Last month our fridge freezer decided to pack up on us - it had worked hard for us and despite all our attempts to revive it, it gave in at last. This was a real nightmare for us, as we are a family of three with a young child, and a fridge freezer is essential for us on a day to day basis. We can't really function without one.
Whilst we were waiting to buy a new freezer my parents in law loaned us an old fridge freezer from their garage to get buy. The fun then started trying to buy a new fridge freezer with good specifications and a price that was within reason for our budget. So started the comparison tables.
What we needed
We needed a fridge freezer that had large compartment space in both -we didn't want a fridge-freezer combi where you only had one or two shelves for the freezer. We also wanted a large fridge compartment with space to store all the vegetables that we buy -we get through alot of vegetables in the week. After comparing many different models my fiance declared that he thought the Zanussi Electrolux ZNB323W would be a good option for us to buy.
Availability and Cost
We bought our fridge-freezer form Sainsburys online website. We choose to shop with Sainsburys as the price was competitive, and we also got nearly 600 Nectar points by buying it from them. Also, their delivery was only £19.99 and for an extra £7.99 they offer a recycling service. This means that Sainsburys will take away your old appliance and recycle it in accordance to WEEE legislation. All electrical goods need to be recycled now and adhere to strict recycling legislation. So this saved us disposing of our old fridge-freezer. For £15.00 if you wish to, they will also unpack and fit your new appliance in, and then test it to make sure everything in working.
We paid £293.00 for the fridge freezer, with £19.99 delivery and £7.99 recycling charge. We chose not to pay for it to be fitted and tested as my fiance felt capable of doing it himself. So in total we paid £320.98. We certainly found this a very good price considering the capacity of the fridge-freezer, and the functions it has.
As said we purchased this fridge-freezer from Sainsburys, but it is available at many places including:
- Boots Website
- Tesco - instore at larger stores, and their website.
- www.appliancesonline.co.uk
- www.argos.co.uk
- www.empiredirect.co.uk
We used an online comparison site to get the best deal, but these are some of the sites you can find the fridge-freezer on, so it's fairly easy to obtain this model. I would advise shopping around, as we have found that the price varies greatly, depending on where you shop. Always note the delivery charges that you will need to add on top, and see if the company delivering will fit your product in. Also consider a recycling service if you want to dispose of your appliance safely, and according to legislation.
Product specifications
Dimensions (cm) (H)175.0 x (W)59.5 x (D)63.2
Arrangement : Fridge Over Freezer - this simply means that the freezer compartments are at the bottom and the fridge is above
Energy Rating A Rated - all appliances now are rated according to how energy efficient an appliance is. Products are rated from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient products that are available on the market.
Split Type 60:40 - this is the ratio of measurements of the fridge compartment to the freezer compartment. This ratio shows that the fridge compartment is slightly larger and holds more that the freezer compartment.
Number of Shelves (Fridge) 2 - it says two shelves, but technically this has three, as I count the bottom shelf which is the roof of the vegetable compartments as well. Alot of items can be held on this shelf, so it serves a good purpose
Number of Compartments (Freezer) 3 - each of these freezer compartments are a good size - we found that we could hold alot of items in each compartment, as they are all very deep and set well back into the freezer. Also the compartments are quite easy to slide in and out, making it easier when removing items.
Bottle Rack - In the main section of the fridge there is a bottle rack -this holds 5 standard sized wine bottles. It is also good for small lager sized bottles, as we have found that you can stack about 12 to 12 of them in the bottle rack quite safely.
Freezer Star Rating 4 - this rating means that the freezer freezes 18 degrees celcius or lower. It can freeze fresh food, and store food for three to 12 months.
Glass Shelves - the shelves within the freezer are made of glass, and are removeable, making it easier for cleaning.
Salad Crisper
Adjustable Shelves - both of the shelves in the fridge compartment can be adjusted to sit at different heights, depending on what you want to store in the fridge. All of the shelves are glass, which I find much easier to clean.
Adjustable Door Storage -there are shelves in the door of the fridge as well. These stores the likes of milk, eggs and butter if you so wish. All of the shelves can be adjusted, depending on what you want to store in the door. We have found that we use the bottom shelf for milk, and the other shelves we use for eggs, butter, garlic and small sauce bottles. There is actually quite alot with regards to what you can store in the fridge door, but always be careful when you open the door, as you don't want items that can fall out.
Ice Cube Tray - with the freezer section comes an ice cube tray section where you can place trays for ice cubes. This is at the top of the freezer, and is a narrow compartment that only fits ice cube trays in. I really like this feature as it means I don't need to balance ice cube trays in the drawers on top of my other frozen items.
Egg Tray - the egg tray is the the door compartment of the fridge, and it holds 8 eggs. They tray can also be lifted out of the shelf, making it easier to take eggs out when you need them. Having a seperate compartment for eggs is always good, as it means less chance of them breaking if they are held securely in their own compartment.
Power Failure Safe Storage 16 Hours - this means that if we have a power cut the food will be safe for 16 hours in the fridge and freezer, before it starts to perish. This is as long as you don't keep opening and shutting the fridge/freezer doors of course!
Noise Level 42 dB - all appliances are given a noise level rating now, and this level is fairly low -about the same same noise a kettle makes whilst boiling.
Clear Drawer Fronts - on the bottom level of the fridge there are two clear drawers - we use them for storing vegetables - the front of the are clear plastic, so you can see what's being stored inside.The freezer drawers also have clear fronts.
Fridge Capacity 226 Litres
Gross Capacity 317 Litres
Freezer Capacity 91 Litres
Climate Classification SN-N-ST
Fast Freezing - this function is fab, as freezers that have a fast freezing action will freeze items quicker, which means that they stay fresher and are able to retain more of that fresh taste when you finally use them.
The exterior of the fridge-freezer is done in a white colour, which gives it a clean look. This is the only colour that the model currently comes in. The one thing that I do find frustrating with a completely white fridge-freezer is that I am always cleaning it. I have a 3 year old son and a kitten, so I seem to be always cleaning little boys handprints or miniature paw prints off it! Quite frustrating, especially as my kittens bed is right near the fridge freezer!
Inside the fridge it looks large and spacious. The shlefs are quite deep, so they hold quite alot. As you can readjust the heights of the shelves, it makes it quite a bonus when you might want to place a large item in the fridge. Also the bottle rack is a great added feature, and it holds 5 standard sized bottles of wine without causing problems when you are closing the door.
All of the shelves are securely in place, so there is no worry of them slipping. The shelves on the door and within the fridge are all removeable, which makes it easier to clean. Also the two drawers at the bottom of the fridge are a good size for storing things like your fruit and vegetables, and they both are also removeable to clean as well. As all of the interior is white as well, it makes it very easy to see if anything has leaked and needs to be cleaned up.
The freezer also looks clean as it is, yet again, all white. All of the drawers are clear plastic, so that you can see what is being stored in them. The plastic also seems to be sturdy, and shouldn't break easily. The drawers themselve are deep, and we have found that we can fit alot of food into them, and it's easy to pack everything in. As the drawers are clear we can also get an idea of how much space is left in the drawers, without having to pull them out.
The seals on the fridge and freezer drawers are plain white, and the seem sturdy, They prevent any gappage (is that a word!) between the doors and the door frame, but are not so tough to battle against when you want to open the doors to get something. The door handles on both the fridge and freezer are also a good size. They are the width of the door, and are not a handle that sticks out -instead they are grooved inset handles, which are easy to get a firm grip when opening and closing the door. I find handles like this very good, as I have a grip problem with my disability, and these handles are easy for me to use.
The Performance
We have only had this fridge-freezer for a short while, but the performance is fantastic -the temperature is well maintained, there is no frost in the freezer, and it;s the perfect size for our weekly shop with space left for any top up shops during the week. It is also a quiet model, and the exterior is easily cleaned with a wet cloth and some disinfectant spray. It took about 15-16 hours from the point of plugging it in to when the temperature was maintaining itself ready for use. So within a day of having it we were able to put all of our groceries into it, and give my in laws their spare fridge freezer back.
The User manual also helped us alot, as it explained all the different functions that the freezer had, and also gave us numbers to call if we were having problems with it. It had lots of diagrams, so it was easy for us to see what we were reading about, and relate it to the fridge-freezer.
Conclusion
Were we happy we had to buy a new fridge-freezer? No, not at all. Who wants more expense and extra hassle to clog up the day and cause you problems? No-one of course. However, I certainly think we found the perfect replacement. The said model was a great competitive price, and it offers lots of great features that we feel we will actually use, rather than them just being redundant functions. It is a spacious fridge-freezer for our family, so it's certainly a family friendly sized model. Also, it is easy to clean and looks good along with the rest of the appliances in our kitchen. I would certainly recommend this to anybody who is looking for a new family sized fridge-freezer. It's worth every penny, and the brand is a brand that can be trusted.
More details
User's Manual
Excellent
Safety
Very safe
How much did you pay?
£293
Any repairs?
None
Special features?
Lots, as listed
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