The Whirlpool Corporation is a Fortune 500 company and a major manufacturer and a global marketer of household appliances. It has over 70 different manufacturing and technology research centers in the United States and around the world. Its current headquarters is in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
Although known for their top-loading washers and other laundry equipment, Whirlpool, with its acquisition of the Maytag Corporation in March 2006, became the single largest home appliance manufacturer in the world. The company now markets a wide array of consumer appliances, including refrigerators, under several brand names such as Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Gladiator Garage Works, Inglis, Estate, Brastemp, Bauknecht, and Consul, with worldwide sales reaching approximately $19 billion per year.
Whirlpool Refrigerator Key features
The Whirlpool refrigerator line offers models in many colors, styles, and, for an additional fee, easy care Whirlpool® Satina™ finishes. Refrigerator exteriors usually come in almond, biscuit, black, and stainless steel. The Satina™ finish minimizes fingerprint smudges and makes the unit easy to clean with a regular window cleaner.
Free standing and counter-depth refrigerators are available. Free-standing refrigerators require more space and can store bulkier items, while counter-depth refrigerators are top-of-the-line models with shallow profiles designed to fit seamlessly into recessed counter modules.
Depending on the model, Whirlpool fridge doors are either contoured or flat. Doors usually have rounded edges to help prevent finger pinches when the door is opened. Whirlpool also offers optional custom trim kits to give free-standing models a built-in look.
Door-mounted ice and water dispensers generally come standard on side-by-side models. Models with this In-Door-Ice® Ice Dispensing System moves the detachable ice bin from inside the freezer compartment to the door, effectively freeing more storage room for frozen produce.
Also, with the Fast Fill Dispensing System, customers will be able to fill any size container twice as fast as their previous dispensers. The system utilizes a high-flow water valve to deliver accurately measured, chilled, and filtered water in half the time. A rotating faucet and slide-out tray makes it easy to handle containers from small glasses to big pots.
Wide adjustable glass shelves maximize storage space for most of the models while slide-out glass shelves make it easier to place food into the whole shelf. Whirlpool provides refrigerators with innovative shelving options, door panel storage that can handle tall containers and two to four easy access storage bins. Whirlpool also carries refrigerators with a variety of freezer storage capacities.
Since the refrigerator accounts for as much as 12 to 20 percent of annual total power consumption of an average household, Whirlpool offers a number of Energy Star® qualified refrigerators that use up to 30% less electricity and feature more efficient compressors and motors compared to models manufactured 10 years ago.
Some models include an adaptive defrost control and temperature-controlled binds to regulate temperatures in small spaces within the fridge without lowering the temperature of the entire interior. Double tub construction and added insulation maintains the cool temperature of the interior refrigerator cabinet.
The brand covers their refrigerator units for parts and services needed to correct manufacturing defects for up to a year after the original purchase date. An extended warranty service, called the Whirlpool Service Plan, offers 1, 2, or 3 years of protection from unexpected repair bills and is available to customers for an additional fee.
Whirlpool Refrigerator Product types available
The refrigerator is one of the quintessential household appliances and many general issues must be considered before buying one. These issues include the budget, the amount of available kitchen space, the nature and amount of stored goods, access to water sources (for models with icemakers), availability of electrical sockets, and design preferences.
Since maintenance problems and costs increase proportionally with each year of use, additional considerations for energy efficiency, ease of maintenance, extended warranties, and customer service must also be addressed.
There are many different Whirlpool refrigerator models that can cater to the customer’s specific needs. These models include side-by-side, French door, freezer-on-bottom, and freezer-on-top refrigerators.
Side by Side Refrigerators
Side-by-side refrigerators have twin doors for easy access to fridge contents in tight kitchen areas. All Whirlpool models in this line are Energy Star® qualified and offer total storage capacities ranging from 22 to 25 cubic feet.
French Door Refrigerators
Whirlpool French door refrigerators offer a more sophisticated and elegant appearance than other models. This style premium also factors into the unit price, as this line is the most expensive Whirlpool has to offer. It combines the narrow space requirement of the side-by-side and the greater fresh food storage capacities of the bottom-freezer models.
The brand currently has 5 Energy Star® qualified models in the selection, with either 20 or 25 cubic feet of total storage capacity.
Fridge with Bottom Freezer
Bottom-freezer models place fresh food at eye level and allow greater storage spaces for fresh produce. Consumers can choose among 6 affordable Energy Star® models, with either 19 or 22 cubic feet of total capacity.
Traditional
Traditional freezer-on-top systems place frozen goods at eye level and are usually among the most affordable. Whirlpool models have capacities ranging from 10 to 22 cubic feet and most are Energy Star® qualified.
Whirlpool Fridge Freezer Buying Information
Whirlpool offers a limited 1-year warranty from the original date of purchase, for parts and labor to correct defects in materials or workmanship. The warranty does not cover “damage resulting from accident, alteration, misuse, abuse, fire, flood, acts of God, improper installation, installation not in accordance with electrical or plumbing codes, or use of products not approved by Whirlpool” and replacement parts or repair labor costs for units operated outside the United States or Canada. Light bulbs, air filters, and water filters are also not covered by the warranty.
Consumer complaints concerning Whirlpool refrigerators center on interior cabinet and liner cracks, faulty icemakers that break and flood kitchens and compressor relay problems that pose a major fire hazard. Compressor relay ignitions related to Whirlpool’s Maytag brand caused the major recall of about 1.6 million Maytag refrigerator units in March 2009.
Another voluntary Whirlpool product recall involved its single-door 20 cubic feet frost-free freezers and its 17 cubic feet refrigerators in 2005. The recall was instigated after the finding that the end cap of the defrost heater tube can dislodge in some units, resulting in a potential shock and fire hazard.
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