Yes, I mentioned in my post that if I can't have a new, quiet fridge, I would settle for one that does not run constantly, and makes noise at a lower, more constant frequency. This doesn't mean, however, that quiet is subjective. Quiet is quiet -- but seemingly not possible in mew fridges. My mac on which I'm typing is quiet, for example, no compromises, no subjectivity. It is objectively quiet.

That said, my new quest is to find out if it is even possible to get a new fridge that doesn't run constantly. My old fridge, though loudish, would at least shut off for larger chunks of time. I haven't found any non-energy star fridge lists online. This means craigslist and used/older, I fear, unless someone replies with a new idea.

They do not make what you want in a consumer grade product. What is your space constraints and budget. Newer frigs either run 24/7 with a sound described above or louder for about 45 mins an hr. If you live in a home with an open floor plan and live in a house with no noise I can understand your frustration. I have a first generation Electrolux French door and it is very hard to hear unless I just left it open for a bit. Then the compressor ramps up and I know it's working........... I would have a service tech look at it and follow what they say. I wouldn't just return it and expect the next one to be better.

Thanks for your reply! I would be willing to shell out ~3500 for a quiet fridge, but I fear that's not nearly enough to solve the problem. Our home is very quiet; we don't have a TV and we both love to read and work without background noise.

It looks like we will probably have to go the used route. May I ask what model #/year your Electrolux is? I can keep an eye out for it on craigslist.

I know you said no Liebherr but I own two units and they are extremely quiet. You may want to visit a showroom that have them installed and see what you think. I have an all fridge and a 30" fridge freezer. I am very sensitive to noise. Currently sound proofing my home over the upcoming months. The Miele and Gaggenau are extremely quiet but these are built in fridges only that will require custom cabinets.
Good luck!

>It looks like we will probably have to go the used route. May I ask what model #/year your Electrolux is? I can keep an eye out for it on craigslist.

You have to realize that noise is subjective and varies both on the listener and the installation/kitchen. Just because he found it quiet doesn't mean you will. Just like your LG/Kenmore, undoubtedly there are many who find it very quiet. Also I would avoid past model Electrolux fridges as they had serious issues with icemakers/dispensers.

The vast majority of fridges the market today will sound fine to the vast majority of people. The small percentage of people who are sensitive to their sounds are going to find refrigerator shopping more difficult.

Spending more doesn't mean the sound will annoy you less. It actually increases the likelihood of you being annoyed. You want to be looking at basic top mount, bottom mount, and side by side refrigerators. The kind that never get talked about on this forum. Like around the $1000 price point, give or take. No french doors, no bells and whistles. Or, look on Craigslist for a basic used fridge of one of those types.

"The LIebherr is not an option -- far too many consumer complaints for such an expensive refer"
I'm not sure where you are getting your info. but there are many satisfied Liebherr owners on this forum, including me.
Had mine two years, and love it! No problems, and so darn quiet, sometimes I need to open the door and see if the light comes on... keeps produce fresh extremely long, and makes the neatest little hotel style clear ice cubes :) Chris

This post was edited by ctycdm on Tue, Jan 6, 15 at 19:23

Yeah as I may love my frig I would not recommend it from the generation I have. I got it for free and it's ice maker will never work correctly. I have to turn it on prior to company coming over as to not let it run 24/7. The price was right so I won't complain. I really don't think used or new you will have a guarantee that you will be happy. I don't blame you for being frustrated. as I have had a few customers in the past with the same concern as you. If addressed to me prior to purchase I will tell them I cannot guarantee that they will like it. And that about 1 in 10 of all models will inherit some wierd noises and will get louder over time. Good luck!!!

Lovesquiet
I also have an Elux and it is quiet to me. I will run a DB test on it.
I do have it boxed in so that might help as well.
The ice machine is audible - I hear it get ready to drop the ice anf fill the water - but we don't run the ice machine constantly.
Ours is about 4.5 years old with LED lighting and the perfect temp drawer.
I love ours.
We do not have ice through the door as with the FD - takes up too much real estate.
There have been a few lemons posted on the elux fridge but all appliances have lemons. My first Miele DE was a lemon but the second one has been fine.

another vote for Liebherr....
extremely quiet and no problems after 2 1/2 yrs...

agree with ctydym.. fresh produce, ice cubes, easy to clean, well made,
just be sure that u will have service in your area if u decide to buy this quiet frig...

Thank you all so much for your replies. Based on the enthusiastic descriptions, I'm going to go see a Liebherr at the local showroom. That's a good tip about making sure there is service for it in my area.

a2gemini -- If you do that test, will you please let me know? The frequency of the Kenmore Elite must be like what it is to suffer from tinnitus.

The ice machine, which is not a necessity for me as we filter our water, doesn't bother me. It's the high-frequency pulsing for 45 minutes of every hour.

By the way, if you Google "Liebherr refrigerators," you will find in the top hits a link to Consumer Affairs with 40+ rather serious complaints. This is why I had crossed it off my list initially.

If you google any appliance you will find serious complaints on that website. Last I checked that website all the major manufacturers were listed there and the highest rating was 2 stars.

Having said that, I still stand by my recommendation that you keep it simple with a basic $1000 fridge, or a used one. Easier to service, cheaper to service, longer lasting, more consistent noise. I am not convinced Liebherr or any high end brand will be a solution to your problem. It _might_ be, but that's an awful expensive gamble to take.

Will Sears take it back? Do you have that option?

I would send back my GE appliances if I could. But alas, it is not possible to return them......

Yes, fortunately I just bought it so they will take it back.

i have an LG bottom freezer and love it. I think it is very quiet -- so much quieter than my old one. I tend to hear more high pitch noises than average and my oldest son even more so. He has never said anything about the fridge.

On the other hand, my fridge drawers were noisy when they first arrived. I had a service call because they were supposed to be whisper quiet -- it appeared the fan at the back had been jiggled or bent in assembly or shipping and he found something that was a little loose and tightened that. Very quiet once adjusted. A high pitched noise could be a vibration from something that has shifted. If you are very sensitive to sound, you may need to go through a service call or two to make sure everything is adjusted just right. And I hope you can find a patient service tech who doesn't just tell you anything that works isn't broken and doesn't need any repair.

As long as you have a compressor and motor running, there will be some noise. My main fridge is a built-in and I never hear it during the normal day, but if the house is extremely quiet, I might hear something. Never distracting, but I couldn't tell you it is silent. I think it is probably as close as you can get -- but they come with price tags over $5000 -- more likely $7000. But I got my LG for about $700-800 after a good sale and energy rebate. I would not hesitate to put it in my open kitchen and family room for noise concerns.

If you have special concerns plus a greater than average sensitivity, you may have to put in a little more effort than plug and play. You may need a service call and you may have to search for a tech with good hearing and attention to detail as well as patience. You may have to fine tune whatever you get -- or just look for the special needle in a haystack .

Thanks. The problem is that the new high-efficiency compressors found in Kenmore Elite/LG/many other brands run longer and make the higher frequency sounds. It is actually stated in the _manual_ as normal noise from the fridge, so there is no point for me to call a service tech. It sounds like a service truck in the distance backing up, beep, beep, beep. You are fortunate this doesn't bother you. I suspect many people have much higher ambient levels of noise than we do -- TVs running, children, etc. My previous fridge, an older Whirlpool, made lots of noise as well, just not the high-frequency tinnitus kind.

Actually, the house is busy right now, but I have two sons who are about to head off to college and a DH who is at work during the week. It can be very quiet and I am one of those who hears the silent alarms whining in certain places. DS too -- and he's a musician who comments on EVERY sound. Mine is a few years old, and perhaps that makes a difference. I can hear the trucks backing up blocks away and I would not be able to tolerate that -- can't believe that is what they want anyone to accept as normal.

I purchased a FisherPaykel single door, bottom freezer about 8-9 months ago. I am amazed at how quiet this fridge is. There are times I actually go over to it to make sure it's still running! Every so often I do hear a soft short hum but that's about it. The slight noise that comes from it is not annoying what so ever. I live in a condo with open kitchen to dining room and living room and it's extremely quiet. I can read a book with the TV off and hardly hear it when it does make the short humming sound. Certain noises will absolutely drive me crazy but this fridge isn't one of them. So far I am very happy with my fridge.

They good old stand by model I would recommend is the whirlpool no frills WRF535SMBM. Solid unit not quiet. Not obnoxiously sounding. It has a AC compressor. So it's either on or off. It doesn't ramp up and down. It doesn't run 24/7. It just works. It does run often though. I would suggest a product with a whirlpool compressor personally.

Thanks again, everyone! I will add FP to my list. And the WP.

lascatx, I wonder if this high-frequency issue is very recent; must be.

Variable speed compressors have been used in fridges for a while now. It's not a function of being recent or not, it's model specific. If you want to figure out whether a model has a variable speed compressor before buying, look at the parts list. If it has an inverter board, then it's variable speed. Keeping it simple as I've said already will increase the likelihood of a single speed compressor.

So far I haven't been able to get a DB reading due the furnace running at a higher noise level than the fridge. It was -4 this morning as I came back from running.

I'm sure that if you try to measure the show of the frig it will help asses how it sounds in your house. Every room has different accoustics. My guess if I were to take a shot in the dark a quiet frig would be about 38 db and a loud one would be 44 db. That is a complete guess. But if the that would be a factor of 4 for the difference in the db rating. just a guess.

I too am very sensitive to noise. When we first built our house into thousand and five we had our refrigerators compressor condenser fan and condenser moved into our crawlspace. Then we insulated the cabinet that the refrigerator sat in to further reduce noise. We got a pretty quiet fridge for that. Well two years ago that fridge developed a refrigerant leak and since then I too have been looking for a quiet fridge. The first one we got wasand Electrolux and the noise it made was not only awful but it the fridge barely turned off. We returned that one to Sears. Then I bought a KitchenAid and it to although noisy was not as bad as the Electrolux. Plus it turned off regularly. Then when I was at a friends house I notice she had a very quiet fridge and it was a Kenmore elite made by Electrolux. They were in the market for a new fridge so I bought there's off of them. It is pretty quiet for sure but it does run all the time which bothers me but I realize that is my issue. We are going to go ahead and keep the KitchenAid and have the parts moved into the crawlspace again and I hope that this bridge turns out to be as quiet as my first one which by the way was also a KitchenAid. If you have an ability to have the compressor moved i.e. you have a crawlspace or it backs onto your garage then it is a good option for noise control. Otherwise I second another posters opinion in that you buy an inexpensive fridge because the more simple it is the less likely it is to make weird noises. Good luck in your search and let us know what you find.

I have a french-door cabinet depth Kitchenaid and find it to be extremely quiet. I just walked up to it and put my ear right next to it and couldn't hear anything. The only time I can hear it is when the icemaker kicks on, or if I have been holding the door open too long and the compressor kicks on. After owning a 30 year old workhorse that constantly buzzed, this is a nice surprise.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchenaid 22 Cu Ft. Counter-Depth

Lovesquiet - please post what you decide to go with. Im currently trying to find a quiet refrigerator for our 1000 sq ft open floor plan cabin in the middle of no where. Our contractor informed me that the Sub-Zeros are too loud for such a quite place. Good luck.

I've had a Kenmore Elite French Door, water through the door, bottom freezer for ten years. Perhaps it was the year it was made, but it's a fantastic fridge. Can't hear it running, even with my ear against the door. No vibrations. Quiet, except when the ice cubes drop into the empty holding bin!

Sorry that you've not had the same good experience.

PS. Perhaps I shouldn't sell mine with the house! :-)

Kenmore doesn't make anything. It is just a label Sears slaps on rebranded products. Your 10 year old Kenmore Elite was probably made by a different manufacturer than the OP's.

We have a new Kenmore Elite. I hate the noise it makes. And the ice cubes melt in the ice maker and won't come out the dispenser (which is in the door), even on the non-Eco mode. Wish we had kept our 1980s fridge, even if it was technically noisier.

I suspect that this is a matter of manufacturers doing whatever they need to do to make a price point. I have a SubZero 632 that (Gary asserts) uses single-speed compressors that are very quiet. I only notice the unit when I am near it late at night when the entire town has quieted down. Conversely, the Perlick Signature models have variable speed compressors, and they are also difficult to notice, at least with a PC operating in the same room.

As was noted above, remoting the refrigeration mechanisms can be a successful ploy, but in such a configuration one is saving at the manufacturing level and spending at the local level.

Bottom line: Imposed efficiency has its costs, not all of which are measured in currency units.

kas

lovesquiet, Were you able to find something that met your requirements?

Help. My new refrigerator is driving me mad. I bought it almost two weeks ago, a Kenmore 19 cubic ft bottom freezer no ice maker. It runs almost constantly -- it sounds like clothes with zippers going round and round in a dryer. Very obtrusive in our open plan 1200 ft apartment. Is this normal?! I'm not sure what to do. Return it to Sears? Maybe there's nothing better out there. This is the first refrigerator I have bought for 15 years. Is this a modern "improvement" I'm simply stuck with? I'd appreciate any advice.

thanks

redqueen

Can you record the sound and post?

I ended up getting a Liebherr CS1200. It is super quiet 99% of the time. 1% of the time it is noisy, but not too bad...it makes a loud noise and then within seconds calms down and within 10's of seconds goes quiet.

I wonder if this high-frequency issue is very recent; must be.

If you're hearing a sound like a truck backing up, I'm wondering if it is a problem with something that jarred loose. I say that because I just went into my kitchen to listen to my Samsung fridge. It's a FD five year old model and all I heard is a very low hum. But more on the bass side and barely audible. If I was in my living room (I'm in an open kitchen/living/dining) I wouldn't hear it. What I do hear occasionally is when the ice machine drops the cubes.

I've been through 4 fridges in the past 2 years. They've all made this high frequency tinnitus sound that carries through the house. I've experimented with sound treatment/baffling/re-directing the way the sound bounces around. My current side by side is a Samsung. It was fine for just over a year and now, right on time (1 year warranty) it's begun to make this noise like the others. They sent a tech out who said it was the compressor and that he couldn't replace it. The sound that these newer fridges make really seems to get into my ear in a way that is pretty hard to ignore. Thanks to this board I'm now aware of variable speed compressors and will avoid them in my next fridge.

Finally, LOVESQUIET, what fridge did you get and what's happening with it?

Thanks very much.

Holy Cow! I just had a new KitchenAide fridge delivered today and within a few hours called Lowe's and told them to come and take it away. It's to replace a GE fridge that is 34 years old. The old fridge was QUIET. (leaked water, and the door shelf holders were duct taped on, and I had to get down on my knees to see what was in it......but it was QUIET!! This new one sounds like someone is drilling a hole into my eardrum!! Very small home with fridge in the one main room. Quiet country setting with no TV, and no other noise anywhere. Seriously? after checking out this forum......it sounds like there will be no new fridge for me that I can tolerate the noise from. I'm glad the old one is still in the garage. Perhaps I'll end up bringing it's ugly, rusty, almond colored, duct taped doors, QUIET fridge......back into my house and save the two grand for a bathroom remodel.

The Liebherr CS1200 is very quiet, but I doubt it will last anywhere close to 34 years. :( The official noise rating for the fridge is 43 dB(A).

Smeg also makes some retro fridges that are rated 41/42 dB(A).

My Fisher Paykel is now about 2 1/2 years old and still extremely quiet. So quiet that I actually do still catch myself checking it to make sure it is still running and I have ears like a bat! Doubt it will last anywhere near 30 something years but so far, so good.

I got a Whirlpool 33 inch wide bottom load freezer /fridge at my new build about 2 months ago. My GC plugged it in immediately, since it was horrendously hot and he wanted to keep some cool water available (and his diabetes meds safely chilled). I was up there earlier today and the item has now been moved to its permanent location.

It has been running for two months, and yes, I said, go run it.... even though it is not remotely containing enough items (and nothing at all in the freezer compartment) -- when I was there today it was so silent I had to open both doors to see that it was actually chilling and freezing in the respective compartments. I was at my build for about 2 hours and when it kicked "on" -- no apparent sounds!

(Oh, yes, now that it is properly situated, I'm bringing up a bunch of frozen goods next visit so it can do its thing energy-efficiently -- and so I can defrost and shut down my stand-alone freezer I have back here at my original home... )

Seems to me most refrigerators are noisy these days, but also open floor plans make them seem more noisy.

Two options to consider:

1. Box in the refrigerator space, using sound deadening materials. Plan carefully.

2. Physically move the refrigerator to a different place altogether, e.g. a closed room, garage, basement or even outside. (Please, not the front porch).

Theoretically, I always thought it would be a good idea to build a special addition to a house (facing north) just for the refrigerator, leaving the noisy motor outside the house, and of course the coils venting heat to the outside rather than inside of the house.

My GE Arctica SxS is *very* quiet but it's 12 years old so that not may not reflect on current models.

Has anyone found a quiet-enough-for-you new fridge in the past couple of months in the $1000 or less price range?