.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago
Sometimes you find them under the Electrolux name and I will tell you that the counter depth fridges lose about 10% storage I run a catering biz with the fridgedaire fridge and freezer columns with no issues.You get eith the electrolux or fridgeadair with a built in kit and they look awesome BTW quite afforadble too.
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User
6 years ago
if you are going with full columns, I'd go with the 30 inch freezer if you have the space. the ice maker will take up valuable storage. I only have room for the 24 inch, it's small.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
6 years ago
The ice maker takes up a small corner
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c9pilot
6 years ago
We have the 48” SZ SxS and the 18” freezer is too small for us, and we cook a lot, so we have a cheapo scratch’n’dent French door in the utility room, which I hate, and a deep freezer in the garage (which is a giant black hole of despair). The 30” fridge size is okay for food only. There is no room for drinks which necessitated the extra fridge for beer and sodas and protein shakes etc.

We are considering columns for our new build, and looking at the same options as you. 30” fridge, 24” freezer. There was a display 36” SZ fridge column for $5500 at a local showroom that was gorgeous but it is just too early to decide (kitchen design not completed yet) since we‘re about 2 years until completion.

We were considering the GE Monogram columns at the showroom and they were super tall. I’m 5’7” and had to stand on my tiptoes to touch the top of the inside (the compressors are on the bottom). There was another brand that I can’t remember but they were all dark plastic and felt brittle and cheap - maybe Samsung?

I can’t remember at this point who all makes columns because I’m pretty sold on the SZ. We love our current one (12+ years) and they have that whole ethylene scrubbing thing which nobody else has.
NT_guy
6 years ago
There are a ton of options in this category.

Are you going for an exposed look or a panel ready look? The later narrows your options considerably bit in my opinion looks much nicer.

Do you care about how the interior of the fridge looks or do you only care about performance?

As far as size goes:

You get much more fridge per dollar as you go up in size. The largest SZ column all refrigerators we were looking at were about 15% more expensive than the smallest. If you have the space, I would go for 36"s
4gac
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks, Dan. Mostly performance but I do use the door shelves in my existing units.