Whirlpool Gold GB2SHDXT (21.9 cu. ft.) Bottom Freezer Refrigerator

I purchased the Whirlpool Gold Bottom Freezer in January solely because of the layout. The refrigerator on top has plenty of room for my family of four (21.9 cubic feet). The shelves and door storage space hold all the necessities and still leave room for the cold air to circulate. Spills are easy to clean up because of the "Spill-Guard" shelves that keep messes contained to their shelf rather than leaking all over.

The lower freezer is my favorite function - the freezer slides open so that you don't need to get down on your hands and knees to find items pushed to the back. The slide out function is convenient and the drawer slides out without much effort, so even those without a lot of body strength (elderly, perhaps) will be able to open and close the drawer with ease.

Six months later, the condenser unit on the fridge/freezer died. While the fridge was still powered on and you could hear something running, it was no longer blowing cold air. It's been hot here so by the time we noticed the problem, all of our frozen foods had thawed.

Pay very close attention to the warranty. It's a limited warranty and therefore the food loss (about $300) is not covered and our home owner's insurance also will not cover the issue because it was mechanical failure. Whirlpool was quick to answer our call and gave a list of area repairmen, but they never bothered to say that the warranty wouldn't cover work done out of the home. I caught it and the repairmen they recommended wanted to take the fridge with him. After pointing out that we'd have to foot the bill if that happened, he said there was nothing more he could do then.

A return call to Whirlpool had the service agent admitting that they don't cover work done in the shop and that they expect customers to read their warranties. Because I caught it, they gave me a different list of repairmen who would work in the house. Most said it would take three days before they could come out, but one said he could look at the fridge in two days, so we went with him.

He wouldn't give us a time and finally called at 4:30pm to say he'd be at our house in an hour. The condenser needed replacing, and we had two options, wait a week for a replacement part or accept the rebuilt one he had on his truck. Obviously we had to go with the used one which is not covered in the future - a fact I'm not happy with, but having no fridge for a week wouldn't have been convenient at all.

I spent a lot of money on this fridge and can't say I'm pleased that the condenser went within six months. Hopefully it was a fluke. If it dies again, I'll be forced to purchase a new fridge and it certainly won't be from Whirlpool.