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Refrigerator with reversible hinge available in Mexico?


tbh

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I've been looking at property and I've noticed that all the refrigerators I've seen since coming to Mexico have the door hinge on the right side.    That is very different from anything I've seen NOB.    And, that makes them inconvenient  in about half of the kitchens here.    Does anyone know where we can find refrigerators with reversible door capabilities?

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3 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

I think you'll find that most of them are made so that the doors can be reversed.  Look to see if there are capped screw holes on the opposite side of the door.

Where have you seen them?   I'm in Vallarta now but I'd think the big chains would have similar inventory. 

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You will find most stock refrigerators in Mexico have handle on the left and hinges on the right, doors open left to right. I am currently building a home in Guanajuato City, I assumed that finding a refrigerator with dual hinges would be a snap. My kitchen is designed for a right to left opening unit. Not the case. In all my shopping, Liverpool, Home Depot, Best Buy, Soriana, La Comer, Coppel , Famsa and Ryse, I found one stocked unit. Same results with online searches. Not as common as you'd think. And most appliance sales people had no clue what I was looking for. I think in the Chapala area, your best bet might be Tio Sam and placing a special order. I have had some luck there getting special / catalog items brought in.

Fortunately our GTO kitchen is big enough that the reversed door swing won't be a big issue, just one that will bug me.

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Many years ago, we faced the same problem and had to search in person, feeling the top of the refrigerator to see if there were capped holes for hinges on the opposite side. Eventually, we found one of the right size at Home Depot in Guadalajara; a stainless steel Whirlpool with a top freezer.  On removing the handle and door, I discovered that they had one Torx screw, for which I had no driver.  A search of auto mechanics found one that I could borrow, and the problem was solved. 

I suspect that the popularity of “french door“ refrigerators has reduced the need for reversible hinges, so it might be best to design your kitchen remodel to take a 36 inch refrigerator with double doors; if possible.

Now, we have a double-door-bottom freezer unit with all the water and ice options on the door. However, our present home has no water at the refrigerator location & no easy way to provide it.  You just cannot defeat Murphy‘s Law.

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58 minutes ago, RVGRINGO said:

Many years ago ... we found one of the right size at Home Depot in Guadalajara; ... I discovered that they had one Torx screw, for which I had no driver.  A search ... found one ... problem was solved. 

... “french door“ refrigerators ...

 

Ha!    French door type ...  I have a 36 inch French door type Whirlpool in the rental where I am now and I go to my list of colorful short words every time I use it.    I have never had an appliance that big with so little convenient usable space.   The thick door leads the bitch list since it then puts the shelves so far back in the unit.    Everything else follows.  

Obviously, what I need to do is not buy that type and find the other type, if I can.    Actually, since many condo units have layouts that are mirror images of each other; that means half of them are good candidates.    

Also, I got a response from someone in Vallarta who said that Tio Sam's has them, at least that the fridges had the caps -- it might be similar to what you reported, however.  Thanks.

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Mine's a Maytag and it has the ability to swing from either side. Unfortunately it came with the house so I can't tell you where it came from. I would also suggest Tio Sam's if all other places fail.

You may also want to check out which way the washer (front load) and dryer doors swing too. It used to drive me nuts that the dryer door was in my way when I wanted to load it from a top load washing machine. I am in heaven now because I have a whirlpool and the dryer door opens down. It makes it a breeze to both load and unload the dryer.

Happy hunting!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Today I made the rounds of Chedraui, Sams, Costco, Tio Sam's and Home Depot (in Vallarta). Of the ones on the floor all were right-hinged except for two units at Tio Sam's which were reversible.    The one I was interested in was a Whirlpool; don't know the other brand.    These were each fairly basic models; neither had an ice or water dispenser in the door but I could see the caps in the holes for the reverse mounting.    The sales rep knew all about the feature and confirmed it.

Again, this was Vallarta but the common thread here is Tio Sam's.

 

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I have a simple, inexpensive, one door Mabe fridge that I bought 9 years ago. It opens from right to left, but has capped hinge holes on the right side of the fridge and freezer compartment and hand holds on both sides of the doors, so was obviously made to be reversible.

I actually can't believe how many poorly designed kitchens there are in Mexico, even in what are otherwise upscale houses. The fridge placement seems to be like some afterthought, opening the wrong way, with no counter next to it to put the items you take out or to put your groceries on when loading it after shopping.

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