And again, if you ever need to make a claim under the warranty, you’ll be dealing with LG’s below-average customer service. The big caveat with LG fridges is that some of its larger fridges are more likely than those of other brands to stop cooling. But there are some rules of thumb to follow if you want to maximize your energy savings, such as choosing a smaller capacity, passing on a door dispenser, and avoiding side-by-side models. We asked 5,000-plus readers how satisfied they are with their fridges and the appliances’ reliability, as well as which features matter. It has two adjustable shelves in the fridge and one in the freezer, and its crisper drawer keeps produce fresh.
NewAir refrigerators are built with the same compressors we found in Magic Chef mini fridges and others owned by Whirlpool. Again, because there are only a handful of big manufacturers, the parts are roughly the same, and so too is the quality. If you really want to step it up and are looking for a wine fridge, we have recommendations here. A mini fridge with a separate freezer is a great package for galley kitchens, dorms, and wet bars where you want to have all possible storage options. ZDNET’s recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites.
Maybe the fridge will be in a galley kitchen or pantry, or maybe an island stands tight to the fridge cutout, and it’s going to be a pain to deal with a fridge that takes up too much room. Some “counter-depth” fridges really stretch the definition, sitting at more than 30 inches deep—they’re shallower than similar standard-depth models from the same brand, but not by much. So you should double-check any whirlpool mini refrigerator counter-depth fridge’s actual dimensions. We don’t have perfect information about the best brands or models, but we do have a few leads. Top-freezer fridge owners are more likely to complain that their fridges are loud, though it’s still a relatively low percentage, even among the noisiest models. IKEA’s house-brand refrigerators are manufactured by Whirlpool and have mostly similar characteristics.
And LG doesn’t sell as wide a variety of that type of fridge as other brands do. But judging from the little info we do have, those models seem to be solid, too. LG’s bottom-freezer models also earned high marks in our reader survey. The shelving and organization in LG fridges earned especially high ratings in our reader survey, as LG beat the other major brands in satisfaction with perceived capacity, storage ability, and accessibility of contents. Among refrigerators from the five major brands, LG fridges seem to make their owners the happiest.
This is basically destined to be a problem with most similar models, so it’s important to understand that you’re working with a very small, very inexpensively built appliance. If you don’t store 12-ounce cans, you might find that the can holder on the door becomes wasted space, and while most people agree that the freezer works well, some have found that temperature fluctuates above freezing. The back of the refrigerator compartment also tends to get colder, which you can use accordingly, but it can also be a nuisance. Compact and versatile as a fridge or freezer, Avanti’s Dual-Function mini fridge has a single shelf for easy storage and cleaning. Featuring a shelf, in-door storage, and a chiller, the Frigidaire 1.6-Cubic-Foot Compact Fridge has just enough room to store your mini fridge basics. Based on other mini fridges posted, this looks to be a pretty good deal.
And shallower, counter-depth fridges are big enough for most households. But in the looser, more common definition, a “counter-depth” fridge is a freestanding model that’s noticeably shallower than a standard-depth fridge. You can find tons of these models for sale at any typical big-box appliance retailer, from every major brand, in most door configurations, at a range of prices.