I really like that this fits under my desk. The 24.5 inch height compared to other similarly sized fridges is nice. Other mini fridges this size are usually 26 inches or a bit taller which would be too tall.
It took me a few days to figure out how to set the control so that this mini fridge cools the way my normal size refrigerator cools. That is what I want. At first on the highest setting it was getting there but things on the bottom of the mini fridge were still not quite cold enough for my liking. I decided to remove the freezer compartment door. I don't use it for ice cubes or anything plus it isn't really a freezer anyway. These freezer compartments are made to keep a small frozen meal in storage for a few hours ONLY. The freezer compartment door removes easily. Gently pull toward yourself on the two plastic hinges that attach the freezer compartment door to the freezer. The two hinges slide right out with the freezer compartment door loosely attached. Now set the control to "Med." Now this mini fridge will maintain a temperature between 33- 38 degrees. Perfect! This mod also gives you a little more wiggle room for example if you keep this mini fridge in a garage that gets quite hot in the summer you will have more range on the control to lower the temperature now. Just keep the freezer compartment door and hinges for replacement later if you want.
Another tip. Cool down room temperature items like bottled water in your regular fridge before loading them all in your mini fridge. it takes the mini fridge, ANY mini fridge, a few hours to catch up if it is loaded up with room temperature items all at once. A bottle or two won't make much difference but if you put six or more bottles of room temperature items in a mini fridge the overall temperature will go up in the fridge until the fridge has a few hours of cycling on and off to cool the items down. Just common sense anyway but something I overlooked at first.
I came up with the above ideas after closely monitoring the temperatures in this mini fridge with two different thermometers over the course of two weeks. One thermometer was placed on the top shelf and the second thermometer was placed on the bottom of the mini fridge. As mentioned above after removing the freezer compartment door and setting the control to "Med" the temperature range was 33-38 degrees. That is the sweet spot for food safety as well.
Another note about this mini fridge. It is quieter than my other mini fridge from a big box store. This was a great surprise.
| Brand Name | HOmeLabs |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 43.9 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 20.1 x 17.4 x 24.5 inches |
| Capacity | 2.4 Cubic Feet |
| Noise | 42 dB |
| Installation Type | Undercounter |
| Part Number | HME030438N |
| Form Factor | Compact |
| Special Features | Manual defrost, Reversible door, Mechanical temperature control Max, Med, Min. |
| Color | Black |
| Voltage | 115 Volts |
| Wattage | 70 watts |
| Door Hinges | Reversible |
| Included Components | 2 adjusting feet, (5.5 ft) power cord, 2 glass shelves, 1 Ice cube Box, 1 Drip Tray |
