If you are thinking about getting a mini fridge freezer, there are some important things to consider.  Many people simply want to purchase the cheapest one they can get their hands on, but doing so often results in trouble later on.  There are definitely some good quality options out there, but there are some real lousy ones as well.  Investing a minimal amount of time into becoming an informed consumer will save you a lot of hassle down the road.  Here are some ideas to help you choose a good mini fridge with freezer.

What are the Most Important Features for Mini Fridge Freezers to Have?

Many of these appliances are pretty basic.  If there is one feature that you should really look out for, it is a working freezer. If you’ve had any experience at all with these pint-sized refrigerators, you will know that many of them have freezer compartments that are pretty much useless.  First of all, the freezer part is so small that you can’t really fit anything but a Popsicle into it.  Even a normal size ice cube tray won’t fit in most of them.  In addition to their small size, many of these mini fridge and freezer units don’t freeze consistently and tend to ice up often.  They are alright for freezing a small number of ice cubes, but if you put ice cream in them, there is a good chance it will become a soggy mess shortly.
The solution to this problem is to buy a mini fridge freezer combo that has two separate compartments.  These appliances tend to work a lot better than those with just a flap for a freezer.  Igloo makes a 3.2 cubic foot model with separate compartments for about $200.  I know this one costs quite a bit more than the cheapest mini freezer fridge units, but it is a good appliance built by a quality manufacturer and will save you lots of frustration over spoiled or thawed out frozen items.
Of course, if you don’t care about having a freezer, you can easily find a mini fridge with separate freezer.  This kind of refrigerator, also known as a bar fridge, will allow you to fit more stuff into it since it doesn’t have to waste any space on a freezer compartment.  Another consideration that you might have is the size of the unit.  The smallest mini fridges are so tiny that they can only fit a few cans inside.  I’m not sure what people do with these things, but I seem to always need extra room to cram groceries and drinks inside my mini fridge freezer.  I would recommend getting the biggest possible mini fridge that you can fit into the space you have.  The price doesn’t increase much for a larger unit, and you can easily fit everything you need in it.

Tags: Appliances, Freezers, Refrigerators by Jeffrey
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There are all kinds of places where pint sized refrigerators come in very handy.  Offices use them to store employee lunches.  University and college students have come to depend on them as a dorm room necessity.  They have even found their way into garages, RV’s, trailers, and boats as a convenient way to keep things cold.  Before you go out and  buy a mini fridge with freezer though, it is wise to consider a few important things about these small appliances.

First of all, they come in many different sizes, from the ultra-small to about three quarters of the size of a normal refrigerator.  The size you get will depend on what you are going to use it for.  Obviously, it all you are going to do is keep your lunch in it everyday, you can go with a small model.  Maybe something like a 1.5 cubic foot capacity fridge would do.  If you are using one of these mini fridges in your apartment or dorm room however, I would spring for the biggest one you can afford and fit into your room.  The reason is that dorm rooms normally have 2 people in them, and these little fridges can fill up pretty fast.  A lot of times you can get a larger mini fridge for just a little bit more than a tiny one.

A second thing to look out for is the freezer on the unit.  Most mini fridges with freezers simply don’t work very well.  While the fridge part may work ok for keeping stuff chilled, the freezer part often becomes full of ice as it thaws and freezes repeatedly.  If you are using one of these appliances as your primary refrigerator, I would definitely recommend getting a mini fridge with separate freezer.  Units that have a separate freezer generally work a lot better than those that just contain a little flap at the top for a freezer.  You will want to be able to keep ice cubes handy for drinks, or shove some frozen dinners in there for quick meals in a hurry.

If you are concerned about the look of the mini bar fridge, they come in a few different styles.  The basic models are usually either black or white, but you can get fancier models that have a stainless steel finish.  One more great thing about many of these fridges is that the top of them doubles as a countertop for preparing food on.

Tags: Appliances, Refrigerators by Jeffrey
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Though many people haven’t thought about them much, mini freezers can actually be a great money saving appliance in the home or apartment.  People with big houses and garages often have upright or chest freezers in the garage or storage room, but when you live in a small house or apartment, there often just isn’t room for one of these giant beasts.  One solution is to get a mini freezer, which takes up a lot less room than their giant chest freezer counterparts.
Here are some of the ways that a mini compact freezer can save you money.

1. You can grow vegetables in the summer and freeze them for eating all winter long.  This also works for fruits as well.  Apples, cherries, pears, and all kinds of other fruits last a long time in the freezer, and if you have a place to store them, you will save lots of money on fruit.  If you don’t have a garden, a fun thing to do is to go to you-pick farms to load up on berries and other fruits for freezing.
2. Buy produce when it is in-season for hefty savings.  Fruits and vegetables nearly always cost a lot less when they are harvested nearby.  These days supermarkets provide produce all year round, but it likely gets shipped from the other side of the world in the off season.
3. When cooking something special, make extra and freeze some of it for later use.  If you are going through all the trouble to cook, it doesn’t take much time to cook a bit more of the same thing.  The savings come later on days when you don’t have the time or inclination to cook, and you can just pull some great food out of the mini freezer and heat it up.

What is a mini freezer?

Many people get the little fridges and freezers confused.  A mini fridge freezer is a small appliance that has a larger refrigerator compartment and a smaller freezer.  Most of these units have a small flap for the door, but some of them have a separate compartment for the freezer.  The problem with the majority of these mini fridge with freezer combos is that while the refrigerator part works quite well, the freezer often doesn’t.  If you want an appliance that has both of these and actually works, I would recommend getting one with separate compartments for the fridge part and the freezer.  This type will most likely cost you a bit more than the little cheapies, but it is worth it to be able to put frozen items in the freezer and actually keep them frozen.  Otherwise, you will invariably find yourself throwing away food that thawed and spoiled.
There are two basic types of these compact freezers.  The first kind is the mini chest freezer.  This type lays on its side and the top lifts off.  The second type is the mini upright freezer.  This kind stands up like a small refrigerator, and the door opens from the front.  Many reviews say that the upright freezers work a bit better because they allow for better air circulation than the chest freezers.  Upright freezers are easier to access as well, since they come with shelves to separate items.

Tags: Appliances, Freezers, Refrigerators by Jeffrey
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There are many reasons why a mini freezer might come in handy.  Maybe you just don’t have enough room in your normal refrigerator freezer for everything.  Here are a few things that you can use a mini freezer for:

• Buy items when they are on sale to save money, and then freeze them until you are ready to use them.
• Grow lots and lots of vegetables in the summer, and freeze them so you can pull them out and use them all winter.
• Pick or buy berries, apples, or any other fruit when it is in season, and keep it in the freezer to use the rest of the year.  Fruits are double or triple the price when they are out of season.
• Bake bread, cookies, or other foods and freeze them for later use.
• Cook extra of whatever you are making and put it in containers so you can simply pull them out and reheat them for quick and easy meals when you don’t have much time to cook.

Whatever the reason for needing it, one of these mini freezers can be of great help.  A mini fridge with freezer doesn’t get cold enough to freeze items inside.  You need a real freezer.  If you don’t want to put it in the kitchen, you can easily keep it in the garage or somewhere else that is out of the way.  Most people who have these appliances don’t use it as much as the refrigerator.  For this reason, you can keep it out of your kitchen if you want to, but still within easy reach.

Mini freezers for sale come in a few sizes.  The smallest ones are about 2 cubic feet, and the larger have capacities of about 5 cubic feet.  If you want something any bigger than that, you have plenty of options as well, but they are just not called “mini freezers” any more!

On the small side, we have the Avanti mini freezer that is 2.2 cubic feet.  It stands upright, which means that the top opens, instead of the door.  It has a few basic features, including a quick freeze button for when you want to get something ice cold fast.  In addition, there is a drain at the bottom for when you want to defrost it   Rounding out the features is a  removable storage basket, and it comes with wheels on the bottom, which makes it easy to move around.

If you want a mini freezer that is bigger, there is a Frigidaire mini freezer with a capacity of 5 cubic feet.  This chest freezer has almost the same features as the Avanti model above.  As far as mini freezers go, there isn’t a whole lot to them.  They pretty much only have one job to do, and that is keep whatever you put in them frozen.  If they get iced up, you have to take everything out, turn it off, and drain the water out when the ice melts.  Other than that, they just keep doing what they are supposed to.

If you need both a refrigerator and freezer, there really isn’t such thing as a mini fridge freezer that has both.  The mini fridges almost always have tiny little freezers that don’t work too well and aren’t big enough to fit much more than ice cubes.  If you try to use the mini refrigerator freezer, you will often find that whatever you put in there doesn’t freeze solid and it ices up quickly.  If you need to keep some things chilled, and others frozen, instead of buying a mini freezer fridge combination, you could buy them separately.  Just get one bar fridge, and a separate freezer entirely. If you have room in your kitchen, you could also just get a large sized refrigerator.

Tags: Appliances, Freezers, Refrigerators by Jeffrey
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