Sabath mode refrigerator

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Forum -> Household Management -> Kosher Kitchen

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worldclassjuggler

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 9:39 am

Looking for feedback on sabath mode refrigerator. Any specific issues or problems you have experienced? Thanks in advance.

rachel6543

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 9:59 am

The house I bought (5 yrs ago) came with a frig that has Shabbat mode (though we didn't realize it until a yr later when we looked at the actual instructions the previous owners left us). Basically Shabbat mode on my frig turns off the light. We haven't had any issues with it. My frig is prob 14-15+ years old now and still works fine. It's kitchen aid brand frig.

worldclassjuggler

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 10:54 am

Do you find it to be a nuisance to set it every Friday?

ValleyMom

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 3:20 pm

My decorator said the Shabbos refrigerator was considerably more expensive than the regular fridge. It just didn't seems worth the extra $$ when my parents and I have been unscrewing the light bulb a tad for years and years and years and this pre shabbos prep has not been a big deal at all.

FYI the shabbos mode is simply a small switch in the fridge that turns the light off--on some models it turns back on after 48 hours which is a drag on three day yom tovs. Then you need to be like the rest of us and unscrew the bulb slightly.

At any rate, maybe technology has changed a bit in the past few years.

Good luck to you!!!

Happy18

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 3:23 pm

My parents have it on theirs. It is very simple to use, I haven't done it myself but it involves holding down a button or two on the control panel. It takes 45 seconds at most. They have a very expensive fridge though so I don't know if its so simple on other ones.

Rubber Ducky

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 3:42 pm

Most of my clients (in my space planning/kitchen design business) buying Shabbos mode fridges haven't had any problems -- it's pretty easy to set -- but one had to have her new fridge replaced, because the Shabbos mode just didn't wouldn't go on (defective computer chip).

From Star-K, which certifies several brands of fridges with Shabbos modes:

Quote:

...refrigerators have also succumbed to the incorporation of modern technology. In addition, old issues such as when to open the refrigerator door on Shabbos, and what to do about heating elements that turn on to defrost the coils, remain to be solved. The Star-K has developed a set of requirements that use modern technology to alleviate these problems.

Refrigerators certified by the Star-K incorporate the technology that solves these issues. After entering the certified mode (called either Sabbath or Holiday mode), the consumer does not have to worry about lights, digits, icons, tones, alarms, solenoids or fans being activated/deactivated when opening or closing the door. A built-in delay prevents the compressor from turning on immediately after the door is opened. The defrost cycle operates solely on clock time without any feedback from consumer usage of the refrigerator. (Current technology is introducing control of the defrost cycle by counting the number and length of door openings which may present a halachic problem.) Finally the ice and coldwater systems will be turned off since they invariably use electrical solenoids and motors to operate. (After a power failure, units will return to the certified mode.)

worldclassjuggler

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 6:33 pm

Thank you for the replies.

OneSource

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 6:57 pm

I have a shabbos mode fridge and I am not, by any means, well off. The cost of the fridge was approx. $1100 with a 5 year warranty, delivery and tax it came to $1,350 which we are financing over a year interest-free. The door panel has a shabbos mode which turns the lights off. It seems to work well and the fridge is pretty great. Cost wise, it's stainless steel and a side by side, counter depth machine so you are getting what you've paid for but the shabbos mode is a nice added bonus feature.

FranticFrummie

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 7:11 pm

I never understood this. I have never used the lightbulb in my fridge. I just take it out and leave it out all year round. I have enough light in my kitchen to see what I need, and I know where I put things last.

amother

Fri, Jul 04 2014, 7:21 pm

Anon because of the anecdote I'm going to share at the end. It's not just the light, which is very simple to fix- its all the LED stuff that displays temperatures and what-not that is a problem and can't be simply switched off. A fridge with Shabbos mode handles all of that. When dh and I first got married, we did not have a Shabbos mode fridge and our downstairs neighbor warned us that it wasn't enough to take out the lightbulb, we needed a strong magnet to turn off the LED. Well, it was an hour before Shabbos and where were we gonna find such a magnet? Dh had a box of external hard drives and he found one he didn't really need, and he cracked it open with a hammer to get the magnet, and that's what we used! LOL

freidasima

Sat, Jul 05 2014, 4:24 pm

It's more than the LED it's also using the door and opening it and making sure that it doesn't change the temp while doing that which would automatically turn on the motor etc...in the older fridges like ours you just listen for when the fan is on and then you can open and door as much as you like. But in the newer ones it's a tad more complicated, hence it's best to get a shabbos mode fridge.

Ashrei

Sat, Jul 05 2014, 10:12 pm

Just a note that we have a star k Shabbos mode fridge, sounds a little like a previous poster's fridge... it's a Frigidaire gallery bought about 3 years ago, and we are very unhappy with it, so while looking into refrigerators with Shabbos mode, I would avoid that one. (We got the matching oven which also stinks)

amother

Sat, Jul 05 2014, 10:38 pm

Just fyi...We bought a house with an old SubZero frig. We taped down the switch which turns on the light when the door opens, as we had on our previous frig. What we didn't know is that on this model, a fan goes on when the door is opened. A repairman told us, so we now have that lever taped as well. Be sure you check what actually goes on when you open the frig door!

Anon because I've mentioned this story to others.

amother

Gold

Wed, Dec 23 2015, 6:57 pm

freidasima wrote:

I'm looking for a new fridge and this is the big problem. You can tape it but I'm afraid it's going to compromise the refrigerator. especially for a three day yom tov. Anyone with experience going low end and taping? Thanks!

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