Who doesn’t love the tiny fridges in hotel rooms that hold our favourite beverages and chocolate bars? Although hotel minibars are all extremely expensive and out-of-reach, they are an incredible help in a strange hotel, in a new city. Mini fridges are just the perfect size to keep your essential daily drinks and snacks – not too big, and not too small. In this mini fridge buying guide, you’ll know everything you need to choose a minifridge.
Mini fridges are just not for hotel rooms; you can keep them anywhere – inside and outside the house – where you might need quick access to water, drinks, snacks, cold food or medicine. In dorms, studios, office and home office, work sheds and garages, summer cottages and vacation homes, attics and basements, and even bedrooms. You can even travel with a mini-fridge if you have access to adequate power on your camping and hiking trips.
How to Choose the Best Mini Fridge?
Every home needs a large refrigerator in the kitchen or the dining rooms to house all our monthly or weekly grocery shopping; but sometimes, we need another fridge in the house – a smaller version big enough to hold just your necessities. The ideal mini fridge will have all the characteristics of your main fridge, and some more.
Here are some of the features you should be aware of or look for when choosing a mini fridge for your home or work:
- Size
Of course, the size of the mini-fridge is quite important when you are choosing a model. If you’re getting a mini-fridge for your dorm room, bedroom, RVs, home office or personal room at work, chances are that you don’t have a lot of space to spare. You might even have a small, limited space where you simply have to fit the fridge; if this is the case, you’ll have limited choice.
Before buying a mini-fridge, it is very important that you get the exact measurement of the space you have. Your mini fridge needs to fit perfectly within the space you have; even an inch bigger, and it would become completely worthless.
There are actually three types of fridges when it comes to the size: a cube mini-fridge, a mid-size mini-fridge and an under-the-counter mini-fridge. A cube mini-fridge is the smallest fridge available, not much bigger than a cooler; they can’t cool something, but can keep your food and drink cold for as long as you need them to be. These fridges are meant to be traveled with, on a picnic, a long drive or in your office room; they can even keep medicines cold and fresh for a long time.
A mid-size mini-fridge is slightly bigger, but, depending on the model, optimal for limited space. These fridges have ample storage amount and comes with temperature control. You can place food and drinks in these fridges and they will become cold over time, and stay cold until you take them out.
On the other hand, under-the-counter mini-fridges have a good amount of storage. They can be used as an additional freezer unit around the house, or a good place to store quick snacks and drinks where you work or spend time. These are the kind of fridges we usually see in hotel rooms; they can fit snugly under cabinets, and come with some standard features such as locking mechanisms, lights, shelves, etc.
- Types
The types of mini-fridges is a very important thing you’ll learn in this mini fridge buying guide. There are three different types of mini-fridges you can choose from, based on the technology used inside them to cool the contents of the fridge. The way that these mini-fridges cool also depends on the amount of power it consumes to run.
A thermoelectric mini-fridge uses a miniature pump to suck out all the heat from the fridge, and disperses that heat along the outer walls of the fridge. If you put cold food and drink inside, it will stay cool since all the hot air will be sucked out from the inside. This kind of fridge uses a lot of electricity even when they don’t actually cool the contents inside.
A compressor mini-fridge uses the same technology and mechanism as any regular full-sized fridge. These fridges are filled with compressor liquid which is vaporized and send throughout the fridge, and makes the contents inside colder over time.
Absorption fridges, on the other hand, evaporates all the heat inside the fridge and takes them outside. They are usually silent and more expensive than any other kind of fridge, but they rarely suffer from any kind of temperature fluctuation.
All of these fridge types are different from each other, and they consume different amounts of electricity. Your preference for power consumption can be an important factor in choosing a fridge, too.
- Purpose
How you intend to use your mini-fridge can also decide which one you should get. Freezers are the kind of mini-fridges that are mainly used to freeze food, i.e. to freeze and store meat, fruits and vegetables for future use. They can completely freeze your food so that they need to be defrosted later; freezers are usually used as a secondary fridge, or in sheds and garages.
As the name suggests, beverage fridges are meant to keep your drinks and certain snacks cold. The mini-fridges that can be found in supermarkets and gas stations with a transparent door are usually known as beverage fridges. Wine fridges are meant to hold wines in the same way that beverage fridges hold beers, juice and milk cartons, and water; they come with multiple shelves and automatic temperature control.
Travel fridges are miniature picnic baskets that will keep your food and drinks cool. They provide plenty of space inside a small fridge but also use up a lot of electricity. They are perfect for travelling with, or for storing drinks and snacks in your home, office or garage.
- Brand Value
Unlike other kitchen appliance, people usually buy refrigerators and mini-fridges from brands they are well familiar with.
Not all brands that are famous for their full-sized refrigerators manufacture mini-fridges. The well-known brands have the best warranty on their products, as well as a supportive customer service. Danby, Black + Decker, Midea. Cooluli, Magic Chef, AstroAl – these are the most well-known brands that manufacture mini-fridges.
- Insulation
Insulation, another very important thing you’ll learn in this mini fridge buying guide. While the large, life-sized fridges are perfectly insulated, it is a problem with mini-fridges. Since mini-fridges are lightweight and space-conscious, there isn’t much space to put in decent-sized insulation. With a well-insulated fridge, the heat is kept outside the fridge so that the insides can remain cool. If there isn’t good insulation installed in your mini-fridge, the natural heat from the outside world might creep inside the fridge, and your mini-fridge will take longer to cool.
Therefore, when buying a mini-fridge, it is always important that you look for a well-insulated one.
These are the features to look for in a mini-fridge for your personal use, whether you are looking for one for additional storage, or simply to stack your wines, alcoholic and soft drinks, and snacks around the house.
Best Mini Fridge
The three mini fridges described below, the Midea WHD-113FSS1 Double Door Mini Fridge, the AstroAl Portable Mini Fridge, and the Cooluli Mini Fridge and Electric Cooler are completely different from each other, yet they fulfill similar needs in our lives. Their features, pros and cons have been discussed in full below, so that it will be easier for you to make a decision while buying a mini fridge for your home or work.
The Midea WHD-113FSS1 looks just like a regular life-size fridge, but is in fact only 33 inches in height. It is a double-door fridge that can be easily placed inside any counter and under any counter, in your kitchen, home office, shed or garage. This is a great mini-fridge for putting in your workplace or home, in your office room or even your bedroom, or any place you want to put in your favorite drinks and snacks close at hand. This mini-fridge comes with adjustable legs and reversible doors that you can open both from left and from right. This makes it easier for you to place the fridge anywhere, at any corner of your room and inside cabinets.
This 33” x 18.5” xx 19.4” mini fridge has two drawers – a small one on the top and a larger one at the bottom. Although in a smaller stature, it looks exactly like a full-sized fridge, with a vegetable drawer, multiple shelves, door shelves and a freezer section. It will work just like a household fridge where you can keep your drinks, snacks, fruits and vegetables, ice cream and chocolate bars, beer cans and even cooked food in a small amount. Both segments have lights inside them, and with mechanical control, you can partially defrost the fridge segments when needed.
The temperature for both the segments of the mini fridge can be controlled, from 32⁰Fahrenheit to 50⁰Fahrenheit in the refrigerator segment and -11.2⁰Fahrenheit to 5⁰Fahrenheit in the freezer compartment. The freezer compartment can a holding capacity of 0.92 cubic feet and the refrigerator compartment has a capacity of 3.1 cubic feet, which is big enough for most drinks and snacks. The doors are made from stainless steel and the body is made from iron, and the fridge requires 120 volts to run. It weighs around 52.2 pounds – light enough to move from room to room if you need to. As a second fridge in the kitchen or a spare one in the garage – this mini fridge from Midea is both affordable and durable.
Pros:
- Affordable and sturdy
- Made from stainless steel and iron
- Comes with two doors and two segments – a freezer and a refrigerator segment
- Can be put inside cabinets and under counters
- Works just like a regular life-size fridge
- Cools evenly inside without any warm spots
- Reversible door opens both from the left and the right
- Adjustable temperature control options
- Comes with interior lights
- Comes with a drawer for fruits and vegetables
- Built-in beverage holders on the fridge door
- Multiple shelves inside the refrigerator segment
- Energy efficient; runs on 120 volts
- Dimensions: 33” x 18.5” xx 19.4”
- Can be partially defrosted
- Temperature: 32⁰Fahrenheit to 50⁰Fahrenheit in the refrigerator segment
- Temperature: -11.2⁰Fahrenheit to 5⁰Fahrenheit in the freezer segment
Cons:
- Not very quiet operation
- Side panels may vibrate slightly when in use
- Door seal may become weak and loose over time
Click Here To Find Out More About Midea WHD-113FSS1 Double Door Mini Fridge
====================
This portable mini fridge from AstroAl is perfect for travelling with – a small fridge to hold your drinks and snacks wherever you are! The size is simply perfect for the back of your van or truck, in your bedroom or home office, study or garage, or for taking with you to camping or hiking trips. It has a 4-liter holding capacity that can store up to 6 cans or bottles of drinks, as well as skincare, medication, breastmilk and frozen food.
You can use this mini fridge both for storing your cold and frozen food, and for warm food. The temperature can be controlled to cool up to 32⁰F below ambient temperature or kept warm up to 150⁰F. The fridge can reach 86⁰F or -64⁰F within an hour, and 86⁰F or -50⁰F within two hours, as well as 86⁰F or -37⁰F within three hours of turning the fridge on. This quick heating and freezing application makes it possible to store anything you want to cool or warm up in this fridge without worrying about them getting spoiled. The inner dimensions of this mini-fridge are 5.5” x 5.3” x 7.86”, which is big enough for half a dozen 12-oz cans of beer, skin care and medication, frozen dinners, multiple bottles of breastmilk, snacks and other food items.
This fridge comes with two plugs – one for a regular wall outlet and one for 12v cigarette lighters in your car, van or truck. This make the AstroAl Portable fridge perfect for long trips and around the house; you can even carry it with you into hotel rooms and dorm, camping trips and picnics – wherever you need cool drinks and frozen food. With the eco-friendly Freon-free semiconductor refrigeration chips installed inside this fridge, you won’t have to worry about harming the ozone layer. The fridge works quietly, with a sound level below 25dB.
Pros:
- Lightweight and compact
- Perfect for travelling with in your car, van or truck
- Small enough to carry with you into hotel rooms, dorms and camping trips
- Inner dimension: 5.5” x 5.3” x 7.86”
- Outer dimension: 9.4” x 6.9” x 10”
- Perfect for storing 6 12-ounce drink cans, bottles of breastmilk, frozen food and skin care, cosmetics and snacks
- Can be used both to cool and warm food
- Comes with a removable shelf inside
- Temperature can be controlled manually
- Temperature range from -37⁰F to 150⁰F
- Temperature can be set to 86⁰F or -64⁰F in an hour, 86⁰F or -50⁰F in two hours and 86⁰F or -37⁰F in three hours
- Comes with two plugs for wall outlet and 12v vehicle cigarette lighters
- Comes with eco-friendly, Freon-free semiconductors
- Quiet operation under 25 dB(A)
- Lightweight at 4.6 pounds
Cons:
- Ice can build up inside when too cold
- Emits a lot of heat from the backside
Click Here To Find Out More About AstroAl Portable Mini Fridge
=========================
This compact and convenient mini fridge – the Cooluli Electric Cooler and Warmer – can be used both to store cold and hot food. It is extremely easy to switch between the cooling and the warming mode for your food, drinks and snacks. With an outer measurement of 7.25” x 10.25” x 10.75” and an inner measurement of 5.3” x 5.7” x 8.3” – this mini fridge has just about space for six 12-ounce cans of drinks, or a few boxes of frozen dinner, or half a dozen bottles of breast milk, or a few medicines and skin care items, cosmetics or similar products.
The size of the Cooluli mini fridge makes it perfect to place it in your cars or vans, to take it on long drives, picnics, camping or even to hotel rooms. These fridges are also perfect for dorm rooms or home offices, for a few drinks and snacks whenever you want them. It is lightweight and compact at only 4-lbs, and can be carried around in your hands with you. This is an extremely versatile mini fridge where you can store anything you want to keep warm or cool.
It is easy to switch between the warming and the cooling mode of this mini-fridge by the simple flick of a switch. Completely environment-friendly, it can cool down up to 40⁰F to 45⁰F below the ambient temperature, and can also be turn up to 122⁰F to 144⁰F to keep your food warm. It comes with AC and DC power cords that you can use on any wall cord, inside and outside the home, as well as an USB cord. A molded inset top handle makes it easy to carry the mini fridge around with you, and this lightweight fridge actually has a holding capacity of 4 liters.
Pros:
- Lightweight and compact at only 4.9-lbs weight
- Outer measurement: 7.25” x 10.25” x 10.75”
- Inner measurement: 5.3” x 5.7” x 8.3”
- Can be used to hold drinks, snacks, food, baby food, breast milk, medication, skin care, etc.
- 4-liter holding capacity
- Can be switched from heating to cooling mode with a switch, and vice versa
- Comes with AC and DC power cords and an USB cord
- Can cool down to -40⁰F to -45⁰F
- Can be turned up to 122⁰F to 144⁰F
- Environment-friendly fridge and components
- Comes with a molded inset handle at the top for holding and carrying
- Can be taken on long drives, trips, camping and picnics
Cons:
- Water condensation at the bottom of the fridge is possible
- Not for use for a very long duration of time
Conclusion
Mini fridges can seem like a lifesaver when you are out on a long drive, or when you spend a lot of time outdoors or behind the wheels, or even when you want to keep your drinks and snacks close to you while you work or study. The mini fridges described and discussed in this article will give you just that – the convenience you want with a tiny bit of gadget within reach. They are compact and lightweight and will keep your favorite drinks and food at just the right temperature so that you don’t have to worry about running out of energy and supplements.
Click Here To Find Out More About Cooluli Mini Fridge
=================
