Under 22 Cu. Ft. Refrigerators

Sometimes the slight difference in cubic ft. determines which brand you can go with. I wanted to highlight some of the fridges in the 21.8-21.9 cu. ft. range to illustrate this point. For instance, in the 21.8 range you will go with a Maytag option. However, in the 21.9 range you have several different brand options to consider.

Maytag MSD2273VES

This is a stainless steel side by side that gives you 21.8 cu. ft. The price will be around $1200-$1300. It has an ice and water dispenser in the door. The dispenser seems problematic as you need to have a strong hand to get it to work. Some reviewers had trouble with the entire fridge rolling forward slightly. I’ve read about this with other brands as sometimes they skimp on locking mechanisms. A few units had really erratic temperature changes which can lead to spoiled food that you’ll have to pay for even though the appliance is under warranty. This is one reason why you shouldn’t necessarily risk going with an appliance with bad reviews. This isn’t directed at this model but is just general advice.

Granted, you will definitely want to get a warranty if you’re spending a lot of money on something and it doesn’t have the best reviews. However, even with a warranty I haven’t heard of any company that will take care of this problem. So even if the company pays for the repairs for one year or even an extended five year warranty how much food will you lose if it breaks down 2-6 times? I was surprised that some reviewers were saying that it wasn’t sufficient for a family and was better suited to couples.

Amana ABB2224WEB

This is a more modern style if you go up slightly to 21.9 cu. ft. It’s a black appliance with the freezer on the bottom. With the last reviews a lot of shoppers were saying that they went with a side by side as a default. It was what would fit within the space but it wasn’t their first choice. A single door bottom freezer can accommodate small spaces but gives you the convenience of having your fridge space mostly at eye level. Some reviewers had trouble with the thermostat after a few years. Some reviewers felt like there should have been an icemaker for this price. This seemed to have a lot of DOA units or ones that went dead right after the warranty.

Kenmore 7200

There is also a more expensive French door style that will cost between $1700-$2100. The bottom freezer seems to be laid out pretty well and I like the wide pantry drawer. Some reviewers don’t like that shutting the French door style is a little more complicated than just using a top freezer style; which is true of most French door styles.

If you don’t have a lot of money to spend then this is a good size to start with. Some reviewers in all configurations felt that it was a little small. You need to take into account the size of your family and also whether you shop for your food in bulk or not. However, I have read many reviews of appliance owners who had an 18-19 cu. ft. fridge who called it spacious or roomy so it’s totally subjective.

I like this range if you don’t know where to start looking. There are lots of different brands and configurations to get acquainted with. This may be a problem for families with young kids. Some shoppers even experienced rusting on stainless steel. Others said that they could use magnets on their fridge which is confusing as usually this won’t work on real stainless steel so double check with your manufacturer if you’re seriously considering this one. The other problem with this finish is that it shows a lot of fingerprints. Also, I guess the protection plan may cost more in this color which makes no sense. It’s one of the more problematic finishes that I’ve read about. This is a 21.9 cu. ft. model.

Hopefully you see now how important size and dimensions are. Just the slightest change takes you into a different brand, configuration, or price range. I know it’s more fun to focus on aesthetics and cool shelving systems or top of the line ice makers. However, the size is really the first thing that you should look at and plan for and make sure you get the right clearances too.