Someone asked the OP about the dimensions of the current fridge. I’ll add a cautionary tale to anyone looking to buy a new one … our kitchen has sort of a nook where the fridge goes. It’s not part of a wall of cabinetry, it’s just the side wall of the kitchen, then the fridge, then the pantry. So when we replaced the fridge a few years ago, we measured the width of the nook. But … we didn’t measure the DEPTH of the nook … the new fridge was much deeper than the old fridge and we could only open the fridge door about 3/4 of the way due to the (permanently installed) island!! Luckily, DH and my dad were able to move the island a couple of inches (which involved about six hours of work, cutting the laminate flooring in the kitchen, moving the island, and then reinstalling the cut piece of laminate on the other side of the island), all while making sure the island wasn’t then too close to the stove and we could still open the stove door!!
This is a built in, flush with the cabinets. I don’t want to have to try and match cabinet panels to fit any ‘holes’ left if the refrigerator is a different size and I don’t want it sticking out.
“Is this a trend now, to not get the ice maker on the door? I looked at new fridges today and am debating about the door ice maker, as well as side by side vs French doors.”
I don’t know if it’s a trend or not - but I opted not to get door ice maker when I bought my refrigerator 11 years ago - because the ice always splatters onto the floor and I didn’t want anything to interrupt the sleek look.
I have a SubZero in my kitchen and at our vacation home. One is 15 years old and the other is 20 years old–both are still going strong. The older SubZ has had one problem that was easily repaired. The newer one has had no repairs. I do have an appliance person come in to do maintenance, some of which I figured out I could do myself (using a brush to clean underneath). I would buy another SubZ.
We replaced our >25yo SubZero four years ago (don’t remember what went wrong, but it was pricy) with the newer version of the same configuration. Reused the existing panels with the retrofit kit. I’m very happy with the look. We do not have the ice maker/water on the door. It took up too much freezer space, which was already at a premium given the shallower cabinet depth (we have a side-by-side model).
There are improvements in the newer model … better air & water filtering along with easier access to dust (vacuum) the condensers come to mind. One thing that annoys me is that now clearing the condensation drain line “requires” a service call. Was able to find a video of how to do it since we’re out of warranty, but it’s harder to do than with the older model.
Do you suppose there’s a market for old SZs? Dh repaired the ice maker/dispenser on our 10 yr. old SubZero this year, but otherwise it hasn’t had any problems. I’d love to do a kitchen remodel since it appears we won’t be moving any time soon, although I dread the upheaval, and I don’t want to keep our SZ. The Wolf dual fuel range will go, too.
I’ve been far happier with our Whirlpool refrigerator in the basement than with the SZ. I’d be happy with any mid-price brand as long as it’s counter depth.
its relatively easy to repair the condensation line on newer SZ’'s, IF you are the handy type.
in fact, we watched the repair man fix ours last year and we did the same repair on it this year when it started acting up again. took about 1 hr of time.
its important to vacuum the condensers regularly- clogged air vents can cause problems.
