Achougoo's Guide - Choosing Refrigerator. Review on Choosing a Refrigerator

ACHOUGOO's Guide For Buying Refrigerators:

Though our fridge works just as good, technology used in refrigerators have undergone quite some decent change and the model we have (check my review on Electrolux Kelvinator Mastercool 165L) is soon going to fetch us a very good price - confused? Well I may get about a 1000 and half if I were to give it in exchange offers. If I retain it may fetch me lacs - as antique piece!! But now that my new house is ready in Belapur, we will have to add some necessities - the best there exists in the market.

But is buying fridge easy? As simple as it gets. Walk in, select one, check the deal, walk out and get free home delivery. Ok! It will be a calk wake after reading Achougoo's guide. So go ahead.

«« WHAT SIZE DO YOU WANT? »»

9/10, this is inevitably the first question the dealer may ask. Had I been reading MAD, I would have said, ''XXL''. (sic!) But size here is an important parameter. A fridge cost could differ by Rs. 2000 - Rs 4000 for every 30-50 litre more. A family of 2 or 3 can settle for below 200L capacity. A Monday-to-Monday vegetable buyer or a meat lover may need a higher capacity one. While I would recommend a 2 door 230L or 280L capacity for an average household of 4-6 people, please keep the available space in mind.

«« DID YOU SAY 2 DOOR IS GOOD? »»

Cross my heart. Better than a single door but not as good as a 3 door. Why? More doors imply segregated compartments with different temperature controls - customizability. Also you save on power as only a door is opened while others are closed, preventing temperature loss or loss of cold air escaping out. This is why a single door fridge cannot be frost-free but a 2-door can, or rather, is. The rich and famous can go for the huge cupboard kinds with 2 doors that open as an almirah. One half is the freezer and the other half is the normal refrigerator.

«« COOL TECHNOLOGIES »»

Firstly the basic thermodynamic cycle remains same. What differs is the position of coils. At the back for conventional ones, while invisible coils, either hidden at the bottom or enclosed within fridge sidewalls, in the modern ones. It does keep the sides warm.

Some like the LG make has door cooling. There are vents in the doorway that carries the cool airflow through the doors when the door is closed, thus cooling the bottles more quickly. Chilled beer anyone?

Airflow is where most manufacturers will try to distinguish their otherwise homogenous products. Conventional and small refrigerators have single vent design or direct cooling where cool air enters at the top, travels down and leaves through the bottom. Now we have Godrej talk of 4 way cooling system where air enters at the center and moves in 4 directions such as top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right. Some may have 3D airflow with swiveling louvers and fan arrangement. Serves to really spread the coolness evenly.

Note that LG talks of Bio-Fresh technologies taking advantage of the new craze for biotechnology. Most of the refrigerators have cooling airflow that tends to extract moisture from the vegetables making them lifeless and tomatoes wrinkled after a week. This one has XIR lamp that sends some rays (like how you have X-rays), which prevents this dehydration - amazing isn't it?

Some new models of LG, Samsung, GE are huge and come with water and ice dispensers on the door without the need to open the door. And no you don't have to put water in trays. The fridge has a pipe fitting arrangement at the back and water purifying units inbuilt in such cases.

Another aspect worth a mention is the usage of alternative gases (HCFC) in place of freon (CFC) gas, which is harmful and responsible for ozone depletion.

«« SHELVES n TRAYS »»

Earlier models (like the one I have) had wire trays. Of course they look and are strong, but then if you spill something, especially on topmost shelf - be damned! You will have to clean the entire fridge. Modern fridges have acrylic trays that are spill proof. If you spill something, it is only this tray that may need cleaning. Hmmm...thoughtful. But then they look so fragile. I am sure that they may crack at the center after a few years. Also if you drop them, they may break...so if you have removed this tray just be careful, not to drop it. It may sound weird but the LG 230L model that has acrylic tray also gives one wire tray as bonus. Also Godrej Pentacool 230L has acrylic trays but the higher 280L model has wire trays??

Another aspect is the levels of adjustments. Check this one, as more slots for shelves means more flexibility - extra utility at the same price.

Another feature that needs to be checked is the bottle size in the door racks. How many bottles can fit? What size bottles? Roughly a rack should accommodate four 1.5 litre coke bottles. Then again many fridges come with a fixed egg rack, an utterly useless feature for the vegetarians. Always look out for the adjustable egg rack.

«« OTHER IMPORTANT FEATURES »»

• The Vegetable tray needs to be big to fit in those melons (oh! not those ones).

  
  




• Remember Preiti Zinta with her quick chill Godrej Pentacool. Yup! Many fridges nowadays have a quick freezing compartment with independent control. They also have ice trays that can be twisted to collect ice in a tray below. Most others (almost all) have a chiller tray or compartment to house fishes and/or milk bags or maybe medicines.

  
  




• Deudoriser is what Whirlpool claims as its USP, so does LG. These devices have filter that neutralizes the foul odour inside the fridge so that you don't have onion cakes and fresh fish juices any more. It is mounted in front of air passage and so smelly foodsstufs should not be kept closer to it.

  
  




• Fridges come with powder coating, which get spoilt and wears off fast. Skip that one and get the one with Vinyl finishing - doesn't wear of quickly and easy to clean. Note a leather and metal polish finish models are also available. The leather one has grooves that may collect dust and is also avoidable.

  
  




• Most models have doors that can be attached to open either from left to right or vice versa.

  
  




• Godrej Pentacool also has an alarm in case the door is left open.

  
  




• Some models have gutters just near the door at the top that forces air across the height of fridge to prevent cool air within it to go out. This is similar to air gutters found at the doors of airports or entrances/exits of centrally air-conditioned shopping complexes.

  
  

«« COMMERCIAL ASPECTS »»

Of course, one should look for heavy discounts. Some dealers offer superb discounts. Look out for exchange offers. Prices on the net can often surprise us all.

165 to 190L range around Rs. 8,000, 200 to 300L 2-door models are around Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000, 300 - 500L are around Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000. The side-by-side fridges can set you back by Rs 80,000 to Rs 2,00,000.

One may also go for 0% interest schemes. Also check for free home delivery, after sales support.

So that's all folks. I hope, now that you have read this article that, buying a fridge is no more a complex task.