When it Rains - it Pours. New fridge, new freezer and oh yeah - new microwave!

[Kerry Beal]

Last Thursday - a couple of days after returning from Austin for the chocolate workshop - hubby mentioned the fridge seemed to be leaking so he'd turned off the water to it. 

 

It became clear that it wasn't a water problem - it was an everything thawing in the freezer problem. So before I could head out to work - I was furiously reorganizing everything into the two other fridges that I have downstairs - one - my all fridge fridge in my chocolate room and the other one that we gained when we moved into the house 25 years ago. Lost some stuff from the freezer, but was able to retain most of the fridge items (gave me a good chance to actually clean the thing!). 

 

Good Shepherd had some small fridges left over from the new outdoor shelter they put together - so tucked one of those in the car to put upstairs for the essentials like butter and milk. So for a week now I have been going over the the defunct fridge, opening the door - swearing a bit - then going over the the other side of the island to the little fridge to get out the milk for my tea. 

 

There's a little undercounter freezer in the chocolate room - it could hold a couple of items only - there's the freezer above the old (but clearly reliable) fridge - which could hold a few more items - and then there is the over 30 year old upright Woods freezer that I have been waiting for hubby to finish grouting the basement floor - so I could replace. It hasn't been opened in at least 6 months because there is so much ice in it that nothing could go in or out. The last time I opened it - I feared I wouldn't be able to close it again. It is, of course, not frost free and has freon running through the actual wire shelves. Everything in there was in wire baskets that had long since glued themselves to the wire shelves with thick ice. 

 

Hubby moved it over close to the sump pump yesterday so I could clean it out before the exchange which was scheduled for today.

 

Two days ago - hubby said - "the microwave won't thaw my bagel".  Dead in the water! That was an easy replacement - a trip to Costco to pick one up. Of course they didn't have any of the stainless ones anywhere to be seen (except the demo one which they weren't prepared to sell me) - so I had to head out after dinner to another costco where there were many available on the shelf.

 

The defunct fridge was an LG - 12 years old. Needed one of the same size to fit in. Meant I ended up with one a bit fancier than I really needed but that was the only way I was going to get one in short order. 

 

 

Let the games begin! Heat guns, pinch bar, huge screwdriver, mallet, chunk of rebar 

 

 

 

Things to be given the deep six. Shrimps, scallops, red peppers, puff pastry and some stocks. 

 

 

Got the lab to bring me a few of these for the overnighting. 

 

What was in there you ask? A whole bunch of nuts - whole and ground - pepperoni (the good stuff they can't sell anymore because it's commercial and doesn't have the labelling the government insists on), a variety of pork - fresh and cured, some lamb shanks, a lamb shoulder, 4 beautiful marrow bones cut lengthwise, a whole duck, a pork loin, a variety of chicken - some thighs, some boneless breast, some stock, meat sauce for pasta, whole bunch of activa meat glue (probably non functional but who knows), variety of beef including 2 Wegman's corned beef. There was also a very large bag of raspberries which I brought up last night and gave a quick cook - put them through the food mill today to make puree to flavour kefir. 

 

\\

 

Freed and ready to use in the new freezer which has glass shelves - that was the selling point.

 

 

 

Look at all that glorious space!

 

 

I swear the new fridge was completely held together with tape - this pic was of the second pile I removed. I'm sure a year from now I'm going to find some tape or plastic cover somewhere on the thing.  

 

 

No picture closed but was comparing the shelf placement to the picture I'd taken of the defunct fridge. 

 

 

 

 

This is the one though - apparently it can make big round ice spheres - too bad I've moved on from my craft cocktail phase (just no fun without Anna).

 

So far can't get this to start making ice - that will be a job for tomorrow - and trying to defeat the child lock on the microwave unsuccessfully.  

 

 

 

 

[gfweb]

What's with all that frost in the old freezer?

[Kerry Beal]

7 hours ago, gfweb said:

What's with all that frost in the old freezer?

Old. Not frost free. 

[Maison Rustique]

Sorry all went at once, but congrats on great new appliances! I have 2 old fridges. Neither works well anymore--both need new gaskets. I keep the doors on the freezers taped to try to hold them closed a bit tighter. Since I'm moving sometime in the near future, I don't want to replace them right now. I'd rather wait to see what I need in a new place.

[rotuts]

@Kerry Beal

 

hopefully that new freezer is frost free .

 

Ive had that same problem w the old ( 30 Y ) one for years.

[Kerry Beal]

Just now, rotuts said:

@Kerry Beal

 

hopefully that new freezer is frost free .

 

Ive had that same problem w the old ( 30 Y ) one for years.

It is indeed - I had 3 criteria - large, frost free and glass shelves so the baskets would always be removable. 

[Kerry Beal]

It made a batch of ice overnight so I guess it just needed to get coldness up to a certain level before it started (or perhaps I finally whacked the right button!

 

I'm to throw away the first couple of batches of ice - but it worked out well this morning because I boiled some eggs and had the throw away ice to cool them.

 

 

[weinoo]

11 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

What was in there you ask? A whole bunch of nuts - whole and ground - pepperoni (the good stuff they can't sell anymore because it's commercial and doesn't have the labelling the government insists on), a variety of pork - fresh and cured, some lamb shanks, a lamb shoulder, 4 beautiful marrow bones cut lengthwise, a whole duck, a pork loin, a variety of chicken - some thighs, some boneless breast, some stock, meat sauce for pasta, whole bunch of activa meat glue (probably non functional but who knows), variety of beef including 2 Wegman's corned beef. There was also a very large bag of raspberries which I brought up last night and gave a quick cook - put them through the food mill today to make puree to flavour kefir. 

 

When the apocalypse comes, I'm coming to visit! (I'll cook, too).

[Darienne]

I still think we win in the category of old appliances which still work.  Our cellar chest freezer is still going strong since 1978.  Forty-seven years and counting.

 

[FauxPas]

13 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

So far can't get this to start making ice - that will be a job for tomorrow 

 

At this point, I was going to be a smartass and ask if you had turned the water back on.  😆

(It's the kind of thing I would forget to do.) But then read further and saw the ice was happening! 

 

3 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

It is indeed - I had 3 criteria - large, frost free and glass shelves so the baskets would always be removable. 

 

How big is it? It certainly looks like it has good capacity, 20 cu ft or more? I wish we had gone bigger, we got a 13 or 14 cu ft one, but it fills up pretty fast. 

[Kerry Beal]

20 cubic feet I believe 

Edited yesterday at 06:01 PM by Kerry Beal (log)

[MaryIsobel]

We have replaced our appliances; stove, dishwasher, toaster oven, microwave, washer, dryer in the last 10 years, The only thing tht won't die is our fridge. I'd love to replace it with a french door fridge but the damn thing will not die and I can't  replace it without feeling guilty as it works just fine. I would like a french door fridge with ice and water.

[Kerry Beal]

 

Current state - gotta break down that duck and make some duck fat - and find a home for the pork loin. It was purchased for an eggfest I'm pretty sure and I don't see doing one of those again. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

19 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

 

 

Let the games begin! Heat guns, pinch bar, huge screwdriver, mallet, chunk of rebar 

 

Last week the freezer above my kitchen refrigerator looked like that -- or, dare I say, worse.  I did not have a chunk of rebar handy but I do have freezer gloves.

 

[Dr. Teeth]

Probably a day late and a dollar short, but I can see the problem with the old freezer pretty clearly and it’s a easy fix.

 

It’s too organized.   If you just chuck stuff in randomly and can’t find anything the freezer will sense that you’d be relieved to see it die and will hang on out of spite.   I can show you pictures of mine if you need help there.

 

It’s part of all that new smart machine AI stuff.   Real high tech, complicated stuff

[rotuts]

here is my new one :

 

20 CF:

 

note:  those bricks lined up on the door :  Ragu

 

and that last Fz TB , next to the yellow energy guide has just been processed !

 

second to the bottom door shelf : Benton's bacon.

 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

On 6/1/2025 at 7:53 AM, Darienne said:

Forty-seven years and counting.

I thought I would hold the record but you've got me beat. I have a 1982 Maytag washing machine that is still working like a champ. I bought it used in 1998 and it's never had to have a repair.