Have you ever seen those huge fridges on American television shows and thought to yourself “I want one”. I know I have, especially as I have a largish family and struggled to fit enough food in a standard fridge/freezer to last more than a couple of days. Well about six months ago, our old freezer broke and needed replacing, so I hunted everywhere on-line to find a reasonable price for an American style fridge/freezer, and I came up with this mighty beast the Samsung RS21DCSV at Argos for the sale price of £850 including delivery and installation.
~~~Hang on don't Samsung Make TVs~~~
Well yes they do, and I have a couple of televisions in this house made by Samsung, and I must admit I'd never thought that they also produce household appliances. Personally, I've found all the products from Samsung to be of high quality and very reliable, and that includes this fridge.
~~~How is it delivered/installed?~~~
The fridge/freezer was delivered by two very nice gentlemen who were employed by Samsung. Now this is a very large fridge, it wouldn't actually fit through the front door complete, something you may need to think about. But the helpful deliverymen, removed the doors and just about managed to squeeze it through. Once they'd positioned it in the kitchen they re-attached the doors and connected all the electrics. Now they were willing to also plumb it in for us, but as we didn't have a connector attached to a pipe yet, they explained how we should do it and prepared everything ready for us.
If you want them to plumb it in for you, make sure you have a washing machine tap available within about one metre of where you want the fridge to go. We simply used a self cutting tap and it was very easy to connect everything together.
~~~What does it look like?~~~
Fantastic, it really does become the focal point of the kitchen. It has a very stylish silver finish and looks very modern and expensive. The majority of visitors to the house comment on it, and ask where we got it and how much it cost. It's truly a fridge to be proud of.
~~~So how big is it?~~~
As I said this is a big fridge/freezer so you will need to check that you have room for it. The actual dimensions are : 908mm x 1760mm x 714mm including the doors.
^^Fridge^^
The fridge section is massive, there is more than enough room for all the drinks, milk, salad and meats. The official specifications put the size at 346 litres, compare this to a top range standard fridge that offers approximately 241 litres of space. In reality the actual fridge section is about the same size as a standard combined fridge/freezer.
^^Freezer^^
I found the room in the freezer a little disappointing, I was actually hoping that there would be enough room in there to store a weeks food for a family of six. Unfortunately there isn't quite, but there is still a lot of room and I like the way even the doors are used to store food.
Officially there is 186 litres of space, which compares favourably with the standard of upto to approx. 104 litres.
~~~I'd want more than that for my money?~~~
Too right, so would I. And you get much more than just a large fridge/freezer as you're about to find out.
^^Ice Dispenser^^
The fridge comes complete with an automatic ice maker and dispenser. As soon as its plumbed in, you can set the freezer to start making ice cubes. It will make and store about 20 ice cubes an hour. And then you can simply dispense them straight into your cup, either cubed or crushed.
This feature is a favourite with children of all ages, and I'm amazed at how much water visitors are getting through simply because they want more ice.
^^Water Dispenser^^
Ah another way to get your children to get your child to drink water, let them dispense their own drinks. Unfortunately, the water does not actually come out particularly cold, but it is filtered and tastes nicer than you would get from the tap.
^^Digital Display/control panel^^
You can set the temperatures for the fridge and freezer though the digital display, on the front of the freezer. Once you've set the temperatures, you can then lock them, so that no “helpful” child can decide to defrost the freezer. Also on this panel you have a control that lets you set power freeze (which cools the fridge/and freezer down very fast), and what type of ice you want dispensed, along with a L.E.D. that displays the state of the filter.
^^Frost Free^^
We've had the fridge for over six months now, and there is literally no frost in either the fridge or the freezer sections. And that is without being defrosted even once!!! It makes me wonder how I lived with the regular defrosting my last freezer required.
^^Nano Technology^^
If you're like me, you are probably wondering what “Nano Technology” is, well simply it is similar to Sainsbury's Actiban. It's a chemical impregnated into the interior surfaces of the fridge that helps to kill bacteria, sterilise and deodorise. A little bit of piece of mind if you ask me.
~~~How easy is it to clean?~~~
Cleaning is very simple. As there is no frost, you don't need to defrost first. The shelves are easy to remove and clean, and a wipe down is all the interior needs.
The outside benefits from a little baby oil on a soft cloth, to help keep that stylish finish.
~~~Is it efficient~~~
As its in the highest efficiency banding of A, I would say yes it's very energy efficient. The official statistics state that it uses 520kWh per year, whatever that means.
~~~Is there anything you don't like?~~~
I do have a couple of niggles, firstly when the ice cube tray empties it makes rather a loud noise, followed by the sound of water running as it fills back up. Even after six months it still makes me jump when the house is quiet.
The second problem, is that we live in a hard water area, and the water filter indicator is already protesting that it needs changing, but I haven't found anywhere that sells the cartridges. However, the water is stilling coming out crystal clear, so go figure.
~~~I want more info~~~
More information including detailed specification and where to buy can be found at www.Samsung.co.uk just search for RS21D.
~~~Where can I get one?~~~
Argos are selling these for £999 including delivery and installation, if you prefer white they are £100 cheaper at £899.
~~~So are you recommending it?~~~
I would recommend this fridge/freezer, for large families who need extra storage space for their food and have a space big enough for it to fit. It is an expensive purchase, but for my family well worth it. Not only does it look extremely good, but the added space and features are something that we now could not do without.
More details
User's Manual
Good
Safety
Very safe
How much did you pay?
£850
Any repairs?
No
Special features?
Ice maker/water dispenser
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