Customer Reviews

Hamilton Beach 80251 Thermoelectric Cooler/Warmer with AC/DC Adapter

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am so happy with this little cooler/warmer. I bought it to use at work to set on my desk. When I received it, I took it into my office, plugged it in, put my lunch in it and it works beautifully. It takes up the same amount of space as a couple of large binders and it looks and works great!! I couldn't be happier with it. There is enough room inside for my lunch and a couple of bottles of water. Because of the previous review, I left a bottle of water in it overnight, to see if the water would freeze. When I checked it the next morning, the water was nice and cold, but not frozen.

I would recommend this item to anybody who needs a small refrigerator or warmer at their desk or in the car. It works just like it says it does.

The first thing I would like to point out is this a great mini refrigerator for anyone who needs something small that they can store easily at home or at work. There are many aspects of it that I found very great. But, I found a few problems with it within the first 4-6 months that you should know before buying this product.

For the first month or so, it worked fine. It was very quiet and it kept my drinks at a perfect temperature, in my opinion. Both the cold and hot settings worked to prefection. I cleaned it regularly, and I was highly satisfied with the results of this refrigerator.

After this period, everything went downhill. It started to get obnoxiously loud, and it kept me from getting sleep. It sounded like it was either dirty or something was stuck inside of it. I was so sick of the noise, I unplugged it and gave it a break for about 2 weeks. When I plugged it back in, it worked fine for about 30 minutes. Once again, it went back to the same obnoxious sound. I placed the refrigerator in a part of my room far away from the bed, which helped the irratating noise problem. Despite the noise, everything else was fine. The drinks were still maintaing a consistent temperature, and I was still slightly pleased. After about 3 months of this, it quit. I reached in to get a bottle of water, and I felt the condensation, which meant it was no longer being refrigerated. I then felt the back of the aplliance, which was very, very hot. I unplugged in, opened the door, and that's how it's been ever since. I don't feel I got my money's worth out of this product, so I'm hoping that if I give it a longer break, it will recover.

I reccomend buying a different mini refrigerator. This one isn't worth the trouble. A good friend of mine just purchased one from Sharper Image about 6 months ago, and he says it's worked very good. It's the same price as this one from Hamilton Beach. It's even a little bigger.

I hope this review helps you in your descicion of buying this product, and, if you were wondering, i'm not a kid, I just can't remember my password.

Although this unit is a space saver, we are disappointed in the consistency of the temperature. It gets cold fairly quickly, but then freezes your drink. Definitely don't leave anything in there overnight or it will be a block of ice in the morning. We tried calling Hamilton Beach, however after a 17 minute wait to connect to a customer service rep the line went dead. When we called back it was another 21 minutes to connect to someone. Another bad point is that you can't adjust the temperature - there is no temperature control - there is a switch on the back for warm off cold. That's it. One last note, the latch on the door is quite cheap. Overall I'd give this a "D".

This was a nice little product. It did the job in my office (keeping my lunch cold)quietly for about a year. Then it got loud. VERY loud. It still worked but the noise was awful. I tried taking off the back and cleaning/inspecting the motor. Nothing helped. I donated it to charity.

- which I would recommend to anyone who has something Small to cool/heat. If you want a bigger one, go with the Coleman units. I have both, having purchased this small unit some months before, as a trial of the technology. I *use* both, generally not breaking out the huge Coleman chest unless I really need to. This one is perfect for road trips on hot days, or for keeping your pot-luck item warm/cool on the way to a dinner. :o)

The fan motor is making vibrating and whirring noises. It appears that this product has not been designed to run continously for months as the fan/fan bearings must wear out and the product is not even a year old. I was very happy with the product until this problem appeared.