GE GTS16BBSRCC 15.7 cu. Ft. Top-Freezer Refrigerator with Right Hinge Door - Bisque

• Upfront Temperature Controls
• Are positioned up front, close at hand, for maximum convenience and ease of use.
• Gallon Door Storage
• Makes room for milk and any other gallon size containers.
• Vegetable/Fruit Crisper

This was an emergency purchase, limited by what was available immediately that would match my other appliances and fit in the allotted space. My ancient Sears Kenmore had been dying, quite noisily, for the last ten years, but was still keeping things within the required non-food poisoning danger temperature range (I kept a thermometer in there to make sure) until I discovered on a Saturday evening that all the ice cubes were floating in their own individual little ice water puddles and the frozen cherries had bled all over the bottom of the freezer. I'd been holding off replacing it for years because of size/space restrictions due to the cupboards over the fridge and the general configuration of my kitchen like in the Cinderella story, the available models were either too tall or too small. I was thinking I would wait until I remodeled the kitchen HAH! Fortunately, I was able to order this model from Home Depot (much cheaper than Amazon.com) on Saturday evening and have it delivered (free) the following Wednesday with free removal of the old one.

The good news is that it's almost exactly like the old one, which I really liked. The bad news is, the "not exactly" parts are kind of annoying. The freezer compartment is slightly larger, making the refrigerator part slightly smaller. Not a big deal, except that since I have a big freezer downstairs, I don't really need that extra space, and it makes the top of the refrigerator section lower it's a good thing I'm short.

There's no middle shelf in the larger freezer compartment (my old one had one), which makes organizing it difficult. There are holes in the walls of the freezer for a wire shelf that would fit around the ice maker (that I didn't need or want, so I didn't buy that), but that part doesn't seem to be available anywhere, so I'm looking for creative solutions in office supply sliding wire baskets and shelves. The bottom of the freezer compartment has ridges that make the ice cube trays and other narrower items tip, but I put the rack from my old freezer on the bottom and that took care of that problem.

In the refrigerator section, the spacing options for the two wire shelves is dumb in one position my Brita water pitcher is tight against the bottom of the freezer compartment (it won't fit on the door); in the next lower position, I have ALL THIS SPACE above both the water pitcher and everything else on that shelf and I have to reach down and lift the pitcher up instead of straight out like I used to be able to do. And then the middle shelf space is shorter, of course. If only there were a shelf position 1½" lower than the second from the top position instead of 4½"... Also, there's a lot more deep shelf space on the door for gallon jugs of milk and liters of soda (neither of which I EVER buy), but that cuts into the shelf space in the main compartment, meaning those convenient 12-pack cardboard cartons for 12 oz. cans of soft drinks hang over the shelves by about a can and a half (OK, I can put them on the bottom shelf, above the crisper drawers, minor adjustment). On the bright side, things won't get lost in the backs of the shelves anymore, cause they're a good 3½"-4" shallower.

The wire shelves are less rigid and more "bouncy" than the old ones. That means I have to be careful putting things in and taking them out because, as I discovered when I was putting everything into my new fridge, bumping the shelves from underneath can have a "water bed" effect, causing things on the shelf above to tip over. As far as I can tell, glass shelves are not an option for this model, and I haven't found any so far that might "do".

Well, at least my food is safely cold and I no longer have to live with the constant sound of an airplane engine preparing for take-off. I'm able to stand in the kitchen and talk on the phone, and the people I'm talking to don't say, "What's that noise?!!" anymore if I absolutely have to walk by the fridge. I find I'm on not edge as much. My electric bills should be lower, too.

I'm sure that if I can find solutions to the shelf/organization problem in the freezer compartment and maybe buy a shorter water filter pitcher so I can raise the top shelf and get more space on the middle shelf, this model will be satisfactory until I finally get around to that remodeling project.