The Mini Refrigerator
Sometimes you just don’t have space for a six foot tall behemoth of a fridge. Maybe you want a fridge for your dorm room, office, camper, or even in your car. There are many cases when mini refrigerators are needed. Quality is important for a mini fridge. Some of them don’t seem to work very well, and many have that silly little freezer compartment that hardly works at all. There are a few that do work great, however. Let’s take a look at some of the different kinds and models so that you can choose one that is right for you.
Normal Mini Refrigerators
These are your basic pint-sized refrigerators. Also called (and used as) the bar fridge, they have an capacity of anywhere between 3 and 5 cubic feet, which is enough room to hold a fair amount of stuff. Let’s take a look at two models, so you know the difference between cheap mini refrigerators and higher quality ones.
At the high end of the spectrum, we have the Sanyo SR-4912M. This Sanyo mini refrigerator is actually pretty big, as far as the little guys go. It is counter height, which is 33.8 inches high. If your kitchen just doesn’t have room for a full sized fridge, you can put one of these right under the counter. This model is only a fridge. It doesn’t even try to put a mini freezer that doesn’t work in it, like so many manufacturers do. It has reversible hinges, so you can switch the way the door opens if you want to. It is also big enough to put a gallon of milk on the door, and has four shelves in the main compartment. Another good feature is that the back is smooth, and the ugly-looking coils are hidden inside. This product sells for $264.
At the lower end of the price range, we have a Haier mini refrigerator. It is much smaller than the Sanyo, with a capacity of only 1.7 cubic feet. This is big enough to put some snacks and drinks, all you need in an office or dorm room. Even though it is small, it does have a little freezer compartment. Haier knows that its mini refridgerators are going to ice up, so it conveniently provides a defrost drain. Like the Sanyo, this model also features a reversible door hinge, and an adjustable thermostat. It costs less because it is smaller. This one costs $80.
Also worth mentioning is the Magic Chef mini refrigerator. They make your basic no-frills models, ranging in sizes from 1.7 to 3.6 cubic feet, and feature full-length freezers. Their prices are in the same range as a Haier, but you can get a big 3.6 cubic foot model for just $80. If you are looking for just a basic office mini refrigerator, or one for your dorm room, this is a good choice.
Portable Mini Refrigerators
Unlike regular mini fridges, a portable mini frigerator is light enough to carry wherever you need it. The better ones can either be plugged into a socket or plugged into a vehicle. The reason why these models are so light is because they are REALLY small. Most of them are only big enough to hold a six-pack of cans, or a few small food items. One good feature some of these portable models have is that they can either cool things down or keep them warm. This comes in handy on long car rides when you need to keep baby bottles or food warm. There are lots of styles and colors to choose from (you can get a metallic pink mini refrigerator), or one with your favorite sports team’s logo on it. If all you want is a cheap mini refrigerator, you can go with one of these. Some cost as low as $20.
Mini Wine Refrigerators
Wine refrigerators are made specifically for chilling wine. Although theoretically you could just use a regular mini fridge, dedicated wine refrigerators are much better. They have specially designed racks that can hold anywhere from 6 to 48 bottles, depending on the size of the mini wine fridge. What sets these refrigerators apart is that most of them have fans that circulate cool air around, so all of the bottles are evenly chilled. In addition, they tend to have better thermostat controls because it would be pretty bad if wine bottles were to freeze.
As you can see, there are quite a few varieties of the compact mini refrigerator. Some of them are small and light enough to pick up by the handle and carry around. Others are about half the size of normal sized fridges.