Refrigerator Test Bench 1.1
Version 1.1 of our refrigerator testing methodology expands our coverage in two important ways. We now measure operating noise to better contextualize how disruptive a new refrigerator will be in your daily life and serviceability to inform you just how easy it is to get your fridge back into play if it needs a repair.What's Changed?New TestsNoiseParts AvailabilityAuthorized Service CoverageWhy Are We Making These Changes?During the initial research and development phase of our refrigerator testing methodology, we'd investigated the possibility of conducting accelerated wear testing on refrigerators we'd purchased to assess reliability. The thing is, it's tricky to accelerate wear and tear on an appliance that's already designed to work 24/7. Combined with the paucity of accurate reliability data available to the public, we decided to shift our approach around a new central thesis: it's safer to assume that it's a case of when a modern refrigerator experiences a breakdown, not if.Authorized Service CoverageWith this approach in mind, we considered a manufacturer's warranty as the main source of protection when buying a new fridge. However, the actual value of that warranty depends on how easily you can get an authorized technician to your address to perform a repair. We delved into this topic in our exploratory R&D article, which included the following map of the contiguous United States of America. To summarize, the map is broken down state by state and includes 228 cities and towns. Using each brand's online service tool, we verified if it could match a local ZIP code with an authorized service provider within 50 miles.One of the big changes we've made as part of Test Bench 1.1 is to include an improved version of this coverage map in reviews. This new map accounts for 522 counties, using data from the largest population center in each, and covers approximately 220 million U.S. residents, providing a more realistic assessment of access to services. We plan to update this map quarterly to track changes in service coverage. Potential long-term plans include expanding tested locations to account for 100% of US residents and to provide a service coverage map for Canada.Service coverage isn't scored solely on coverage. We've tailored our scoring system to reflect the fact that thorough coverage is a given in major metropolitan areas and in areas with high population density. As a result, brands with higher-than-average coverage in more rural or sparsely populated areas score notably better than brands that don't serve those areas as thoroughly.Parts AvailabilityWe've also expanded our coverage to track the availability of nine different refrigerator parts. After all, it's all well and good if you have an authorized service provider nearby, but that's little comfort if there's no way to actually source new parts for a repair. We've grouped those nine refrigerator parts into two categories: common parts are components that experience high wear and tear and are expected to wear out within a relatively short time, but aren't necessarily needed for continued fridge operation. Critical components are exactly what they sound like: parts that are less likely to fail, but are vital to the fridge actually working.Common PartsIce makerEvaporator fan motorTemperature sensorDoor gasketWater inlet valveCritical PartsEvaporator CoilDefrost heaterCompressorMain PCBThe advantages of a fridge with good parts availability are clear-cut: if your fridge does experience a catastrophic failure, you won't be stuck with a paperweight for weeks or even months while waiting for a replacement.A graph tracking parts availability for the Bosch 800 Series B36CT80SNS throughout the month of December 2025The availability of each of these components is tracked across five major US appliance parts suppliers:Encompass PartsPartSelectReliable PartsSears Parts DirectAppliance Parts ProsThese results will be updated monthly to track changes in part availability.It's also worth noting that part availability tends to vary over a fridge's lifespan, as discussed in the aforementioned investigative article on refrigerator reliability. At the start of a product's lifespan, parts might be hard to come by due to full-scale production of new appliances or high demand for new parts to address a design flaw. Part availability tends to level out as a fridge hits its mid-life point, roughly the three- to eight-year mark, as production of the appliance tails off and new replacement parts become more available. There can be a delta in part availability depending on the brand as a fridge enters its late-life stage: some manufacturers reuse the same part design in newer fridges, improving part accessibility, while others discontinue production of critical parts, drastically increasing costs. As a general rule, modern fridges tend to enter the obsolescence stage near the 14-year mark, at which point it's usually cheaper to buy a whole new fridge rather than continue repairing your old oneNoiseBased on user feedback, we've also updated our testing methodology to measure operating noise under normal conditions. To clarify, "normal operating conditions" means the only noise captured is from the compressor and evaporator fans, with no consideration for periodic operations like the defrost cycle or accessories like the ice maker or water dispenser. Generally speaking, we've identified a few key areas regarding noise: refrigerators with inverter compressors tend to be quieter than units with fixed-speed compressors, as the former's compressor can run continuously at a lower speed rather than cycling between its highest and lowest speeds. Outliers include the KitchenAid KRQC506MPS, which features a skin condenser.Noise test for the KitchenAid KRQC506MPS, a four-door model equipped with a skin condenser.Our new test bench incorporates a lot of user feedback, but if you have any further suggestions for future iterations of our methodology, don't hesitate to let us know in the comments. We're always looking for new ways to improve!
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