Cautious Optimism - I do not like LG, but I like this Fridge
Pros:
Styling, lower freezer, french doors, energy efficiency, quiet operation
Cons:
Previous bad experience with LG, but this fridge has worked well for 13 months.
The Bottom Line:
A fridge should last 20 years. I have had this one for only 13 months. I recommend for now, but caution against buying LG appliances in general.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I own the LFC21760 french door, counter depth, stainless fridge with black sides and lower freezer compartment. The lower freezer compartment is basically a big tub that slides out with a shallow upper rack inside for holding a few things and the ice maker tub. There are no controls or water dispenser on the outside of this fridge.
So far I see 2 reviews. One from 2007 is positive and seems to be describing a similar fridge to that which I own. The second review from 2 years ago has had bad parts experience, but also seems to be describing features of the fridge inconsistent with my model.
My fridge has worked properly from the start (December 2006) and continues to work well today (13 months). I have had extremely bad experience with an LG dishwasher, but I am trying here to judge only the fridge and will not condemn all LG products based on my experience with their dishwasher.
We wanted a new fridge for styling, space saving, and primarily energy saving. There were very few counter-depth french door designs available in 2006 when we started looking. This one fit the bill, so we bought it despite reading mixed reviews of reliability on LG appliances generally.
We replaced a slightly larger volume, 23-year-old Amana top-freezer unit with this fridge. This one is 3x more energy efficient based on monitoring that I have done with an in-line energy meter. The numbers match what LG advertises for efficiency. This fridge is quiet. How quiet is a matter of opinion, but I am very satisfied with the noise level of the fridge. The ice maker is noisy at dump and fill, but that is only an occasional disturbance. The styling of this fridge is exactly what we wanted. The exterior stainless is OK with me. Honestly I don't care so much for the color, just the clean looks and good styling. The stainless seems adequate to me, but certainly nothing special compared to colored enamel, etc. It is black on the sides. We are extremely pleased with the counter-depth and slightly smaller interior volume. The french door design is wonderful for space saving and convenience. The lower freezer design is good. I find that the lower freezer tub design collects a bit of dirt, but this tends to be true of all freezers. On balance I would recommend the lower tub design over an upper freezer design. If you like side-by-side freezer (which I do not), then you will probably hate the lower freezer tub. The ice maker works well, but over-fills the ice tub. I have not figured out how to adjust it to make less ice. If you live in a hot climate and like lots of ice, then this will be good for you. The ice tub is easy to remove, dump, and replace, despite what initially would appear to be an awkward position in which it is mounted. Access to ice by kids is simple. The upper freezer shelf on which the ice tub resides is handy for storing frozen waffles, etc. It is a wire rack, so stuff will drip though it if melting. It will hold a couple of 1/2 gallon ice cream containers on the rack, but ice cream is meant to go down in the big tub portiion of the freezer (more sensible). A lower freezer unit should be more energy efficient.
The refrigerator compartment is compact and not to deep, minimizing the loss of mysterious stuff "near the back". The compartments on the door are appropriate to milk cartons, jelly jars etc. Note that the doors hold quite tight, so when you yank the doors open, things in the door compartments get rattled severely. Do not store unstable chemical isotopes, spare sticks of dynamite, or leaking containers of nitroglycerin in the door... The shelving inside the fridge is good by me. They are easy to adjust, easy to remove and fairly easy to clean. The shelving is solid. The plastic vegetable trays are nice and have funny little flip-up doors that work well. The construction of the doors and the tracks that they ride on is flimsy, so be cautious about pounding on them or you will end up with broken parts. I suspect that this is where the problem of broken parts comes in for the other reviewer who does not like the fridge. If you train your kids not to eat vegetables then they will stay away from the crisper drawers and you should not have any problems... There is a shallow, wide deli/cheese tray/door under the cripsers. This works well and we are happy for it. Everything is laid out flat, so it is easy to quickly survey the contents of the drawer. The main doors on the fridge fit tight. This is a requirement of the french door design. When they are left open a wicked alarm sounds. This can be irritating, but serves a useful purpose.
So far we have been happy with this fridge. The energy efficiency, quiet operation, and overall design suit our needs. It is now out of warranty and I do not have an extended warranty. Based on my experince with getting warranty service on the worst appliance that I have ever owned (LG dishwasher), I do not see a value in warranties at all. Particularly in the case of a fridge, I cannot be waiting for service. If this baby craps out, I am going to be running to the store to buy a second fridge. Perhaps I would buy a cheap temporary fridge that I could then keep in the garage, perhaps I would just buy a replacement - who knows. I am certain that I am not suited to sit and cool my heals waiting for someone else to come and fix my fridge. I repeat, I am saying yes to recommend this fridge, but I will never buy an LG appliance again for the rest of my life, based solely on my experience with my dishwasher. I suspect that more french door counter depth designs will be coming on the market in coming years, so I recommend surveying all possibilities before deciding on this one. I like this fridge, but I am not going to be a cheerleader for LG just because they have sold me a fridge that simply does what it is supposed to do.