Double/Dual side by side fridge freezer
When my kitchen was last renovated, I removed a wall, changed all cabinets, redid the floor and added twin Frigidaire Gallery all-fridge and all freezer. I really liked it but the freezer broke down and since they no longer made that unit I couldn't get a new one. As such my all-fridge in the kitchen was no longer useful without a freezer. So instead I bought a large Bosch fridge freezer and threw the others in my garage. The Bosch was nothing special. Sure enough, the ice maker, which took up 1/4 of the freezer broke within months. The produce drawers, all made of cheap plastic, broke within days of the end of the warranty. More wasted space. They could not be fixed. I hacked the drawers to work another 3 months. A "large" fridge and freezer may work for some, but certainly did not WORK for our family.
We were about to buy the new matching Frigidaire Professionals (or the Electrolux copy) when I discovered a simpler option. Some bottom freezer fridges can be bought in both right or left openings. Some of which are different models with openings set in factory not just a handle switch using factory door cutouts. Mind the difference as you may not want two little circles (cutouts) on the doors and non-symmetrical labels. The Whirlpool models (WRB329RFBM and WRB329LFBM) were a good choice. Maytag also may have a pair available (probably made in the same factory).
We were about to buy the new matching Frigidaire Professionals (or the Electrolux copy) when I discovered a simpler option. Some bottom freezer fridges can be bought in both right or left openings. Some of which are different models with openings set in factory not just a handle switch using factory door cutouts. Mind the difference as you may not want two little circles (cutouts) on the doors and non-symmetrical labels. The Whirlpool models (WRB329RFBM and WRB329LFBM) were a good choice. Maytag also may have a pair available (probably made in the same factory).
Advantages of a dual fridges versus all-fridge/all-freezer include:
I decided to enclose it in a home made cabinet. I wanted a built in look. I needed to match the existed Ikea kitchen I put in in my last renovation. They did not have a deep double fridge cabinet of course. Luckily I found 3 large fridge cover panels (36x96) for $20 each and one deep cabinet ($10) in Ikea as-is. In the end all I needed to buy was one more cabinet, four cheap doors and four sets of hinges. I cut the panels down to 30" using Lowe's big wall saw - easier than my table saw. Normally I would mount the cabinets on the wall directly, but the cabinets were 24" deep and the fridges 30". Thus I needed a self supporting setup. I put an additional top shelf 30" deep above the Ikea cabinets and screwed that above a 2x2 which in turn was screwed into wall studs. It strengthen the whole structure right up. For the curious the opening is approximately w61" x h67". I am happy with the end result. I will be adding one more piece of trim work below the cabinets to enclose it a little bit further. The fridges may be tied together with a home made plate using the door holes on top of the fridge, however I may just "strap" them together using straping ribbon for now.
- More fridge space: I ended up with 26 cu ft of fridge versus 18 in the professional (11 cu ft versus 18 for the freezer space).
- Less wasted ice maker space. I installed an ice maker in one freezer ($140). If it breaks I either get another or throw it out and reclaim the space.
- More door shelf space and partitions
- Four doors is more energy efficient
- Cheaper (by $1000)
- Shorter (thus allowing more useable, over fridge cabinet, space).
- Less depth than a large fridge (but more than the professional twins)
I decided to enclose it in a home made cabinet. I wanted a built in look. I needed to match the existed Ikea kitchen I put in in my last renovation. They did not have a deep double fridge cabinet of course. Luckily I found 3 large fridge cover panels (36x96) for $20 each and one deep cabinet ($10) in Ikea as-is. In the end all I needed to buy was one more cabinet, four cheap doors and four sets of hinges. I cut the panels down to 30" using Lowe's big wall saw - easier than my table saw. Normally I would mount the cabinets on the wall directly, but the cabinets were 24" deep and the fridges 30". Thus I needed a self supporting setup. I put an additional top shelf 30" deep above the Ikea cabinets and screwed that above a 2x2 which in turn was screwed into wall studs. It strengthen the whole structure right up. For the curious the opening is approximately w61" x h67". I am happy with the end result. I will be adding one more piece of trim work below the cabinets to enclose it a little bit further. The fridges may be tied together with a home made plate using the door holes on top of the fridge, however I may just "strap" them together using straping ribbon for now.
Shout out to Lyle for coming over for "ten minutes", helping me pop up the cabinet and then pulling apart my old fridge in short order so we could get its out of the kitchen!!
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