Can't help with the fan shroud issue beyond suggesting that, if you have not already done so, maybe you try a complete manual defrost. Might have some hidden ice build up back by the fan that increases a bit, causes the noise, and chips away "just enough" when you bang the shroud. Taking everything out of fridge and freezer and shutting down for day might be needed to get rid of all of it. Going back a couple of posts, if you see the word "digital" anywhere in the specs or list of features for the fridge, it is a good bet that it has electronic controls. What we're talking about is touchpads (up and down arrows next to internal LED displays) for selecting either an arbitrary chill setting or, in the fancier models, directly setting the temperature. A mechanical control will be either a rotary knob or a mechanical slider lever. That said, a mechanical control is probably linked to some simple digital electronics that run the compressor and automatically operate the "frost-free" functions on every refrigerator you can buy these days. The only exception I can recall would be the fridges made by Sunfrost which I stumbled across when I was fridge shopping. (You can check out www.sunfrost.com for some interesting reading -- but 'twill be merely entertaining for you since, IIRC, Sunfrosts have 35-inch wide cabinets and need an addtional 3 or 4 inches to the side for door swing clearance, so completely out of consideration for your kitchen even if they weren't $3k to $4k in price.) Personally, I'm okay with the simple digital fridge controls. I've found them to be reasonably durable, easier to clean, and no more likely to fail than the mechanical ones. Also, even the simple ones have little dinging-bell alarms for fridge doors not fully closed (very handy if you have teenagers and/or lots of guests.) The digital stuff that gives me concern is unlikely to be found on top freezer fridges --- they're too "downmarket" for "smart" electronics with wireless internet connections that you can "manage" via a smart phone or computer, or that have electronically controlled and metered through-the door ice and water dispensers, etc. You've probably already figured this out, but for those who do not know, there is a website called appliance411.com that has a page explaining how to use the 3-digit presfix to Kenmore model numbers to identify the contractor who made the appliance. Unfortunately, last time I looked, Sears "sales" web site listed model numbers without the three-digit prefix that is the manufacturer code. You pretty much need to see the plate on the actual appliance in order to get the full product number. Maybe it is different now? I think the current Kenmore top-freezers are made by LG which, if correct, means the larger capacity ones will be 32.75" wide. Other non-digital features to consider for a new fridge are humidty controls for the crisper drawers and a vent/temp control for the deli-meat-cheese drawer. These are simple mechanical sliders. Had them on my previous fridge, a vintage 1998 Maytag top freezer. I found that they worked well for things like prolonging the shelf-life of greens and such. The folks who received that fridge from me likewise find them useful. I agree with what Hvtech said about CR's appliance ratings being much less helpful than they used to be. I've posted several lengthy rants about how uniformative the graphic "button" charts are. Suffice it to say that I've also noted that CR sometimes buries nuggets of useful information in the pages for individual models. "Useful information" meaning things like statements about their tests of crisper performance. When you delve into the page for a model you may see statements like "very good crisper performance" for a fridge to which CR otherwise gave middling ("good") ratings while some of their higher rated models reportedly have "poor crisper performance." Plus, there is no way to know how significant or insignificant the differences are between the performances that they give a button designating "excellent," "very good," "good," "below average" and "poor." About the only other clearly helpful set of details that CR regularly puts in its testing reports are the measurements of actual usable interior capacity of specific models. I find the membership surveys somewhat helpful in finding things to avoid -- for instance, you want to avoid GE and LG top-freezer fridges with ice-makers. One in five will have a major failure during the first five years of ownership. That's almost double the defect rate for non-icemaker models. No use for that advice here since mabookreader has already decided to avoid icemakers. Also, CR's surveys can be helpful to let you know -- as in this instance -- there is not much difference between the repair rates for the various brands. That's helpful because it tells you that reliability does not seem to be a big factor in choosing a top-freezer model. When I was fridge shopping three years ago, I did find one site which used tests similar to CR's for evaluating fridges AND which published the test data in the report. (No reducing everything to four or five dumb graphic buttons.) The site is www.refrigeratorinfo.com. Unlike its sibling reviewed.com sites, which frequently seem to be little more than inflight-magazine gush, there is actual performance testing with reported details. Want to know how much temperature variance there is between top and bottom shelves? Refrigerator.info actually tells you what temps were measured and where so you can see if the variances are significant or unimportant. Be warned, though: the number of tested models is very limited (you find lots of models listed but for most of them, they only give specs and advertising without any testing). There is constant, intrusive pop-up advertising. If memory serves, their favorite tested top-freezer was a 20.5 cut. ft. Frigidaire with an internal icemaker. An additional thought on icemakers: if you choose a fridge that comes with an icemaker, they (usually) can be removed easily. Note the qualification for "usually." Good idea to download a pdf of the owner's manual and check that out before buying one. Taking them out can free up as much as a cubic foot of space in the freezer and substantially diminshes reliability worries. One final thought: when you've narrowed your choices, there is real benefit to going to a few stores with floor models to check out. See what you think of the door bins. How sturdy or flimsy are the crisper drawers and how well do they slide (or roll) in and out. Have look at how large or small they are. I say this because, three years ago, I saw more than one fridge that sounded good on paper but, in person, turned out to have flimsy components with inconvenient bins and shelves.

I have LG LFXS30766S which has dual evaporators. Not sure about dual compressors. I am pleasantly shocked at how fresh everything remains for so long. Whether that's true for all makes and models I don't know. I had a hard time choosing a refrigerator because it seemed that all brands had so many problems, including LG. When I opened the doors on this I immediately fell in love with the great interior space and promptly purchased without even researching. I've been using it for 6 months. Runs whisper quiet and no problems at all so far. I don't think the look of handles would have driven a purchase by me, although some (in my opinion) ugly ones were passed by without a further look.

Hope this reply isn't too late. I've had the GE 23 cf French door fridge for all of 6 weeks GE PWE23KSSS I'm surprised how much I like it. Background story: My old fridge was a 14-year-old GE Profile side by side, a huge 29 cf behemoth that held a ton of food for a family with 3 teenage boys. I had no trouble fitting anything in, & I liked that I could stock up during our snowy winters for fewer grocery runs. It had a through-the-door water & crushed ice dispenser that we loved. It had a handy mini-door for grabbing milk & juice without exposing the whole interior to warm air. The ice dispenser died after a few repairs; it lasted only 3 years. The water stopped dispensing last spring, but the ice maker still worked so we kept the water connected. Then the interior water line cracked, flooding our basement, so time for the beloved behemoth to retire. Unfortunately, large fridges these days are made with box depths of 29 inches or larger. They won't get through our 29 inch interior doorways. So I was stuck with getting a counter depth. Sorry for the long background, but I was just trying to explain how I was all set to NOT like the new, smaller counter depth fridge with the "awkward" interior water dispenser & no crushed ice, no handy mini door, & no bells & whistles like flex drawers or self-closing doors. But I love it! The doors have flexible, deep shelving, adjustable to however you need to space them. The door shelves can hold two gallons of milk and two narrow gallons of juice. The door shelves hold lots of condiments, jams, etc., & that frees up the regular shelves for food storage. That to me was the big surprise. The storage is so efficiently designed that I'm not missing the old 29 cf fridge. I like the drop down door shelf for extra storage; goes up if I don't need it. The collapsing shelf is nice in theory for making room for tall items, but I haven't needed it because the door shelves are capacious enough. So far, stacking foods in plastic containers to maximize space stores everything really well. The interor is so accessible, well lighted, & stays at an even temperature despite opening up the French doors. This fridge is much easier to keep clean too. The produce bins could be larger, imo, but they do hold a large head of lettuce & long celery stalks. The deli drawer keeps cheese & deli meats fresh; I've used the colder drawer settings for temporarily holding thawed ground beef that I wouldn't get to for a day or two. We like the ice maker very much. Makes enough, easy access, doesn't hog space. No crushed ice, just cubes. The freezer holds way more than I thought it would. Fits a huge frozen turkey & more. We eat a lot of frozen fruits & veggies, & so far, plenty of room to stock a big supply. The tilting storage cubby inside the freezer drawer is great for butter or small items. I thought having freezer items piled on top of each other would be a pain, but it's easy to access things. The top freezer drawer helps a lot with organization. The interior water dispenser -- I thought it would be a hassle to use, but I really like it. If you grip a cup with thumb & 2nd/3rd/4th fingers, that frees your index finger to push the button. So one handed operation, easy to do. Some have complained about dripping, but mine doesn't drip. The water is chilled & very fresh tasting. The filter is easy to access, unlike my old fridge. Finally, the new fridge is very quiet. I didn't realize how noisy the old fridge was until we got this new one. Stainless isn't really stainless, but a damp microfiber cloth deals with fingerprints just fine. Thanks for your patience with this long wordy review. I am so pleased with this refrigerator when I was expecting hassle & inconvenience, that I just had to tell.

Sadly, these days, most refrigerators now have lives of 7-10 years. It's not like fridges of even 15-20 years ago, that would last 20 years. It would be quite unrealistic of you to expect to buy a fridge to last for the rest of your lives ("we do not plan ever on moving"), or even for 20 years. Most people say that Subzero has the best record in this regard, of longevity. So if your primary objective is a longevity, I'd spend the money on Subzero, and for a 48" size, it will cost as much as some cars. Only you can decide if you want to spend that, or if that same amount would buy you a less expensive fridge now, and easily another fridge after 10 years or so when the first one breaks. If you do want to keep a fridge for decades, I would not panel it (you didn't mention, but you did say "built-in"). The panelling will date before the fridge lives its full life. Just get a stainless steel door in that case.