ARCTIC CHEF Mini Refrigerator-Freezer Compartment-Adjustable Thermostat Control-Reversible Doors-Ideal for Dorm, Office, RV, Garage, Apartment-LIME, 3.2 CU.FT

BruceUnited States

It works great for me

UPDATE: 4 months in and it's still working great and I'm still very happy with it. I bought this because my 10 year old Igloo died suddenly (not TOO suddenly, I had already talked about buying a new one in the next month or so) and I needed something ASAP. It's not exactly what I would have liked (I'm not a fan of the can holder thing. I'd rather have shelves. Also, the freezer is generally a waste of space but try to find one without on short notice) but it's basically what I had before so I can work with it. It arrived today. I pulled it out of the box and like most large appliances, it sits on a base and the box slides over top then they wrap it in heavy plastic straps to hold it together. I immediately noticed that it had been dented on the top corner however, there was no damage to the box in that area. None. Not a wrinkle. It feels like it was damaged BEFORE being boxed and maybe that's why so many arrive damaged - because it's happening before it's even shipped and Amazon can't see it because it's in a nice new box. You'll notice if you look at the picture there's a bit of rust on it. That didn't happen between Thursday and Saturday. Sure, I could return it for a new one but that means dragging it through the house again, figuring out how to get it back in the box and then, figuring out how to get the box to stay together since I don't have the ability to create new heavy duty plastic straps and tape is NOT going to cut it. I was not happy. I contacted Amazon and told them what had happened and they graciously offered me a choice between keeping it and being given a partial refund or returning it for a new one. Given my previous paragraph, you can guess what I chose. So now that I'd gotten that out of the way it was time to set it up and then plug it in. First then, because of the placement, I need it to open from the other side. While I was able to do it, they didn't make it easy. The plastic part that covers where the door connects on the top was a giant PITA to remove. I basically had to pry at it with a flat head screw driver and slightly damage the plastic in doing so. They are not alone in this though. Every refrigerator I've had or seen pretty much has the same problem. I had hoped that since they specifically pointed out that it had a reversible door, maybe they had done something to make it easier. Nope. Then while trying to screw in the bottom bracket for the door, I found that the hole had been sealed by insulating foam. I just hit it a few times with a small screwdriver until it popped through. Once I got past that, the rest was pretty straightforward and the door now swings open from the other side. Now that I was ready to go, I moved it into place and leveled it off and then plugged it in. Nice and quiet. Very quiet. SO quiet I'm concerned it's not working... but it seems to be doing alright. I opened the door and was surprised to see a light! I thought I must have missed that in the description when I bought it but going back I can't find it anywhere. So, BONUS! Having the light is really nice and I'm glad it has it. Next, I pulled out the manual and drip tray then started to arrange the shelves . That's when I noticed something odd. The drip tray didn't slide in under the freezer like it should. It was too small. Turns out, that's a feature not a bug. Apparently you're just supposed to either set the tray on the top shelf permanently or take it out and only put it in when you need it. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Nothing in the description prepared me for it and it's certainly not like that in the images. But that's how it is now. You can see that mine doesn't resemble the images shown. I really don't mind the idea of the drip tray being separate, I just wish they had a place to PUT it. That would make sense, right? One nice thing about having the drip tray with a mini-fridge like this is that often times things on the top shelf will freeze slightly. I used the drip tray in my other fridge to hold a piece of styrofoam that partially insulated what was underneath and it helped quite a bit. The temperature dial on mine is way off. It goes from 0-6 but mine goes well past 6, to what might be 11. Does that mean that mine is colder than everyone else's? Is it some kind of psychological thing to make me *feel* like it's colder? Is it just broken? Is it just missing the numbers? I'll probably never know. What I do know is that it's plenty cold and it stays that way, all while making (what feels like) almost no noise. This feels like a solid purchase. I hope it stays that way!

Tom PardueUnited States

What is all the fuss?

I read many reviews for this mini fridge, and a number of people complained of it breaking down, poor fit and finish, poor temperature controls, and an inability to get things cold. I bought it anyway, because I happened to see one at a local store--for $60 more. (Note at this time that there was one review I wish I had read before I bought this...the one that tells you you don't have to cut all the straps, and the box, and all of the packing materials to get the fridge out...you just cut the straps and lift the box off the unit..) I got it inside, spent maybe 30 seconds leveling it up, then turned it on halfway and left it alone for an hour. It was cooling down nicely, so I turned it up to 3/4, and filled it up with food. It got COLD, and the eggs (which I had put on the top shelf below the freezer) were frozen. Okay; so a little trial and error, and this thing is great. It keeps everything perfectly cold, and will even keep small things frozen (like the ice cube tray, or a pint of ice cream) but the rest of the things in the fridge might tend to get a little too cold. At regular settings, the ice cream might get a little thawed. But contrary to some of the other reviews, I think this is a great unit. When it turns on, it has a TINY humming noise, and it makes a funny little whooshing or gurgling sound, but it is neither loud, nor offensive--in fact, when it turns on, I look around for what is causing the faint noise, and it takes me a few second to realize, "Oh, yeah; it's the fridge..." I've had it for a month now, and it has functioned flawlessly. When it arrived, the exterior was undented, unscratched, and the door fit perfectly. I can't speak highly enough about this unit (and I can't complain about the amount of food it holds) and should I ever want to get another mini-fridge (for my shop, for instance) I know which one I would get-this one. THREE MONTH UPDATE: I'm in the middle of the third month, and the fridge is still perfect--AND I finally figured out how to use the freezer. See, it has a little door that slides down into place (I didn't realize that because I'm a guy and never read the instruction manuals) so now my freezer AND refrigerator are perfect. A note to potential buyers: buy square or rectangular plastic containers in which to store stuff. This fridge will surprise you with what it will hold, but round containers waste a lot of space. Update: late November 2021: I am still absolutely delighted with this fridge. I tweaked it, and right now, I have 18 eggs, , a pound of hamburger, mustard, mayo, jelly and tartar sauce, a large onion, a bundle of scallions, two LARGE green peppers, a 2 lb. ham steak, a few odds and ends...and a pint of Ben& Jerry's along with a bag of frozen peas in the freezer; oh--and did I mention the 9 cans of soda and gallon of milk in the spaces on the door? You can find thin, tall 1 gallon containers on Amazon that fit in the door space perfectly. I rarely give effusive reviews, but I simply can't say enough about this fridge, from its practicality, ease of use, and storage ability. Once again, let me confirm what I said before: use square or rectangular containers for the most efficient use of space (and cooling). Update, March 2022. This will probably be my last update. How many times and ways can you say "This thing is fabulous!" without repeating yourself? I have not had one single, solitary problem with this fridge. Yrs, you have to shop a little more carefully, and sometimes get creative with how you store things, but when you consider that I can store two weeks worth of groceries in a fridge that was $800 less expensive than the one I THOUGHT that I needed, I can live with that. Update, March 2023...It's still perfect, and I'm still happy with it.

sherryUnited States

No brainer

I purchased this fridge last August (2015) while I was working on my rental house in Southern California. I had tenants bail on me after doing much damage that I had to tend to from 500 miles away. I had initially started my trips in May and I brought a large ice chest with me. I was making trips every two weeks...two weeks home and then two weeks at the rental. When I was at the rental I had to buy ice every other day to keep the ice chest cool. It was really, really hot and the ice melted quickly. I literally drained water out of lunch meat packages and had to blot my cheese just to make sandwiches. I was walking through Home Depot with my handyman one day to get supplies for repairs and there was a mini-fridge on display. It looked nice but was almost two hundred bucks. Later I went on Amazon and found this fridge. I only wish I had looked sooner! By the time I bought this fridge in August, I had literally paid more for ice since May than what this fridge cost me. I did read the reviews first and was concerned that most purchasers had received damaged items and stated the packaging was very poor. I held my breath, crossed my fingers, and placed my order. It arrived promptly...really quick! I have to say that yes, the packaging is really bad. Really bad. The box covering the unit seems original with the item nicely photographed and your standard descriptions of the unit. However, there is literally no bottom to the box!! There are shipping straps affixed that wrap the unit to hold it into the 3/4 of the box. Styrofoam "planks" are under the unit so that most of it won't touch the ground. I snipped off the straps, pulled the box up and inspected my fridge. Thankfully, I had no major dents on the exterior of the unit as some customers reported, but one if the leveling legs was broken. Remember, there is literally no bottom to this shipping box! NO BOTT0M! Okay, so...I placed this unit in the garage and followed the included instructions as far as plugging it in, setting the temperature dial and waiting for the unit to be ready to place items into it. The instructions said to plug it in and wait three (3) hours before placing items into the fridge. It arrived at about 11:30 am. I had it in place in the garage and plugged-in at about 12:00pm. The compressor fired right up and I was putting my stuff inside by 3:30 that afternoon! No more soggy sandwiches! Also, the freezer did freeze! I went to the store a couple of days later and bought some small frozen dinners. Mind you, I was sleeping on an air mattress in a totally vacant house. Spending tons of money on repairs so going out to eat was not an option! Being able to put a couple of frozen entrees into the freezer was epic! The exterior of this unit is just frankly gorgeous. I got the stainless steel version. I has a black glossy top and sides. It looks like a million bucks! It's sturdy but not unmanageable. I carried it myself from the garage into the house while the garage floor was coated, albeit slowly and carefully. I carried it back into the garage when I left. My new tenants are aware that it is to remain in place for my personal use. If you follow the included directions you cannot go wrong with this unit. I am super thrilled with mine!! I give the actual unit 5 stars. The packaging however, rates only one star. I have no idea how these get packaged the way they do but it is a concern. I would advise to make this purchase. Even if the exterior has damage, for the price you simply can't do better. Oh, and you can configure the interior as you wish. Real shelves! More room than you might think at first glance.

Linda A. WingfieldUnited States

Good Product, So Far

I only have one complaint (which I have already registered with Amazon) about this product. I bought it because it had the RCA label on it, and it was the right size for the ready-made enclosure in my Mother-in-Law suite's kitchenette. When the product arrived, it looked exactly like its catalog picture, BUT...it clearly did NOT have the RCA label on it. It's an IGLOO fridge, which I had been avoiding, due to reviews I had consistently read about the IGLOO refrigerators. Amazon had already pulled this catalog item and evidently now has re-advertised it with the correct product information. I was promised a full refund, if the fridge did not perform well or had problems within the first 90 days of its use. That said, I love the fridge. I've been using it for six weeks, now, and have had no problems with it, whatsoever. I suspect that that will continue to be the case. If not, I do, at least, have my 90 days promise from Amazon. The fridge has a variable-cold control that works. At first I didn't have that set past the middle setting, and it wouldn't freeze ice. I bumped it up just under 3/4 of the control setting, and it will now freeze a single tray of ice, which is all I need. I suspect that turning it to the max setting would freeze two trays, but since the 3/4-setting also tends to freeze things like lettuce placed on the top refrigerator tray too close to the small freezer compartment, I haven't done that. Just having a single tray of ice gives me iced drinks twice a day, and I'm fine with that. The door compartments are made solidly and well. The wire holders are heavy duty and affixed strongly (they don't pull out or get pushed out easily). The canned drink tray works perfectly, and the other trays work well for condiments, butter, and smaller fridge items. The small vegie/meat drawer works great, as well. It will hold a packet of six small on-the-vine tomatoes plus some cheese or a packet of bratwurst, etc. The freezer holds a couple packs of bacon or sausages along with the ice tray. I also had a couple of small pork sirloin roasts in there one week. Everything was kept perfectly. The right top corner of the freezer door does tend to hang up a bit on frost, but a sharp rap to it every once in a while, while opening it, clears any frost that is in the way. It is NOT a frost-free unit, so I expected that (or more) to happen. It was no surprise, and in no way impedes my appreciation for the fridge. There is a small compressor noise when the fridge turns on. It doesn't run all the time, and when it does turn on, if you are in the same room or possibly in the next room (depending on your acoustics) you'll hear the click and then the compressor hum. To me, it's nothing bothersome, and is similar to what other, similar, larger refrigerators sound like. If the fridge is in your bedroom, you may have to get used to the light noise, but I would assume that would happen in just a short time. Overall, I love this fridge. I will be glad when I get through the next couple of months, but am assuming the product will continue to work and do just as it's expected to, since it has given me no hint that it might not. EDIT...I've just seen that these fridges are STILL being advertised as RCA brand--at least for some of the colors. Also, there are some non-branded pictures, and some IGLOO pictures. Please be aware, if you order this product, that you will get an IGLOO refrigerator.