Top or bottom freezer????

[abunaitoo]

I now have a side by side.
Because of where a counter is, the door cannot open all the way.
Kind of a pain to put big stuff in.
Looking to change to a top or bottom freezer so the door can open all the way.
Any comments on which is better????

[Winger Ed.]

I go in & out of the freeze a lot, and prefer it to be on top if I can't go with a side by side.

As a kid, we had a refrigerator with the drawer type freezer on the bottom, and I never liked it.

[Handloader109]

I very well doubt you will find a top freezer, bottom drawer works, but I like side by side myself

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[MaLar]

Had a top door, now have a bottom drawer and love it.

[TimD]

We always had a top door and it worked fine. No problem finding things or getting them out. When it was replaced the new one came with a bottom freezer with a pull out drawer. Just one big drawer with a basket. The wife hated constantly having to hunt around to find things on the bottom, and it was not easy to get things out. Our current one has a swing out door, that needs to open almost all the way, with three solid drawers that are much easier and better to rummage through. Never had a side-by-side, but I would go with the top door freezer, not that I get a choice

[CastingFool]

We've had all three, top, bottom and side by side. Bottom freezer has worked the best for us. Side by side was the least convenient.

[JimB..]

Dislike the side by side, just not enough room and stuff is always a mess. Top freezer was better and I’d like to try a bottom freezer one day. Best was a full fridge in the kitchen and a full upright freezer in the garage.

[Wheelguns 1961]

I have also had all three. I seem to go in the freezer often. My favorite is a top freezer with no ice maker. That is what I have now.

[45DUDE]

Ice in the top and beer on the bottom in the garage. 26cu side buy side in kitchen with crushed ice for margaritas.

[abunaitoo]

I looked at a few.
I was leaning towards the bottom freezer because the frig is used more.
The top freezer would be good, but the bottom draws of the frig are kind of low.
Getting old and back not as good as it used to be.
I need an ice maker.
Drink only ice water these days.
Again getting old, so everything else has gone.
Everything has to be ordered, which I don't like.
I want to see and touch, before I buy.
I've heard that a top freezer is better, because cold air goes down.
With the bottom freezer, it has to work harder to keep the cold air up.
Make sense to me.
I'll keep on looking for something I like.

[Ringo10x]

We recently got the bottom drawer freezer type. I hate it.
It's the most irritating $2500 i ever spent

[GhostHawk]

Bottom, cold settles. It is just more efficient. We had a side by side with constant problems. Burning out defrost heaters.

The new bottom freezer is totally trouble free for years. Plus everything in the fridge is at convenient height to find and grab.

[John Guedry]

We have had one side by side. It's not a good fridge or freezer. Currently have atop fridge btm freezer, like it.

[Bmi48219]

Had top freezers, bottom freezers, S x S; none are perfect. We now have a unit with a
S x S fridge on top and two stacked freezer drawers on bottom. I guess I like it more than the S x S it replaced. It is a cabinet depth model so it doesn’t stick out as far. Interior volume seems same as full depth models.

[georgerkahn]

I now have a side by side.
Because of where a counter is, the door cannot open all the way.
Kind of a pain to put big stuff in.
Looking to change to a top or bottom freezer so the door can open all the way.
Any comments on which is better????

"Which is better?" is similar (imho ) to inquiring which is the better brand of beer; the better pizza; and so on. In MY/family use, mostly stuff is put in refrigerator freezer compartment for relatively short-term storage. E.g., the meat bought at supermarket with plans to be cooked next week... And, of course, needed frozen ice cream, Cool Whip, and the like. HOWEVER, even as such, items miraculously both disappear behind other items and are too often forgotten that they're there -- BUT -- with the top-freezer are most easily found. Our younger son has a 'fridge with side by side refrigerator top compartment -- complete with in door ice and cold water dispensers -- and, a pull out freezer compartment at bottom. I view it as a nightmare in spades with stuff piled upon other stuff with the need to take quite a bit out -- put on floor or the seat of a chair -- to retrieve an item below it.
Albeit, again, like the "best beer?" -- I'd replace the present freezer on top unit we now have with no other arrangement! Also, on subject of fridges, albeit ours has an auto icemaker I never hooked it up. To my way of (dysfunctional at times?) thinking, I can readily use a couple of ice-cube trays on door to make what we may require, and a close friend who is an insurance seller often voices as the water supply hose to the fridge for the auto ice maker as perhaps his most often (and costly!) insurance claim. He always tells folks to toss thst which comes with the fridge in trash, and instead buy quality plastic or soft copper tubing.
Good luck!
geo

[kungfustyle]

You will loose a great deal of cubic space with a bottom freezer. The space is taken up by the drawer and all the plastic shelving/racks. Not a fan only due to the reduced space.

[Rich/WIS]

Have had all three and now have a bottom drawer freezer. Like it as I don't go in the freezer very often the upper refrigerator is much more convenient. Do have a chest freezer in the garage for bulkier items so inside freezer space is not an issue.

[memtb]

Wife says (and never argue with wife about these things)…..bottom freezer and never again “French Doors” on the fridge! memtb

[gwpercle]

Years ago we had a side by side and it has a few advantages but when we replaced it we got a unit with double door refg. on top and a slide out freezer on the bottom .
I like this set up much better . The freezer slides out and has a top sliding shelf/basket and a lower large compartment . it holds a lot and not too hard to find stuff ,,,the upper shelf/basket also holds a lot of flatter frozen foods ... I like the freezer set up .
The refg. is just a short wide 2 door refg ...the doors swing out , dont take up a lot of room and you can open one door and go into that side without opening the other door ... I like it ... our unit is 34" wide , so each door is 17" wide ...and our kitchen is small ...2 doors works for us .
We did not get any ice or water dispensers on the door ... these are the weak points and usually take up a lot of room and break down . If you don't have children getting water and automic dispensed ice all day long ... don't get these poorly designed contraptions . There is a ice maker in the lower freezer ... it dumps ice into a plastic container ...it was designed by a idiot ... auto shut off doesn't shut off when full ... ice spills all into freezer . Getting the bucket of ice out to dump it is impossible without spilling half the ice all over freezer and floor ... my cat could have designed a better ice maker .
If I had a seperate kitchen ice maker ... I would have the freezer ice maker eliminated because it just sucks rocks ... and takes up valuable freezer space
But we don't have any other way to make ice .
When looking at units , measure your kitchen spaces , make a sketch and see what will work and what wont work . Doors have to open and people must be able to pass .

We also have a small stand up freezer in our adjacent laundry room ...if you have room , a small freezer is worth it's weight in gold ... buy things on sale or in season , hunters give you game or fish ... just the best thing to have .

Single door refg/frzrs are designed so the door can be installed with either right or left hand opening ... be aware which way you want it to swing and have them set the door the way you need it to open .
Gary

[Mk42gunner]

Had most, worked on a lot of them forty years ago. My favorite combination is a top freezer/ bottom refrigerator with customizable shelving, and a chest type deep freeze.

Not really a fan of automatic ice makers or dispensers, bad water around here meant lots of work on them in the old days. Plus about the only thing I drink with ice in it anymore is iced tea.

Robert