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  • Introduction

  • Design & Usability

  • Features

  • Performance

  • Conclusion

  • Science Introduction

  • Moisture Retention

  • Freezing Performance

  • Storage Space

  • Other Tests

  • Introduction
  • Design & Usability
  • Features
  • Performance
  • Conclusion
  • Science Introduction
  • Moisture Retention
  • Freezing Performance
  • Storage Space
  • Other Tests

Introduction

Design & Usability

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An updated exterior to a classic Whirlpool design gives this Maytag a fresh look.

The Maytag MSD2576VEM is built on a chassis from corporate parent Whirlpool, so its design is similar to Amana, KitchenAid and, yes, Whirlpool offerings. Its exterior is vertical-grain stainless steel, with through-the-door water and ice. The handles are some of the most substantial we’ve ever felt: they’re more appropriate for opening the doors of a bank vault than a fridge.

A silver colored frame surrounds the Maytag MSD2576VEM’s through-the-door water and ice dispenser, which updates the overall look of the fridge’s exterior. Controls, located above the dispenser, are bright orange on a black background, though they don’t glow intrusively unless selected.

An update of a classic Whirlpool interior

Inside is an update of a classic Whirlpool interior. It’s your basic side-by-side: fridge on the right, freezer on the left. The fridge makes use of three drawers on the bottom and three shelves above them. The door is home to three shelves, plus one unique feature: a beverage cooler, with a separate temperature control. This cooler is meant for storing milk, soda, or juice.

The freezer has minimally adjustable wire shelves and one drawer. There’s an ice maker at the very top, with no real usable storage space above it. The freezer door has some storage space eaten up by the ice maker chute. Otherwise, there are four fixed shelves.

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Features

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The slightly confusing controls for the water and ice dispenser would benefit from a standard two-paddle design.

The benefit of a side-by-side fridge is that you can store frequently-used fridge and freezer items at a convenient height. The wide Maytag MSD2576VEM’s shelves are easy to slide in and out of place, too. Shelves do a good job holding spilled liquids in place, though if they breach the shelf walls they’ll fall behind the drawers—that becomes a thankless cleaning task.

If you want to know how cold your fridge or freezer is, you'll need an external thermometer.

The Maytag MSD2576VEM’s temperature controls are separate for fridge and freezer. They lack any corresponding temperature scale, though, so if you want to know how cold your fridge or freezer is, you'll need an external thermometer. Maytag did label the controls with their recommended settings for both fridge and freezer.

Instead of levers, the Maytag MSD2576VEM requires that you push a button for water. Press the glass back and you’ll get ice instead. The water spout is a little close to the edge of smaller tumblers, so you may get some splashing. Overall, there’s a bit of a learning curve here, and we’d prefer a simple two-paddle design.

Performance

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Excellent temperature consistency and energy efficiency, although freezing items takes too long.

The Maytag MSD2576VEM had no issues maintaining an even temperature over time. That lack of variation is protection against your food spoiling prematurely. Food on the bottom shelf was slightly warmer than the top two, though—keep that in mind if you’re storing dairy or other sensitive items down there. The vegetable drawers deserve to be praised, too. They lost a bare minimum of moisture, meaning your fruits and veggies will stay fresh for longer.

Unfortunately, this Maytag froze room temperature items way too slowly.

Like the fridge, the freezer kept food at constant temperatures throughout our testing. Temperature variation is how frozen food gets freezer burn, so that’s a good thing. Also like the fridge, food was a little warmer at the bottom of the freezer compartment than at the top. The top of the freezer is next to the ice maker and vent, so food may get a little more exposure to cold air up there. Unfortunately, this Maytag froze room temperature items way too slowly.

In regards to energy consumption, the Maytag MSD2576VEM performed admirably. Assuming that power sells for $0.09 per kW-h, you would only pay about $35.70 per year to run this appliance. That’s very low for a full-size fridge.

Conclusion

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A great all-around fridge that consumers in the market should check out.

There isn't much that the Maytag MSD2576VEM does wrong. Its freezer takes far too long to actually freeze items, but that's the only major fault we found with this side-by-side. Temperature consistency was excellent, moisture retention was superb, and energy efficiency was surprisingly good. With an MSRP of $1,100, the Maytag MSD2576VEM is totally worth it. If you can find it for less, it's an absolute bargain.

Science Introduction

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The Maytag MSD2576VEM had a little trouble freezing room temperature foods, but otherwise temperature performance was impressive with little variation over time. Storage space was also quite good for a side-by-side.

Moisture Retention

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An excellent moisture retention rate.

A vegetable drawer is meant to keep moisture trapped in its contents. That’s exactly what the Maytag MSD2576VEM did, letting our test simulated vegetable lose only 0.08 grams of water per hour. That’s very low compared to other fridges that lose three times that amount.

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Freezing Performance

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Way too slow at freezing food.

The Maytag MSD2576VEM took quite a long time to freeze food from room temperature—2 hours and 24 minutes! That means food could be in danger of developing ice crystals that affect texture and taste when thawed out. This is definitely not an ideal result.

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Storage Space

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Lots of space, especially for a side-by-side.

The main fridge cavity features two adjustable shelves, a fixed shelf, a deli drawer, general storage drawer and one humidity-controlled drawer. Shelves are held in place by grooves built into the side of the fridge. We measured total fridge storage space at 8.19 cubic feet.

The freezer has 4.47 cubic feet of space, including minimally adjustable wire shelves and one drawer. The freezer door has some storage space eaten up by the ice maker chute. Otherwise, there are four fixed shelves.

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Other Tests

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Meet the tester

Keith Barry

Keith Barry

Former Editor in Chief, Reviewed Home

@itskeithbarry

Keith was the Editor in Chief of Reviewed's appliance and automotive sites. His work has appeared in publications such as Wired, Car & Driver, and CityLab.

See all of Keith Barry's reviews

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