The Kenmore Pro 48" built-in fridge is made by Samsung.
I would expect no worse and no better quality than other Samsungs. JD Power list it number one for French Door and Side by Side.

The knock on Northland has been noise,energy efficiency,and some say the ice maker. But I think it should last a very long time.On top of the commerical type compressor you can get commercial style SS interior panels if you wish too.

Do you need all the space in a Liebherr 24" freezer? Or maybe a 24" fridge with a 24" top fridge/bottom freezer?

Thanks for your response. I actually thought Whirlpool made the Kenmore Pro.

The Liebherr 24" just doesn't allow for large platters when entertaining or even a big lasagne pan. That is the negative. I don't need a 24" freezer but it would be nice :-). I must have a counter depth to allow me to add an island to the kitchen.

I can live without the energy efficiency on the Northland. I am sure my 25 year old Kitchen Aid is not energy efficient but it is still working with no problems after all these years. I'm much more concerned with needing service and not being able to find someone to fix it. I hate ice/water in the door and the Northland doesn't have that which is a big plus.

I would think that the more commercial the parts for the unit, the greater the number of refrigeration technicians that would be able to service it.

If this conjecture is true, then the long-term issue with the Northland would be how long they keep unique parts in stock for their products.

kas

I also am looking at the Northland. My sales rep says she has one in her home and if you have a cabinet over the top that helps, also if you have high ceilings that is a plus, She says she does not have noise and maybe that is because hers is built in. After reading reviews on all makes and weighing the price per unit I am inclined to go with the 30" or 36" all refrig and all freezer. Going to make a decision tomorrow afternoon.

Vivntx - Am wondering what part of the country you live in. I actually sent an email to Northland yesterday. I live in the Boston area and have called two stores on the local distributor list (he is in NY) and they have not gotten back to me with price or answers to the who would service the refrigerator question. I do not have tall ceilings but I will have the refrigerator built in. I would likely go with the 48" side by side.

We have the 48" counter depth side-by-side Northland. We purchased it from AJ Madison. It's been installed and running for about 6 weeks. So far, I can substantiate the noise claim. It's not deafening or anything, but you certainly know when it's running. The icemaker works fine, even though we have it hooked up to an RO system with relatively low water feed pressure (~35psig). As long as you're not expecting dead silence from your 'fridge, the Northland should be OK. I do like the interior (we got white) and I do like the price.

If you have any specific ?'s or want pics or measurements just ask.

Good luck.

jbrothersmom-- we live in Texas, near San Antonio. I am going to purchase this afternoon. Either the 30" or the 36" Northland all frig and freezer.
** laranbrian - Are you happy even with the noisy refrig ??

laranbrian - Did AJ Madison do your install or did you have someone local for that? Do they just leave it at the end of the driveway??? Also, curious if you got the side panels or if you built it in. I would also get the white interior and would hook up the water. I don't expect dead silence from the fridge and can live with some noise to not pay Subzero pricing. Not that I pay too much attention but I'm pretty sure my current Kitchen Aid makes some noise too.

I'd like it if it was more quiet. It's hard to quantify the level of noise in such a way that it can be meaningfully communicated to someone else. I guess it's about as loud as a *very* quiet garbage disposal when it's running. As I stated in another post it's more noisy than my in-laws GE Profile 'fidge but less noisy than the industrial units at my work.

I had my GC do most of the install, although he didn't finish the job. I had to do some of it. The delivery company that AJ Madison used did get the 'fridge in to the house, but if you order from AJM be sure and let them know that you want the delivery company to get the 'fridge out of the truck and in to the house. Some shipping companies get weird about that and charge extra for "lift gate service". Our unit is in a run of base cabs and has half height side panels.

We had the 60" unit (24" freezer + 36" fridge) built into a wall in our last house in KY and loved it. Did have a problem with the condenser early on, and it took a week to get a service team out there (not sure where they came from; my GC was still dealing with stuff then).

Ordered from AJ Madison, who has the worst customer service I've ever seen but great prices; they delivered to the garage bc the kitchen wasn't ready for the fridge yet.

The capacity is (obviously) great on both sides, and the lighting was really good. We got the white interior. Noise factor wasn't objectionable, but the kitchen is far from bedrooms.

I'm getting another one for my new house, so I guess that is a recomendation!

Just curious to laranbrian and jameskyflny - What type of flooring to you have in the kitchen. I am wondering if the flooring choice could affect the noise level. Thanks.

We have wood flooring through the whole house. Having more sound defecting materials should diminish the perceived noise of the unit as one moves further away (e.g. around the corner and down the way). My house is kind of echo-y right now.

I am at this very moment waiting for a repairman for my 7.5 year old Kenmore trio Elite. The compressor went out and it will cost $815 to fix. New ones are $2000. Can't say any other brand is better, cause I believe there is a conspiracy that says appliances shouldn't last very long...

cause I believe there is a conspiracy that says appliances shouldn't last very long..

When it comes to some appliances you are correct.

The conspiracy is the Federal Nanny State regulating energy/water efficiency requirements.

The co-conspirators are legislators who vote for these practices,the voters who put these legislators in office,and the bureaucrats who devise,enlarge,and enforce these regulations.

Any more input on the Northlands? I'm leaning heavily toward the 72SS-WS, a 36" all-freezer and 36" all-refrigerator combo with white aluminum interior from EliteAppliances.com for $8.3K which sounds way more reasonable than any other brand which can cost $5-10K PER piece.

I was going to get the Electrolux 32" twins at $1700 each + grill kit for $350, but now they're well over $2K each. Then I was going to get the Frigidaire 32" twins at $1.2K each (literally twins of the Electrolux, as I've been told Frigidaire makes both, but the Frigidaires have better reviews), but my mother-in-law is telling us to get bigger ones (even offered to pay for them). The Northlands are larger capacity than just about anyone else, at 24.1/24.2 cu ft each (vs 18.6 for Electrolux/Frigidaire, 19-22.X for other brands). Plus that 72SS model is sold as a 72" side-by-side but it's actually the 36" twins plus 72" wide trim at LESS than the cost of just two twins (instead of paying for the 72" wide trim kit).

As for noise, I'll let you know how it goes, since ours is built-in and we'll try to put weatherstripping or something to seal out the noise. We have upper cabinets over them as well, though we intentionally put 3-4" of space behind the fridges for convection currents to rise above the fridges rather than build up inside the fridge/freezer bay.

David

I don't know about the larger Kenmore Pro that someone said is made by Samsung but I have the smaller one made by Electrolux and it is a glorified piece of junk.