My beverage center arrived quickly and we were quite eager to get it up and running as my husband always takes too much space in the fridge with his bottled water, soda pop and beer. Just as advertised, it holds a lot of stuff!
The honeymoon ended quickly though, when we found that we could not get the temp to go below 49 degrees, which is pretty tepid for any cold beverage and absolutely unacceptable for beer. We tried everything, reread instructions, etc. You can only set it on a dial, there no indication of what the temp actually is...so we bought a thermometer and got the bad news that despite being on the coldest setting possible, we weren't getting below 49-50, which according to the thermometer we bought is actually in the "danger" zone of letting bacteria breed.
So, we call the manufacturer who says that we should have know it is a "cooler" not a fridge and will only keep beverages 20 degrees cooler than the ambient temp in the house. What a crock!!!!!!
So, we're stuck with a piece of equip that barely cools things down.
I suggest anyone interested in purchasing these things, now matter the price, be well informed between the differences of cooler and refrigerator. I have learned an expensive lesson. Haier HBCN05FVS 150-Can Beverage Center
The fridge looks great, would be a perfect for beer, and I thought would be perfect for my bar. Only problem is that it is junk. It does not get cold whatsoever. Might as well stick your beer outside at night to get it cooler. Do not buy unless you know how to rig the thermostat.
AT FIRST SIGHT I LOVED IT. ALL THE FUNCTIONS-COOL. GLASS FRONT, THE BLUE LED LIGHTS, OVERALL LOOKS ARE VERY IMPRESSIVE AND CLASSY.
AFTER 48 HRS AND THE DRINKS THAT I PUT IN IT WERE STILL JUST A LITTLE COOLER THAN TAP WATER I WAS LET DOWN AND DISAPPOINTED.
DON'T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG BUT IT'S JUST ANOTHER HASSLE TO SEND IT BACK AND FIND ANOTHER ONE THAT WILL FIT THE BILL. SO THAT IS TWO STARS SINCE THE MAIN REASON FOR PURCHASING WAS TO HAVE COOL DRINKS IS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.
Reading all the other reviews of this product......you have to blame the error of the customers and not the product itself.
If you have ever owned a Wine Fridge.....you know it is NOT a refrigerator....that is not its purpose. If the other reviewers wanted a beverage holder that was able to keep food in it or keep beverages below 40degrees....then they should have gotten a REFRIGERATOR...not a wine fridge/chiller.
So knowing that....let us give an honest and realistic review of this item based on what it was actually designed for.
This unit while not the highest frills of wine chillers is attractive with a stainless steel trim on the door and a glass front and a black body. The door is reversible and it has an internal blue LED interior light you can turn on/off depending on your mood. It does not have a Temperature indicator with a simple dial for temperature with MIN to MAX indicators. It is simple and attractive.....and given its price....thats to be expected. I purchased a suction cup thermometer that faces out and mounts to the interior of the glass door for like 2$.
It comes with 4 adjustable racks and the nice bonus of a bottom storage area rack that has not been present in other wine chillers I have purchased. It allows you to stack cans on the bottom on their side so they don't roll out.
My unit is new and I purchased it as it is replacing an old Urbina thermoelectric wine chiller that finally crapped out after 2.5 years (It was dirt cheap so no big whoop). We will see if this unit is the exception.
Lets be honest......these units don't tend to last more than 3 years on average so if you are worried about that a higher end unit may be to your liking....but you will pay a pricey premium for actual fridge-like beverage centers like GE's.....or just invest in a long extended warranty so you can be re-imbursed should it fail within 3 years (this is what I did).
This unit unlike my old model has an actual compressor and sealed coolant system which is a luxury at this price range....usually you are getting a thermo-electric cooling system at prices below 200$.
I will update my review in the coming months but so far my unit on MAX is cooling better than expected with an average of 33F below room temp:
(Current Results = Room Temp - 75F / Cooler Temp - 42F )
* NOTE: Cooler is in a shaded corner away from direct sunlight...and this is also one of the 'newer' models in stores now.
Hopefully this informed and realistic review will help others. This is good unit for the price if you want a beverage chiller. It is similar to units they use at bars and convenience stores on or near the counter. Your beverages will be chilled but they will not be ice cold. Your white wine will be in the perfect temperature range (depending on the temp of your home or room)......which is exactly what this unit was designed for.
Don't waste your money. I am on my third one, and I have to keep on returning them. Upper shelve gets no colder than 45, and the lower shelve no colder that 40. This is with nothing in them and an ambient room temp. of 64-68, depending on the time of day. Refrigerators are supposed to be capable of 33-40. This unit's compressor barely ever runs, and the door seals are terrible. I will be taking this third one back and going elsewhere. Yes, it was very inexpensive(150.00 at Sams Club, but you would expect it to at least cool for a year or two. I can't imaging trying to cool beverages in this, let alone on a warm day. I would consider this more of a wine cooler, because in the summer I imagine it wouldn't get any colder than 50, but I am quite sure it would stop working by then. I called their customer service, and the rep was as helpful as dealing with a two year old. I am not concerned about any bad grammar in this review, as it is not worth another second writing about this. - Beverage Center - Mini Fridge - Compact Fridge - Beverage Fridge'
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