Fridge debacle

We woke up yesterday to something very bizarre: our fridge stuff didn't feel too cold.  Not warm, per se, but definitely not cold enough to have been in the fridge at that temperature for an entire night.  I mentioned something to Randy, but it was a few minutes more before we realized that we might want to check the freezer-- now those were definitely warm.  Every single thing in there was basically defrosted as if they'd spent the entire night in the fridge.  Randy immediately called to have someone come out and fix it.

Now, here's the clincher-- that fridge was purchased when we moved into this home in March of 2017.  Three years.  While not top-of-the-line in all the fridge world, it was in the Sears world as a Kenmore Elite.  Here's what we learned about Kenmore.  They are the only company that doesn't do their fridge manufacturing in-house.  Their back components actually come from the cheapest place that will do it for them, which happened to be LG.  Because it was an LG compressor, nothing was covered under warranty, and we'd have to pay for a new compressor with only a 90-day warranty.  As Randy and I were weighing the decision to do it, the maintenance guy said, "Let me just give you some advice.  I get called for every single fridge, but there are three that I get called on the least: Frigidaire, Whirlpool, and GE.  You can replace this today, but I'll be back out again much sooner if you do."  And just like that, we found ourselves at a local appliance store.

What should have been a fun choice because our old one had fulfilled its purpose for many years, Randy and I were equal parts ticked and astounded.  Honestly, we paid good money for that "Elite" and here we were looking for another fridge.  My fury overshadowed the fun, making it feel as if we were being forced to choose something in that very minute instead of looking for the absolute best deals for the best fridge.  It's just not the way we like to shop.  

Fred's appliance did us a SOLID!  Not only did he mark things down for us-- Randy didn't even have to ask with his negotiating tone and presence-- but he was also able to find someone that would deliver it to our home within an hour after he heard that ours was completely gone and he had almost everything we could in coolers.  We grabbed drive-through on the way home, ate it as we drove, and got home in time for them to arrive with minutes to spare.  SO amazing!  Oh, and they hauled our broken one away for us.  The delivery and haul-away was the best thing about the whole situation.

You can't see it, but there are two packed coolers, with a few things in the freezer that needed to be kept cold from the fridge, as well as every surface holding something that wouldn't spoil if left out.

Ta-da!  Not only does it have more space in the upper portion, but the drawers in the doors have adjustable settings for tall items.

Also, the top drawer is a flex-drawer, becoming either a freezer drawer or a fridge drawer.  We'll use it for drinks since they always take up the most space in our fridge.  With Randy doing the macro stuff, he drinks a bunch of those protein drinks, so we always keep them well stocked.

***Update:

Randy woke this morning at 5:00am and happened to check the temperature of this drawer.  It was about 10 degrees warmer than he'd set it.  When he checked the temperature of one of the drinks with a food-grade thermometer, the rage set in-- it was indeed ten degrees warmer than it should have been.  We'd spent top-dollar in the fridge world (out of fear in our forced decision) for a fridge that wasn't as cold as it should have been.  Randy sat down and wrote a seething email to our sales associate since it was 5:25am.

Again, a maintenance man came out.  However, this time, we learned something truly disappointing, but for a different reason.  There wasn't anything wrong with the components of the drawer, only bad design.  There is one vent thing that, when engaged with the drawer when pushed in, flows the air along the back of the drawer.  Because we'd placed so many protein drinks in a row, it had blocked the vent, making only the back two cold, and the rest of the drawer less cool.  Not warm, but not as cold as they should have been.  We switched the stuff in the drawer with the meats and cheeses that don't stand as tall, and all was well.  But after our experience of the previous day with a fridge that wasn't as warm as it should have been, it felt HUGE!  All is well with our new fridge.