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What do you mean when you say it'll last...

9 years ago

We've long talked about the longevity of SubZero fridges and people also talk about stand alone fridges that last forever. I realized that we need some definitions.

For me, my 1986 Kenmore is probably still cooling. A workman took it away. The light was irreparably broken after six years, the crispers were worse than useless, the shelf that held them started failing after about 10 years, it was a delicate balancing act to keep the milk cold enough but the lettuce from freezing, and in the last year or two I had it (until five years ago), it was getting more crotchety. And the ice (in trays) smelled bad.

My parents' 1985 SubZero is like new, except the lightbulb needs changing. Food never freezes in the fridge section. Things don't melt in the freezer. The ice evaporates because the folks don't use it a lot and forget to throw it out, but it doesn't smell. I think the ice maker was serviced once.

I'm sure there are plenty of ordinary fridges out there that are also plugging away without issue. I just wanted to set straight what *I* mean when I talk about the longevity expected of SubZero. :) And I thought others might want to join in.

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Comments (7)

wekick
9 years ago
My parents 1956 GE Frig is still going. It had a seal replaced once 30 years ago and was moved once. It had the shelves that rotated out on a center pole. It could use repainting.

I saw a 1930s frig at an auction that was still used and working great.
hvtech42
9 years ago
The problem with anecdotes about old Sub-Zero units (and any other fridges) is that they have nothing to do with the ones they make today. Even though Sub Zero is still probably the best fridge you can buy, I'm not believing for a second the new ones are as good. Back in the 80s I doubt Sub-Zero was using the cheapo Brazilian compressors, Mexican electronics, and Asian fan motors they do today. There have been complaints about reliability and repairability and I remember reading in Consumer Reports a few years back that they were one of the least reliable. Of course I'm not trying to say those things are the norm for them and I'm pretty sure the CR thing was because of a temporary issue they were having that they got around to fixing, but my point is.... just like all the other brands, they aren't perfect.
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tinyhomebuilder
9 years ago
That's the advantage of old refrigerators... they have nothing to do with what's being made today. Our 66 year old Hotpoint refrigerator my parents bought when I was born still works great today. Plus I get the luxury of living my whole life without ever having to buy a refrigerator.

**** sub zeros. (lol)

This post was edited by tinyhomebuilder on Tue, Jul 29, 14 at 15:55
nerdyshopper
9 years ago
While we're reminiscing, I had a Coldspot refrig. that I bought for my dad and I in 1948 until I sold my house and moved in 2002. It still ran like new but lacked the crisper and some stuff I removed so I could store orchard boxes of fruit in it. Before that we only had an ice box and it only needed the ice man to deliver 50 pounds of ice once a week.
sjhockeyfan325
9 years ago
wekick, we had one of those refrigerators with the rotating shelves - it was awesome. Ours had a bottom freezer.
lam702
9 years ago
I have a 1982 Kenmore that still works great, in my basement now, when I decided to get a new one it got moved from the kitchen to the basement as a spare. The new one has had a couple of recalls on parts, and service calls. 1982 model, no service calls, no recalls, never replaced anything but a light bulb (once)
wekick
9 years ago
" Posted by hvtech42
The problem with anecdotes about old Sub-Zero units (and any other fridges) is that they have nothing to do with the ones they make today."

That is the unfortunate truth about almost all appliances. By the time we know how long they will last they are no longer made that way, even the ones that are 15years old.

"Posted by sjhockeyfan
wekick, we had one of those refrigerators with the rotating shelves - it was awesome. Ours had a bottom freezer."

That was much more of a novelty then. My grandmother always had a bottom freezer. When we visited in the summer as kids, she kept her homemade chocolate cookies with thick icing that we ate right out of the freezer, kool pops, frozen tacos and frozen pizza. Always full of great stuff, in full view when she opened it. :-)

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