The concept of outdoor refrigerators might only be familiar to some of us. This is so because one does not need an outdoor refrigerator for his or her daily needs, its only use is during parties and occasions.
That too if you have them on a large scale. Outdoor refrigerator is a new concept, gaining popularity with each passing day. They are used mainly for entertainment purposes.
It is useful on those summer evening get-togethers, outdoor thanksgiving dinners, and for sure, a new year’s party. They are super handy when you are having to set up an outdoor kitchen, combined with an outdoor bar.
These new-generation inventions are super helpful if you want to save yourself from the trouble of having to make back-and-forth rounds of your house to the backyard to serve your guests.
It also kind of looks odd as well, to leave your guests in the middle of an interesting conversation, to get something from the kitchen inside the house.
Added with it comes the feeling of constant fear of missing out on something important! To avoid all of that, these refrigerators will be your support.
They are normal refrigerators, allowing you to store all the necessities like food, drinks, dips, sauces, salsa, salads, and all the good things.
Sometimes when your guests want to serve themselves then also not having an outdoor refrigerator might be not a good idea.
It might occur to some people whether or not the outdoor refrigerator is durable or not. An outdoor refrigerator is very durable, very reliable, and can work that way for a long time.
But it is implied that buying an outdoor refrigerator is not a cakewalk.
That is why we have specially curated this article to help people who are looking to buy one of these so that they make the best investment since buying refrigerators is not as cheap as buying candy!
Apart from providing you with the basic buying guide, this also aims to cover some of the other important facts that one needs to know before buying an outdoor refrigerator.
Contents
Buying Guide
Refrigerators come with diverse features and utilities. The following points could be kept in mind before buying outdoor refrigerators-
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Placing Of The Appliance
An outdoor refrigerator must be placed in an outdoor kitchen. The refrigerator must go in well with your kitchen. It should look like it belongs there and not look like a mismatch.
Since the refrigerator will stay there all day, choose a spot where direct sunlight is not there. If you do not have a shaded area, you might want to put shade in your backyard.
So think about the area where you want to place your appliance and do make the necessary arrangements beforehand.
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UL Ratings
A good refrigerator must have good ratings and safety certifications so that people have faith in the product that they buy.
The outdoor temperature fluctuates almost every time, so invest in a refrigerator that maintains the temperature on the inside.
If you are storing perishable items in your fridge, then the UL rating must make sure that the fridge stays cold enough to maintain the food inside.
A UL-rated refrigerator is best for storing your drinks, and also makes sure that the appliance is weatherproofed.
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Venting
Vented refrigerators, both rear and front, are very important features in any refrigerator. Front-vented refrigerators are the most convenient.
Rear-vented refrigerators are somehow complicated as they need space around the top, side, and backside. Both are equally efficient, so make sure your refrigerator has one.
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Compressor
Choosing a fridge with a compressor is important as it may allow maintaining the temperature efficiently, more so because the fridge stays outside. Good insulation of the fridge also helps to maintain the noise levels.
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Capacity
The most important is capacity because, in the end, we buy the fridge only to store our things. Depending on the items, know how much space would be ideal to store everything – 1 ton or 2 Litres, etc.
For example – if you have parties regularly and have a huge guest list, there might a requirement for a larger fridge as compared to the one required if you have parties only on special occasions and your invite list is quite small.
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Cost
Have a look at the budget that you have before buying the refrigerator, as they are very expensive. Have a thorough study of the prices before making your actual purchase.
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Power
A refrigerator obviously needs a stable power supply. You need to place it somewhere in the outdoor kitchen where it is nearer to a switchboard.
How To Choose Right Design For Your Outdoor Refrigerator?
There are a variety of refrigerator designs to choose from. Be it the number of racks and style of the body, to lighting and drawers – everything contributes to making a refrigerator live up to its mark.
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Metal Vs Glass
There are outdoor refrigerators available that are made of metal and glass. Metal shelving is a good choice as it increases airflow, increases energy efficiency.
The air in the metal shelved refrigerators can flow through the grates. Glass shelved can store small items. Both of them are equally good, so choose the one that suits you well.
For storing wine bottles and other drinks, there may be shelves specially made for storing those.
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Lighting
The lighting inside the fridge matters a lot if the lights are dull, it can make the inside of the fridge look very dull. A dull fridge is not a good idea.
A fridge that instantly brightens your face when you open it is the one to go for! Look for LED lights as they are really powerful and all the lights that we see around us are LED only. They are efficient, long-lasting, and bright too.
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Drawers
Drawers in the fridge act like the regular drawers that we use. Storing everything in the open is not viable, especially perishable goods like fruits and vegetables.
People also prefer drawers because of the deep storage it provides. So choose a refrigerator that has an in-depth drawer. Multiple drawers will be the cherry on the cake.
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Maintenance
Choose a refrigerator that is easy to clean. Refrigerators can get dirty because of food spillage. So they need to clean quite often rigorously.
Also, not cleaning the fridge often can result in the smell of the racks which is not a pleasurable experience for sure.
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Doors
There are multiple designs on the doot style of a refrigerator. There are single-doored fridges, which have no separation between the freezer and fridge.
There are double-doored fridges and triple-doored fridges. Side-by-side door fridge is also very nowadays, and those have huge capacity.
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Door Lock
Make sure that the door lock system is a good one, because refrigerators left open for quite some time can result in the spoiling of the food. And you don’t want to serve your guests spoiled food.
There are also a lot of doubts in the market about the new generation of outdoor refrigerators.
Why Are Outdoor Refrigerators So Expensive?
Outdoor refrigerators are similar to your normal indoor refrigerators, but they serve a lot more purpose and have to build in a special way since, unlike indoor refrigerators, they stay outside in the backyard of your house!
Several extra features drive up the cost-
Weatherproofing: Since they stay outside in an outside kitchen, they need to be weatherproofed which generally means that they need to be protected from wet conditions and extreme heat conditions.
Insulation: It is very much known that the indoor temperature is different from the outdoor temperature, so the refrigerator temperatures to be properly maintained, need an insulator. The insulation, a good one, will keep it extra cool.
UV protection: SInce the fridge will stay in the heat and sun, they need UV protection so that not much damage is caused to the appliance. Even if you keep it under a shade, the heat can be dangerous if not protected from UV rays.
Advanced compressors: The compressors that you have in your regular refrigerators are not as advanced as the compressors in these refrigerators, so this also drives up the cost.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that these refrigerators have eased life very much. Buying it for the first time may be overwhelming especially when you are not aware of the different features.
An outdoor fridge or even an outdoor kitchen might sound very new to some people, some may not even believe that food will stay fresh.
But gradually once you start using it, it is surely an investment for a lifetime. So say goodbye to missing out on all the fun at your parties.
