The icebox shrinketh

August 30, 2007 7:36 AM

Thoughts on mini-fridge freezers?

I moved into an apartment with a mini fridge about 2.5 feet high. The door to the freezer compartment (about 4 inches tall) is missing and lots of ice keeps building up inside, to the extent that I'll need to defrost the fridge pretty regularly if I want to use the freezer.

The landlord claims that's normal and that fixing the door won't make any difference. If so then that's fine, but if not I'd like him to fix it. So -- if you have a mini, how go things with your freezer? Is defrosting something one does every few weeks?

posted by lullabyofbirdland to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

One time, I "inherited" a bunch of beer and a mini-fridge from a friend who moved across the country. part of the deal was that I helped him move, and from there i went on a road trip, then I had to go out of town on business. Three weeks later, when I finally got a chance to open the beer fridge back up, yeah, it was hella iced up. Like, I couldn't remove the beers in the top row.
posted by notsnot at 7:43 AM on August 30, 2007

A not-properly closing door hugely increases the build up of ice. I broke mine after a while and definitely noticed a difference (even tho mine still closes, it just has quite a gap now). It will also use more electricity.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 7:46 AM on August 30, 2007

I have the exact same situation, and although I can fit a thing or two (say, a box of frozen veggies) into the freezer, nothing stays frozen. Even if it's leaning right up against the ice. So, even if you defrost the freezer, it won't be of any use to you unless the door is reattached.
posted by amro at 7:47 AM on August 30, 2007

My mini beer fridge's freezer is absolutely useless for anything but icing itself up. I don't entirely understand it. It ices up like crazy but can't manage to freeze ice cubes if I put them in there.
posted by utsutsu at 7:47 AM on August 30, 2007

I lived out of one of those mini fridges for 9 months. The freezer door was intact, but I recall defrosting it once or twice. I was in a high desert climate, so I wouldn' t be suprised if you had to do it more often in someplace wetter.
posted by Good Brain at 8:47 AM on August 30, 2007

I have a mini-fridge of that type which I use in an area of the house separate from the kitchen. The freezer door is intact, but it freezes up and is virtually useless. It's always been that way. As far as I'm concerned, these tiny little freezers in little fridges serve no purpose and are a waste of space.
posted by Robert Angelo at 9:33 AM on August 30, 2007

If you only have room for a small fridge, there are models out there around 4 cubic feet that are about 3 or 4 feet tall, with a separate freezer. I've got one made by FranklinChief that was about $ 140 new, the freezer works well and I can use it for longer term storage.

Any fridge that has a freezer compartment as an area within the main fridge will have the problems you described. Old full size fridges used to be made this way, with all the same problems. A door might help your ice cream take 6 hours to melt instead of 4 hours, but other than that it will not do much.
posted by yohko at 10:08 AM on August 30, 2007