My hubs would never sacrifice water in the door, and our family of 5 uses it all the time!

When I was looking at the Pro 48, there was a storage drawer with a grate bottom over the ice storage. I could imagine all kinds of debris falling into the ice. A major flaw if it is still that way.

I think I am in the minority here. I haven't had water or ice since two kitchens ago--all through the time that my kids were growing up--and I would never want it again. First, the water/ice dispenser is another thing that can malfunction, takes away door storage (as you have noted) and often creates water and ice messes on the floor. Apart from that, I find the look of the dispenser really unattractive and would not want to have to see it all the time. In my view, it is better to have a filtration faucet at the sink with a chiller if you must have the water really cold. But, as I said, I think I am in the minority here.

One thing about the SxS--the fruit and veggie drawers are on the bottom. We used to have the 42" SxS and it was a really great unit. In our new build, we went with a FD because I am getting too old to bend down so much. But with kids, I would think that the SxS would be really good for you and the bending would not matter for kids. The 48" SxS is a great unit. If it were me, I would go with it (without the ice/water in the door, of course). The pro 48 is great looking too but I think a tad impractical.

I don't have the ice dispenser either, for the same reasons.

Based on what you said, I think you may want to go with Side by side?

I have the pro48 and I absolutely love it. I'll do it again. I have two kids.

I don't' think water dispenser should be an issue. I never like them too much because water usually taste a little funny from the fridge based on my experience. If you are doing remodel, add a hot/cold water dispenser on your counter.

Here is a list of pros and cons for the Pro48
Pros:
- Commercial look, heavy duty contruction
- Glass door is great for adults/ cook. It shorten the time the door is open because you see everything inside
- Big drawers on the bottom for vegetables and other things.. so you are only opening part of the fridge.
- lots of space to but "big" things on either side because of extra depth you get

Cons:
- you need to keep your fridge organized all the time
- it can be challenging accessing some things if your fridge is full. (think about a deep cabinet you put your spices) Things in front will block things in the back.
- There are only 5 shelves in fridge, so with the best settings i have, we can't put tall things standing up (soda bottle is too tall). If i make one shelf taller, the other one will be too short. If you get door shelves (in side by side), you can get more configuration for tall things.
- Pro48 doesn't have the "air purification" filter system.. I don't know why and I don't know if they have something else to do that job instead.

Thanks all for the great feedback! We do have an instant hot/cold dispenser going in by sink as well. Ive started to "lean" BI-48, although once i see the PRO 48 again it all may go out the window :)

We are scheduled to take another look at the two again and decide. We plan on bringing a few items (props) to see how/if it would fit in the PRO 48.

I also don't have an icemaker or water dispenser in the fridge. First, that water and especially that ice tastes absolutely terrible. Plus, for a family of six, that ice maker will never keep you with enough ice and forget about guests at dinner parties.

What I did was install a Campbell water filter in the bar area of my kitchen and it's great. It has a regular water flow just like any sink would, so filling a pitcher takes no time at all. And for ice, I installed the CLR2106 U-Line clear ice maker. That thing is great! It makes a ton of crystal clear restaurant-quality ice. Trust me, the ice from any fridge based ice maker pales in comparison to the ice from the U-Line.

Hmmm, I guess Uline got better at making ice makers, or maybe their "stand alone" ice maker is better than their bar fridge?

I had their bar fridge, it made quite a bit of ice, but it would melt into one large clump, tried many things to fix it. The final fix was to haul it to the local dump.

I have a Jenn-air 48" fridge. It makes a lotta ice, not crystal clear but I could care less about that, and even thou only one compressor/evaporator I have yet to taste "Off Taste" ice.

Ice making is perfectly adequate unless we have a BIG PARTY, then I go to 7-11 for ice, alto I could start saving the excess from the Jenn-air, but I'm not that well organized!

Gary

So far so good with the U-Line. It's not the combo ice maker/fridge. It's just the stand alone ice maker. For a fridge, I have a small beverage fridge made by Liebherr that gets as cold as its big brother in my kitchen (both go down to 36 degrees).

I've never had an issue with the ice sticking together. They're always nice separate cubes clean and clear as a whistle.

I'm having the same dilema. What gets me is the size/space that the current ice and water dispensers take up. Like someone said, if you need party ice, buy a bag from 7-11. Otherwise 4-5 trays (I know, old school comparison) is fine.

My Fridgidaire SxS has great space for pizza alongside the ice maker, and we never run out of ice.. Dacor used to have a good layout, but no more. IMO the internal layout is as important if not more to finding the correct fridge.

It's a 48" Jennair or SZ SxS at this point for me

This post was edited by wardman on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 22:00