Big IS beautiful (LG GR 267 XJF)

Member Name: Ali72

Product:	LG GR 267 XJF
Date:	24/02/05 (729 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's big, Frost-free, Ice and water dispenser

Disadvantages: It's big

Having wanted an American style fridge freezer for ages, I couldn’t resist when I saw this model on offer in Comet over Christmas. It was only £499, but normally retails for £699. We also thought that it would cost £69.95 for it to be delivered and installed; however, we actually had to do it ourselves, but that’s another whole review about unprofessional Comet!

Now, as you know, everything in America is BIG, and this fridge freezer is no exception. It is also very heavy, as the deliverymen discovered to their cost when they scrapped it across our hall floor - now being replaced at Comet’s expense! The unit does have wheels, but you need to be very careful when moving it because of the weight (put down plastic). You may also find that you need to take the doors off in order to get it through your doorframe. Despite these hassles, I am delighted that we took the plunge. We chose the “titanium” version of the unit, but it is also available in white. It certainly dominates the kitchen, in fact this fridge freezer positively screams, “look at me”, so it’s a good job that it is very attractive. The metallic matt finish shimmers in the sunlight, and so far I have found the surface very easy to keep clean.

For those who don’t know what I mean by American style, it has two doors side by side. The handles are in the middle, and on this model are formed from two curved strips of metal that run from top to bottom. I am looking forward to standing in front of it in the summer and opening both doors at once for a quick all-over chill! In common with most modern models, the unit has a flat back, so there are no difficult to clean elements at the back and it can be pushed up to the wall. The left hand side is the freezer section, and is narrower, at around 39 cm, than the right hand fridge section, which is around 50 cm wide. It is 72.5cm deep, and it’s also quite tall, at 175cm – to give you an idea, I am nearly 6ft tall and I need to stand on tiptoes to look over the top. It didn’t look that big in the shop! If you are thinking of purchasing this model, you will need to consider where it will fit in your kitchen; clearly it will not fit in a “standard” built-in slot.

Another point to consider is that this model needs to be plumbed in to the cold water supply as it includes an ice / water dispenser. The Comet guide states that, “the unit will need to be placed within 1m of a standard washing machine/dishwasher connector (cold fill only)”. Strangely enough, we already had a dishwasher fitted to this connector, but it was a simple matter to add a further connection to the cold pipe with some push-and-fit plumbing from B&Q for around £2. We then had to connect the flexible, thin, plastic water feed tube, via the supplied water filter, to the inlet at the back of the machine; this was a bit fiddly as we had to feed it round the back of some intervening kitchen cupboards, but we got there in the end (while cursing Comet through clenched teeth). I believe that the water filter cartridge needs to be changed every 6 months, at a cost of around £14.

Freezer compartment

The freezer compartment houses the automatic ice maker, which is a generous size, so the final capacity for food storage is only 6.6 cubic feet; this is about the same as my old fridge freezer, which had 2 shelves and a drawer. However, the space is better divided; there are three glass shelves, two drawers and three deep door racks, which means that you can see all the contents at a glance – no more grovelling around on my knees. There is also a lamp, which I find a real bonus compared with my old model. Best of all, the unit is frost-free, so no more de-icing.

On the front of the freezer compartment door is the ice and water dispenser. This is my joy! The machine dispenses crushed or cubed ice, or chilled water – simply make your selection using the touch-screen button on the display panel, then push your glass against the switch at the back of the dispenser and – plop – you’re sorted. The icemaker can automatically make 8 pieces of ice at a time, 80 pieces per day and stores a huge bin full, so you are never likely to run out. Ideal for parties, or making kiddie slush drinks. I am just about used to the sound of the ice dropping into the bin now, which initially made me jump if I was walking past at the time. If, however (for some strange reason) you didn’t want to use the icemaker, you can turn it off. The only feature that could be slightly improved is the water collector at the base of the dispenser, which has no self-drainage function, and so needs to be cleaned regularly.

The display panel also contains the temperature adjustment buttons for the freezer and fridge compartments, which can be independently adjusted. Discrete green lights show the selections you have made.

Fridge compartment

The fridge compartment seems bigger than some of the digs I lived in as a student. The internal storage capacity is 12.6 cubic feet, arranged as four glass shelves, a shallow snack drawer, a vegetable drawer, and a vegetable or meat drawer, plus numerous deep door racks. The glass shelves wipe clean easily. The vegetable or meat drawer is at the bottom of the fridge, and has a switch to convert it from one to the other; in “meat” mode the temperature is maintained at a lower point than the refrigerator compartment so that meat or fish can be stored fresh for longer, which is quite handy. The amount of space generally also means that I now keep absolutely everything in the fridge!

General

As you may be able to tell, I am delighted with this purchase (to the point I need to get out more). I was expecting it to be noisy due to its size, but I have not really noticed any significant increase compared to my old model. It is A rated for energy efficiency, which saves electricity. (Comet quote 536kW per year). And finally, I must mention that it has an alarm which sounds if the door is open too long – which alerts me to my three year old playing with it!

Summary: