written by Zeb4 on 01/05/2007
Good Points
American style side by side fridge freezer, bought to replace two separate fridge/freezers. More than twice the capacity in a slightly smaller footprint. More efficient than those it replaced - it is 'A' energy rated, so should save about £50 per year in electricity cost at 10p per unit. It has a single motor with two compressors, so the fridge and freezer are controlled independently. Nice illuminated panel on front of freezer door makes setting the temperature of each part very easy. It also has Power Freeze and Power Cool buttons, if you need to freeze or cool a large amount of food quickly. It will go through a standard 30" door opening - just!
Bad Points
The middle of the full-length handles were bent inwards on delivery - probably happened in storage. I have carefully (!) pulled them back into shape. Opening the doors as they are so big takes a bit of effort - I now use the other handle as a rest and gently prise the required door open, rather than using just a straight pull. Its worst fault is that it is very noisy when operating. Not so bad for us, but the cats might tell you different! If your doorways are not wide enough, taking the doors off is not particularly easy.
General Comments
Very imposing presence, too tall to put on all those small items that live on the top of normal fridges. Ours is the the white, fairly basic, model without the optional internal temperature-controlled compartment, although I contacted Samsung UK to ask exactly what the model number indicated and was told that it had the compartment. Needless to say, when it arrived, it didn't! All I got was an apology from them, but I am not impressed. Check carefully is my advice, not necessarily with the manufacturer - a dealer may have more idea.
Bought from our local shop (HBH Woolacott), very slightly more than the big sheds, but delivered on time and installed carefully
No idea about Durability yet, but I assume it should be OK - if not, I'll be back!
As rated by our community of reviewers
Zeb4's Response to Zeb4's Review
Written on: 10/07/2007
The noise level seemed to increase over a few weeks until I had to investigate the cause! I found that a ventilation grill at the back of the fridge, near the base, was vibrating. Fixing that made the sound levels far more acceptable. The grill is not held at enough points to stop the long edges from flexing - poor design
Zeb4's Response to Zeb4's Review
Written on: 03/09/2010
SEPTEMBER 2010. The engineer has just been to replace the defrost heater and the lower inside panel. This is a known problem - known to Samsung anyhow, and is a safety issue. The symptoms are an ice build up which results in a rattling noise which stops when the refrigerator door is opened and/or the fridge temperature is too high on the display or by feel inside the fridge. If your RS21 was made before March 2007 don't wait for a failure, call Samsung on 0800 9880123, give them the serial number and they will send an engineer out to fit new parts if necessary. The service was prompt and courteous, and covered by a free extended 5 year limited warranty given by Samsung as a result of this problem