Shopping for a counter refrigerator used
to be about shopping for features at a competitive price.
As you're probably becoming aware a global supply chain for refrigerators is
not flexible enough during an ongoing pandemic causing product shortages.
So in this video, you'll learn about the best counter-depth
refrigerators that are actually available in various sizes, like 28-inch,
33-inch and 36-inch widths and that you can actually buy
now. You'll also see reliability based on real service numbers.
You may not see technology like in years
past with tablets and Internet portals and coffee systems on your refrigerator,
but the focus will also be on availability as well as features.
So you won't have to wait four months for your refrigerator.
Let's start with the most popular 36-inch sizes, and then we'll look
at the smaller 33 and 28-inch sizes.
The Bosch 800 series
36-inch counter-depth refrigerator is $3,109.
The Bosch counter-depth refrigerator is brand new and built by Bosch,
rather than being outsourced like in years
past. Bosch is the only freestanding count-depth
with two compressors. One each for the refrigerator in the freezer.
The warmer, moister rear of the refrigerator doesn't
blend with the drier colder air of the freezer.
Sub-Zero pioneered the twin compressor years ago.
Standard and all the refrigerator freezer combinations.
Beko, Samsung and GE, as you'll see,
will have to evaporators to keep the air separate, two compressors
maintain temperature as well
a bit better.
Bosch also has metal in the back of the refrigerator.
Metal absorbs cold better than plastic because you want to place your milk
and juices towards the back to retain the coldest temperature.
Bosch also features ethylene filters.
Spoiling foods meant ethylene gas.
This gas can cross contaminate to other foods, spoiling them as well.
Bosch is Wi-Fi equipped so you control
the temperature of your refrigerator through an app your phone.
This refrigerator is also offered a different handle
styles as well. GE Profiles 36-inch unit is $2,549 or
$2,879 with a dispenser.
GE Profile is another available French door counter-depth with two evaporators
in the choice of a dispenser on your door. Like Bosch Wi-fi gives you the ability
to control the temperature from an app on your phone.
However, GE's best feature size it's
23 cubic foot as opposed to 21 cubic foot for Bosh,
20 for KitchenAid and19.86 for the Beko.
First on list is $2,299
for the more basic three door with the four door being $2,699.
Because Turkish company is popular in Europe and sold 140 countries.
They manufacture products in the US
for Viking, Bluestar and their Blomburg brand as well.
They make some unique claims for keeping food fresher longer to stay the least.
The crispness have blue light, mimicking sunlight to keep food fresher longer.
Now sunlight does render blue and the Kelvin scale so tricks the plants
into continued photosynthesis so fruit and vegetables stay fresher longer there
ever fresh crispers are gasketed to keep air and moisture out.
If you look at the crisper itself, you see the four holes.
So there's a direct air flow from the compressor. The air flow evaporates
the moisture and gas is released,
preventing premature spoilage. Beko has two evaporators like GE.
So the refrigerator's warmer air doesn't blend with the drier
colder air of your freezer.
They also have a unique feature called the IonGuard.
It's an ion generator.
It sends out negative ions to counteract
positive ions of odors for a fresher smelling fridge.
So you're pudding shouldn't taste like your fresh fish or salmon.
Imagine you're as skeptical as I was.
However, we tested against Sub-Zero
Thermador, Bosch and Samsung for four weeks as an experiment.
Beko was the best of the Free-standing refrigerators, second only to Sub-Zero.
Beko does have an issue, at 19.86
cubic foot is one of the smaller counter-depths.
You should also check for service in your area.
The KitchenAid 300 series, 36-inch refrigerator.
It goes for twenty three. Ninety nine.
KitchenAid is one of the least expensive counter-depth refrigerator and can be packaged affordably
with decent rebates with stoves, microwaves, dishwashers.
It does have an icemaker and an
internal water dispenser. Their
ethylene filter neutralizes the gas
of spoiling food to keep food fresher as well.
KitchenAid's temperature system is different.
It's based on sensors in the refrigerator freezer rather than two evaporators
like many other brands. The reliability is better than average
in parts and technical support from its parent
whirlpool is excellent.
Again, we handle service, so it may be different in your area.
The 36-inch Samsung is $3,149.
Hard to believe that this Samsung is
the only one on this list for a 36-inch counter-depth refrigerator. Availability
is that big a problem.
It does have many of the same features outlined in previous brands, Wi-Fi and twin
cooling with two evaporators like Beko and GE.
However, it does add a few new ones as well.
The Showcase is a door within a door
so you can easily access your milk, juice and condiments on the door.
The flex door is a refrigerator/freezer
based on your preference.
It's a well conceived refrigerator and highly innovative.
Like many Samsung products,
however, you have to be especially careful about service with Samsung.
Although I am a fan of their products, the service is poor in many areas.
Check for available service in your area before you buy any Samsung products.
Fisher & Paykel's counter-depth panel-ready refrigerator goes for $3,999.
Fisher & Paykel is the only refrigerator on this list and the only freestanding
refrigerator that looks good except the panels.
It's also $6,000 dollars less than a Sub-Zero and
another panel ready refrigerators. By the way
yes, I know JennAir has a cabinet panel
option and a free standing, but you see the black door frame
detraction from the look, isn't integrated in the door will protrude.
I want to talk about reliability before we look at the smaller sizes.
90 percent of the counter-depths sold are 36-inch.
So it seems like a good time in the video to discuss it. We calculate our
reliability based on how many counter-depths were sold, compared to how many counter-depths
were serviced by a brand for one year period.
With 33 techs in the field,
we logged 37,061 service calls from December 2019
to November 2020, the top five or GE at 12.1 percent.
That does not include Café or Profile.
Bosch, surprisingly, with all that tech is second at 16.9 percent
service in the first year. Fisher & Paykel was third 17.3 percent.
Beko was fourth at 18.6 percent and Samsung's fifth at 20.9, with KitchenAid close behind at 21.6 percent.
At 21.1% service rate, you'll likely need service within five
years, even if the issues mostly ice maker related.
So inquire about service before you buy your next new counter-depth refrigerator.
For33-inch refrigerators, you have two possibilities,
Samsung goes for $1,399. This refrigerator was the single most
counter-depth sold on promotion at $999 to to $1,099.
Now it's $1,299 - $1,499.
Most manufacturers have stopped promoting due to scarcity.
It's still popular because it has good
features like twin evaporators and an internal icemaker. Competition is also scarce for
33-inch wide refrigerator. GE is
the only other one I would consider with a 33-inch wide available.
GE 's 33-inch counter-depth is $1,709.
Like Samsung GE has an internal ice maker and water. GE Does not have to evaporators just like
Samsung and is $300-$400 more expensive.
However, GE's far more reliable twelve versus twenty percent service in the first
year, with a much better service organization when there is an issue.
Beko's 28-inch counter-depth is $899,
the features are pretty robust for a less expensive top mount refrigerator.
It has almost all of the features of the better units, twin cooling active
blue light technology and the ever fresh crispers.
This unit solves problems
especially in tighter spaces, as it's designed to fit within a 28-inch space.
By the way, that icemaker can produce over six pounds of ice in only 24 hours.
Last time we made this video was very different.
You learned more about other brands and could choose from different feature sets.
Now it's about buying a refrigerator without living out of a cooler for 10 to 12 weeks.
That may not be a current coffee
system on your dispenser or interactor tablets in a refrigerator,
but you do have some brands with the ability to keep food fresh.
Samsung, Bosch, GE and Beko are all worthwhile depending on what you're considering.
But be careful. With services averaging 21 percent
just in the first year, you should look for a brand with capable repair services.
Click the link at the end of the video to download a free counter-depth refrigerator
buying guide with in-depth comparisons of all the most popular brands,
answers to our most frequently asked questions and more in depth about
reliability rankings based on our own service calls.
Thanks for watching.