KitchenAid KSC24C8EYY Review

Introduction

Despite those strong points, however, a questionable freezer and high energy costs nearly derailed this fridge entirely. If you eat mostly fresh foods it's a good choice, but many other fridges offer a more balanced approach to chilling food.

Design & Usability

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A fancy counter-depth that uses its height to maximize internal space

This stainless steel KitchenAid is a side-by-side fridge with a through-the-door ice and water dispenser, as well as an external control panel. The interior is unremarkable in its arrangement, using a traditional mix of glass and plastic shelves, but it looks really fancy. LED lighting and stainless trim on the shelves and drawers give this a high-end, high-tech look that definitely doesn't disappoint. Even the dairy bin is just different enough to be interesting: Instead of the traditional curved cover, the front flips up and slides under a plastic lid, maximizing space with an almost perfectly rectangular storage area. The ice maker is also spatially efficient, as it is located entirely on the freezer door. The ice bin pulls down and out, granting you easy access to bulk ice. There's even a nifty little window built in, as well as a separate light, so you can see how full it is.

Unfortunately, the layout itself is a bit lacking. Side-by-sides tend to be tall and narrow, and this counter-depth model adds "shallow" to that list of adjectives. There's limited fridge space, and the top shelves are very high up.

The controls may also take some getting used to, simply because there are so many things you can adjust. Touch-sensitive icons allow you to control temperature, lights, locks, even cup size and unit of measurement for automatically filling glasses with water. The lights turn off after about a minute or so of not being touched, which means you won't have to worry about having your kitchen bathed in a pale blue glow all night.

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Features

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With functionality that matches its elegant design, this model only had a few small sticking points.

The most exciting thing about this fridge is KitchenAid's fancy new Preserva technology. The company says their new “Fresh Flow” air filter reduces the presence of ethylene gas—one of the substances that causes food to spoil—and supposedly is 15 times more powerful than baking soda when it comes to reducing odors. We don't test odor removal, but it's exciting to know that companies are working on it.

Otherwise, the fridge feels like any other high-end unit. Tall shelving areas make for easy access, and you've got plenty of slots for storage customization. Their glass surfaces are smooth and wipe clean with little effort, as does the metal trim. The lip where metal meets glass, though, isn’t perfectly flush, so you’ll want to make sure nothing drips or gets stuck in there. In a nifty design twist, the fridge’s door shelves are actually composed of two portions: a metal frame that hooks onto the door, as well as a plastic bucket—the actual storage space—which is easily removed for cleaning. Fancy though they may look, storage drawers slide out very smoothly on both sides but caught more often than we expected going back in.

The water dispenser and ice dispenser are operated by two separate paddles, and there's a small light illuminating the whole dispenser unit.

Performance

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One of the best crisper drawers on the market today

In case you haven't guessed by now, this KitchenAid's vegetable drawer really impressed us, retaining moisture for three times as long as many other models we've tested. This means that produce will stay fresh and crisp in this fridge for far longer than almost any other model that we’ve tested to date; it's one of the best—if not the best—out there.

The rest of the fridge was remarkably consistent, but it did run a bit warm despite using the manufacturer-recommended thermostat settings. It's an easy fix, though: Just turn down the dial a bit, and the problem is solved. Make sure to invest in a thermometer to help ensure your food is being cooled at the correct temperature since, unlike other high-end fridges, this KitchenAid's controls aren't on the Fahrenheit or Celsius scales.

The freezer maintained a very cold temperature over time, but it did fluctuate by a rather large amount. While nothing was even close to thawing, variations in temperature can cause small ice crystals to form. That's what leads to freezer burn.

We also weren't impressed by energy consumption. Though this is a tall fridge, its interior space isn't that big, and it used a lot of electricity to keep that interior cool.

Conclusion

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Even with all its pros, it still costs too much.

The KitchenAid KSC24C8EYY's $2,799 MSRP is, in many respects, not justified. Flaws like inconsistent freezer temperatures, a cramped interior, and high energy costs are prominent enough to detract from an otherwise solid appliance.

Where the manufacturer made this fridge really shine, though, is in its crisper drawer. Combined with a Fresh Flow filter, it will preserve your food, making your groceries stay fresh and last longer. That may even save you some money in the long run, especially if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

In this application, however, the Preserva system is exceptional technology that's been added to an average fridge.

Science Introduction

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You're going to find yourself throwing out fewer spoiled fruits and vegetables as a result of the Fresh Flow crisper drawer. Other than that, well... it's a decidedly average appliance.

Temperature Performance

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A solidly dependable fridge, but the freezer proved to be fickle.

For once, the problem with the fridge wasn't an increase in warmth from top to bottom. In fact, the fridge was remarkably consistent over space and time. Despite using the manufacturer's recommended setting, the issue here was that the whole thing ran just a bit warm. Turn down the thermostat a bit, and you'll be fine.

The freezer, unfortunately, was not quite as dependable as its warmer counterpart. With average temperatures of -0.5 degrees Fahrenheit at the top and 4.34 degrees at the bottom, this spread it just barely within the margin of error for decent performance. It seemed, also, that the colder the average temperature, the greater the fluctuation over time. At the very top, we noticed an average shift of 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which is definitely enough to lead to the buildup of freezer burn. Near the bottom, it was reduced to just 0.4 degrees, which is much more acceptable; you'll definitely want to keep more sensitive frozen items near the bottom, despite its higher level of warmth.

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Moisture Retention

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The Preserva system definitely lives up to its name.

The performance of the vegetable drawer was, without question, the highlight of this KitchenAid. We tested it for three days in order to see how well it retained moisture over a decent span of time. The result? It retained plenty. We measured an average loss of 0.05 grams of water per hour, which is phenomenal; that's a third of the average rate in any other product that we've tested to date. KitchenAid dubs their vegetable drawer technology as "Fresh Flow." We just call it "effective."

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Freezing & Thawing

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Fairly quick freezing, but it came dangerously close to failing our power loss test.

Despite the fluctuating temperature in the freezer, the KitchenAid got items from room temperature down to freezing in only 1 hour and 29 minutes. This is quite good for larger models like this, since the cold air can take longer to circulate. The power loss test was disappointing, though. We expect most freezer insulation to preserve its contents for a minimum of 36 hours; many quality models can last longer. This KitchenAid, though, just barely scraped by the finish line, beginning to thaw right at around the 36 hour mark.

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Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

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Surprisingly little storage in the fridge pairs with an unusually ample freezer.

Perhaps as a result of the Fresh Flow air vent, which runs the full height of the fridge, the KitchenAid's fridge section is a bit of a tight fit. After accounting for space taken by shelves and such, we found it could only handle 8.87 cubic feet worth of groceries. The freezer, though, manages to hold its own, with 5.34 cubic feet worth of usable space. All told, that's actually a bit above average for side-by-side freezers.

Regardless of any infringement on usable space, this particular fridge is undeniably large, and has a running cost to match. Over the course of a year, using an average rate of $0.09 per kWh, it will run up a $67.82 energy bill—high even for fridges of this size. That breaks down to 0.15 kWh per cubic foot—not a terribly efficient product, but definitely not the worst we've seen.

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Other Tests

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