Good Question: Researching Appliances

Dear Kitchen,

I just saw a Fisher & Paykel refrigerator and thought it was beautiful but wonder how good it could be at such a low price, about $1200 for the Iridium, 17 cu ft. Anyone had experience with this model?

Thanks,
Patti

(To All Good Questions)

Dear Patti,

For research like this, I often turn to Gardenweb's home site - it's a listserve with lots of participants who are, for the most part, quite passionate and informed about making big purchases for their homes.

Search the kitchen forum first, then try the appliances forum. If you don't find anything by searching the archives, sign up for membership (easy) and post your own question.

Good luck!

Comments (5)

A proper husband would purchase this appliance for his loving wife (hint, hint)! :)

By the way...GREAT SITE!

--Laura

posted by Laura Hogan on 2006-05-01 18:32:42

I have that fridge (and I've had it for over a year now) and I love it. I was told that it's cheap (relatively) because the company is trying to build up it's customer base in the US (they are from New Zealand? Australia?). I also have their ecosmart washer and dryer - also great. I got the fridge because it is silver on all sides (the sides aren't stainless but they look pretty close)and it is freestanding in my kitchen. check it out...

posted by fifi on 2006-05-01 21:57:09

I bought the iridium F&P and the matching stove, and dish drawer washer for my wife. it's quiet, has enough room inside and the counter depth works great in any kitchen. for the price - it can't beat. the surface stays clean without fuss, unlike other stainless steel models. highly reccomend F&P products.

posted by mac on 2006-05-02 00:09:37

We have had a set of F&P's DishDrawers in our kitchen for about 5 years. While the stainless finish is great, the design is innovative, and energy and water use is low, I am less than satisfied. We had 7 service calls in 3 years with our first version 2 unit. Each of those calls left us with at least one unusable drawer for over a week; parts had to be flown in from New Zealand most of the time.

Finally, after talking with our service company about improvements in the latest model, I wrote a letter to F&P and they graciously replaced it with a 3rd-generation model. Their customer service is definitely very good - they helped expedite a few parts over the years, too. The new DishDrawer has been without problems for the past two years.

Still, if I had it to do over again, I think I'd buy a normal dishwasher. There would be about $500 more in my pocket, and I'd be able to wash about twice the dishes at once (not to mention large items that won't fit). I struggle with the capacity of the two drawers just living by myself most of the time - dinner parties for more than four people definitely push the unit over capacity.

Back to the subject at hand: it's just a fridge. Maybe they aren't trying to do anything overly innovative with this one. I do know the DishDrawers were the wrong decision for our kitchen, but they might not be for some people. F&P has taken good care of us and I think they are a good company that builds solid products even after all we've gone through. Hope this helped...

posted by Andy on 2006-05-02 01:42:43

We have a Fisher & Paykel washing machine and have owned it for over a year. It rocks. I don't know anything about their other products but we've been very pleased with the machine. It only uses enough water for the load which is great for us since we have well water. I think they have a commitment to conservation that hopefully spills over into all of their products.

posted by Frog on 2006-05-02 17:47:55