07 Sep

Knox Electric Cooler and Warmer Review

Product Review: Knox Electric Cooler and Warmer for Car and Home with Wheels

Knox Electric Cooler and Warmer

Company: Amazon

Price Range: $100 -- $150

Feedback: Read Consumer Reviews on the Knox Electric Cooler and Warmer

Who Would Buy This: Those shopping for a budget friendly, lightweight portable electric cooler/warmer for cooling or warming food and drink at home or on the go.

Features

48 Quart storage space

Chills to 40°F

Heats to 130°F

Two built-in cords

Dual voltage (110V AC and 12V DC car adapter)

Carry handle & pull handle

Easy transport wheels

Removable compartment divider

Design

Aesthetically, the Knox Electric Cooler is a nice looking unit with a blue body, white lid and side carrying handles which is a pleasing alternative to the plain beige colors we often see on portable coolers.

The unit is sturdily built with solid plastics that give it a feeling of robustness. The lid features a locking mechanism which is designed to ensure the lid stays sealed tightly to maintain a consistent internal temp for the chamber.

Size-wise, the unit has an external size of 22 inches length, 15 inches wide with a height of 16 inches. This makes it compact enough to fit it in the trunk of a car for convenient transportation.

Easy Transportation

Functionally, it wins top marks for its high portability. The unit weighs in at only 14.4 lb, making it a lightweight in the portable cooler crowd. The double handle design includes a sizeable ergonomic carry handle that extends out, a small pull handle and easy transport wheels. This ensures that one person can comfortably transport the unit whether you want to pull it along as you walk over short distances or carry it by lifting it up.

Dual Voltage

The dual voltage design allows you to power the unit from an AC or DC power source, giving you the flexibility to use it at home or on the road.

It includes two built-in power cords; a 58″ power cord for 110V AC home use and a 67″ 12V DC car adapter which both come pre-attached for your convenience. Disappointingly, the cords are rather short so you need to keep the cooler nearby a power outlet unless you use an extension lead. However, the DC cord is still long enough to reach the back seat in a 5 seater vehicle so this should only be an issue for larger vehicles.

Accessing the power cords is made easy thanks to the handy built-in plug storage compartment in the lid which can be conveniently accessed by turning one of the two plastic covers and removing it.

Knox Electric Cooler and Warmer Features

Interior

This cooler/warmer has a good sized interior capacity of 48 quart which provides enough space for approximately 60 cans or 6 two-liter soda bottles and 15 cans. It includes a removable compartment divider that can be placed in one of two slots which gives you two separate compartments for storage organization.

Cooling/Warming Functionality

The Knox can be used as both a cooler and a warmer, giving you dual functionality to keep food and beverages chilled or keep hot foods warm. The cooler can chill to 40°F below ambient temperature without requiring ice, saving you interior storage space. The warmer can heat up to 130°F temperature.

Knox have kept things simple in terms of operating the unit. There is a small switch that allows you to alter between COLD/OFF/HOT for easy operation. The hot/cold ready indicator light gives you a handy indication when the interior has reached the desired temperature.

Manual: n/a

Guarantee: 1-year warranty.

Summary

The Knox Electric Cooler and Warmer triumphs for value, making it a great choice for the budget conscious looking for affordable, lightweight portable cooler/warmer that is ideal for use when travelling.

Its ease of portability, dual voltage design and built-in power cord storage are its stand out features that make it flexible for many different situations. It is also energy efficient due to its low power draw which is an advantage particularly if you’ll be using it in a vehicle.

While there have been some complaints from consumers about the unit breaking within 1-2 months of ownership, Knox Gear has excellent support should you need a replacement.

21 Jul

Whynter BR-130SB Beverage Refrigerator Review

Product Review: Whynter BR-130SB Beverage Refrigerator

Whynter BR-130SB Beverage Refrigerator

Company: Amazon

Price Range: $250 -- $300

Feedback: Read Consumer Reviews on the Whynter BR-130SB Beverage Refrigerator

Who Would Buy This: Those shopping for a contemporary styled, free-standing beverage refrigerator for cooling up to 120 regular 12-oz cans.

Features

5.75 cubic feet capacity

Stores up to 120 standard cans

Mechanical temperature control

Interior LED lighting

Design

Whynter have really gone to town with the aesthetics of the BR-130SB despite it’s budget roots. It’s eye catching sleek design comprises of a standard black cabinet fitted with a reversible glass door featuring an attractive stainless steel trim. It’s stainless steel long towel bar handle rounds off the look beautifully.

Unlike most beverage refrigerators, the door handle doesn’t come pre-fitted, so you need to fit it yourself. This is real quick and easy to do because the holes are already pre-drilled ready for you to screw in.

The unit is noticeably tall with a height of 33 inches, which gives it a small footprint of a mere 17 inches wide and a depth of 19.3 inches. It should be noted, this model is for free-standing use only as it requires at least 5 inches of clearance to allow for sufficient air circulation.

Interior

Inside, there is a 5.75 cubic feet interior capacity, which can accommodate up to 120 standard 12 ounce cans.

Storage flexibility is excellent thanks to the inclusion of 5 slide-out wire shelves, which are fully removable. This allows you to store up to 19 bottles of wine, simply by removing one of the shelves. For can storage, the top three shelves have a 15 can capacity, while the lower two shelves and the bottom have a 25 can capacity.

The internal fan-forced compressor cooling system ensures that the interior keeps an even temperature so all your beverages are adequately chilled. The fan runs continuously, but is rather quiet, so just expect to hear a constant low hum while it’s circulating air inside.

Soft interior LED lighting is featured, which provides some needed brightness to give you a better view of your beverages through the transparent door. The light is switched controlled using an On/Off switch on the ceiling.

Whynter BR-130SB Beverage Refrigerator Interior

Temperature Control

The mechanical control dial to regulate the temperature is located just in front of the interior light on the ceiling. This allows you to set the interior temperature from 0-7, which gives you a broad temperature range of high 30 degrees F to mid 60 degrees F.

Manual: Whynter BR-130SB manual

Guarantee: 1-year limited warranty.

Summary

The almost fully-featured Whynter BR-130SB is an excellent beverage refrigerator which gives you a lot for your dollar. It has a striking design which gives it a premium appearance, as well as ample amounts of storage flexibility due to it’s roomy interior and five removable shelves.

The only drawback would be it’s lack of a door lock, but if this feature isn’t important to you, then you should be very pleased with this model.

18 Jun

Avanti SBCA017G 1.7-Cubic Foot Superconductor Beverage Cooler Review

Product Review: Avanti SBCA017G 1.7-Cubic Foot Superconductor Beverage Cooler

Avanti SBCA017G 1.7-Cubic Foot Superconductor Beverage Cooler

Company: Amazon

Price Range: $100 -- $150

Feedback: Read Consumer Reviews on the Avanti SBCA017G Beverage Cooler

Who Would Buy This: Those shopping for a small, quiet beverage cooler for cooling up to 40 cans.

Features

1.7 cubic feet capacity

Interior LED lighting

Soft touch electronic controls

Auto defrost

Design

Our first impressions of the Avanti SBCA017G are good. The diminutive unit has a black cabinet, fitted with a semi-transparent, tinted glass door which features an attractive mirror framed finish, along with a recessed handle.

This beverage cooler is the ideal fit for smaller spaces as it measures just 20.25″ high, 17″ wide with a 19″ depth.

Low Noise

Avanti equipped this cooler with a Superconductor cooling system. This technology is renowned for delivering high cooling efficiency while producing minimal noise as it doesn’t use a compressor. The noise level of this unit is just 26 dB, which is literally whisper quiet.

Interior

The Avanti comes with an interior capacity of 1.7 cubic feet, which allows you to hold up to 40 regular cans. Two removable wire shelves are included, which provide little in the way of storage flexibility due to the limited interior space available.

A white LED interior light is included, which does a decent job of illuminating the interior nicely. The light is controllable using a simple On/Off switch inside.

Thermostat

An analog type thermostat control knob is located in the top right interior of the unit. This offers easy control over the interior temperature setting. There are three main temperature settings to select from (Lo, Med, Hi).

Manual: Avanti SBCA017G manual

Guarantee: 1-year limited warranty.

Summary

The Avanti SBCA017G is a well-rounded beverage cooler with a good reputation for it’s style, reliability and cooling performance. It combines a petite form factor with an efficient, quiet cooling system which does a great job of keeping beverages cool without making a racket.

Avanti didn’t add many bells and whistles to this model, helping cut costs and keep it cheap. Overall, this would make an excellent budget choice if you’re in need of an affordable, super quiet, compact beverage cooler.

17 Jun

SPT BC-92US 92 Can Commercial Grade Beverage Cooler Review

Product Review: SPT BC-92US 92 Can Commercial Grade Beverage Cooler

SPT BC-92US 92 Can Commercial Grade Beverage Cooler

Company: Amazon

Price Range: $450 -- $500

Feedback: Read Consumer Reviews on the SPT BC-92US Beverage Cooler

Who Would Buy This: Those shopping for a narrow and compact, built-in 15″ wide beverage cooler for cooling up to 92 cans.

Features

3.16 cubic feet capacity

Stores up to 92 cans

Tempered glass door

Soft interior light

Memory IC

Auto defrost

Design

The SPT BC-92US has a sharp looking, professional outward appearance which we’d expect from what is billed as a commercial grade cooler. It has a regular black cabinet so it will look good whether it’s built-in under a counter or used as a free-standing unit. It’s stainless steel trimmed glass door is dual paned for optimum cooling efficiency and is fitted with a sleek long handle. The door is reversible to accommodate different door opening preferences.

Interior

Despite the compact, narrow build of this unit it has a decent storage capacity of 3.16 cubic feet, providing enough space to hold up to 92 regular 12 oz cans.

It comes with four adjustable black wire shelves. There are six shelve grooves inside the interior so there is plenty of versatility to adjust the shelving set-up to accommodate different sizes of cans and bottles.

As it’s a compressor style cooler, it keeps a steady consistent low temperature and does so relatively quietly. We have no complaints about the noise level.

Soft white lighting is included so you can softly light up the interior for easy viewing of your beverages. One drawback is, the light isn’t door activated, so it’s only controllable via the interior switch.

SPT BC-92US 92 Can Commercial Grade Beverage Cooler Interior

Digital Controls

The interior control panel has a simple layout, equipped with four buttons. It features an LED temperature display for convenient monitoring of the interior temperature. You can set the temperature to be shown in Celsius or Fahrenheit, depending on your personal preference. The temperature control gives you a range between 35°F -- 65°F, which can be increased or decreased in 1 degree increments.

Other functions include a Light/Lock combo button which can turn the light On/Off or lock/unlock the control panel. To help conserve energy and ensure optimal cooling, the light turns off automatically after ten minutes.

Memory IC

In the event of a power failure, the unit automatically reverts to it’s original settings. This is a handy feature, particularly if you’re away from home a lot.

Manual: SPT BC-92US manual

Guarantee: 1-year warranty.

Summary

This is a solidly-built cooler from Sunpentown that comes with all the usual features we’d expect from a beverage refrigerator at this end of the market. It’s flexible enough to be used as a wine or bear chiller, which we like.

While it fares well overall for it’s performance, some consumers have had problems with their unit maintaining a consistent temperature after a short period of ownership. However, these complaints are in the minority, so it would seem they got a defective unit.

One of the biggest selling points of the SPT BC-92US Beverage Cooler is it’s compact, narrow size, so if you’re looking to replace that trash compactor and get your beverages chilled, here’s your chance.

16 Jun

Danby DBC047D1BSSPR Silhouette Built-In Beverage Center Review

Product Review: Danby DBC047D1BSSPR Silhouette Built-In Beverage Center

Danby DBC047D1BSSPR Silhouette Built-In Beverage Center

Company: Amazon

Price Range: $1,200 -- $1,250

Feedback: Read Consumer Reviews on the Danby Silhouette Built-In Beverage Center

Who Would Buy This: Those shopping for a highly versatile, built-in 24″ dual door beverage refrigerator for cooling beverage cans and bottles of wine.

Features

4.7 cubic feet capacity

Stores up to 61 cans and 21 wine bottles

French door design

Independent temperature zones

Fan-forced cooling

Premium Design

The excellent styling of this beverage center is clearly evident from just one look at it. It’s dual door design gives you the benefit of having stacks of storage space for wines and beverages, in addition to dual temperature zones.

The two tempered glass doors are made from tough 304L stainless steel and use UV protected Low-E glass to keep your wines protected from UV light as well as maximize cold retention. The doors elegant long bar handles round off the look nicely and provide easy opening and closer of the doors.

The use of magnetic door gaskets ensure that the seals are tight and the interior is kept cool. The smartly designed door hinges are made to require zero clearance so you can open the door confident in the knowledge that nearby cabinets won’t get damaged.

Interior

The roomy interior has a 4.7 cubic feet capacity over it’s two separate compartments.

The left side compartment for beverages has three tempered glass shelves that can accommodate up to 61 standard 355ml cans. The right side compartment for wines has five extension shelves that can accommodate up to 21 standard 750ml wine bottles. The wine shelves are fully extendible so you can have a full view of your wine bottle labels without removing a bottle.

Making use of fan-forced cooling in each compartment, this ensures even, consistent temperature distribution from top to bottom.

The impressive interior features cool white LED lighting so you can illuminate each compartment to get a great view of your wines and beverages. The lighting can either be turned on manually or be door controlled if you only want light when you open the door.

Danby DBC047D1BSSPR Silhouette Built-In Beverage Center

Dual Temperature Zones

For truly customized cooling for wines and beverages, this unit is equipped with dual temperature zones. The interior control panel in each compartment provides easy push button control to let you regulate the temperature in 1° increments. A basic LED display allows you to view the current temperature setting in each compartment.

The left side zone for beverages can be set to a range of 36°F to 64°F, providing an optimum cooling range. The right side zone for wines can be set to a range of 39°F to 64°F, which is an ample range of temperatures to cool most types of wines.

Door Alarm

To ensure the interior stays cool, the door is fitted with an audible alarm which alerts you if the door has been left ajar for five minutes or if there are any extreme fluctuations to the interior temperature.

Manual: Danby DBC047D1BSSPR manual

Guarantee: 2-year limited in-home warranty.

Summary

This is one impressive beverage center that has the style, heavy-duty build quality and functionality to warrant it’s premium price tag.

The fact that this model can house both wines and beverages makes it incredibly versatile, so you can do away with the need of having a separate beverage and wine chiller. The inclusion of independently controlled temperature zones is an important feature and one which many beverage and wine chiller units overlook.

Overall, the Danby DBC047D1BSSPR is a solid choice for anyone in search of a top-notch French door style built-in dual zone beverage center.

15 Jun

Whynter BR-091WS Beverage Refrigerator Review

Product Review: Whynter BR-091WS Beverage Refrigerator

Whynter BR-091WS Beverage Refrigerator

Company: Amazon

Price Range: $200 -- $250

Feedback: Read Consumer Reviews on the Whynter BR-091WS Beverage Refrigerator

Who Would Buy This: Those shopping for a stylishly modern, compact, free-standing beverage refrigerator for quietly cooling up to 90 cans.

Features

90 can capacity

3 adjustable wire shelves

Mechanical temperature control

Interior LED lighting

Cylinder lock

Design

The styling of the Whynter BR-091WS is bold and contemporary, to match any modern room décor. The cabinet has a smart white finish, while the glass door has a brushed stainless steel trim with a recessed handle.

The door is reversible so the door swing can be either right or left. Sadly, due to it’s design, reversing the door to open up right-to-left means it has to be fully rotated rather than simply moving the hinge, which results in the door lock being unusable and the handle being in a much lower position. This isn’t ideal, but it won’t be a problem if you’re happy with the standard left-to-right door configuration or don’t need to use the lock.

The BR-091WS is fitted with a cylinder lock at the bottom of the door, so you can keep your beverage door locked. It comes supplied with two keys.

Interior

The interior of this beverage center has a reasonable 2.5 cubic feet of space, which provides enough room to hold 90 regular sized 12 oz cans. The top shelf holds up to 15 cans. The second and third shelf plus the bottom section can hold up to 25 cans each.

It comes with three removable wire shelves which can slide-out to accommodate different beverage storage requirements. There are a total of four grooves to slide shelves into.

Interior LED lighting is provided so you can clearly see all your beverages through the glass door. The light is manually controllable via an On/Off switch located next to the light on the ceiling of the interior. Unfortunately, the light doesn’t turn on automatically upon opening the door, so it’s limited to being controlled manually by the switch only.

There’s also an internal fan fitted in the ceiling of the cabinet to ensure an even temperature through every area of the interior.

Whynter BR-091WS Beverage Refrigerator Interior

Temperature Control

When it comes to temperature control, there is a small mechanical control dial inside the cabinet just in front of the light. The temperature range has a good degree of adjustment from 1 to 7, which is a range of 30ºF to 60ºF.

Manual: Whynter BR-091WS manual

Guarantee: 1-year limited warranty.

Summary

The Whynter BR-091WS Beverage Refrigerator is a fine quality compact fridge that is within reach of those on a budget. It’s built well, exudes elegance in it’s style and has a good set of functions.

Our only concern is the lack of a proper reversible door. So we recommend you ensure what your preferred door configuration is before purchasing this model.

14 Jun

Danby DBC120BLS Beverage Center Review

Product Review: Danby DBC120BLS Beverage Center

Danby DBC120BLS Beverage Center

Company: Amazon

Price Range: $150 -- $200

Feedback: Read Consumer Reviews on the Danby DBC120BLS Beverage Center

Who Would Buy This: Those shopping for an elegant, versatile beverage center that can hold up to 120 cans.

Features

3.3 cubic feet capacity

Stores up to 120 cans

3 black wire shelves

Mechanical thermostat

Tempered glass door

Elegant Design

This free standing beverage center has a simple yet elegant design which is neutral enough to look good in any room, whether it be a kitchen, games room or home bar.

It’s black body blends nicely with the UV protected tempered glass door which features an attractive stainless steel trim. The door is fitted with a reversible hinge so it can be modified to accommodate either right or left opening. To keep the styling minimalistic, the door handle is recessed into the side of the door.

After taking on-board consumer feedback, Dandy have included front levelling feet so you can adjust the front feet to ensure the unit keeps solid on your floor.

Interior

The generously sized interior has a 3.3 cu. ft capacity which provides enough space to store up to 120 regular 355 ml sized cans.

The 3.5 black wire shelves are removable, providing plenty of storage flexibility so you can store beer bottles as well as soda cans by simply removing a shelf. The wire shelves are plastic coated which makes them extra durable; an important factor if you are going to be adjusting them regularly.

One drawback with the wire shelves is that the wiring is rather widely spaced apart, so if you’re storing regular sized cans or bottles in an upright position, they tend to lean over to one side unless you are storing many of them together. The easiest solution to this problem is to buy a plastic wire shelf liner, which is relatively inexpensive.

An interior incandescent light is fitted to the ceiling of the unit, which turns on upon opening of the door. The blue light it produces isn’t very bright so it doesn’t illuminate the entire interior, only the top shelving area is adequately lit. There is a toggle switch on the light, so alternatively you can have the light on when the door is closed.

Mechanical Thermostat

Setting the temperature is done using the thermostat control knob which is situated at the exterior back of the unit. The temperature range can be set from 43°F -- 57°F.

The DBC120BLS is equipped with an internal fan to ensure good air circulation so your beverages are kept adequately cooled.

Integrated Lock

An integrated lock is located at the bottom of the door trim, so you can keep your beverages under lock and key if you want, for added security. It comes supplied with two sets of keys, so you have a spare.

This uses a hex key style lock which only locks the lower section of the door, so the door can still come ajar slightly if opened when it’s locked. Still, this is better than having no lock at all.

Manual: Danby DBC120BLS

Guarantee: 1-year limited warranty.

Summary

The Danby DBC120BLS Beverage Center has made a name for itself and become the beverage center of choice due to it’s sleek design, ample storage capacity, smooth operation and impressive storage flexibility.

However, there are a few improvements we’d like to see. Most notably, the inclusion of LED interior lighting and shelving which has more narrowly spaced out wiring to avoid problems with cans/bottles tipping over.

Overall, these criticisms aside, anyone seeking a quality yet affordable beverage refrigerator will do well to get this.