I'm suspect they're all fine, but it's a little funny to hear Summit, Haier, and especially Hotpoint referred to as unknown names! They may not be who they used to be but jeepers Hotpoint is over a hundred years old!

True, incorrect word used... should've used lesser known as the four I mentioned are some of the largest suppliers of US refrigerators.

I have heard of Haier and Hotpoint but they seem to be deemed in the lower-end of products that they make. However, I personally have never heard of Summit.

Summitt has been big with commercial kitchens, they now have some products that are made specifically for the consumer market. I have a Summit fridge for a rental of mine, it's been working well for a couple years. No problems yet but the defrosting cycle is a little loud.

Just wanted to add my .02

You probably can't go wrong with any of the options you mentioned. When we first moved into our house, we inherited an old-ish GE refrig. We purchased a new KA for the kitchen and moved the GE to the garage. Eleven or 12 years later, we bought one of the new Samsung FD refrigerators and moved the KA into the garage, giving away the GE that was still running just fine.

So that makes a GE working for 11 years for us in a garage enviornment + who knows how many years for the previous owners inside. The KA was our inside fridge for 11 years and now for 4 years in the garage.

Is there a Sears Outlet near you? You often can get great scratch & dent deals there, which might make sense for a garage refrig.

I gave away a GE 18cuft fridge to a friend to use as a 'beer' fridge. I thought it didn't freeze that well and was on it's last legs. It lasted in his garage (hot as ell in the summer) for 10 more years.

kashmi,
Great recommendation! I didn't even think of that. Nothing currently in the size I'd like to get locally, but I'll keep watch for a bit to see if anything shows up. Thanks again!