Mini Fridges: Reviews

Refrigerator testing tells us that the small freezer compartment in most mini fridges is tiny and almost useless for anything but freezing a single tray of little ice cubes -- and even that can take days. Highly rated in… owner reviews, the Danby DAR259 takes a different route, eliminating the freezer area altogether and maximizing interior refrigerator space. The 2.5-cubic-foot Danby DAR259 mini fridge has a footprint of about 20 by 18 inches, and it's about 27 inches tall, making it a good fit for dorm rooms or under a cabinet. It includes three adjustable shelves, a can dispenser, 2-liter bottle storage in the door and automatic defrost. Unlike most compact refrigerators, this model is Energy Star-compliant. It's available in black and white finishes.

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If you really want a freezer compartment (even if its miniscule), we found good reviews for the Kenmore 92779, a mid-sized budget mini fridge. The 2.7-cubic-foot Kenmore 92779 performs well in professional tests and… receives good ratings from owners. The tiny freezer area can be used to make ice but doesn't keep food cold enough for long-term storage. This model includes 2-liter bottle storage in the door (but no can dispenser) and the shelves are removable but not adjustable. You'll pay more for the Danby DAR259, but the extra money gets you adjustable shelves, a can dispenser and automatic defrosting. The cheaper Kenmore mini fridge will need to be defrosted manually, and it's not Energy Star-rated, so it's less efficient overall. It takes up about 19 by 19 inches of floor space and is 26 inches tall. The Kenmore mini fridge is available in black only.

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The Haier NuCool isn't really a refrigerator; instead of a compressor and coolant, this model uses a thermoelectric cooling mechanism which just can't keep the refrigerator any colder than about 37 degrees Fahrenheit --… and if the ambient room temperature rises above 70 degrees, the Haier mini fridge can't maintain its temperature. That makes it a no-no for storing perishable foods or leftovers, and it can't freeze anything. On the other hand, if space is your most important consideration, and you only need to chill soda or other beverages, owners say the 1.7-cubic-foot Haier mini fridge will work fine. It measures about 17 by 19 inches and is 20 inches tall. For the same money, you could get the slightly larger Kenmore 92779, which is a true refrigerator. The Haier fridge comes in black, white or pink.

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Space permitting, a counter-height compact refrigerator generally offers better performance and energy efficiency than a smaller mini fridge. The 4.3-cubic-foot GE Spacemaker GMR04 is recommended by both expert reviewers… and owners, and it has a variety of shelving options, including adjustable shelves, 2-liter bottle storage and a can dispenser. While the freezer section is large enough to hold three or four ice-cube trays, it's no more effective than others and must be manually defrosted. The GE mini fridge has about twice the capacity of tiny cube fridges (and it's twice as expensive), but it's only about six inches taller. This model is available in white and stainless steel versions.

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Freezers included in compact refrigerators tend to perform very poorly, but two-door compact fridges like the Sunpentown RF-320 are an exception. Owners say the separate freezer compartment works as well as that in a… full-sized refrigerator, but the extra insulation this configuration requires reduces the total capacity of this counter-height (33.7 inches) to a modest 3.2 cubic feet. The Sunpentown mini fridge includes a humidity-controlled crisper, adjustable shelving, a can dispenser and 2-liter bottle storage in the door. The freezer must be manually defrosted. It's available in white and black with stainless steel doors.

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