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Compact refrigerator for beverage center

13 years ago

Has anyone used a basic compact fridge for a beverage center in their kitchen? Did you build it in or is it stand alone? I am shooting myself for not extending the peninsula and incorporating a space for a compact fridge. Anyone have any ideas on how to make it work in this kitchen? I want a compact fridge because beverage centers don't get the drinks cold enough and we'll mostly have soda and bottled water in the fridge.

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Comments (5)

chispa
13 years ago
We recently bought a house that had previously had a 15" under counter ice maker in the island. Ice maker was removed by previous owners due to leaks. We didn't want another ice maker so we filled the space with a 15" U-Line Fridge. It has worked out great. We keep the following drinks in it: individual water bottles, larger Perrier bottles, Juices and milk boxes. It has made a big difference in giving us more room in our main fridge. It does make a bit more noise than the large fridge, but I have very good/sensitive hearing!
macybaby
13 years ago
We have two compact fridges for beverages - but neither are in the kitchen. I love not having soda or bottled water in the main fridge - takes up too much room.

I also like not having DH walk into the kitchen to grab something to drink. It's also very nice when we're working outside in the summer - as one is in the laundry room right by the main door.
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I have a Perlick Signature 15-inch wine reserve and a 24-inch refrigerator under a granite counter on a tile-over concrete floor. The two units have wood overlay doors and are fairly snugly fitted into a series of wood cabinets. They are located in a family room where I have a 24/7 operating computer (tower case with fans and PC Power and Cooling high MTBF power supply -- uses a more powerful fan than most PC power supplies) and a couple of low-speed room fans moving air past plants. I can't hear the Perlicks in this location, but expect that I could in a quiet bedroom. I also expect that I would learn to sleep through any noise that they made. The units were acquired in 2012. I replaced one refrigerator rack with a wine rack. Note that racks and gliders are matched in some subtle way such that refrigerator shelves won't work with wine rack gliders and vice versa. So if you do this, take care not to mix them up. Vacuuming the condenser finss at some reasonable interval is relatively important, as for all refrigerators, but will require a long crevice tool, or an air gun and room cleaning. :)
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ncamy
13 years ago
GE makes a spacemaker fridge that can be scooted into an opening without being built-in. It also costs about $1000 (yes, a thousand!) less than a built-in model.
palimpsest
13 years ago
You have to make sure whatever compact fridge you get does not need a lot of circulation space around it, if you want to build it in. I had one that needed 2" minimum all around, which is a pretty large gap. One of the reasons built-ins are more expensive, I think, is because they are engineered and insulated so they do not need as much breathing room.
suzmelon
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the replies! I think I'll have to make room for a compact fridge in the mudroom closet. Don't have the budget for the expensive built in ones!

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