The serial number is not accessible from the front of the machine or without pulling the unit out ??? That's ridiculous. David - are you saying you got each of those units for less than $3250 ea. ? That is an exceptionally good price, and probably worth the hassle you've gone through. FWIW - that is approx 50% off of what those Northlands sell for normally. There is only about $200-$250 difference list price between the same SZ 36" all fridge/freezer in stainless steel and the comparable Northland model. SO, like for like, it's pretty much a wash unless your dealer is giving you some sort of steep discount. Re: the racking. SZ has the full length channel too, they just choose to offer less customizable bins and shelves. The stainless of the Norhthland is more durable than the SZ plastic all things being equal, but it puts off some people also because it looks too commercial. As far a unreliable - I've read that EVERY SINGLE BRAND OF REFRIGERATOR IS UNRELIABLE (including Northland) , on the internet of course. And they are, no company makes makes totally reliable products year in and year out and satisfies all customers. Here's what I can say about the two: Over the last 40 years or so SZ has consistently produced high quality high priced built in fridges that last 20+ years. They have also continued to innovated their offerings like the first fully integrated fridges for the U.S. market, the drawer concept for residential. Other companies are starting to catch up though. Their sales go up and up , which allowed them to buy WOLF to expand their business. Northland on the other hand has flat sales and pretty much has the same box, technology and offerings they had last century. They are quality units to be sure even with their quirks. They just can't seem to crack the built in fridge market that has been dominated by SZ, GE Monogram, and now the offerings from BSH's Turkish plant. In fact they have done so well that they were acquired by the AGA group. We'll soon see just how good the product really is as AGA's marketing machine will certainly try to jumpstart sales to keep the new factory running and has the network to flog the product in place. Bottom line for me is- I would rather deal with privately held companies with long track records and family members involved in operations rather than - companies that have managers that are worried about short term goals (and their compensation) and their board's agenda and ultimately shareholders and the market, more than they are concerned with delivering a quality product to market.

It's not the refrigerator brand that determines compressor longevity (or so my fantastic appliance repair guy tells me) it's the installation. On a record high temperature day in July, we were his seventh service call for the day. "Counter depth- skip it", he said. "Anything where the compressor's upfront pushing the air out fails sooner or later. If it's a lower end fridge with one compressor instead of two, count on sooner." He added, "get a regular depth fridge and give it some space back there. It's no accident that I get at least five calls a day to replace compressors when the temperature hits triple digits. You want a minimum of 3" wall space behind the unit, 5" is better. People used to do that when the idea was that a fridge stuck out a bit. A wall vent at compressor height would be even better. Give it room to breathe." He likes kitchenaid, said he has fewer repair calls on that one. He had trouble 2 years ago getting parts for Samsung in a timely way. I don't know if that's still the issue, my appliances haven't needed service since. Diva

Amana French Door Bottom Freezer Whirlpool Quiet Partner IV Built in KitchAid Oven Micro, both Convection (never use that feature) Jenn- Air electric Cooktop I love this blog. I am getting ready to build a new home and need new appliances. I will not buy any of the brands I have now since they are Whirlpool. I posted a long blog about my Combo and DW related to Whirlpool. In a nutshell: Micro was made in 2002 and Magnatron has shot craps 3 TIMES. 1st time after only 1.5 years. Last time I had to pay $700 to fix it. Asked WP for reimbursement of at least parts cost-told too bad so sad. DW control panel went out after only 4 mos (just got it in April '08 at NE Furniture Mart). We wanted a new unit since this is a major thing to go out. Attitude of retailer and WP was the same- tough. We only use the DW twice a week. It is not that quiet either. Love my Amana. Too bad it is WP also. It holds everything and stuff is easy to find. Black glass top Jenn-Air is impossible to keep clean. STREAKY!!! Have to clean and clean and clean. Also, if anything splatters on it that is high in sugar THE GLASS MELTS. It leaves a big crater. Dials are placed in front corners at an angle and big pans can touch and melt them. Love the down draft fan. Very powerful. Thanks to all who listed their brands here. I got a great list to look into for the new place.

RE: Hi Birchpoint, I'll try to help with posting more than one picture in a post. This is how I do it, I have my photos in photobucket, I open a second window to show the pictures in the files and then copy and paste the photo into the message frame on GW using the edit tab in the toolbar. I then click back onto the photobucket window and do the same thing, you have to keep clicking back and forth, copying and pasting. You can enter lines between photos by hitting "enter" a couple of times between all the numbers and letters that appear after you paste the photo link in the GW message frame. Trust me, if I can do it anyone can. I am working on a laptop. You just have to keep two windows open and do exactly what you did with the first one you posted. You can't see them as photos until you "preview message" so you are working a bit in the blind but you get used to it. If you forget to space down a couple of lines between the photo links, they will just be all connected, not a big deal. If I remember I always try to leave a space or two so people won't have to wait forever for them to load and maybe freeze up their computer. It took me awhile to get the hang of it. I was scared to trust it but you can. You might have to practice a few times. I would have all of a reply written and then not do it right and lose it all. Your first few times, don't put your heart and soul into a post until you are sure it is going to work. It's no fun going back to rewrite a whole post, not to mention, most of us don't have time. My photobucket for some reason doesn't even show some of my pictures after I click on the thumbnail to enlarge it, but I click on the copy link anyway and it still pastes it.