Home Appliance Reviews

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In 1916 Alfred Mellowes and a dedicated group of backers had established the Guardian Refrigerator Company. Mellowes had established himself as the developer of the first true refrigerator, a development that met with the consternation of the ice man but welcomed with opened arms worldwide by relieved housewives. The company was mismanaged and in just two years could not deliver a cost effective manufacturing process and were soon in the red.

In 1919 General Motors bought the fledgling company and renamed it Frigidaire , and established it as an affordable kitchen necessity that could be had by everyone. In 1979, Edward Reddig of the White Sewing Machine Company acquired the company who managed to dramatically slash operating costs and became the new corporate identity when the Electrolux Corporation purchased White in 1986 and its current owner. What does all this matter you ask? Frigidaire was once a great company, and yet after 102 years, it is clear they have issues that are not consistent with a company of its stature.

When I was growing up Frigidaire was a company that was looked upon as an industry leader, forging the way and setting the standard as a reputable and reliable refrigerator. In the 20 years that I have been involved in my business, I have yet to meet a Frigidaire that I liked including a recent acquisition of a Frigidaire FRS6R5ESB .

A Closer Look

I have a number of sources for appliances and purchase a good many to outfit real estate projects I am involved with. As a businessman I look to maximize my purchases moving on items that will fit into a projects budget. When I was approached with what seemed to be a great deal on a Frigidaire FRS6R5ESB I decided to give it a shot.

The 26 cubic foot FRS6R5ESB is an attractive side by side dressed in stainless steel giving it a very contemporary appeal. Let me say a few things about the stainless steel doors;

• It smudges easily and is a nightmare to keep clean.

• The top corners of the doors are sharp and unfinished

• The doors are hard to keep aligned with each other.

• The doors and handles feel light, almost hollow feeling

The left door has a minimalist functioning beverage station consisting of crush/cubed and light on/off controls. The plastic surround on the beverage station is a thin plastic with fit and finish defects that are clearly visible to the untrained eye.

Inside the refrigerator are two (2) adjustable sliding shelves. There is a spill proof surface to minimize spills and facilitate cleaning, (very nice) with produce two crisper bins and a meat tray. I have to take issue with the lack of adaptability to a family’s ever-changing circumstances and needs here. Two adjustable shelves are just not enough for a family who size presumably warrants a 26 cu. ft. side by side; think about Thanksgiving and the demands to keep food fresh here. The door on the refrigerator side has 4 smaller storage trays with removable guards for easy cleaning. A butter tray tops the refrigerator door.

Two lamps, one in the regrigerator and one in the freezer is all you get. I know of other models with only two lamps that really light up and yet the Frigidaire FRS6R5ESB is dim, almost dismal looking inside!

Controls for refrigerator and freezer temperatures are equally minimalist comprised of up/down digital controls for temperature, on/off and filter status controls. When we plugged the Frigidaire FRS6R5ESB , it went through a 2 week period, and the digital freezer control side couldn’t be set in spite of all our efforts to prod it along.

While it worked the freezer and refrigerator cooled quickly. The freezer has three (3) fixed shelves with four trays on the doors with those pesky removable guards. In spite of what appears to be an overwhelmingly sized ice maker, there is plenty of room to justify the purchase if you don’t mind the lack of adjustment. Here again, the FRS6R5ESB doesn’t have the capability to dynamic meets the needs of most families which is astounding! Water hookup is routine with a screw in filter that is fairly standard on most ice producing refrigerators.

A Few Casual Observations

I know there are better Frigidaire stories out there and the brand can’t be all I make it out to be. I have purchased 6 if memory serves and like the FRS6R5ESB returned half of them. I was offered the option of replacing this unit but frankly the fit and finish issue really put me off! I think if a product is worth your hard earned money, it earns it on all levels. After a little discussion with my supplier, he informed me they just were not worth the aggravation! How could I possibly put a shabby unit into a project our guys worked so hard to professionally showcase? I like the simplicity of the unit, in fact, a lot. I hate that Frigidaire chose to put such cheap feeling plastic around the beverage station and in the interior shelves. I have to say, I was impressed with how quickly it made ice.

The fact is the Frigidaire FRS6R5ESB is at first glance a lot of refrigerator for the money. After living with it for a week, I felt the cooling was inconsistent and didn’t compensate fast enough when the unit was full with our guy’s lunches.

So for the $1,000 arena, is it the best purchase you could make? I would say no and would look at other models like the GE GSF25IGXBB as an alternative.

While we should all be grateful to Albert Mellowes for his work on developing the refrigerator, somehow I think he would be appalled at the quality of the FRS6R5ESB !

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