Tired of serving warm, flavorless drinks to your guests at every party? No room in your main kitchen refrigerator to store all that leftover pizza? Wish you had some space to put extra milk bottles and skip that trip to the grocery store every few days? If these are some of your everyday struggles, what you need is a backup refrigerator.
At first, putting a refrigerator in your garage may seem a little excessive. You might wonder if you are even going to get any decent use out of it. How much would it cost? Is it even worth the space it will take up in your super small garage? But when you start thinking about it, you begin to see all the ways fridge in the garage can make your life easier. At this point, you will want to get your hands on one of the best refrigerators for a garage as soon as possible!
But wait! Before you add that fridge to the cart, you should make sure that it is indeed the right model for you. A refrigerator is a big investment, and you do not want your money going down a black hole. This is why you need to do your research on the best refrigerators for a garage and find out which ones are the most desirable options out there.
Does that sound like too much work and unbearably boring? Don't worry, this is where we come in! In this article today, we will discuss the five most popular choices for refrigerators to keep in the garage, so you can have a better understanding of what your options are. Let’s begin.
In A Hurry? Here’s Our Best
Alright, so maybe you are looking for one best refrigerators for a garage instead of a few options to choose from. If that is the case, then the Walsh WSR17S5 Compact Refrigerator is undoubtedly your best bet!
The Walsh WSR17S5 Compact Refrigerator - Our Overall Best
The Walsh WSR17S5 Compact Refrigerator is a single-door garage fridge measuring 17.48 x 19.09 x 19.49 inches. Despite its small size, it offers a storage space of up to 1.7 cubic feet. This makes it a great option for those who want lots of extra room for their drinks but do not have a huge garage where they can put a full-size refrigerator.
This compact refrigerator uses R600a high efficiency and low energy consumption compressor. This ensures that your food is cooled down rapidly without using a lot of energy, and the electricity bills remain low.
In addition to the above, there are several reasons why it was love at first sight with the Walsh WSR17S5 Compact Refrigerator.
- Looks great anywhere you put it
- Can safely be stored under or on top of furniture due to its compact size
- Energy efficient
- Reversible door that can be opened from either side to account for structures that may block the door swing
- Leveling front legs adjust the height of the fridge and ensure that it is stable wherever it is stored
The Five Best Refrigerators For A Garage At A Glance
OUR TOP PICK
Summary
The Walsh WSR17S5 will have you believe that good things do come in small packages indeed. This compact fridge features design elements that make it one of the very best refrigerators for a garage. These include reversible doors that swing both ways, leveling front legs that keep it stable on any surface, and lots of storage space with organization racks to hold all your food and drinks.
This best refrigerator for a garage has an energy saving compressor that not only cuts down the electricity bills, but also cools down your drinks much faster. With this, there is also an adjustable mechanical thermostat control that lets you manipulate the temperature according to the outside environment.
The temperature of the refrigerator compartment can be altered between the range of 32 to 47 degree fahrenheit while the chiller compartment can be set to anywhere between 27 to 37 degree fahrenheit.
Pros
- Energy efficient compressor keeps the electricity bills low
- Stable placement with leveling front legs
- No need to trouble yourself with door swings as the doors are reversible
Cons
- Noisy
EDITORS CHOICE
Summary
Another notable space saving refrigerator to put in the garage is the Black and Decker BCRK17W Compact Refrigerator. Like the one discussed above, it does not need a lot of room and can store up to 1.7 cubic feet of food and drinks.
The small size also makes it a good option to use in dorm rooms, offices, home bars, small apartments, and RV campers. Utilizing only 70 watts to cool your drinks, it keeps the bills pleasantly low.
Pros
- Reversible doors
- Levelling legs
- Adjustable temperature controls
- Ultra quiet
Cons
- Does not feature a dispenser storage for cans or a crisper compartment
BEST VALUE
Summary
Want to go a bit bigger on your garage refrigerator without hiking up the price tag as well? Consider the RCA RFR322 B Single Door Mini Fridge with Freezer. This bad boy measures 17.5 x 18.75 x 32.75 inches, giving you 3.2 cubic feet of inner space while keeping the cost reasonable.
Along with a generous storage space, the RCA RFR322 B Single Door Mini Fridge with Freezer offers a safe and stable mount with its adjustable lever feet and the freedom to choose your own temperature with the adjustable thermostat. Moreover, the reversible doors make it possible to place the fridge anywhere in the room without having to worry about the door swing.
Pros
- Great performance even when it is unbearably hot outside
- Reversible door swing
- Adjustable lever legs
- Supreme temperature control
Cons
- May leak water when it gets too hot
RUNNER UP
Summary
The Midea Compact Refrigerator WHD 113FSS1 cannot be missed when you are talking about the best refrigerators for a garage. This fridge measures 18.5 x 19.37 x 32.95 inches, so it is not as compact as the 1.7 cubic feet refrigerators we have talked about above.
However, the small increase in size translates to a big difference in the storage capacity. With an internal storage of 2.2 cubic feet, it allows you to safely house all your fresh food and drinks at a pleasantly cold temperature.
This fridge has a separate fruit and vegetable drawer so that these perishables do not get smushed by the cans and bottles you want to keep cool. It also features an interior light that turns on as you open the door and a partial automatic defrost technology that keeps your food from freezing to the inside walls. The adjustable legs and reversible doors make it easy to use in cramped spaces.
Pros
- Full 1 year warranty that covers everything
- Interior light
- Partial automatic defrost
- Reversible swing door
Cons
- Plugging in the refrigerator after it has been lying down for a while can clog up the pipes and ruin the machine
RUNNER UP
Summary
Last but definitely not the least, we have the Danby DAR044A6MDB-6 Mini Fridge on our list. This is the largest of all fridges we have discussed today, measuring 21.3 x 20.75 x 33.07 inches and featuring 4.4 cubic feet or 126 litres of storage capacity.
With this fridge, you get an integrated door shelving system to keep all your food organized, visible, and easily accessible. There is also a separate integrated CanStor beverage dispensing system designated for your drinks. The LED interior lighting provides visibility when the lights in the room are turned off. In addition to all this, the reversible door hinges, adjustable shelves, vegetable crisper, and a door lock allows this mini version of a full size fridge some added versatility.
Pros
- Large storage capacity
- LED interior lighting
- Organized integrated and adjustable shelving and vegetable crisper compartment
Cons
- More expensive that a lot of the other best refrigerators for a garage
Best refrigerators for a garage - Buying Guide
If you have had a chance to visit the markets yet, you will know how many options one has when looking to buy the best refrigerator for a garage. While all of them claim to be the highest performing garage refrigerators, many of them fall short when it comes to testing this claim. So, how can you tell if a certain refrigerator model is worthy of your investment or not?
Here are some key characteristics that can help you decide which of these best refrigerators for a garage you should really be spending on.
What To Consider When Shopping For The Best Refrigerators For A Garage
The size and storage capacity
When you are out shopping for the best refrigerator for a garage, the number one very obvious thing to consider is the size and storage capacity it offers. How big is your garage? How much extra storage space do you need? The answers to these questions will guide you to the size that is best suited to your requirements.
A good tip to proceed with this is to declutter your garage and to actually have a look at the room you have available. Take measurements when you can and see what size refrigerator you can house in that space. Getting a model that is too big to fit into your garage will only give you trouble later.
The design
Alright, so you have gone ahead with a tape measure and found out how many feet you can spare to house your best refrigerator for a garage. This is not where your problems with space stop, though. To make sure that your refrigerator operates smoothly, you need to look at it’s design as well. Does it have french style doors or a top door? Is there a wall or anything else that can block the swing of the door as it opens? If you have a small garage or one that has a lot of stuff already stored there, these questions become incredibly important.
The performance and efficiency
After you figure out the compatibility between the appliance’s dimensions and designs and the space you plan to put it in, it is time to consider the refrigerator’s more technical features. Here, you will be shortlisting options according to their performance and efficiency.
For this, you should be asking questions like if the fridge you are considering is garage ready? Is it energy efficient? Do you have a firm control on the temperature? What modifications does it have that make it the best option out there? What shelving system does it feature that helps you organize your food better? Are there any warm spots in the fridge?
The above things discussed can greatly affect the performance of any refrigerator.
The price point
Finally, you must also look towards the price point when buying the best refrigerator for a garage. The smart way to go about this is to know your budget, and then do some market research to see what options you can afford.
This keeps you from wasting your precious time thinking about refrigerators that lie outside of your preferred price range, and redirect that time and effort into knowing more about the ones that you are able to buy. Once you have this information, you can easily pick out the best deal for yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. Should you be putting your backup fridge in the garage?
A. When you consider an average modern house in the city, kitchens can be a little small. In a place where you are going to make your food everyday, too much clutter can be distracting and frustrating. Therefore, many people prefer storing their backup refrigerators in their garage.
Since a backup refrigerator is meant to store extra food and drinks that you probably will not need to use frequently during the cooking process, it makes sense to not put it in the kitchen. A garage is usually quite spacious, so it can easily accommodate even a full size fridge.
Q. What are garage ready refrigerators?
A. A garage ready refrigerator is a fridge that has been modified to be housed in the garage. Garages have a tendency to get too hot during the summer months, and the warm environment can negatively affect the performance of even the best refrigerators for a garage. Therefore, these refrigerators are treated to combat these challenges without compromising on their efficiency.
Garage ready refrigerators typically have better insulation, narrower range of working temperatures, and modifications that help the appliance deal with higher humidity levels.
Q. What are the pros and cons of investing in the best refrigerator for a garage?
A. If you are still on the fence about getting the best refrigerator for a garage, a simple list of pros and cons can help you make up your mind.
Pros:
- Extra storage
- Energy efficient and eco friendly models are easily available
- Keeps unhealthy food out of sight, therefore reduces the temptation of digging into that tub of ice cream
Cons:
- An added expense means higher electricity bills
- Garage modifications might be needed
Conclusion
There are only a few things worse than not getting a chilled drink on a hot summer day when you are dying of thirst. A garage fridge ensures you always have more than enough room to cool your drinks in the refrigerator rather than storing them away in warm kitchen cabinets.
Even if your garage is smaller than you would like it to be, clearing up the clutter can very well make space for a small garage ready refrigerator. With the many options and the pointers on buying the best refrigerator for a garage, we hope that choosing the right fridge will not be as hard a task as you were imagining it to be.
Armed with the information and insight provided in this article, we are hopeful that you will easily arrive at a smart purchase decision.