e. e. petch

i bought a new fridge today. it is small, and will fit the space well. i‘m not a real bells and whistles kind of guy. i think it’s 12 cu. ft. and made by haier. i have another one just like it in one of the apartments over the garage only it has a sanyo nameplate on it. i had to go around to 4 different stores to find it.

now, at this point most people reading this are going to fall in to one of three groups.

1) i’ve never heard of haier. it sounds like crap.

2) 12 cu. ft. is way too small. what are you thinking?

3) i’ve never heard of haier. it sounds like crap, and 12 cu. ft. is way too small. what are you thinking?

i’m already prepared to be ridiculed by friends and family who will no doubt see this as my latest questionable choice. i’ve gone numb to it and i don’t really care anymore. well, i guess maybe i care a little. regardless, the purchase has been made and i will pick it up monday.

before you pass judgment at least listen to my logic. i don't want a large refrigerator because i can't see paying to refrigerate a bunch of dead air or rotting food for no reason. after living for the last 18 months with a 2 cu ft fridge i've become an efficient shopper and cook. so why should i pay a lot of money for a large refrigerator with lots of goodies that i neither want nor need.

i will keep the little 2 cu ft fridge and mount it below the sink in the butler’s pantry, so i will have more cold storage. it is interesting to note that the little fridge i have, which is a kenmore, looks exactly like the new haier fridge i just bought, only smaller.

i then learned yesterday that haier has 50% of the u.s. market in the mini-fridge category. they make a lot of those glass front wine chillers that are oh so trendy these days. so most likely the kenmore is in fact a haier refrigerator with a kenmore name-plate. the sanyo is also an haier fridge. i'm willing to bet all 3 came out of the same factory in south carolina.

this is really not surprising to me. i work for a local manufacturer and easily 70% of what we produce is shipped out of the area with someone else’s name and logo on it. it is very common for companies to expand their product line with other manufacturer’s products. in this global economy nameplates can almost be useless at times.

i’m going to cover the new haier in oak and put old icebox hardware on it. someone at work was throwing out a bunch of scrap oak and I snagged it. they are strips of oak 2 inches wide and 3/8 inch thick. lengths range from about 2 feet to over 4 feet. those will be for the trim. i will use oak door skins (think 1/8 inch thick oak plywood - $16 a sheet) to cover the box and then use the 2 inch scraps to trim it out.

i bought some old icebox hardware on ebay a few months back. I got an almost complete set of hinges and latches for $9 i think. i am missing the catches for the latches but it’s all just decoration so it’s not the end of the world.

i’ll slap it all together, add some oil and shellac, and wa-la - antique icebox fridge.