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DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Interior

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Running Cost

  • Power Use Per Cu Ft

  • Fridge Temperature

  • Freezer Temperature

  • Vegetable Drawer

  • Power Loss

  • Freezing Performance

  • Usable Space

  • Ease of Access

  • Controls

  • Water Dispenser

  • Ice Maker

  • Cleaning

  • Noise

  • Other Features

  • Conclusion

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Interior
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Running Cost
  • Power Use Per Cu Ft
  • Fridge Temperature
  • Freezer Temperature
  • Vegetable Drawer
  • Power Loss
  • Freezing Performance
  • Usable Space
  • Ease of Access
  • Controls
  • Water Dispenser
  • Ice Maker
  • Cleaning
  • Noise
  • Other Features
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Front

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The {{product.name}} has a horizontal-grain stainless finish and contoured stainless handles. There's no through-the-door ice maker or controls on the front of the fridge. Since the door can be hinged from the left or the right, there are small plastic screws covering the pre-drilled door holes.

Fingerprints collect easily on this stainless finish, but they also wipe off with a damp cloth.

Interior

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Inside, the fridge is on the top and the freezer rolls out from the bottom.

The interior of the CDWT980VSS.

With the exception of the full-length bottom shelf, spill-proof shelves on the {{product.name}}'s door are adjustable and will hold large soda bottles.

The {{product.name}}'s icemaker takes up a quarter of the freezer's top drawer.

Back

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There's a water line for the ice maker on the back of the {{product.name}}.

Sides

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The sides of the {{product.name}} are black.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS side views

Running Cost

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The {{product.name}} will only run you $31.65 in yearly electric bills, assuming that power sells for 9.1 cents per kW-h.

Power Use Per Cu Ft

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Dividing out the {{product.name}}'s energy use over its usable storage space shows that it's a very efficient fridge regardless of its size, using just 0.07 kW-h of energy per cubic foot.

Fridge Temperature

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The {{product.name}}'s fridge temperature didn't vary from the bottom shelf to the top shelf, and the internal temperature readings we got from the sensors embedded into food packages gave very consistent results.

Fridge temperatures varied less than a third of a degree, which is a sign of a very sensitive thermostat. Since the {{product.name}} doesn't have a temperature control, you may want to invest in a cheap thermometer to ensure optimum temperature performance. On our tests, the "recommended setting" ran about two degrees too high.

Freezer Temperature

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The {{product.name}}'s freezer is very small, which means it doesn't have to work as hard to keep a consistent temperature. Items stayed cold whether they were in the back or front of the freezer drawer and temperatures didn't fluctuate as the compressor cycled on and off. That's a good protection against freezer burn.

Vegetable Drawer

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The simulated vegetable we put in the {{product.name}}'s vegetable drawer lost only 0.11 grams of water per hour, which is excellent performance.

Power Loss

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When unplugged, the internal temperature of frozen food in the {{product.name}}'s freezer didn't thaw for 36 hours. In fact, it was still frozen after 48 hours. This proves that this Whirlpool is well Insulated, even when the power goes out.

Freezing Performance

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Though it has a small freezer, the {{product.name}} still took 2 hours and 10 minutes to bring the internal temperature of room temperature food below 32 degrees. Faster freezing means that fewer ice crystals form. Since ice crystals change the texture of food when it's thawed, we'd prefer a fridge with better freezing performance.

Usable Space

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We measure only a fridge's usable space, rather than the total interior space minus all shelving. Hence, the {{product.name}} has 10.26 cu. ft. of storage area. That's thanks to four adjustable shelves, one fixed shelf, a storage drawer and two crisper drawers.

The {{product.name}}'s three adjustable shelves, fixed shelf and butter drawer also contribute to the refrigerator's total storage space.

The freezer only has 2.82 cu. ft. of storage space across two drawers. The deepest drawer is bisected by a plastic divider, and a good portion of the top shelf is taken up by an ice maker and another plastic divider.

Below are the manufacturers own figures for capacity, and our own measurements for usable capacity. The manufacturers figures do not take account of the shelves, drawers and other removable features, but our measurements do account for the space these take up.

Ease of Access

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As with all bottom freezers, the {{product.name}} requires the user to bend down and hunt for frozen food. This fridge also has heavy glass shelves that hang from slats at the back of the fridge. Users with limited mobility may find them hard to adjust. And like most Amana/Whirlpool/Maytag fridges, this one has those flimsy crisper drawers that don't glide easily.

Controls

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The {{product.name}}'s control panel is located at the top interior of the fridge, and has separate controls for the fridge and freezer. Its thermostat is set according to an arbitrary numerical scale instead of a temperature reading in Fahrenheit or Celsius, however.

Water Dispenser

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Ice Maker

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The {{product.name}}'s icemaker takes up a quarter of the freezer's top drawer.

Cleaning

Noise

Other Features

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Conclusion

Energy Efficiency

The {{product.name}} is a very energy efficient fridge, with one of the lowest operating costs we've ever seen.

Performance

Both fridge and freezer compartments display accurate temperature performance, with almost no variation in temperature between top and bottom shelves. Vegetables in the vegetable drawers stay moist, and frozen food stays frozen for at least two days when the power goes out.

Storage Space

Though the {{product.name}} has a small freezer, the majority of its manufacturer-claimed storage space is actual usable space.

Usability

While some may find bending down to reach the freezer an inconvenience, the {{product.name}} puts fresh foods at eye-level. Still, the pull out drawers could be of better quality and shelves could be easier to rearrange.

Meet the tester

Keith Barry

Keith Barry

Former Editor in Chief, Reviewed Home

@itskeithbarry

Keith was the Editor in Chief of Reviewed's appliance and automotive sites. His work has appeared in publications such as Wired, Car & Driver, and CityLab.

See all of Keith Barry's reviews

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