Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS Review

Introduction

Even with a $1,299 sale price, it's certainly pricey, especially for a fridge that doesn't have features like an external control panel or a water and ice dispenser. We can't argue with great performance scores, though, so we got this unit over to the lab to see how it would hold up under our testing.

Design & Usability

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A simple bottom-freezer fridge that stores fresh food at eye level.

The Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS has a horizontal-grain stainless finish and contoured stainless handles. This finish collect fingerprints easily, but these disappear with a simple swipe of a damp cloth. The front of the unit does not feature a through-the-door ice maker or any controls, and since the door can be hinged from the left or the right, small plastic screws covering pre-drilled door holes are visible.

Inside, the large fridge is on the top and the smaller freezer rolls out from the bottom. The fridge compartment features an array of shelves, several of which are easily adjustable, ample door storage, and two vegetable drawers. The pull-out freezer is pretty small, though, and consists of two drawers. As is typically the case, an ice maker even further limits the freezer space.

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Features

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You’ll find the GB2FHDXWS straightforward and easy to use, aside from the flimsy crisper drawers and heavy shelves.

As with all bottom freezers, the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS puts fresh food front and center. It also requires the user to bend down to hunt for frozen food. Heavy glass shelves hang from slats at the back of the fridge—users with limited mobility may find them hard to adjust. There aren't any trick fold-up shelves or slide-out drawers for easy access. Also, like most budget fridges, this one has those flimsy crisper drawers that don’t glide easily.

A control panel, which pilots the freezer and the fridge separately, is located at the top interior of the fridge. Its thermostat is set according to an arbitrary numerical scale instead of actual temperature readings in Fahrenheit or Celsius. Without an external thermometer, achieving an exact, ideal temperature is nearly impossible.

The Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS is very easy to clean, and the exterior finish only requires a wipe with a damp rag to remove fingerprints. Door shelves hold big spills, while the lips surrounding the glass shelves contain minor accidents.

Performance

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Consistent fridge temperatures, a rock-solid freezer, and great moisture retention

Internal temperature readings were very consistent over time, which means food will stay fresher. Also, items in the vegetable drawers didn't lose much moisture at all. Since the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS doesn’t have a temperature control, you may want to invest in a cheap thermometer to ensure optimum temperature performance. In our tests, the manufacturer's recommended setting ran a bit warm.

The freezer on this Whirlpool is very small, which means it doesn’t have to work as hard to keep a consistent temperature. Items stayed cold whether they were in the back or front of the freezer drawer, and temperatures didn’t fluctuate as the compressor cycled on and off. That said, this unit offers great protection against freezer burn, and temperatures didn't move above 0ºF.

Conclusion

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With the GB2FHDXWS, Whirlpool crafted a high-quality bottom-freezer.

If you decide you want to join the bottom-freezer crowd, the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS is an excellent choice. Sure, it looks somewhat industrial and the freezer compartment isn't exactly enormous, but the fresh food compartment offers consistent temperature performance, reliable humidity control, and wide shelves. The freezer's temperature performance was also remarkably consistent.

While it's priced at $1,499, you shouldn't have trouble finding it for less online. That puts it on par with side-by-side models, and makes it cheaper than a French door.

Science Introduction

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Both fridge and freezer compartments display accurate temperature performance, with almost no variation in temperature between top and bottom shelves. Vegetables in the vegetable drawers stay moist, and frozen food stays frozen for at least two days if the power goes out. This Whirlpool also features a good amount of storage space in the fridge compartment.

Temperature Performance

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Consistent temperatures in both fridge and freezer.

Fridge temperatures varied less than a third of a degree, which is a sign of a very sensitive thermostat. Since the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS doesn’t have a temperature control listed in degrees, you may want to invest in a cheap thermometer to ensure optimum temperature performance. On our tests, the “recommended setting” ran about 2 degrees too high.

The freezer in the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS is very small, which means it doesn’t need to work as hard to keep a consistent temperature. Items stayed cold whether they were in the back or the front of the freezer drawer, and temperatures didn’t fluctuate as the compressor cycled on and off. Steady temperatures like these are great protection against freezer burn.

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Moisture Retention

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Barely any moisture is lost in this vegetable drawer.

The simulated vegetable that we put in the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS’s vegetable drawer lost only 0.11 grams of water per hour, which is excellent performance. Fresh produce that is placed in one of this fridge's vegetable drawers will stay fresh for a longer period of time compared to produce in other fridges.

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Freezing & Thawing

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Food takes too long to freeze.

Though it has a small freezer, the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS still took 2 hours and 10 minutes to bring room temperature food to below 32 degrees. Faster freezing means that fewer ice crystals form. Since ice crystals change the texture of food when it’s thawed, we’d prefer a fridge with quicker freezing performance.

When unplugged, the internal temperature of frozen food in the freezer didn’t thaw for 36 hours. In fact, it was still frozen after 48 hours. This proves that this Whirlpool is well insulated, even when the power goes out.

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Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

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Like all bottom freezers, this one has a limited amount of freezer space, but the fridge has no such limitation. Energy efficiency proved better than average.

We measure only a fridge’s usable space, rather than the total interior space minus all shelving. Hence, the Whirlpool GB2FHDXWS has 10.26 cubic feet of usable storage. That’s thanks to four adjustable shelves, one fixed shelf, a storage drawer, and two crisper drawers.

The freezer only has 2.82 cubic feet of storage space across two drawers, which is decent for a bottom-freezer unit. The deepest drawer is bisected by a plastic divider, and a good portion of the top shelf is taken up by an ice maker and another plastic divider.

Dividing out the Whirlpool's energy use over its usable storage space shows that it’s a very efficient fridge regardless of its size, using just 0.07 kW-h of energy per cubic foot. This will run you about $31.65 in yearly electric bills, assuming that power sells for 9.1 cents per kW-h.

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Other Tests

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