Insignia™ – 48-Can Beverage Cooler – Stainless steel/Silver
Original price was: $209.99.$84.99Current price is: $84.99.
Last updated on October 25, 2024 2:29 am Details
Original price was: $209.99.$84.99Current price is: $84.99.
WantingCold –
First, the good. Very attractive unit, with the double-glass door, stainless, interior light (cool to the touch, LED) and controls. The unit is very quiet to me. The glass door does not transfer heat, which is great, but the stainless frame does, indicative by the cold touch. The price of course wasn’t bad.
Now the perplexing. First, the marketed 48-can capacity. The marketed picture shows 24 cans, 6 bottles. And it is absolutely full. I would think it hilarious making a video showing me trying use a compactor to actually get 48 cans in this thing. No worries, I don’t need 48 can capacity. However, I would have liked to have gotten a better shelf configuration. It just doesn’t accommodate beer bottles very well. There are two slots for the single shelf, but for me the top position is useless given the bottom has a split shelf. So if I have beer bottles I have to stack horizontally which isn’t great. You’ll see a wine bottle on the left of one of the photos that fit nicely laying down.
The manual will tell you not to overload the cooler because it forces the cooler to run longer. A fuller fridge is actually a more stable fridge. A fridge without mass in it only has air in it, and that air, with all the therms it took to cool it is gone as soon as you open the door. So yes, it will take longer to cool, but it will also hold the cold, and the compressor will not have to work so hard to replace otherwise displaced air and therms. When I plugged this thing in, I put 4 cans in it. I would have expected it to be at least in the upper 30s after 3 hours. Then I stocked it similar to the photos attached, and 12 hours (overnight) it is still at 41 degrees, with the thermostat set to 34. The Thermostat is a bit wonky with a wide “window”. It will actually cool the air down to 36, then prematurely shutting off before 34. Then it will rise up to 41 degrees before tripping on again, thereby having an average temperature of 38.5. I thought that would be cold enough, but it’s not quite there in terms of drinking.
The left panel will get quite warm (not concerned) and the right panel slightly warm. Top is cool to the touch. Back vents a bit of heat but nothing of consequence.
The next thing the manual will tell you is to not use the unit in a garage. Excuse me? What if I wanted to move this out to my man cave on top of the freezer that has run for nearly 20 years out there? I don’t quite understand that one, unless their definition of a garage is a lean-to or something.
In closing, I’m not very happy with the shelf config, but I can live with it, but I’m even less happy with the thermostat and how long this thing takes to cool down. 3 hours should be plenty. And it should not be getting up to 41 when I have it set to 34. Otherwise, I’d given it 5 stars.
MountainLiving –
I ordered this small fridge in April, it was on backorder so I didn’t get it until May. I ordered it for my new home that i was moving to in early July. So i didn’t even open the fridge until about 4-6 weeks after i received it. Then I moved many states away… Once I opened it and put it in my studio, which is not air-conditioned, but also not extremely hot… I noticed that it wasn’t really getting cold, the temperature on the digital reading said 33 degrees but there is no way that the temperature was 33 inside of the cooler. The drinks were mild but not cold. We gave the fridge a couple of weeks and unplugged it multiple times to give it a reboot not still not cold.
This is where it gets interesting. My husband called Best Buy and told him the issue. The purchase date was now at least 6 weeks from the time we were calling. They said that I could return it and have a visit with the geek squad. We told Best Buy that we live in a rural area and that a Best Buy location is very far and really not an option for us. We also told them that we threw away the packaging because once we opened the fridge we thought everything would be fine. They then offered to give us $150 gift card to Best Buy to buy something else or send us a totally new refrigerator for free. And mentioned that we didn’t have to return the bad refrigerator.
We still want this cute refrigerator so we got the replacement and this one works fantastically! The customer service was wonderful and the fridge is everything I hoped for, very cold, definitely 33°, has a quiet-quiet hunm when it needs to cool itself down and definitely does not distract with noise at all. I would recommend this fridge to anyone and everyone. Thank you BB for taking care of us!
fernando –
I bought this cooler twice and it always came damaged
TDS76 –
This little fridge is definitely more attractive and well made than you typically expect from a small fridge. Responsiveness of controls tells you it has better electronics than 80’s toys, which many seem to still be modeling themselves after. The only issue is that while you are able to set the temp from 34-50 degrees, it doesn’t seem capable of cooling that far. I’m fine with it because I like craft beers at 40-42 degrees, but if you want your beverages colder you might be out of luck.
klalk –
Great little fridge. Quiet, easy to set up, keeps drinks cold. The door wasn’t staying level when we first got it, but was able to tighten some nuts on the bottom and that solved the problem.
George –
Nice Stainless steel Mini Fridge, Perfect for small Rooms/ Game room. Works & does exactly what’s meant to do. Keeps everything cold. I’m not sure it could actually hold 48 cans. If it’s on sale & u looking for a mini fridge this is a perfect one for you.
christopher –
It was a great purchase for me it was small and perfect size. No it was not noisey! And it keeps everything cool at 33F is lowest setting . I was kinda hesitant before purchasing because of some of the reviews I read BUT it was no true for me at all !!
JSoul –
Excitedly awaited the arrival from UPS moments ago. Unboxed only to discover the unit is damaged. Needed it this weekend, no other store within 200 miles has it available. Damaged upon arrival!