Hotpoint RFA52

Hotpoint RSA52S Fridge Freezer

After my fridge recently gave up the ghost, I decided after some homework that I would 'go the whole hog' and get a fridge freezer. I made this decision after finding out that the price between a larder fridge and a fridge freezer was only around and extra £25 and that it would be far more cost efficient, as I could then buy the three for two's and buy one get one free offers for my freezer. These had been totally unavailable to me as the food would not keep in a fridge and had to be thrown away, which I found was such a waste of food.

As I am a single person, unemployed and living in a flat with a small kitchen, it was of utmost importance to me to find a fridge freezer which was more suitable for one or two people and was small enough to fit into a more modest sized kitchen. This fridge freezer totally fits the bill. It is compact and fairly small and is very economical to run.

I also wanted to utilise the freezer space as much as possible and not have a fridge freezer which was mostly fridge as I really didn't have enough food to fill the fridge space all of the time. After looking round, I found that the majority of the smaller fridge freezers on the market had a ratio of nearly three quarters fridge and one quarter freezer capacity. This particular fridge freezer has more of a 50/50% split between fridge and freezer, which was a large reason why I chose this particular model.
TECHNICAL DETAILS

HOTPOINT RFA52S Fridge Freezer Features

Feature Benefit
Colour SILVER
Dimensions Height=174.5cm Depth=56.5cm Width=54.0cm
Manufacturer Warranty 1 Years Cover included
5.5 cu.ft gross fridge capacity Maximum external fridge capacity
3.7 cu.ft gross freezer capacity Maximum external freezer capacity
A grade energy efficiency Saves electricity, saves you money Energy rating A - C (A being the best)
Automatic fridge defrost Prevents build up of frost and water pools
2 safety glass shelves Flat, safe, easy clean surfaces
4 freezer drawers Number of pull-out drawers in the freezer
2 salad crispers Ideal for keeping vegetables fresher for longer and separates from other food stuffs, such as meat.
Bottle rack in door Storage space in the fridge door for all types of bottles.
Ice cube tray Allows you to make and store ice
Egg tray .
292 kWh/year energy consumption The lower the energy consumption the less electricity it uses.
Fast freeze facility Freezes food much quicker, preserving more of the taste and texture
Flat back for easier installation and cleaning No difficult to clean elements at the back and also the appliance can be pushed flat to a wall.
10 degrees C minimum ambient operating temperature Minimum temperature the appliance will operate efficiently at
32 degrees C maximum ambient operating temperature Maximum temperature the appliance will efficiently operate at
6 kg/24 hrs freezing capacity Indicates how quickly it freezes fresh food
Reversible doors for added versatility Left or right hand opening.
3.5 cu.ft net freezer capacity Internal storage capacity
5.4 cu.ft net fridge capacity Internal storage capacity
104 litres gross freezer capacity Maximum external freezer capacity
99 litres net freezer capacity Internal storage capacity
155 litres gross fridge capacity Maximum external fridge capacity
152 litres net fridge capacity Internal storage capacity

GENERAL COMMENTS

I bought my fridge freezer from Laskys in the end. This was a last minute change as I had been looking at the price comparison sites for a few weeks and the prices fluctuated daily. I paid £240.99 for my fridge freezer and I also managed to obtain a further 4% discount on this price by looking through the discount code sites (again on a daily basis) to get the best price possible on my fridge freezer. I would certainly suggest that a potential buyer does this for this fridge freezer as I noticed that the prices from different outlets went up to a staggering £395.00 - so it is well worthwhile having a shop around. Be careful to of delivery charges - my fridge freezer was delivered free but some companies charge up to an extra £24 for delivery.

I was in a position that I could safely remove my current fridge but Laskys and many of the other companies offer a service whereby they will take your old appliance away - beware though - as there is usually an extra charge for this service.

I wanted a fridge freezer and silver and I was delighted to find that this model was only a few pounds more expensive than the white model. An awful lot of companies charge a staggering amount more for a silver model of the same appliance. The silver of this fridge freezer is a lovely shade and goes perfectly with all the stainless steel appliances that I already have in my kitchen. It is really easy to clean (just a wipe over with a damp cloth) and does not show any of the horrible finger marks that I have seen on other silver appliances.

The capacity of the freezer is more than enough for myself and I am sure would be totally suitable for any other single person or a couple. I would not recommend it for a large family though, as it would not have the food capacity for more than two people.

The fridge is a great size and I have found that it is perfect to have the fridge element on the top of the fridge freezer as it means that you do not have to keep bending down to find your food.

I have found that this fridge freezer is very economical to run. Even when new food is added, it does not eat up the energy and seems to freeze new food added in a matter of a few hours. There is one simple dial to adjust the temperature of both the freezer and fridge - I have mine on 3 (out of 6) and this has been totally adequate to freeze and keep fresh all of my food. If a large quanity of food is added however, there is a simple booster switch provided which can easily be put on for a few hours for quick freezing.

The installation was a breeze. After it was delivered I was told to leave the fridge freezer to settle for 24 hours before using it. The instructions were very clear and it was really just a case of plugging it in and it was up and running. I did not have to reverse the door on my fridge freezer but I did note from the instructions that this looked to be a mammoth task, involving drilling and putting in new screws which would have been totally beyond me. I would probably be worth looking into if you needed a reverse door - as I would imagine most people would struggle to do this.

The fridge freezer is exceptionally quiet. I hardly notice that it is on at all. I noticed from the instructions that it was mentioned that it would make more noise if it was on a floor which was not totally flat. The fridge freezer does come with adjustable feet to position it flat and these looked very easy to use - just a screw mechanism - but I never needed to use this feature.

The only thing that I would say lets the fridge freezer down is the design of the ice cube trays. These trays are fitted into the doors of the freezer which I thought was a brilliant space saving idea. Alas, the ice cube trays themselves do not work. They have a fill up marker on them to add the water but the plastic trays are not seethrough so you cannot see when you have filled up to this point. Then you are supposed to tip the tray 90 degrees so that the water can flow into the separate ice cups and put the tray back in the draw for the ice cubes to freeze. I have now done this several times and all I manage to get is one great big chunk of ice at the end of the tray, which you cannot get out of the small whole provided to get the ice back out again.

I would highly recommend this fridge freezer and it has been a pleasure to own. I have had it around 3 months now and I am still totally delighted with my purchase.