Compact Refrigerator Reviews

I purchased this model from a retail outlet about 8 months ago. In fact, I purchased two - one for myself and one as a gift. It really does a very good job of keeping beverages cold, and because of its small size, it's really handy. The bad news is that after the first 6 months, the motor got really loud... REALLY loud... and then died. I thought perhaps it was just mine, but the one I gave as a gift went through the same process and is now gone, as well. At these prices, I guess they're a disposable item, but they should really have lasted a bit longer than they did.

I bought this machine in May 2003 and seemed like a great idea to have in my office. However, the motor on the fridge now makes really loud sounds and when I bought the machine it was quiet.
Also you really have to store/buy really compact containers and juices to fit in fridge, because it is rather small. I'm not sure if the motor is planning on giving up but it sure sounds that way. If you are a person who eats kidsize portions of food and doesn't bring leftovers in big tupperware dishes, then this product may be for you. Otherwise, invest in a quality fridge that will last longer than this product seems too.

The features of this fridge are all good. Keeps food cold but can also warm things up! Only $80 thats a pretty good deal. But don't be fooled all; all that fits is a lunch bag and a bottle of pop. Anymore stuff and your out of luck. I always like to keep at least 3 kinds of soda on hand and maybe some cheese... you know a bunch stuff to nibble on throghout the day. If your like me. Look at the size of the fride before you buy it!

The unit arrived in a undamaged box, but after unpacking I found the top & 2 inside pieces cracked, & the compressor broken loose on 2 of 4 sides, too late to refuse del. I emailed Soleus, luckly I had taken pictures as I found the problems, after I sent them the photos they sent me new parts, now the unit is working OK, but this is after a lot of work, (& not ever one would be able to do this work OR would want too) !!! I think the reason for the damage was being shipped upside down, again the shipping box arrived in good shape, so IF you buy the unit, Good luck !

I would recommend this product. It makes water very cold, and very warm. It took just minutes from placing the room-temp water bottle on, and it changing to being warm and cold. The refrigerator is not as effective. It takes a while for the fridge to cool, each time you open the door. The frige works perfectly for light use. Also, after ordering, make sure the drain cap is tightly closed, as it arrives open, and it will leak small amounts in the back. Overall good buy, and recommended for water cooling.

This is just a normal mid-sized refrigerater, but at a good price. It really doesn't do anything special. It has no special qualities, but if you want a boring old refrigerator I would recomend this recomend this product.

Probably the best small refrigerator on the market. It has a true freezer, It will keep ice cream really frozen in it's separate freezer. The drawback is that you have to flex the door retainer to get a 2 liter bottle in the door, It will fit however. The real advantage to this model is that it is self defrosting in the refregerator section!. If they had allowed better accomodation for 2 liter bottles it would deserve a 5.

A long sad story: we ordered this wine cooler at the beginning of January and it was supposed to be delievered in middle January. Well, they shipped the WRONG cooler (Haier HVFO60ABL 60-Bottle). We complained at Amazon.com and I have to say they promissed to replaced it with the right one. Today ...they delivered... only that this model is HORRIBLE: temperature setting works randomly, the cooling unit is extremely noisy: we can hear it from upstairs and our house is really big.

Folks, my father, when asked by someone why he is buying expensive things, he answered simply; "I am too poor to buy cheap things!". Too bad I myself forget these very deep thought sometimes.

PS Too bad that Amazon does not have start the star counting at minus infinity. That's where this piece ... is at. And too bad Amazon is doing business with these kind of companies.

As others have stated, the unit is noisy when the compressor kicks in, but this does not last long since it cools quickly. A new unit needs 24 hours for the temperature to stabilize, but after that it is very accurate. I keep two thermometers inside at different levels. It is within one or two degrees of the LED
readout. I have it set for red wine and keep white wine at the bottom where it is about 8 degrees cooler.

It is a very elegant piece with the brushed steel handle and the black front with see-thru.

The stated capacity of 60 bottles is optimistic since it requires putting one bottle sideways in front of the five bottles facing forward on the top 9 shelves. This will not work if you have any longer bottles on a shelf, but with most bottles it works fine. Overall, an excellent buy.

im very satisfied with this unit! i had been shopping around for an affordable - stylish - serviceable unit for some time and found it here! as other reviews indicate when the cooling unit switches on there is some "sound" - sort of like a quiet whoosh of wind/water.. the unit maintains its temperature well and you cant beat the elegant looks. the only problem i encountered was with the shipper (i opted for the free delivery) in arranging the delivery.. they messed that up indicating delivery had been made.. (ever try to misplace a 5 ft 125 lb box in a 12 unit apartment building... ) when it had been returned to the loading dock.. after a day they found it and successfully made the delivery around my schedule. other than that inconvenience id buy it again! (with the way im raking up wine - i may have to, too !!)

The first time I tried to use it, the cooler broke down. This item is a good for nothing piece of junk. The reason I say this is because I own it. I now have another wine cooler that works great from crate and barrel. When you think of buying a wine cooler dont buy this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks for reading my review,
Nico G. Hedley

I have bought several of these coolers and have had no problems. Hopefully I never will.

I got this refrigerator and thought I might have received an unusually loud unit, so I returned it and got a unit that was possibly louder.

This is a good looking refrigerator and anyone oblivious to noise will like it. If you're sensitive to noise, though, the high-pitched whine of the compressor will be a huge issue.

I've had a Sanyo refrigerator (of the same size, earlier model) before, and it was quiet... so my noise expectations aren't unusually high. This thing just wasn't built with quiet in mind.

This is a great small refrigerator. The platinum and black finish add a touch of class. I am currently using this refrigerator as an accessory to a wet bar that I just installed. It fits perfect and keeps the beverages and other items very cold. It is also very quiet which is a plus. The only downfall is the spacing of the racks. It was very difficult to stack anything vertically. However, the door rack and can rack made up for it. For the price, this is a great, classy, little refrigerator.

No adapter and absolute no information in the package on where to get one, or even whether it's safe to use one. Complete rip-off.

The first time I used this product it shorted out the lighter in my car. The plug for the lighter did not fit properly, overheated and shorted the system. The refrigerator never cooled. Additionally, the refrigerator hold much less than you would think.

This cooler keeps things cold, but it is better to think of it as a "permanent" thermos. In other words, it is extremely slow to actually cool things. A 6-pack of room-temperature soft drinks will take 24-30 hours to get really cold. This unit will cool considerably below ambient temperatures, even to 32 degrees -- better than most of the units on the market, because it is so small inside, but uses the same capacity thermoelectric element. It does make noise with the cooling fan whirring all the time. It's about like a loud computer fan. As to adapters: thermoelectric elements do not function properly if there is electrical noise. Most cheap transformers do not in fact make a "clean" power flow. This will significantly reduce the efficiency of this refrigerator, which would mean less cooling. So it may be best to get the adapter from the manufacturer, not go to eBay or such sources. You can tell the difference in the car, using battery power this unit will show the best performance it is capable of.

You also need several inches of air space around the unit for proper operation.

If you need more storage than a 6 pack, or need to actually cool things down, keep in mind that this is a really light-duty unit. You'll be happier with a 1.6 cu. ft. refrigerator if you have the room. But this will work okay if nothing larger would be allowed in your office.

The thermoelectric cooling principle was discovered well over 100 years ago, and has been used extensively by NASA. Basically if you put hot Plutonium against one side of the thermoelectric element, electricity will flow. Whether cooling or making electricity, these circuits are only about 10% efficient. A compressor-type refrigerator is about 35% efficient. So, if you're using your employer's office power, don't worry about it, but if you use this at home, at 48 watts continuously, it will use about $25 a year for power. That is a lot of juice for a little bit of cooling.

We we're so excited when we opened the box, read all the instructions and plugged it in. Waited the 30 minutes and found no cooling...fan motor not running. Called and left message on the Vector customer service line, said they would return call in 24 hours...They did, told me what to try and then decided it was defective. Returned to Target.direct - easy, but shy about reordering...think we'll try another brand. Too bad, cause it would have been perfect for our applications.

The unit is not as loud as the previous user described. Its a nice quiet fan. Ive heard some pretty loud PC Fans, and this is nothing compared to that! It holds 6 12oz. Cans nicely. Though I will say that they are not getting cold as fast as I would like. Its been aprox. 5.5hrs and they are barely cold. Hopefully tomorrow they'll be nice and chilly. The other downfall is that it shows on the box pictures you can lay the unit on its back to place meals in, and for car travel. This would seem impossible since the fan is on the back, and it tells you not to obstruct this fan for cooling purposes. And lastly, The COOL - HOT switch is right on the side, in an easy to flip by accident kinda spot. I would certainly hate to find, when im at the peak of thirst, that the switch has been turned to HOT. HOT Soda sounds like a BIG Problem! Other than that, nice little product.

Well, I have had this little fridge for 2 days now and so far it works great, It can fit very tall bottles, sobe and 32oz. bottles fit with about a 1 in. clearance. Something my old mini fridge couldn't fit. The only complaint I have is that it doesn't get very cold, I like my drinks ice cold. I left a thermometer in overnight and the fridge only got down to 54*F. Not impressed with its cooling, but what can you except for the [price I paid]? A great thing about this fridge is that you can take it anywhere, you can even take it with you in the car. It comes with a AC/DC adaptor so you can use it at home or on the road. Overall this is a great fridge and would highly recommend it. It's perfect for garage, dorm, desk, bedroom, car or anywhere you want a cold (but not ice cold) drink.

I bought one for my mother. It lasted about 4 months. It might be ok for occasional use but not for continuous use.

Great little frige. Good size and keeps everything cold. Only one thing, it stops working after one and a half months!

Great while it lasted, died after about 3-4 months of occasional use.

I once had the bigger version of this fridge and that lasted a little under 2 months. In an attempt to replace it, I picked this up. It worked great for almost a year. Now it has begun to act up. I'm hearing that loud roar that other reviewers are talking about. Quite frankly, it's really annoying. I find myself kicking it in order to quiet it down. Still, after a while, the roar comes back. I figure this thing is at the end of the road. Buyer beware. This is not intended for long term use.

Worked for about a month. Burned out. Was a nice thought. My advice (considering hindsight) is to buy a dorm fridge for under your desk. Costs about twice what this does, but you'll get more mileage.

I also had the experience of the mini fridge just stopping but I was so pleased with it's performance up till then that I bought another one. I was curious as to why it stopped. I tried the new transformer with the old mini fridge and it worked!! The problem with the mini fridge is the transformer can't handle being on continuously for months at a time. I'm trying to find another transformer that will last better/longer