maxg Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 No - I am not talking about cryogenics - I am talking about your common or garden kichen refridgerators. A couple of years ago our old unit packed up and we went off to buy a new one. I had a GE in mind but the salesman assured me that those are now passe and the new name in fridges is Amana(?) Anyway we bought it at huge expense and it is, I freely admit a damn good fridge, but: This is the noisiest goddammed SOB I have ever come across. Each time the motor kicks in I am waiting for a screeching of tires or something. When listening to music I have to close the door to the kitchen to keep the bugger out. Thing is, we just bought a fridge for our holiday home - an LG (Korean I think). Not all that different in size - but way cheaper than the Amana (like a third of the price). As this will be used for all of 4 to 5 weeks a year I wasn't all that worried about the quality. The kicker is, however, that this fridge is so quiet we keep getting up to check its still working - and this is on the island with the lowest noise floor in Christendom. and before Fini asks - yes - it does refrigerate fine. Anyone else with noisy or quiet units? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 After living for years with an impossibly noisy GE that could be heard all over the main floor, I finally decided to get a new fridge just to get away from it. At the time, I was told that Maytags were the quietest and Whirlpools were next, and the appliance store salesman could actually turn them on and demonstrate it. I could only fit a Whirlpool in my space, so that's what I have. It is still noiser than I'd like but can hardly be heard outside the kitchen. Yes, there were big differences in fridge noise levels. Guess it's still true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 The LG use a linear compressor, which is inherently quieter, supposedly. The current Amana and Maytag are functionally identical; both come from the Daewoo plant in S. Korea. Nice looking, but cheesy. The Amana and Maytag side by sides are made in the Amana, Iowa plant built in 97. Good stuff, but the more basic units do tend to be noisy, as are many of the new refrigerators regardless of brand. GE is garbage in general. I stick to Whirlpool, other than their Mexican made product. LG is making quite an effort towards establishing themselves as a major player in the US market, but they'll need more than Sears and Best Buy to do so. Independents are so far avoiding them for the most part. LG did get the bottom-freezer contract from Sears, but Whirlpool is looking to use their leverage with Kenmore laundry business to regain that action once the deal to acquire Maytag closes. Two more days, and I have no reason to know this, either.... Max, if it is in an enclosed area, you could Sonex the area. If it is under warranty, you should call for service. Something may be wrong (though probably not), and the tech may have some tricks up his sleeve to quiet it down if it is in fact operating properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 My fridge is a 1950's era Philco. As quiet as a ghost and VERY cool looking. I do have to defrost it every 6 weeks or so, but that chore is only about 20 minutes. Woo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Songer Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I have a Sub-Zero. Nice thing about them is that you CAN if you CHOOSE to mount the compressors in a remote location. My Fridge is three rooms away from the hi-fi and it's pretty quiet anyway . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 10 years ago, we took a trip to England, and at Harrod's, we saw these Bosch refers, in a rainbow of colors. I thought they were totally cool looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 ---------------- On 8/25/2005 9:55:04 AM Woodog wrote: My fridge is a 1950's era Philco. As quiet as a ghost and VERY cool looking. I do have to defrost it every 6 weeks or so, but that chore is only about 20 minutes. Woo---------------- Does the electric company send you a christmas card every year? Those Sub-Zeros are the shizzle. Really, a commercial design. I believe they have a 20 yr compressor warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Whirlpool, whisper quiet except for the durn ice maker. Never had one hooked up until this house, and the kit is right behind my listening position. Scared me to death first time it dropped those cubes and took on more water. Anymore, I just adjust the 'bin full' lever before any serious listening sessions or movies. Since I quit the booze, I use far less ice anyway. Amazing how that works out. My beef is home HVAC motors, My A/C is in garage, adjacent to HT, and it is very noise, I did purposely buy a house with radient heat, and you never hear the boiler click on. So through the winter this house is almost as quiet as the country living I previously enjoyed. Max, that island sounds fantastic, no motorized vehicles sure helps with the noise floor. This Earth is getting to be a noisy place, I know what you're talking about! Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodog Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 ---------------- On 8/25/2005 10:50:21 AM ben. wrote: ---------------- On 8/25/2005 9:55:04 AM Woodog wrote: My fridge is a 1950's era Philco. As quiet as a ghost and VERY cool looking. I do have to defrost it every 6 weeks or so, but that chore is only about 20 minutes. Woo---------------- Does the electric company send you a christmas card every year? Those Sub-Zeros are the shizzle. Really, a commercial design. I believe they have a 20 yr compressor warranty. ---------------- Ben, Very inefficient, I know. I wish I could acquire one of those Bosche models Fini posted. I will be replacing the 'cool' fridge within the next few months, however. I just don't know with what. I don't need a big capacity, and it is difficult to find smaller, ultra efficient models. Woo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I run an Amana in a tight enclosure that covers all but the doors. It runs pretty quiet this way. The worst is when a load of groceries are tossed in (15 Y/O male) and something, somewhere is in close enough proximity to something else that it vibrates and rattles when the compressor runs. Finding out what's CLICKING is like cricket hunting in the forest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Mine has a hum which, for some reason sounds just like it's coming out of the left speaker. It drove me nuts the first time it happened. I was switching cables, moving components and all the usual things until I got disgusted and turned the whole thing off only to find out the hum, like Banquo's ghost, just wouldn't go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 ---------------- On 8/25/2005 11:35:28 AM Woodog wrote: Ben, Very inefficient, I know. I wish I could acquire one of those Bosche models Fini posted. I will be replacing the 'cool' fridge within the next few months, however. I just don't know with what. I don't need a big capacity, and it is difficult to find smaller, ultra efficient models. Woo ---------------- They're all pretty efficient now. $40-50/yr at the national average rates. Energy Star units do about 10% better. There are some contour-door units out that look nice. Expect to pay about $800-900 for this 19 cu ft unit in a color (more for stainless). The 22 is a better value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 ---------------- On 8/25/2005 12:08:36 PM CaptnBob wrote: Mine has a hum which, for some reason sounds just like it's coming out of the left speaker. It drove me nuts the first time it happened. I was switching cables, moving components and all the usual things until I got disgusted and turned the whole thing off only to find out the hum, like Banquo's ghost, just wouldn't go away. ---------------- Bob, What speakers? One of my K-horns, on the other side of a wall from the electric service panel, has a faint hum and very slight buzz, not only when everything is off but even when the speaker wire is disconnected. In that case, it's the proximity of an AC field to the crossovers, magnified by the horns' efficiency. Some comes from the upper drivers, most from the bass horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnBob Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 It's some kind of odd building resonance - it's still there even when the speaker isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I've found over the years that appliances are somewhat like speakers. Their audio performance depends greatly on the room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franczyk Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Consumer Reports rates the noise from refrigerators. Here is a summary of fridges with the best rating: Bottom Freezers: LG LRFC25750 $1650 Fisher and Paykel E522B $1050 Side by Sides: Kenmore (Sears) 5653<2> CR Best Buy 5/5 $1200 GE Profile Arctica PSH23PGR $1200 LG LRSC26960 $2050 KitchenAid Superba KSCS25IN $2400 Samsung Select Series RS2630 $950 KitchenAid KSSC42QM $5815 GE Monogram ZISS420DR $6500 None of the top freezer models got their top rating for low noise... But there were several nearly as high rated models: Whirlpool ET8FTEXM $540 Kenmore (Sears) 7425<2> $700 GE Profile PTS22LHR $1020 Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Don't believe too much of what you find in CR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franczyk Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I disagree. The few times I have followed CR's advice, they have been shockingly dead on. I picked my vacuum cleaner and car by them. The vacuum cleaner is a Eureka Boss. It is clearly better than any vacuum cleaner Ive ever used. Period. The car is a Lexus GS300. I bought it because of the repair history . I've got 82k miles on it now and nothing has broken on it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben. Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 That's great, but I've seen numerous blatant factual errors, as well as evidence of bias favoring GE and Sears Kenmore appliances. The rag is of some use, but I'd strongly caution against blind faith in their findings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 We have two GE Monogram built in refrigerators (a 42" and a 48") and they are very quiet. The funny thing is that they are not very deep and I prefered my old GE fridge that was deeper (and much much cheaper). We also have a GE dishwasher that is almost silent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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