The Basics: Top-Freezer Refrigerators
Top-freezer refrigerators come in many sizes and range in price from less than $400 for a budget unit to upwards of $1,800 for an upscale model with all the bells and whistles. This is a very popular refrigerator configuration that's relatively energy-efficient and attractive. Top-freezer refrigerators also provide the most interior space of any refrigerator configuration.
Manufacturers offer a very wide array of top-freezer models. If you're on a budget, you can find a full-size top-freezer refrigerator with basic interior features and a simple exterior. Apartment dwellers can find top-freezers in very small sizes to fit into limited kitchen space, while those with very large kitchens can find top-freezer models with extra-large capacities of 25 cubic feet or more.
Mid-range top-freezer refrigerators typically have four split-width shelves and two crispers, and also generally come with a snack drawer. Doors typically have one fixed bin and several half-width bins, plus a dairy keeper.
How to Shop
It seems that manufacturers add more advanced features to their top-freezer refrigerator models each year. In the recent past, some manufacturers have equipped their upscale top-freezer refrigerators with novelty shelves that either flip up to accommodate taller items underneath or, in the case of Maytag's Elevator Shelf, one that smoothly moves up or down with the turn of a lever. Interior temperature management is constantly improving, as manufacturers strive to make their top-freezer models more energy efficient.
Perhaps the most exciting recent innovation in top-freezer refrigerators is an integral water dispenser that some manufacturers have introduced in the past year. On some very upscale models, you can get chilled water from a dispenser that runs through an integral filter. On some units, the water dispenser is located in the front of the fresh foods compartment; on other models, the dispenser is in the interior of the refrigerator. Either way, this innovation has given the top-freezer refrigerator a capability similar to the through-the-door ice and water dispenser found on so many side-by-side models today.
Top-freezers still don't come with through-the-door ice delivery at this point in time. However, the most upscale top-freezer models typically come with factory-installed automatic icemakers that make ice with water that flows through a filter to assure ice purity.
It's possible to find top-freezer refrigerators in any of the currently popular colors and finishes. Top-freezer units come in white, bisque/biscuit, black, stainless steel and black cabinet with stainless steel doors.
Top-freezer refrigerators do have some drawbacks. Because both the freezer and refrigerator doors are full-width, they require plenty of space to open. If you don't measure and plan for this wide door swing, you may find the open door hitting a cabinet or wall near the refrigerator, and you might find it difficult to remove shelves or crispers for cleaning if you can't fully extend the door. You will also have to stoop down to see items placed at the back of the bottom shelf, and you may have to bend down to retrieve items from the crispers.
In general, expect to pay several hundred dollars less for a top-freezer refrigerator than you would for a side-by-side or bottom-freezer unit of the same capacity and with similar features.
You can shop for top-freezer refrigerators at home centers, department stores, warehouse stores and appliance dealers. You can also shop online for a top-freezer fridge, although it's a good idea to actually go to a store to see and feel the model you're thinking of buying.
