Owen Burke is a Senior Home and Kitchen Reporter at Insider, helping craft a brand new guides section for Insider Reviews. Ever in search of the perfect espresso, he focuses on espresso machines and equipment, juicers, kitchen knives, grills, meat and seafood, and the odd outdoors product. Eva (she/her) is a reviews analyst in the Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she tests kitchen gear, home appliances and culinary innovations. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor of science in food studies, nutrition and public health and is a trained chef through the Natural Gourmet Institute.
Its shelves and bins were more or less identical to what we saw elsewhere. We did like the design of its can dispenser rack, which lets you load cans in from the middle as well as the top. Here at Reviewed, our experts have tested hundreds of full-size refrigerators over the years and found some are definitely better than others. After testing some of the most popular mini refrigerators on the market, we can definitively say the same is true here. While most miniature refrigerators are relatively inexpensive and destined for a dorm room or garage, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still have the best mini fridge. I use it in my shop which has a room temp above 80 degrees a lot.
And the Frigidaire EFR494 almost feels like it was designed for use in an office. The matte, retro design won’t stand out too much from the rest of your office furniture, and the door hinge is reversible so it can open to the left or right. It also features a 1 gallon water tank and dispenser so you can fill your reusable water bottle with fresh, cool water whenever you like. The whirlpool freezers interior has 4.5 cubic feet of space, and the door has enough room for gallon water jugs and 2 liter soda bottles. There’s a freezer section at the top that you can either use to make ice for your drinks or to store frozen meals for quick lunches at your desk. It also has three removable glass shelves for making more room for tall items or when you need to wipe out the fridge.
Your mini fridge should be set to at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit to help curb the growth of harmful bacteria that can grow on your food and beverages and make you sick. Many mini fridges use between 55 and 85 watts of electricity per hour, which means that over the course of a year, it will cost less than $20 to run one in your home. You can always opt for an Energy Star certified model for even better energy efficiency and lower operating costs throughout the year. But keep in mind that use cases and environmental factors will have an impact on energy use. A mini fridge can absolutely be worth the cost, especially if you’re going off to college. Having a small refrigerator in your dorm room makes it easy to keep fresh food and cool drinks on hand between classes or when you just can’t bring yourself to eat another meal in the dining hall.
Request a return within 15 days for products purchased through whirlpool.com that are in new condition. The ideal temperature settings for the fridge and the freezer are 37°F and 0°F, respectively. The industry-standard warranty covers one year of parts and service.
As the ventilation system becomes iced up, the freezer loses some of its ability to circulate cold air throughout the compartment. This can prevent the freeze from reaching sufficiently cold temperatures. In the future if I notice milk spoiling early, I’ll take note and start shopping around sooner instead of just turning it up colder. Clark Howard says that with kitchen appliances, it is better to replace rather than fix, after the 3-5 year mark, which I found surprising.
Having a mini fridge in your dorm is a great way to keep drinks and food handy for study sessions and hangouts with friends. The Frigidaire EFR100 is small enough to fit on a dresser top or under a lofted bed, and the reversible door hinge gives you even more placement options by allowing it to open to the left or right. The door has enough space for 2 liter bottles and the freezer section is perfect for an ice tray or frozen meals for a quick bite between classes.