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48 inch builtin Refrigerator..opinions?

14 years ago

I have read so much about Refrigerators that I don't know what to think anymore. I have narrowed my selection down to the 48" side by side built in. I am still not sure about Subzero versus GE Monogram. Does anyone have opinions on this? I am leaning towards the Monogram because it's a little less AND gallon milk jugs fit in the door.

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Comments (6)

59 Dodge
14 years ago
We have had the Jenn-air 48" side by side for over 3 years now. We really like it, completely trouble free, quiet, lots of room without stuff getting lost in the back, less than half the price of a new SZ now, We paid $4588.When we bought SZ was having problems with reliability they were rated last and Jenn-air was #1 so couple that with the additional features the JA had compared to SZ back then, the price, reliability , the looks (No gills showing on the JA, like the SZ back then)sooooo for us it was a "no brainer".
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mrtimewise
14 years ago
We have a Model 532 Side-by Side Sub Zero from 10 years ago. It has been trouble free except for a poorly attached water inlet hose when it was delivered. I had specifically told the plumber to NOT turn the water on to the ice maker until we moved into the house. Will guess what...moving day was a mess due to the water in the kitchen. This problem was solved by simply re-attaching the plastic hose that had been dislodged by the appliance delivery guys. So...check this yourself before the refrigerator is moved into place. Other than that initial installation incident, we've had no problems at all...not even a burned out light.

However...a couple items to mention. My spouse does prefer a freeze below the refrigerator as we had in the previous house. I am tall, so I much prefer the side-by-side. The one design aspect with the Sub Zero we dislike (and this is likely true of all side-by-side 48" systems), is that extremely wide items (pizza boxes, HUGE turkeys) might not fit in the freezer. For example, Costco pizzas are in a box that is too big for the freezer.
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One of my close colleagues at work installed all-Thermador appliances (range top, ovens, refrigerator, MW, DW, and range hood) in his fully renovated kitchen last August ('07). The refrigerator was a nightmare. As noted previously, the door panels arrived separately and were heavily dented upon delivery. Many weeks later, the replacement (second) set arrived, but the installer severely scratched one of the panels while installing a handle (not Thermador's fault of course), necessitating a second re-order. The third time around, the panel took many more weeks to arrive but finally showed up and was installed without dents or scratches. The initial icemaker hardly made any ice and had to be replaced. It took my friend spending $7,500 on the refrigerator and about 6 months before he and his family finally had a working unit with no dents or scratches and an icemaker that functions (albeit with a lesser icemaking speed and capacity than the one in their old refrigerator). I've read about such delivery problems with Thermador panels in this forum, primarly dents in the stainless steel. Some have indicated it was a problem with improper packing or untrained delivery and installation people. Things have reportedly improved. However, we decided to go with a KitchenAid unit (model KSSO48QTX) with through-the-door ice cubes, crushed ice, and water. It is of course a simpler unit than those offered by Sub-Zero or Liebherr, but sometimes simplicity is a good choice.
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We have a 2002 KA 48" fridge/freezer and I will be happy to see it go with our kitchen remodel/gut next month. 48" might seem big, but it is still a side-by-side and I find both sides a bit too narrow. It has mostly worked well. In the 8 years we have owned it we have had 3 service calls due to the fridge side not being cold enough. The tech never seems to find anything wrong! We are going with Subzero this time, a 36" all fridge and 24" all freezer. No need to match appliance brands. Our current kitchen has KA, DCS, Thermador and Miele. Get the appliance that best meets your needs and budget.
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kristin42
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the info. I am still not sure. We go through 1 gallon of milk aday. Can you store the gallon jugs in the SZ door?
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mrtimewise
14 years ago
Can you store the gallon jugs in the SZ door?

Not on the 10 year old model 532.
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kev_800
14 years ago
We love our new BI-48. SZ isn't as pricey as some seem to make them out to be .... we compared it with the KA and Liebherr and it was not very far apart (without the door panels), add on top of that that most appliance dealers will give you a free dishwasher... it makes it generally only a few hundred dollars more, not thousands. Its a quality product, and its made in the USA which is nice if you live in North America and wish to encourage North American manufacturing. Their warranty is terrific too.

Liebherr and Thermador seem to be very well liked on this board.
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cesaly
14 years ago
Love our old 48" Subzero. Has been a pain getting to the coils for vacuuming, but the new models are better. To me, the Lieberr interior components seem a bit flimsy and the space less adaptable for shuffling stuff around.
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