<p>I was just wondering if anyone who has bought a minifridge, can you recommend any specific brands?</p>
<p>I plan on mostly keeping orange juice and milk, perhaps a bit of yogurt and a frozen dinner or two in it. And according to my college’s guidelines, it needs to be smaller than 4 cubic feet. Other than that, anything goes.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for your advice!</p>
<p>From recent dorm experience, there doesn’t seem to be a huge variety of mini fridges out there. Every single one that I’ve seen has worked well–isn’t too loud, keeps stuff cold, doesn’t take up too much room. You’ll probably be fine if you just read some review online and then get an inexpensive one–after all, the odds of it getting wrecked or moldy or just abused are pretty high, so “investing in a good one” doesn’t really apply here.</p>
<p>Mine was like this (but white) and it was great! It ended up getting moldy but my mom was able to de-mold it and then kept it for herself–guess she likes to have her Diet Cokes nearby!</p>
<p>[Sam's</a> Club-GE 3.2 Cu. Ft. Compact Refrigerator](<a href=“http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1260093&navAction=]Sam’s”>http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=prod1260093&navAction=)</p>
<p>Decide on the size you want (can fit) and whether or not you want a little freezer section. Also, some schools rent a combo fridge/microwave thing, as some schools cant handle them on separate plugs. See if your school has restrictions before buying.</p>
<p>Be careful–some of the really cheap “refrigerators” aren’t quite really refrigerators but rather coolers, so be sure it really can keep things cold.</p>
<p>We got ours at Wal-Mart, their ‘house’ brand, I think. It’s been a great little fridge! </p>
<p>All the box stores have them, just check out prices and try to find a bargain. Wal-Mart, Sam’s, Target, even Lowes and Home Depot have them. They’re a pretty basic item. Remember, you can order online and have it delivered to the store near your school and avoid having to transport it from home.</p>
<p>We bought an Igloo brand one for my son at Home Depot six years ago and it still works great.</p>
<p>If you’ll have roommates coordinate with them first before you find that each of you are bringing a fridge. This is the kind of item frequently sold slightly used for a relative bargain if you want to save some money.</p>
<p>I bought a Danby after reading many positive reviews online. Has been working well for 3 years now.</p>
<p>As Kathyc said, if you get a tiny cheap one, it isn’t really a refrigerator and won’t keep things like milk cold enough to be safe. The “cooler” ones just keep food a certain number of degrees cooler than the room. I have had personal experience with food poisoning from a small “cooler” that I thought was a refrigerator and I don’t recommend it!</p>
<p>I noticed our WalMart flyer in this Sunday’s paper (July 11) had a refrig similar in size, features to this one, but was not stainless and was not this expensive (sorry, not home to check the flyer):</p>
<p>[Walmart.com:</a> Sunpentown 3.2 cu. ft. Compact Refrigerator, Stainless Steel Door: Appliances](<a href=“http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunpentown-3-Cu-Compact-Refrigerator/5982314]Walmart.com:”>http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sunpentown-3-Cu-Compact-Refrigerator/5982314)</p>
<p>Looks like it meets the size requirement and has seperate freezer area.</p>
<p>The microfridge is a combo of a microwave, fridge, and actual freezer that keeps things frozen. It is cheaper to buy one then rent one for more than two years, however then you have to deal with storing or hauling it back and forth from school. If you can arrange to split the rent with a roommate & plan to move off campus after your second year, then it doesn’t pay to buy it. Rent is usually around $200/year. The schools usually have a company they deal with that will have it in your dorm room when you arrive. It works off of one plug. The newer models have outlets on the front that you can use for other things (charging phones, etc.).</p>
<p>Im usually against renting when buying cheaper is the better alternative. BUT…these things take up a lot of room. Do consider your vehicle size and what blueiguana said about carting it back and forth.</p>
<p>What if you get by without one first semester? You may be able to get one for free or twenty dollars from someone leaving campus then. Keep your yogurt and orange juice in a cooler with ice.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for all your help! I looked at some other stores like Target, Walmart, Costco, etc (we don’t have a Sam’s membership) and I keep seeing somewhat obscure brands, so that’s why I asked. </p>
<p>In answer to fishymom, I looked at home depot and I saw that they no longer have the fridge that you bought, but I’ll keep looking for more options there. </p>
<p>I’m living alone in a single room, so I don’t have a roommate. Although these are the times when I wish I did :P</p>
<p>The GE one sounds good, although I haven’t been able to find one in my local walmart, I’ll just keep searching.</p>
<p>And, the thing is, since I mainly just drink milk and orange juice, I’m a little wary of using a cooler to keep my dairy products chilled.</p>
<p>We bought a Sanyo stainless steel mini-fridge at Costco - it works fine.</p>
<p>Check craigslist.com – I am sure there are people selling them cheap–probably a bunch of kids in apartments now! My D borrowed hers from a neighbor who was back from college. After her year with it- I think they lent it to another college Freshman!</p>
<p>S had a GE that worked reasonably well and has since been stored in our basement.</p>
<p>I will note that the ability of many of the mini fridges to consistenly keep something frozen was questionable. If that part is important, I’d suggest doing research that focuses on that capability. It is a common failure of these fridges to work at keeping drinks, yogurt etc cold enough, but not sufficient for freezing. This was our experience and appeared to be true for most of S’s friends.</p>
<p>WOuld be interested in all of you who report good luck with your purchases…no problems with the freezer?</p>
<p>Bought the Costco one and it has worked out fine. The freezer section is more for those time S wants to get a frozen meal from the store to microwave later. Also it works well for the ice trays when you really want ice cubes in your drink.</p>