Updated Sep. 11, 2024
The RCA Mini Fridge is one of the best small appliances for people in dorms, RVs and offices. Find out what separates it from the competition.
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As a freelance writer, there are many times when I’m thirsty or hungry but don’t want to or can’t leave my desk. And since my partner vetoed my proposal to put an office in the kitchen (rude), I had to find another way to keep my favorite sodas and snacks nearby. The solution? The RCA Mini Fridge.
Yes, I have a standard kitchen refrigerator and a garage fridge. Do I still use this mini fridge on a regular basis? You bet. I love having it as a “backup” fridge if my full-sized one gets too crowded or to stash some of my favorite beverages for a rainy day. Plus, having a mini fridge in your office is one of the ultimate flexes (this is still true for home offices).
In my RCA Mini Fridge review, I’ll run through the features that separate it from similar models, my experience with it over the past four months and some things I don’t like about it. We’ll also compare it to the GE Mini Fridge to see which is the best mini fridge for your dorm, office or garage.
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The RCA Mini Fridge is a 3.2 cubic foot mini refrigerator that can be used in campers, college dorm rooms, offices and more. It’s also listed as a garage-ready fridge, so it can be stored in your garage workshop (the company says the fridge wasn’t built to work in areas colder than 55 degrees).
Here’s your ultimate guide on setting up a garage fridge or freezer.
The fridge has two removable shelves that can be moved to your liking and side shelves perfect for storing soda cans and other drinks. The thermostat is adjustable from 1, the warmest option, to 6, the coldest.
The RCA Mini Fridge has a 0.2 cubic-foot freezer compartment. To remove excess frost, a defrost button is located in the center of the adjustable thermostat.
If aesthetics are important to you, you’ll be happy to know this mini fridge is available in six different colors (stainless steel, black, white, blue, green and purple). All options are magnetic, so you can stick your favorite fridge magnets on the door.
RCA started as a radio company in 1919. It now makes several home appliances, including several portable and mini machines like fridges and dishwashers.
Looking for something a little more high-tech? Check out our top smart refrigerators.
VIA MERCHANT
A compact, quiet fridge fit for any space
Pros:
Cons:
The RCA Mini Fridge has six cooling levels that can be set via a dial inside the fridge. The dial ranges from 1 to 6, with 1 being the warmest and 6 being the coldest. Here’s the thing—I don’t know what any of those numbers mean, and I can’t find anything about them on RCA’s website.
In other words, I can’t tell you exactly how much of a difference the settings make. I’ve played around with the adjustable temperature a little bit, and you can tell the difference between level 1 and level 6, but it’s nothing drastic.
The adjustable temperature only affects the fridge, not the freezer compartment, which is always set around freezing temperatures (32 degrees Fahrenheit).
The button in the middle of the adjustable dial defrosts the freezer, which prevents excess frost from building up and is one of the easiest ways to avoid fridge repairs.
The RCA Mini Fridge has adjustable leveling feet, so it sits comfortably on any surface. I haven’t used this feature, but I love that it’s there. Some floors are slanted or otherwise wonky, and the ability to adjust the feet as needed ensures your cans or other food items won’t roll around.
The RCA Mini Fridge comes with a 0.2 cubic foot freezer compartment, which is the best way to describe this “freezer.” There’s enough space for a small ice cube tray or an ice cream bar or two, but you won’t fit a week’s worth of TV dinners into this thing. It’s better than having nothing, but if you’re someone who likes their ice or really needs a freezer, I’d look elsewhere.
Like some bigger fridges, the RCA Mini Fridge has a reversible door that allows you to change the direction it opens, so it can be used in just about any space. This is another feature I haven’t taken advantage of simply because I’ve had no need to, but after looking up the instructions online, I see that it seems pretty simple to do if needed.
Reversible doors can also be found on the Gladiator fridge, one of our favorite garage fridges.
The RCA Mini Fridge has two small removable shelves to organize it however you want. If you have a taller item, simply remove one of the shelves so it doesn’t hit it. Speaking of storage, there’s also ample shelf space on the side for your cans or bottles.
If you put this fridge in a room with a specific aesthetic, you can match the RCA Mini Fridge to your decor. There are six color options (stainless steel, black, white, blue, green and purple). I went with the stainless steel option, and it’s attractive and has a nice shine (in fact, you can see me in more than one of the product shots accompanying this review).
I like the fact that it’s magnetic, so you can stick special magnets on it.
I’ve been using the RCA Mini Fridge for about four months in my home office for two main uses: drink and snack storage and backup to my main kitchen fridge.
Here’s the thing: I don’t like my food and drinks super cold. I just want them to be chilled, and this compressor-powered fridge does just that. If you, however, like your sodas arctic-like, then this isn’t the fridge for you. Even at its coldest setting, the fridge never got cold enough to the point where it felt like a full-sized fridge.
During my testing, I also paid close attention to the noise. As I mentioned, there’s a small compressor in the RCA Mini Fridge, so it will make some noise. In my experience, this is a very quiet fridge that you’ll only hear if you’re specifically listening to it. I had this close to my desk and bed, and not once was it loud enough to disturb a meeting or wake me up in the middle of the night.
The red button on the RCA mini fridge is the defrost button, which allows you to easily defrost your mini-fridge. This ensures the fridge works properly and should be done periodically since there is no automatic defrost function.
Our tester believes the RCA mini-fridge is a great option for those in offices, dorms or anywhere else where you might need a small fridge to chill their drinks or snacks. It’s offered at a good price, comes in multiple colors and has a small freezer drawer. The door hinges are reversible, so they should work in any space.
The RCA mini-fridge uses a temperature dial that goes from 1 to 6, with 6 being the coldest and 1 being the warmest. RCA doesn’t specify what temperature those numbers correlate to.
The RCA Mini Fridge has a 4.3 average rating on Amazon, and as of this writing, it has more than 17,000 reviews. More than 12,000 of those reviews are 5-star ratings.
“This fridge is the perfect size for what we needed in our office,” says 5-star Amazon reviewer Carly. It keeps things very cold and is so quiet that we often have to check to make sure it is still running. There is a lot of space inside for snacks and drinks in the office. Would purchase this again.”
Some customers complain that the mini fridge has a short lifespan. “The freezer component completely builds up ice every other week that we need to thaw and water melts everywhere, and since it’s a year out of warranty they will do nothing to help,” says Amazon reviewer Lily, who gave it 2 stars. “Way too much money to spend on a fridge for it to be broken after two years.”
It’s a little difficult to compare the RCA Mini Fridge to the GE Mini Fridge because the latter company has more types. To make it as fair of a fight as possible, we’ll compare the RCA Mini Fridge to the GE Energy Star Compact Refrigerator.
The first difference is in GE’s name. It’s an Energy Star-certified mini fridge, meaning it’s energy efficient and won’t run up your energy bills. The RCA Mini Fridge hasn’t impacted my electricity bill, a sentiment echoed by other Amazon reviewers. However, as far as I can tell, it’s not an Energy Star appliance.
The GE Mini Fridge also has 4.4 cubic feet of space, compared to RCA’s 3.2 cubic feet. The freezer compartment on the GE is 0.47 cubic feet, and RCA’s is only 0.2 cubic feet. Both have manual defrost, reversible doors and leveling legs.
The GE’s larger capacity comes with a larger price tag, but it might be worth it if you use this as your only fridge (such as in a dorm room). The RCA is a good option for those seeking a second fridge in their office or garage.
GE also made our list of the most reliable fridge brands.
The RCA Mini Fridge is a great option for those with limited space looking for an office, RV, garage or dorm fridge. It’s very quiet and has a freezer compartment, a reversible door, multiple colors and removable shelves. At under $200, it’s a great value, but it may be too small for some people.
Our major gripe with it was the fact that the adjustable thermostat had no correlating temperatures.
VIA MERCHANT
A compact, quiet fridge fit for any space
The RCA Mini Fridge starts at around $175 and goes up to about $220, depending on the color. It’s also available at The Home Depot and Walmart.
Originally Published: August 12, 2024
