Danby DCR88BLDD 3.2 Cu. Ft. Black Compact Refrigerator Review

Introduction

Front

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Giving off the impression that it would look slim even out of black, this tall (for a compact) fridge has a single door topped by the {{product.brand.name}} logo. There's a small Energy Star approval sticker worn like a badge of pride off on the side.

The black finish is glossy, but still has a slight texture to it—it's not so glossy as to be reflective. Nonetheless, it still picks up fingerprints pretty easily, and will require some frequent cleaning.

The controls are just plain weird. it uses a knob that points to a blue half-ring indicating the degree of coolness. Not only is there no temperature correlation, there's no scale at all. There's a big red button in the middle of it that, when pushed, will immediately initiate a defrost cycle in the freezer compartment.

There's a recessed handle located at the top of the fridge door, right under the {{product.brand.name}} logo. The door is reversible, and as such, the handle runs the full width of the fridge.

Interior

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As a single-door compact, the {{product.brand.name}} has a large fridge section with a freezer shelf set at the very top of the interior.

The main fridge portion is broken up into three sections: there's one adjustable full shelf, one half-depth shelf meant to line up with the plastic shelf near the bottom (or it be moved to allow for storage of taller items), and an open space at the bottom where you might expect to find a drawer.

The door of the fridge has three shelves of varying size, as well as a can rack. It can accommodate up to eight regular cans at a time.

The freezer consists of a fairly sizable (again, by compact standards) shelf that would run the full width of the fridge were it not cut off by the control button. There's a plastic tray set directly underneath it meant to catch any water that drips when the machine is defrosting.

Back

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Nothing worth anyone's notice on the back except the power cord.

Sides

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The sides have matching black finishes, allowing you to store the fridge anywhere without having the sides look out of place with the rest of your kitchen.

Running Cost

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Calculated using a fixed rate of $0.09 per kW-h, the {{product.brand.name}} will cost you about $14.74 per year to operate. It's a very low cost, just a bit more than a few value meals at your local fast food chain.

Power Use Per Cu Ft

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Despite the low operating cost and the Energy Star rating, we actually found that this wasn't the most energy efficient compact out of the ones we've tested—though admittedly, it did come close. You can expect the {{product.brand.name}} to use 0.19 kW-h per cubic foot of usable storage space.

Fridge Temperature

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From top to bottom, we saw an average degree shift of about six degrees. For such a small product, this really isn't all that good. Air doesn't have very far to circulate, yet it's still warming up a good amount over a small space. As expected, it's coolest at the top near the freezer, so keep that in mind when putting food in here: you may want to keep things that spoil faster closer to the top. Over time, the temperatures remained fairly consistent, even if it's not the best result we've come across: the {{product.brand.name}} was subject to an average shift of about one quarter to one third of a degree over time.

Freezer Temperature

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You'd think with such a small freezer that temperatures would be nearly constant. Well, you'd be wrong. There weren't huge fluctuations in the {{product.brand.name}}'s freezer, but enough that we took notice: about one degree from top to bottom, and a little over half a degree over time. Food should be fine regardless of where you put it, but long term storage runs the risk of accumulating freezer burn.

Vegetable Drawer

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We measured the moisture retention rates at the location where you might expect a drawer to go, just to maintain a sense of consistency. The {{product.brand.name}} did horribly. With some of the worst retention rates we've seen ever, produce placed in here would suffer a loss of about 0.44 grams of moisture per hour. Whatever leafy greens you plan on buying should probably be used in a salad that night, otherwise its quality may deteriorate pretty quickly.

Power Loss

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We measure how long it will take a freezer to thaw without electricity in order to simulate a power outage. Many fridges last quite a while, but we cut the test off at 36 hours. The {{product.brand.name}}, however, lasted just about five and a half; better hope your electric company is reliable.

Freezing Performance

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The {{product.brand.name}} pulled a fast one—literally—and surprised us with very good freezing rates. Room temperature test material was frozen after just one hour and 35 minutes, a very respectable rate that holds its own against average full-sized models with completely enclosed freezers.

Usable Space

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The main fridge section utilizes three sections: one large shelf, a second smaller shelf, and a lower cavity. These three sections are quite spread out vertically, offering a total of 2.16 cubic feet worth of storage.

The {{product.brand.name}}'s door was probably the most versatile of the ones we've seen, with three shelves of different sizes adding to the storage capacity. It doesn't have a can dispenser, but rather designated compartments located in a fourth shelf for can storage. It can hold up to eight cans at a time, or you can get creative if you need space for other items.

The freezer consists of one wide open shelf located at the very top of the fridge interior. It has a plastic flap to keep in cold air, and can hold up to 0.26 cubic feet worth of items. It's not much, but it's still more than we've seen for a one-door compact.

Below are the manufacturers own figures for capacity, and our own measurements for usable capacity. The manufacturers figures do not take account of the shelves, drawers and other removable features, but our measurements do account for the space these take up.

Ease of Access

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The potential distance between fridge shelves makes for getting to food quite easy. The freezer, also, is fairly accessible for a one-door compact: items at the back may be trapped if you overstock, but the flap is larger than on some other models.

Controls

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The controls are just plain weird. it uses a knob that points to a blue half-ring indicating the degree of coolness. Not only is there no temperature correlation, there's no scale at all. There's a big red button in the middle of it that, when pushed, will immediately initiate a defrost cycle in the freezer compartment.

The controls are vague at best, and you have to be careful to not hit the auto-defrost button. There's no scale of any kind, just a graduated blue streak, so you'll need an external thermometer to properly calibrate the fridge.

Water Dispenser

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Ice Maker

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Cleaning

Noise

Other Features

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Conclusion

Energy Efficiency

Despite its Energy Star approval sticker, it wasn't the most efficient model we tested. It came pretty darn close, though, and $14.74 is still a really low electric bill regardless of its proportional rate of power consumption.

Performance

Temperature inconsistencies weren't as huge on this model as they were on the other compact fridges that we've tested to date, but the moisture retention is atrocious.

Storage Space

For a one-door mini fridge, the freezer is pretty big. You still won't get more than two frozen dinners in at a time, though, so plan your trips to the grocery store accordingly.

Usability

The wide flap on the freezer makes for easy access, and the tall space between fridge shelves allows for versatile storage. The can holders on the door can be used creatively for other groceries, or just to give you better access to a variety of beverages as opposed to a more traditional can dispenser rack.