But from what we can tell, owners tend to be really happy with them. They offer some of the same practical advantages as basic French-door models, for significantly lower prices. Most models, at least from the major brands, have reversible doors, so you can set them up to open in whichever direction works better for your kitchen layout. And in general, plenty of people are perfectly happy with their Samsung fridges. The side-by-sides in particular earned the second-best satisfaction ratings among the top five brands in our survey, behind LG’s . The premium Bespoke line is one of the few true counter-depth offerings we know of.
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Sub-Zero, Liebherr, Smeg, Miele, and Fisher & Paykel are some other notable names, and there are plenty more. Since these lines are all sold in such low volumes, we weren’t able to gather useful amounts of info about most of them from our reader survey or our analysis of customer reviews. Based on the look and layout of the fridges, Kenmore’s basic top-freezer models appear to be made by Frigidaire, most of its other midrange models are probably made by Whirlpool, and its higher-end models seem to be LGs. Kenmore products can vary a bit from the major-label versions—sometimes they earn different performance ratings from pro reviewers, for example—but generally you can expect the same experience.
If you have a kitchen island, measure the distance from the wall to the edge of that counter to account for the door swing. In this situation, a counter-depth model, or one with half-width doors (like a French-door or side-by-side model) might make the most sense. If your fridge will sit close to a wall, think about whether the door will be able to swing open wide enough for you to pull out crisper drawers or deli trays.
I chose a variety of price points, designs, and sizes of mini fridges to suit almost every budget and purpose. I even chose a mini fridge model with a Sabbath Mode for Jewish customers who observe strict rules about using electronics on the Sabbath and religious holidays. Look for exterior features that help you easily navigate a small kitchen, like reversible doors and counter-depth models. On the inside, shelves that slide back to make room for tall items help you use the same space for different purposes.
The body of this mini fridge is designed to sit flush with your kitchen cabinets as well, if you want to tuck it under your counter for extra cold storage, allowing it to blend into your decor and other appliances. Mini fridges are also fairly affordable, retailing for just a few hundred dollars for a 3 to 4 cubic foot model, though it is possible to find Frigidaire fridge some for even cheaper. And there are very expensive high-end models that would be at home in a commercial kitchen or a fancy home-chef kitchen that come with motion-activated interior lights, touch controls, and door alarms. To help you find the perfect mini fridge for your budget and needs, I put together a list of the five best models you can buy.
Consumer Reports puts LG near the front of the pack for reliability, too. For other current LG fridges (including the French-door models we analyzed) and other major brands, we saw those kinds of problems cited in only Frigidaire fridge about 3% of reviews, give or take. So we’d guess (hope?) that as long as you avoid the older side-by-sides, the chance of a cooling problem with an LG is about the same as with refrigerators from other brands.
He enjoys visiting factories and learning about regulatory loopholes, and has flooded our testing area only three times. When in doubt, check the yellow Energy Guide sticker on any model to get an idea of its energy consumption and estimated costs of operation. The stickers all have text and graphics to represent the range of operating costs within a category; look for a model with a cost on the lower end of the scale. The first, simplest step toward picking a more sustainable fridge is to make sure it uses climate-friendly R600a refrigerant, as many current models do. If the refrigerant leaks, it’ll have no effect on the ozone layer and a negligible effect on global warming. When you buy a premium refrigerator, you’re paying for the look or the features, not a more reliable product.
In addition, we haven’t seen any proof that spending more on a fridge means it will be more reliable, at least not among non-luxury freestanding fridges. True counter-depth fridges can blend into their surroundings, but even the pseudo-counter-depth freestanding fridges from mainstream brands don’t feel so dominating or imposing in a room. Although side-by-sides tend to create much less satisfaction than French-door models, some people genuinely prefer this layout. Arguably the best part is that they tend to cost much less than French-door fridges while offering similar capacities and feature sets. A $2,000 French-door is not as nice,” said Richard Hughes of Appliance Factory. You can find four popular styles of freestanding refrigerators, plus a few less-common types, all with some aesthetic and functional differences.