LG GRL 207 TUJA : Read reviews and compare prices at Ciao.co.uk

Author's product rating:

Performance	Fair
Ease of use	Easy
Durability	Satisfactory
Cleaning & Maintenance	Easy
Value for money	Fair

Advantages:	Large capacity
Disadvantages:	very irregular temperature control

Recommend to potential buyers:

Full review

LG Electronics – American Style, Fridge freezer; side by side. Model number GRL 207 QVJA .

Lot of our friends and acquaintances have this type of fridge. Buying this type of fridge has become something of a ‘status symbol’! I agree, I gave up to peer-pressure and got carried away. When we moved house and had to purchase a new fridge I decided to go for one of these. We found one in local Curry’s store at a price above our budget, but still went for it!

Planning stage- where to install. These fridge freezers are quite huge in size. They do not look quite so big in a store. When you come back and measure the corner you had in mind for your fridge to be - is too small! Also, as they generate a lot of heat if placed in a recessed area you need to have 12 inches or more clearance above the fridge and 2 inches from the wall on all sides. You cannot keep in garage or conservatory area. Temperature has to be above 5C.

How to get inside your house - check that your doors are large enough for this fridge to be brought in. Keep a margin of 2 inches extra. There will always be something sticking out which comes in your way.

Before installation: If your fridge has a water dispenser and ice maker, you need a plumbing for water as well. As the automatic ice maker needs a high water pressure to operate and if your mains water pressure is hot high enough- you will have to buy another pump! The feed pipe should be bent, should not be hot- so extra space for air circulation! On top of this remember that you need a filter system for water- which has to be replaced almost every month!

Installation: If you have not paid for installation, it could be a big hassle. Its not ‘a bring home and plug in’ type appliance. Doors have to be levelled. Little height adjusting screws will give you a tough time! If the doors had to be removed- we had to do this as out front door was not wide enough for the fridge to come in - Lot of connections electrical connections have to be made. It is best not to try it yourself! Installation cost is £25. This is on top of delivery charge!

Starting it: If you are still determined to buy one – well, after installation leave your fridge for 2-3 hours to stabilize at normal temperature, and then plug it in and start. Wait for a while let it run before you fill it. You have to do the temperature control now. Our fridge did not show temperature display, some do. This one had bars- 1-5 bars. You could change the setting by pressing the button. Fridge and freezer temperature controls were separate.

Dispenser selection: In our fridge we had the option to select – water, slice ice (crushed ice) or ice cubes. The ice formation and dispensing is quite good. The ice maker makes 8 pieces of ice cubes at any one time, and up to 80 pieces per day. If you keep opening fridge door- it makes less cubes, as the temperature rises.

I have found that sometimes ice does not come out in cubes- but may be lumped together. Or, it also produces very small cubes- well your water supply is not good enough, and needs adjustment.

I will not go into details of specs- as you can read it from the list. Just to sum up-

It is freestanding fridge, cannot be integrated. White in colour.
Freezer Position: On the Left. Front Decoration: White and silver handles.

• Depth in cm: 73; Height in cm: 175 cm; Width in cm: 89

• Energy Consumption per Year in kWh: 522

• Energy Efficiency: A

• Freezer Stars: 4 stars

• Net Capacity Freezer in Litres: 165

• Net Capacity Refrigerator in Litres: 346

• Net Capacity Total Device in Litres: 511

• Frost free- which they call as Nofrost System

• Separate Temperature Control of Fridge and Freezer: No

• Plenty of space, 3 adjustable shelves - glass; our model had a wine holder as well, hanging under a shelf, which is quite handy

Other features include an egg box and some models have a slide out shelf for taller bottles or milk cans.

Humidity control in the vegetable compartment: There are two larger vegetable storage areas. Humidity is supposed to be controlled by closing and opening a vent. This never worked well for us. For months we have had frozen tomatoes and cucumbers! When we put in to a lower setting, lot of moisture accumulates and vegetable rots!

Converting the above to a vegetable or meat compartment: There is a side switch to control humidity and use these trays for meat. Never used this- as where would I store the vegetables?

Good things about the fridge:
• Energy rating good
• Plenty of fridge and freezer space
• Layout of fridge very good
• Space utilisation effective- both for fridge and freezer
• Separate chambers make it easy to find stuff.
• Easy to use handles

Not so good
• Temperature control very poor
• Moisture formation in lower baskets
• Not easy to install
• Operates with a loud noise
• Poor customer service from LG and & Curry’s
• Sharp edges in vegetable basket- get a cut while cleaning and pulling out.

We purchased this fridge from Curry’s store for £675 (normal cost is £800- it was on sale) and in addition to this paid £179 for a 5 years extended warranty. This is called ‘Whatever Happens’ warranty. The company is supposed to repair or replace (if unable to repair within 21 days). We have had no joy getting either done. It seems like - Whatever happens- happens to you- company are not bothered!

Think twice before buying an American style fridge the – the problems outweigh the benefits!