Amana ASD2625KEW Side by Side Refrigerator Review

Price Range: $1200


The Amana ASD2625KEW is proof that a large, attractive, well-featured side-by-side refrigerator doesn't have to be expensive. The Amana ASD2625KEW gives off the feel of sturdiness both inside and out. For example, on the inside details like door trays are sturdy and don't have the cheaply made feel of some other refrigerators, and the crisper drawer fits snugly in its tracks.

The capacity of the Amana ASD2625KEW is 15.8 cubic feet in the fresh food compartment. The freezer can be packed with 9.8 cubic feet or food, which provides plenty of capacity to hold the frozen foods to feed a large family. This Amana refrigerator is energy-efficient; using just 617kWh of energy on an annual bases. Using current energy rates as a reference point for calculations, the total years cost in electricity to operate this refrigerator is approximately $70.

The door has three adjustable bins. Two of these bins can hold a standard gallon sized container, like the type milk comes in. There is also a dairy compartment with a clear door to it located on the door of this refrigerator. Another nice feature of the Amana ASD2625KEW refrigerator is that it has a temperature-controllable beverage chiller compartment. This compartment is capable of holding two gallon jugs. It chills its contents using cold air from the freezer. Temperature controls for this special beverage chiller compartment are located inside the fresh food compartment.

To allow for the most efficient allocation of space for each consumer's needs, the fresh foods compartment 3 glass shelves that are adjustable and are treated with a spill saver feature to prevent messes. In addition to the shelves, there are: a humidity-controlled crisper drawer, a temperature-controlled drawer that can be used to store meats or as a second crisper drawer, and a clear snack drawer. It also has a holder designed for storing eggs. Absent from this model in the Amana line are a few additional conveniences, like a wine bottle holder or a beverage rack for holding cans.

For storing your frozen foods, the freezer compartment has 3 wire shelves and 2 baskets to serve as the main storage. There are also 3 adjustable and 1 fixed bins hanging from the door. The ASD2625KEW also has a water and ice dispenser that dispenses through the door of the freezer, and contains an integrated PuriClean II retractable filter. This water filter, which can be found located in the in the fresh foods compartment, is designed with easy access in mind for simple changing as necessary.

The Amana ASD2625KEW can be purchased in white, bisque and black for the same price. For an additional charge there is a stainless steel model available. Amana's ASD2625KEW is a competitively priced, attractive side-by-side refrigerator model that offering good quality and welcome features in a well designed unit. This particular side by side refrigerator model is backed standard with a 1 year warranty on parts and labor.

Choosing a new Refrigerator to Buy

I am currently in the research phase of my decision to buy a new refrigerator. The refrigerator in my kitchen right now is old, and the doors sag so that at the top of the door they don't fully seal shut. This clearly hurts the efficiency, as I know there is air getting in there. The freezer always has about 2 inches of ice that build up along this gap.


Now I need to decide what type of refrigerator I want to buy, along with deciding on a price. Quickly looking through some general pricing seems to show that the what I will call standard configuration with the freezer on top and the refrigerator on the bottom seems to be the cheapest. They also look like they are typically smaller. The bottom freezers, where the freezer is like a drawer that is below the large refrigerator, seem to be around the same price as the side by side models.

I currently have the traditional style top freezer configuration of refrigerator and to be honest, I'm not a big fan. For starters, I'm somewhat tall, being over 6 feet. I find that I go into the refrigerator multiple times a day, but might only need something out of the freezer every other day or something. That means that the space which I find most efficient to be using, the area from mid-chest to slightly above eye level, is the area of the appliance I use the least. The bottom shelf of the refrigerator goes largely unused, because I don't like to stoop down to get anything that isn't right at the front, and the same goes for the back of the top shelf. So right away I am leaning toward the side by side, or a bottom freezer configuration.

I do know a few people that have the bottom freezer setup, and most of them are not particularly fond of their purchase. None of them have had any reliability issues or any similar complaints, but they find that using the freezer is terribly inefficient, as only the items on the very top are accessible without shuffling a lot of things around. Another thing that I notice about the bottom freezer models is that, while they can be purchased with a water and ice dispenser in the door, those models are, from what I can see, all in the $2000 or more range. This is about double what a reasonable side by side can be bought for, and triple the price of a traditional top freezer model.

What I will be doing, is researching what it out there, and compiling some reviews and other information here, a site that isn't affiliated with any retailer, and has no bias whatsoever. I will be limiting my search to only refrigerators that are within the price range I am willing to spend, so I will be limiting my search to models that have an MSRP or $1250 or less.

Check back in the coming weeks as I post the fruits of my labor, and hopefully I can help someone else out in their search to buy a new refrigerator.