My husband had been wanting his own private beer fridge with a glass front and an internal light for a long time, and after doing a lot of research I decided to go with this particular fridge. Mine came well packed, and without any dents or cosmetic damage from shipping (I ordered it here from amazon).
It really gets cold, and does a good chilling drinks. If you set it to continuous, it can start to freeze your drinks. I didn't realize this at first and I had a bottle of sparkling water explode into a slushy mess inside, but it was easy to clean up. It has 8 settings, the dial has 1 through 7 and continuous, and I find that setting it to a 5 or 6 is good to keep drinks cold but not too cold. The only downsides are that when it rotates on and off, it can make a little bit of noise, but it's not very loud and I don't really notice it anymore, and the shelves are a little bit flimsy. If you pack it full, the shelves start to bend and sag in the middle.
Other than that though it does a good job storing different sizes. The bottom can hold full sized champagne bottles, and the middle can store glass beer bottles, while the top can store cans. It works perfect for us, since we like to stock all three types.
Overall for the price, it does a good job. We are definitely pleased. My husband loves it!
[edit] The fridge died on 12/1/12, just 11 months after purchase. It was making a loud snapping noise every few minutes but the compressor wouldn't turn on. Since it was within warranty, the manufacturer sent a technician who replaced the part that starts the compressor. He said these fridges are equipped with a super cheap part that will almost guaranteed break down, but it's an easy fix if you can get a repairman in the door. Once he got the part from his car it took him less than 10 minutes to have it working again and out the door. As of 5/1/13, it's still working fine.
For the most part this product works as expected and has been reliable after several months now. My one complaint it that the wire shelves are flimsy. When loaded up with bottles, they start to bow in the middle and the bottles slide forward and fall off. Works fine as long as shelves are not filled more than about two-thirds with bottles.
I needed something to fit in the old space where a trash compactor was in my kitchen. It looks very nice and sleek, better than I even expected. I am satisfied with my purchase, but wish it were a bit quieter and kept the drinks a bit colder. That being said, I am now used to it's "hum" and the kids and husband find the temp just fine. It is great for juice boxes, cans or wine bottles... the interior allows for a flexible arrangement. We even have oranges in there now. So overall, 4 stars as a second drinks fridge.
If you want a refrigerator, order one. This is a drink COOLER. It is quite tall so it may sit above the height of most office furniture if you plan to use it as a stand-alone. It is a very good looking unit. The LED lights on the inside don't offer a uniform illumination but do have a pretty blue hue.
The fridge itself will accommodate anything from sodas to full sized champagne bottles, however, you may want to get some additional organizer racks for soda vending as the unit is set upmore like a standard fridge than a vending machine.
The unit is quiet, elegant, and efficient. It does not make ice. Again, if you want something that gets your drinks ice-cold you will have to do without the glass front.
Simple and straight forward, do not buy this fridge if you wish to cool anything to a temperature worth calling chilled.
There is 8 total settings for this fridge, 0-7 & ON. The ON option will simply run the fridge compressor %100 of the time. The other settings are for varying temperature settings which should allow the fridge to cool when needed to meet the desired temperature. The problem is that anything less than ON doesn't cool a drink in this fridge to anything less than cooler than room temperature.
As other posters have mentioned working with Avanti is impossible, they might as well post no warranty at all since nothing seems to qualify for replacement.
I took the risk but take my word, don't bother. There is a reason the GOOD"beverage" fridges cost what they do ($400-$700) and I now consider this the low-end of functional working classy looking beverage fridges. Otherwise if you don't want looks go get a Sanyo from Costco, those at least work as they claim and you can get a warranty that covers something, specially customer displeasure.
Save yourself some money for the long run, buy a real fridge and spend a little more money and get what you pay for, a quality product from a company that takes pride in their customer satisfaction and will resolve your problem or offer resolutions when their product is still under warranty.
Worst purchase from Amazon ever and it isn't even their fault. If I had simply returned this thing when I got it instead of working with support I might be happier. Instead I now have a giant cube in my home which can turn my grape juice into wine or a Popsicle but the lily hood I will get a nicely chilled beverage on a hot day from this machine to my liking is highly improbable, I have not yet obtained the level of chill I was looking for. Approx 36-42 degrees F would be nice.
For a unit that is otherwise so well-designed, well thought-out, and well-executed, it is inconceivable to me that the team of executives bringing it to market would allow it to be done with such an OUTRAGEOUSLY NOISY single 80mm fan cooling the heatsink in the back of the unit. It is as loud as one of those handheld vacuum units most of us buy to clean up small messes in our homes and I'm not exaggerating. Any time I enter the kitchen or the living room adjacent, or when I first come home and open the door, I am FLOORED by how loud this thing is. This unfortunate and ridiculous construction flaw makes it unacceptable for use in most people's homes, unless they are deaf or hosting parties with loud music to drown it out. Or perhaps, as the 2nd reviewer stated below, have it in a side room.
What I am about to write cannot be condoned by either Amazon or the manufacturer, and we must of course agree to hold them harmless (and me too, for that matter): if, like me, you want to have the functions that this unit provides but find a workaround for the tornado blower fan ----AND PROVIDED YOU'RE WILLING TO KISS YOUR WARRANTY GOOD-BYE ----then do what I did today: unplug it, remove the rear case panel, remove the fan, cut its wires, and attach your own purchased, third-party, aftermarket 80mm fan that is much quieter. I personally installed a Noctua NF-R8, which is nearly silent bliss. Of course, it moves less air, and it takes a long time for the Skybar now to cool a bottle down to the ordered temperature, and I'm sure what I did will shorten the unit's useful life ----but now I can live with it without wanting to yell and knock it off the counter.
Otherwise, just don't buy it. Wait until they make one with three 120mm silent fans instead, or something like that.
I was trying to explain this product to my 77 year old mother over the phone. I told her that if someone opened some wine and didn't finish it this thing would keep it cold and ready to drink for days. She responded by saying 'Why don't they just put the box back in the fridge?" Obviously, the Skybar is not for her (plus, I'm pretty sure that she was pulling my leg.) If you don't get why someone would spend this much on what is basically a one-bottle refrigerator, then you probably don't need this either. However, if you take wine so seriously that your favorite vintage costs more per bottle than your first car did, then I don't need to explain it to you.
You don't have to be rich to be an oenophile (though it helps.) I had a wine cellar in the past and I had it filled with relativity modestly prices wines. No '45 Chateau Mouton Rothschild or '78 Montrachet in my cellar. Instead I had mostly domestic wines that I had either collected on my travels or had purchased based on recommendations from my favorite local wine merchant. Most of them were in the 30-100 dollar price range when I purchased them and almost all of my bottles needed to be aged for quite a few years before they reached their prime. At that point they were usually worth quite a bit more on the open market than I had spent on them, but to me they were priceless. I had invested not only money but time, patience, and my ever growing expectations. When the time finally came to enjoy a bottle the real question was, how do I do this? Drink it by myself, invite a couple of fellow wine enthusiasts over, break it out at a dinner party? I tried all of there strategies with mixed results. Now with the Skybar One, I have the answer.
First, how well does it work? This is subjective but I wanted to get more than just my opinion on the Skybar so I invited over two friends with similar tastes as mine to check it out. One friend was kind enough to donate a bottle of 2007 Opus One. We opened it and each had a small (3oz.) glass of this wonderful wine. Although we all agreed that it could benefit from a little more aging, it was incredible. Putting a bottle into the Skybar ONE for the first time was more than a little comical. Once we got it figured out, we set the correct temperature, closed it up and just looked at it. For a long time. No one wanted to leave. One week later we gathered again to sample the wine. I was really impressed, to me it tasted the same as when it was first opened, maybe even a little better. One friend said that he noticed just a little oxidation but the general consensus was that the Sky ONE did what it claimed to do. If I had this ten years or fifteen years ago, well... at least I am very glad to have it now. The noise was not a problem for me and it really looks cool. I thought that I would like the bigger, 3 bottle model, but this one takes up enough space as it is. All-in-all, this is a great product.
I received the Skybar One single bottle wine dispenser for Christmas, and after six weeks of use I am extremely happy with it. First, I have not had any issues with the unit being too noisy. I have it sitting on a sidebar, just off the kitchen. People see it and pass it often in the house (usually to stop and refresh their glass!) and nobody has complained about the unit being noisy. It does have some fan noise, because it's a refrigerator after all, but unless I had it next to my bed (unlikely my wife would allow this) the noise is completely acceptable.
The operation is very straightforward. You select your wine type, or you can manually set the temperature. The dispenser attaches to the neck of the bottle. Not all bottle sizes will fit, but I have found that 95% do. It doesn't take long to figure out which oversized bottles are too tall for the machine. Once the bottle is inserted into the machine you close the door and the air is pumped out, preserving the wine. Dispensing is very quick, and people enjoy the experience. In my testing I have found that most wines will last 5-7 days before showing any signs of turning sour. White wines will do better on average.
When changing bottles I run the dispenser under the tap and also allow a bottle of clean, warm water to run through the system. I have not noticed any "cross contamination" or unusual taste in the wine. Definitely no "plastic" taste some have talked about.
The LED lights do a nice job of showing off the label, and all my guests have been impressed with the unit. Hopefully it will continue to operate for many years to come with no issues.
This is a great machine for home use. Chilling a bottle of wine does not take long at all. One should be prepared for the semi-loud noise it makes when it breaks the vacuum seal and when resealing. The noise is tolerable and short lived. Overall I am very pleased with mine. It is also quiet impressive to guests.
I just got this from a retailer who had it heavily discounted on clearance. I would not have purchased it otherwise, partly because I saw this previously at a department store where I plugged it in and turned it on and clearly heard the fan above the department store din. I also don't drink a whole lot of wine, but the value at the clearance price made me decide to take one home. The first impression is that it looks great! It can add a lot of class to any space where you might put it. The l.e.d. illumination makes any old bottle of table wine look like a cherished bottle of fine vintage. It also looks very cool how the bottle appears to be "floating", since it is held in place from the top. Wine absolutely tastes better when served at the proper temperature, and this gives you that easily and consistantly. It is fun to use.
The noise issue: quite simply it sounds about like an old pc. You will clearly hear it. You can hear it from quite a distance in a quiet setting. In a quiet room you'll hear it from 20 feet away. Whether this is a minor or major issue for you is something that will depend on placement, your environment and your tolerance for this sort of thing. It is the kind of thing where I can see some people hardly caring much at all, while others might find it unbearable. I would say that placement is really key. In a kitchen, game room or other such place where you will not need total quiet and will not be doing serious music listening or movie watching, then you should not have a problem with it.
I am limiting this review to a first impression for now, since I am writing this only a day after purchase. I think that it is important to note that many of the more positive reviews which have been written in the past month or so are from the Vine Program, which means that the reviewer received their product for free (an even better deal than I got).
Update: I have so far tried two bottles of red, and am dissapointed with the preservation performance. I noticed a souring of taste after only 4-5 days, possibly even 3, but it was difficult to notice. I will need to do some more evaluation. I am using the originally installed insert and the bottles are standard sizes. The main use of this for me was to extend the life of a bottle since I do not drink a lot on any one day, but so far it seems I am getting almost zero extra preservation over simply recorking.
this product arrived as advertised and earlier than expected from LaundryDoc. After I had removed the old gasket, it took less than 1 hour to install the new gasket. The included instructions were excellent. Would recommend this product to anyone with a bad gasket. My refrigerator is like brand new. Thanks LaundryDoc
I recently had to replace the door gasket on my 8 year old refrigerator. Part stores in my area, and on-line, wanted nearly $150.00 for the part. I found the part on Amazon through a vendor who offered the item for about $70.00 less, with free shipping and simple instructions for replacing the part. I was able to install the gasket in about 30 minutes and my refrigerator is back to operating at its optimal level.
We bought this Bosch Ascenta SHE3AR75UC dishwasher after our old 10 year old Bosch dishwasher started to turn itself off mid-cycle. We have fixed our old Bosch once for the pump (under warranty) and once for the control board (past warranty), but we still liked it enough to get another.
Since we already had the hookups from our old washer, I decided to install the unit myself and I am glad I did. Installation was easy, but a $20 hookup kit is recommended so you have all the brass fittings and hoses necessary to get the job done.
This Ascenta SHE3AR75UC is a less expensive machine than our last, and it does show in a few areas. The tub in ours is plastic instead of stainless, and the wire of the rack is a thinner gauge. The door works perfectly fine, but has a slightly stiff action when closing. The control panel on the front is clad with plastic, not stainless steel like the picture seems to show.
This washer is not silent like our last Bosch, but it is still quiet. Noise is the main caveat for not spending $250 on the next model up. Our old washer had a thick plastic casing that encased the lower internals, this one has exposed drain tubes that allow the sound of trickling water to be heard near the front kick panel. The trickling sound can be faintly heard from the next room with the room door open. Not a deal breaker.
Bosch decided to re-design its racks since our model, and I am not happy. I like to fit dishes most effectively for fuller loads. Our older Bosch had larger spacing between all the tines in the racks, allowing the rack to be more versatile for the different shapes of bowls and plates. The new rack has much tighter spacing between the tines of most sections, preventing certain dishes (cereal bowls and glasses in particular) to be fit almost anywhere in the lower rack. Our family has at least 4-6 cereal bowls per wash, and I am still trying to figure out where they should go. The Bosch manual should loading examples, none of which have more than two cereal bowls. I would estimate that the lack of versatility of the racks means that we lose up to 10-15% capacity per load over our old Bosch. Some Ascenta models come with a folding silverware rack that allows you to place it in different configurations for more versatility. I wish our model had that. Perhaps I will discover the secret to the new racks, but so far I am stymied. Not quite a deal breaker, but certainly knocks off a solid star (or star and a half) off of an otherwise perfect score.
The normal cycle takes longer than our old unit. 1:55 instead of 1:25. That one half hour is significant if you have to run two loads during a large dinner party. Otherwise, who cares. Fortunately, the machine offers "delicate" and "express" modes that take 1:20 and 0:30 minutes respectively which can serve in a pinch.
The washer does a fine job of cleaning. No complaints so far.
The biggest question is: How long will it last? We bought this less expensive model assuming that the control board or pump may eventually go bad (like most appliances we have had), so when we pass the warranty and extended warranty periods, the decision to replace the unit won't be as tragic. Hopefully Bosch has made some improvements since 12 years ago.
My old floor display LG finally was laid to rest. 5+ service calls and then it started leaking and wouldn't power up. I researched every web-site and every customer review. Bosch doesn't offer an affordable line with a build-in garbage disposal feature, which sounded like something I wanted as an added feature. Never-the-less... It was a holiday week and I needed my dishwasher replaced, and fast. I did my homework using Consumer reports, due to their testing and non-bias reviews. This model rated 81/100, which was the highest rating for dishwashers. I wasn't crazy about the models with hidden controls and I liked the remaining time display. The stainless steel tub is nice (note: the bottom and top aren't stainless steel... rather a greyish plastic, but who cares? The top rack is on a track which I do feel make for longer lasting and easier in and out access. It's not as quiet as my late LG. The sounds of filling and emptying cycles can be heard, however it's not a really big deal for me and it's only a little noticable. I read one review that says the Pot scrubing cycle doesn't get the water hot... WRONG! Opening my door during the cycle gave me a free-steam facial. Not recommended... LOL. So heat is not a problem. Here's what is...
The loading problems I reviewed were not great, and this is true. The tines are very tight... Bosch is trying way too hard to make dishes fit. If I was only washing plates, this machine would be a dream. Note to Bosch... Most families use a large assortment of dishes, bowls, glasses, pots and pans. Put some space back between those tines! Some are adjustable but most on the bottom rack are fixed. (I have to be creative at times to get the plates and pots to fit at the same time. Deal breaker? Not really... I just want everything clean. And clean is what I'm getting. This unit is a work horse. I've done back to back washings after Thanksgiving. Even put the pots and pans all together for their own cycle, fearing that some food particles might settle on the glass ware, but this wasn't a problem at all. The filter does need to be cleaned once in a while, but I've only done so twice in 2 weeks, and it wasn't that bad at all. Might have even gotten by with just one cleaning.
Bosch recommends Finish tablet which is another #1 rating from Consumer reports. One soap tablet per wash. Not bad at all. There are enough settings to make my daily use easy. The quick wash selection is good for a normal breakfast. The sanitize option is great and helps the dishes dry as well. There is no heating unit, so that's a plus/ minus for some, but my LG didn't either so I knew what to expect.
For the price... This was a Great deal and I'm happy so far. I can take the little minor loading issues over the fact that I've always gotten a clean load when it's finished. Run times are long, 1-2+ hours, but again... nothing new for me. If you want clean and can tolerate a trickling noise between cycles, then look no further. Easy to self install... (took me 30 minutes) Note to Bosch... I like my products boxed... Not shrink wrapped. Just saying...LOL Time will tell how long this one will last, but so far, it's the best I've owed. Oh... Bosch is noted for the least amount of repairs. Good sale point for me. Hope this helped.
I was disappointed in the quality of this dishwasher immediately. The tines are thin and bent easily, the racks are made of a very light cheap plastic, making them very unstable. They would come off the rails constantly and the wheels would pop off. However, it seemed to be getting the dishes clean and wasn't too bad with pots and pans (though they didn't fit in well). Of course, shortly after the warranty expired, the locking mechanism broke. The repairman who came told me to order the part myself because I'd get it quicker than he would that he has seen this problem with this model often. When I called Bosch to order the part, they said they could send a repair person at a cost of $99 for the first EIGHTEEN MINUTES and an additional charge for each additional SIX minutes. When I asked for an estimate, they couldn't tell me even approximately how long it would take to replace the part which seems ridiculous to me and makes it impossible for me to decide whether to repair it or throw it out.
UPDATE: Spent $200 to fix the door. Less than 2 weeks later I am getting an "E24" error message and the machine is not draining. We cleaned out the drains, to no avail. I'm ordering a new dishwasher and not spending another dime on this one.
This is the worst dishwasher you can buy. It does not drain. Soap is left on dishes and in bottom well. Contacted Bosh several times and they say its the soap. When I explained that the soap I am using is the brand that they insist on they told me to contact the soap company or use fabric softner. Not worth the money! Dealing with The Bosh Company really not worth it!!!!!!
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My new girlfriend moves in and says to me I want a "BOSCH" so I replaced my 24yr old GE which still worked well with this model.We've had it for about a month and we both love it. Dishes come out sparkling clean,even with dried cinnamon on.Its quiet,but you still know its on because there is a digital counter on the front.I highly recommend this product. "UPDATE " Its been 4 months and we still love it. No problems.I actually bought this at a local BEST BUY store.On their website 90+ people reviewed this dishwasher and gave it an average of 4.3 out of 5. Consumer Reports ranks this dishwasher " NO 1 "
This large 28 cu. ft. refrigerator won't take up more space in your kitchen. Our strong, thin-wall insulation technology gives you more usable space inside for easier storage and organization.
A refrigerator is usually the most energy-consuming appliance in your home, but this one is ENERGY STAR approved and has a door alarm to alert you when a door is ajar. This kind of conscious cooling is good for your wallet and the environment.
Quick and easy access to filtered water and cubed/crushed ice at your fingertips with the external dispenser.
The mid-drawer provides flexible temperature control for your food storage needs with Meat/Fish, Cold Drinks, Deli/Snacks and Wine/Party Dishes options. The SmartDivider allows easy organization within the mid-drawer.
Our strategically placed, highly efficient LED lighting brightens every corner so you can quickly find what you need. A cooler source of light, LED emits less heat and is much more energy efficient than traditional bulb lighting.
We recently purchased this Samsung model (almost 2 weeks ago) and not wanting to jinx anything (knock on wood), it is working flawlessly (right now anyway). The 2 biggest complaints I have is the intolerably loud noise the ice-maker creates when ice is ejected into the bucket. It's even more frighteningly loud when the ice bucket is empty as the sound amplifies upon impact with the hollow plastic container. I read other reviews commenting on this and thought it was an exaggeration, it's not. Samsung should really consider re-engineering the container by adding some sound deadening material around it to help muffle the noise (yes, it's truly that annoying). The other issue is relatively minor and indicative of all stainless appliances... the never ending battle against finger prints and skin oil smudges.
All that aside, the bottom line to any appliance purchase today is akin to betting on roulette and expecting to win (worst odds ever). Like many, I did an inordinate amount of product research and read countless customer reviews prior to purchasing. Opinions and experiences are all over the map. And this is a fundamental problem for all brands not just Samsung. As mentioned elsewhere there is much outsourcing going on and it seems almost impossible for manufacturers to attain consistent quality levels. BTW, I was surprised to learn (after purchasing) this refrigerator is imported from Korea. I bring this up only because it supports many customer complaints concerning long wait times when breakdowns inevitably occur. The delays are primarily the result of long distance parts delivery. Several service repair companies I contacted are not even qualified to work on these appliances as Samsung strictly controls the qualification process along with parts distribution (exporting from Korea).
To be fair, this Samsung replaces a 12-year old Maytag side by side (with ice-maker) which I can't begin to relate just how horrible and unreliable a refrigerator can be! It was the first appliance I ever bought with an extended warranty (reluctantly). It was also the first appliance I inevitably recouped my money from using that warranty (and then some) due to abnormally frequent repairs and parts replacement (both costly to the insurance company). What I learned from this is warranties can be useful for offsetting expensive service and food replacement costs but doesn't instill customer confidence or improve product reliability... it is what it is. Factor in countless hours due to lost work time; aggravation with incompetent CSR agents; delays and missed appointments with repair ppl and inordinate amounts of wasted food... you can easily see where this is going.
So don't hate Samsung just because it's not assembled in North America (who is?) or you see customer complaints online. In fact, check any brand and it's pretty much the same for all. CR may rate some models and brands higher but unfortunately (and inevitably) they all have issues. There are only a handful of companies (worldwide) making compressors and major components for refrigerators these days and every manufacturer is buying from them. So no brand is immune and "inconsistent" quality has been around for awhile now. The days of buying a refrigerator (or any major appliance) and expecting it to last for 20 years are long over. And spending more money doesn't help either. High end brands such as Viking and Sub-Zero are notoriously problematic and appear even more unreliable.
The bottom line is no matter how much research and regardless what brand you prefer or currently own... you definitely will be rolling the dice and taking a bigger chance than you might expect on your next purchase. The days of "Maytag reliability" are long gone (I can most definitely attest to that). Long term reliability is not the norm, it is an anomaly. Don't expect your next refrigerator to provide more than 7-10 years of consistent reliability (at most). Like other "tech toys" refrigerators have become trendy fashion statements, several high end models have built in flat screens with wi-fi, so don't expect them to last long. In fact, the tech will easily become obsolete long before the warranty ends prompting many to upgrade just to stay current.
The best advice I can offer anyone is cover your bets and consider an extended warranty and use AmEx or Discover (check their respective policies) to extend it another year. Because unlike back in the day, it may not take years to see problems develop in new appliances and 28 cubic feet of food spoils real quick and gets real expensive...
Update: 07-29-12
A brief update: After more than 7 months there is no significant issues to report and that is really saying something these days...
The refrigerator continues to operate flawlessly albeit with the following very minor issues. Every so often the unit makes a slight humming, mechanical or vibrating noise emanating from the rear. If I give it a slight nudge or push, it stops but returns infrequently. My suspicion is there may be a lose line inside the back that vibrates in sympathy with the compressor when it kicks on. Still its only sporadic and not repeatable enough to call out a tech... yet.
Beyond that all areas of the fridge appear to operate normally maintaining correct temps within acceptable tolerances. I installed 3 small digital thermometers within the upper, mid and lower (double door fridge, pull-out drawer & freezer) sections. Depending on time of day and frequency of access, the temps rarely deviate beyond +/5 degrees, which is really good especially with the unrelenting summer heat.
Our electric utility bills appear slightly higher than last year but the utility's "smart meter" indicates outdoor temps to be almost 2 degrees hotter these past months. Factor in our utilities super high rate pricing or "peak demand" for July & August (thanks SRP) and abnormally higher temps and it's tough to know if the refrigerator's efficiency gains aren't offset by our home's dual AC systems which cycle more frequently this time of year?
Lastly, the annoying ice maker continues to do it's part, still functioning normally albeit loudly. We have come to terms with it and now view it as a "feature" enhancement as you always know when its working. Guess you can get used to anything, all in all no real regrets...
A little more than a month ago we bought a new Samsung RF4287HARS refrigerator. It is Samsung's top of the line model. It has many wonderful features. We love the center drawer with flex temperature control; the style, look and feel are great; the lighting inside is even better than anything else we saw. There was only one problem: It didn't work.
After a couple weeks the fridge just stopped cooling the ice melted and drained water all over our floor, much to the chagrin of our dog who was sleeping nearby; the freezer defrosted, meaning it was steak night (with both corn and beans hurray); the entire interior went to over 45 degrees according to our handy dandy thermometer. It just wasn't running. We had repair people come out twice, the second time they said it could not be fixed.
OK, that happens. Sears agreed to replace the unit with a brand new one. Three cheers for Sears!
The second new unit was installed and within a couple weeks we had the exact same problem. Warm soda and a wet dog but hey, steak for dinner again. The service people came out and said it was a bad sensor. OK, that happens. So they replaced the sensor a week or so later (they had to order the parts, but the good news is that it is currently cold outside, so at least we had cold food for a while). After replacing the sensor it worked great for nearly a few days and then had the exact same problem again! By this point we have run out of frozen steak (and just about everything else), although our dog has never smelled better. But back came the repair people this time the diagnosis is a bad mother board (although having watched several repair people work on this model it becomes increasingly clear that they do not really know what's wrong; at best, they are guessing).
We are now faced with the question of what to do next. Option 1: replace the second unit with a third new version of this model, and hope that the third time is the charm. My concern is that, as Einstein said, insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Option 2: replace the second unit with a model from a different manufacturer. But here is a small problem we looked at other units and found that the GE Profile models had many similar features and might make a good replacement for the Samsung version. But as we looked closer today we noticed that the one drawer GE was a little too similar to the one drawer and two drawer Samsung. If you look at them side by side you will notice that they are so similar that it appears they are actually made with identical parts. In an era where outsourced and contract manufacturing is common in many industries, this raises the concern that even the GE models would have the same problems as they may be made in the same factory with the same parts, leading to the same defects or issues.
For those of you keeping score, that is: Samsung refrigerators 2, Cold Food Zero, Steak Dinners 2, Wet Dogs 3, and spoiled food more than $300.
So in short, Samsung has included many great features in this unit. They only thing it seems to be lacking is coldness.
So far the fridge works well, has tons of capacity, flexible shelving systems.
This unit is a tad shorter than others in this size class. It needs only 68.5" of clearance for the portion of the unit behind the hinges. There is a plastic cord holder/dust cover on the back left top of the ice box. This was a cover for a recessed area that looks like where the water connects to the ice maker. I had to remove it to fit under the 68.5" face frame I had. This leaves about 1/4" top clearance at the face frame of the upper cabinet (of course 2" above top when you get past the face frame). I did cover the recessed area with packing tape to keep dust out.
The touch screen is a little finicky about where you touch. To switch ice types or turn ice off, you actually don't touch the screen rather the top curved area of the ice/water portal not very clear in manual, luckily there one one obscure picture that showed the correct spot.
The middle "flex" drawer looks very promising.
Will update this over time.
Update: 06/17/10
I did see a better picture about turning ice off better that my initial review. Ice maker has a somewhat different and slightly louder "ice drop" sound. The ice making frequency could be faster, but only time will tell if it keeps up with summer demand. I did have to tweak the alignment of the upper doors could not be simpler!!!
We replaced our white electric stove with a stainless gas stove which led to replacing the fridge, washer/dryer and dishwasher with stainless. My wife had re-painted the kitchen and it needed the updates anyway. Went with Samsung on all at Lowes as they had a big sale on.
Bought this reftigator in November however they were not able to deliver until Fedruary as the units were "out of stock". Looking back this may be a form of bait and switch. We still had our 14 year old GE purring away so not a biggie. Besides my wife loved this unit.
Lowes delivered. Whoa unit was totally unlevel. Celled them back and had them come back out to level the unit and door. Leveled unit but it was unstable and guy seid he could not level doors!
Decided to wait a little while to see if unit might settle before calling them again. Six weeks later woke up and the temp display was flashing. Unplugged as the manual states and while it came cack on the temp level was unstable. As a matter of fact it would run for a while and shut off before both levels were at set point. Freezer would say -4 and fridge 57. Unplug to reset and the freezer would be 38 and fridge 57. This would flip flop. Finally went to Lowes and they gave me a number to call.
Called the number and the first thing the person did was to try and upsell an extended warranty claiming ours started the day we bought it. Declined and they finally set up a service call for THREE days later.
Called Samsung and they straightned out warranty but could not get anyone out quicker and as a matter of fact used the same people as Lowes who are in Fort Lauderdale FL while we are in North Alabama. Boy wonder how long a follow up call takes as it is a 16 hour drive.
We have moved the freezer items to our chest deep freeze and moved important fresh food items such as medicines to a dorm type fridge we used to keep beverages in. Like I told my wife great we have a three thousand dollar Samsung and are keeping stuff in a ninty-nine dollar dorm fridge.
What scares me is our other appliances are Samsung. What I have decided to do is savings be damned and am calling Lowes to pick up all the appliences and doing like I did at first for appliances and buy from a local appliance dealer.
The other dealer installed the appliances correctly, had a serviceman out immediatey when we did have a problem, is ten minutes away and know how to follow-up. Inconvenience and frustation with poorly made and installed appliances are not worth saving the bucks.
As a final on the electronics. We had out house re-wired to curcuit breakers and the TV and surround system are on the same breaker and they are working fine so I beleive the problem lies as with many in poor design and/or manafacture.
Know this review is a little long but when you are looking at paying three thousand dollars for a fidge that may self destruct in a few weeks you need as much info as possible. If you go ahead wish you the best of luck. We gambled and lost.
FOLLOW UP ON SERVICE. The tech arrived three days later and my wife called me at work saying he had it fixed and needed to talk to me. He claimed the outlet it was plugged into was not grounded and he had replugged it into another that is and it was good to go. He asked me to call him later to report on the temperatur of the unit. Three hours later is was 61 degrees! Called and reaponse was oh that is what is happening which we had expained several times to Lowes, Samsung and his dispatcher not including the description given to him. Well I will order the parts because Samsung sent me out without any parts and be back Friday which was three days later. After I got off teh phone I remembered as mentioned the circuit he said was not grounded is the one I have my Pioneer Elite Surround plugged into and the Monster surge protector/power conditioner says the circuit is grounded?
I went the next day to Lowes and requested they come get everything. The response was we have a new one in stock now and will excnange if you call Samsung. Thirty minutes on the phone with Samsung the next day and yes we can RMA it but it takes 3-5 days to get it authorized. Lowes did get it OKd the next day and delivered it two days later. They still did a bad job of leveling which I corrected the next day ijncluding leveling the doors.
The tech called three days later and his comment was I have the parts now and can I come by and see if they fix it. This was TEN DAYS after the original problem was reported. Way too long when you are dealing with an appliance that is suppoused to preserve food not spoil it.
The new unit is nosier but works better. So far three weeks it is OK but time will tell. Ice noise and volume is still lackluster compared to the old GE.
Samsung service and customer satisfaction conderns are at best comicial and at average diasterous. Boy this review ihas turned into a novel which if you read I hope you find helpful
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I fell in love with the design of this particular refrigerator. Loved it all the flex drawer, the lighting, the adjustable shelves, etc. Nothing else could compare. I read some of the bad reviews, but noticed all of the good as well and went ahead and purchased it. That was less than 90 days ago.
Woke up this morning to a warm fridge and warm freezer. The flex drawer appears to still be cool. Repairman thinks it might be the main electrical board. So...we have to wait another 5-6 days for the part to come in. He's seen them go out in as few as two weeks. Unbelievable. We had our other "middle of the road" fridge for 10 years with no issues. I am worried about the next board going out as well.
Read all of the reviews and buy cautiously. One last note get the extra warranty. That is what is covering the cost of all of our spoiled food.
The Mini fridge, powered by USB, is a plastic box with a cool circle/ring shaped plate at the bottom, attached to what looks to be a heat sync with a fan. The ONLY thing this fridge will keep cool is a CANNED drink, nothing else. The fridge is designed to take away heat from only the bottom of the can. And even then, the drink does not stay very cool at all.
It's very easy to use. All you do is plug in the USB in any USB drive.
The best thing to do is have a coke or 7up (or whatever) in a regular sized fridge until it's cold. Then you can take it out and keep it cool for maybe an hour in the mini fridge, so you need to drink it pretty fast.
And the blue LED light is not bright at all.
If you're contemplating whether or not to get this product, I would say DO NOT get it. If you're looking for a mini fridge, spend a bit of extra money on something that will actually work.
Well it's initial cooling ability is pretty weak. It will keep a pre-chilled can of soda cool for a while but has a hard time cooling down a warm can. It will, but after over a day. With a few simple modifications, I was able to double it's capability for almost nothing.
Trick one was to add a larger and more powerful fan to the heat sink. The cooling element(and yes it is actually a cooling element, not just a heatsink) works on the property of dissipation, so adding a fan means it directly cools better. Trick number two, and the biggest help, was insulating it properly. Any refrigerator needs insulation to cool worth a crap, and this unit is just thin plastic. I added some thin bubble wrap/foil ducting insulation inside the box and a piece of foam covered in the same insulation in the hollow door. After these two very simple mods, the cooling got miles better and it actually manages to chill a room temp can pretty well. This thing is a great basis for a fun project, but isn't a great product on its own. They could have put more effort into it.
While it looks nice on your desk and makes people wonder what it is (and then be in awe when they actually see that it is a fridge) it doesn't cool much. Took more than 4 hours to cool a room temperature can of coke.
The real use though is to keep your beverage cool, not actually cool it.
Had to try it. Now I know. Unit pulled 4 watts according to my Kill-A-Watt meter (meter highly recommended btw,P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor, actually measures kwh usage over time)through a 110v, one amp wall-wart usb output. Fan was running, disc inside immediately became cool to touch, Peltier thermoelectric cooling IS effective, and rather intriguing, but I wrapped some good insulation around the unit, making sure to not obstruct the vents front and back, and left it overnight with a room temp can of Squirt, and a small thermometer inside. Ten hours later, the Squirt and Thermometer were at no more than 3 deg F cooler than the room. Bummer. A+ for concept, one star for lack of significant performance. "Experiment Sccessful", now I know one thing that DOES NOT WORK.
If you spend any time sitting in front of a computer, the idea of USB powered mini fridge probably has some appeal to you, especially if you are far from a regular refrigerator and a plug-in-the-wall Mini Fridge is for some reason not an option for you. No doubt the thirst-suffering keyboard-slave inventors of this little item thought they had an instant winner on their hands, but they were done in by cheap materials and science.
The science problem is worth dwelling upon; the sad truth is that hot plates will ALWAYS work MUCH better than cooling plates for a reason in addition to the fact that hot plates can make use of the waste heat from electrical resistance (either directly or as a byproduct of the Peltier effect) while cooling plates must dissipate it:
convection.
Hotter fluids rise and colder fluids fall, thus a container of any liquid placed upon a hot plate will quickly become uniformly heated while a similar container of liquid placed upon a cooling plate will get as cold as it is ever going to get at the bottom while the upper layers won't cool much at all. That's why the instructions for this item say to use 8 ounce soda pop cans even though the product was obviously originally designed for 12 ounce soda pop cans; doing so removes what will always be the warmest 1/3rd of a 12 ounce soda pop can.
It is no accident in my opinion that later (?) models of this product Portable USB Cooler and Warmer 2-in-1 come with a switch so it can be used as a hot plate as well, which function can at least be presumed to work.
There ARE ways to fight this, but doing so would require spending more on materials. aries2110, one of the top reviewers of this version of the product shows what might have been by installing a stronger fan (for dissipating waste heat) and taping some insulation to the inside, reporting a significant increase in cooling. The less handy can try setting it in front of a desk fan and putting a can insulator upside down on the can. I also noted some additional cooling but nothing approaching "refrigerator cold".
Basically, about all it is good for IMHO is SLOWING the warming up of a previously refrigerated can of soda pop more than just setting it on your desk will. I picked mine up on clearance, and I suggest you do the same,...
My husband had been wanting his own private beer fridge with a glass front and an internal light for a long time, and after doing a lot of research I decided to go with this particular fridge. Mine came well packed, and without any dents or cosmetic damage from shipping (I ordered it here from amazon).
