Whirlpool Bottom Freezer French Door Refrigerator

When I purchased my new home, the appliances that were already installed were stainless steel and black. This is a very attractive and modern look that has great visual appeal in my kitchen. When considering a refrigerator for my kitchen, I had to take the overall design into consideration. There were several models of refrigerator in stainless steel finish that offered the set up that I was looking for. The only drawback to stainless steel is that it is not magnetic. So, if you are one of those people who stick stuff to your refrigerator with magnets (like I do), a stainless steel refrigerator may not be the best option. Stainless Steel is also prone to showing fingerprints and/or streaking. Whirlpool Gold offers a finish called Satina (Monochromatic Satina) that has an appearance very close to Stainless Steel. However, the Satina finish does not streak or show fingerprints. Magnets will also adhere to this finish. The Whirlpool Gold GI5FSAXVA matched my kitchen, is easier to keep clean and hold magnets...I knew I had found the right product for me.

All of the refrigerators I have owned prior to this purchase have been freezer on top, full door on bottom models, with the traditional type ice maker. Wrapping my mind around the concept of having a freezer at the bottom of the refrigerator took a little bit of thought. I still find myself initially looking up when I go to get something out of the freezer. I have never had a split door refrigerator, either. However, most split door models have a freezer on one side and a refrigerator on the other. In this model, both doors open up to the refrigerator. You can open both doors or either one individually. There is no wall separating the upper portion of the unit. The way the doors are designed allow for a complete seal once the doors are closed. This is accomplished by a hinged bar attached along the inside edge of the left door. The bar lays flat when the doors are opened and then hinges out to create a seal between the two doors when they are closed. However, you do not have to close the left door first. The bar automatically slides into place as the left door is closed, if the right door is already shut. Sometimes it requires slight pressure to ensure that the doors are sealed.

I have never owned a refrigerator that has an ice or water dispenser in the door. Because the freezer is located on the bottom of the refrigerator, there is an ice maker located inside the refrigerator. The ice maker is in a sealed and obviously insulated area located in the left (as your looking at it) side of the refrigerator. This unit has a dispensing area that connects to the left door when it’s closed. On the right hand ceiling of the refrigerator is a curved door which houses the filter unit for the water. The water line enters the back of the refrigerator and is fed through this housing in the top of the refrigerator. The canister that filters your water comes inside the refrigerator when it is delivered. Installation of the canister is very easy. There is a blue cap that is screwed into the area where the canister attaches that is removed prior to installing the filter. The cap should be saved for later use (in case you decide to stop filtering your water). The filter canister simply turns into place with moderate pressure. After installing the filter, you have to run water through the water dispenser for several minutes to clear any air from the lines.

The ice and water are dispensed through a backlit housing located in the left door. This door has a digital display that allows you to select whether you want water or ice dispensed. I am unfamiliar with water and ice dispensers, but have noticed one minor issue with this format. I normally keep my unit on the ice setting. There is only one dispenser lever on the outside of the door. You simply press the lip of your cup against the lever and the ice will dispense slowly into your cup. If you want water, you have to press a button located above the lever. There is a small blue light that indicates your setting. If you select water and then later come back for ice, you may end up watering down whatever it was that you were drinking. I am still getting used to this concept, so it may just be a passing issue. When I first set the refrigerator up there were default settings on the temperature control which are also located on this display above the water/ice dispenser. The digital temperatures were easy to read. I found that the refrigerator and freezer sections were both too cold, so I adjusted both settings up two degrees. I decided to adjust the settings slowly to prevent over-adjusting. The two degree adjustment worked perfectly for me.

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