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  • Design & Usability

  • Performance & Features

  • Imperfect, But Effective

  • The Cold Hard Facts

  • Temperature Performance

  • Moisture Retention

  • Freezing

  • Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

  • Design & Usability
  • Performance & Features
  • Imperfect, But Effective
  • The Cold Hard Facts
  • Temperature Performance
  • Moisture Retention
  • Freezing
  • Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

In terms of overall refrigeration, it’s not perfect. This Frigidaire falls into many of the common pitfalls we see in similar budget models: The freezer runs warm, crispers are just so-so, and customization options are slim.

That said, a $480 retail price is tough to beat, especially with most of those smaller apartment fridges running several hundred dollars more. If you’ve got a hole in your kitchen and this Frigidaire fills it, then you’ve found yourself a bargain that may be too good to pass up.

Design & Usability

Simple and straightforward

This fridge's textured white finish should be easy to keep clean, and for once we’re actually fond of the manufacturer logo stamped on the top right corner. The silver Frigidaire badge breaks up the otherwise monotonous exterior and gives the eye something shiny to focus on.

There’s not much going on inside, apart from a lone incandescent bulb, but then again, a fridge of this size doesn’t have much room for bells and whistles. Three shelf slots and two wire shelves offer some degree of flexibility, but no spill protection. Anything that drips will land on the glass shelf set above twin drawers at the bottom—and on top of any groceries you’ve stored there.

The twin drawers look like crispers, but don’t have any adjustable humidity controls. You're at the mercy of Frigidaire’s engineers as far as storing produce is concerned.

The fridge door features shelves of multiple heights and widths, as well as a dairy bin. None of them are movable, and there’s a gap between the bottom of the shelves and the front barrier. Be careful of storing anything small and breakable, as it could slip through and fall to the floor.

Freezer storage amounts to a single wire shelf that can be set to one of two heights. There’s not even a light, let alone an icemaker—but that's expected on a fridge at this price point.

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Performance & Features

As good as you’d expect

Compared across the entire spectrum of refrigerators on the market, the FFTR1514QW isn’t bad... but it’s not great, either. Judged amongst its top freezer peers, however, it's decidedly on point.

When we test fridges that don’t use a digital thermostat, we set the controls to the manufacturer-recommended setting, usually labeled "normal" or marked with an asterisk.

You'll want to move the Frigidaire FFTR1514QW's controls toward something colder for effective cooling.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

You'll want to move the controls toward something colder for effective cooling.

Unfortunately, the "normal" setting in this model is outrageously warm. The freezer barely broke 10°F—a recipe for freezer burn—while the fridge averaged 41.5°F, which is almost warm enough to accelerate food spoilage. On the bright side, both compartments were able to maintain relatively stable temperatures over the long term, which means there’s hope!

First, slide the freezer’s dial down to the coldest setting. As in most inexpensive fridges, the FFTR1514QW's freezer and fridge share a single evaporator and compressor. If there were only one thermostat dial, turning it down could make the freezer chilly while over-cooling your fresh food; the extra slider in the freezer helps lessen the impact.

The fridge will require some experimentation to find an appropriately cold temperature setting. Turn the thermostat dial, which is located inside the main fridge section, towards the coldest setting. We think somewhere between normal and the coldest setting will be your sweet spot. If ice crystals start to form in your yogurt, you’ve gone too far. Keep playing around until it feels right.. or until you get sick of tinkering.

Beyond that, the other key components we test are moisture retention in the crispers and overall power consumption. Moisture retention wasn't great, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on your produce. However, as far as energy efficiency goes, we have no complaints. This tiny machine should have a negligible impact on your utility bill: If your power costs are 9 cents per kWh, it should cost about $18 per year to run.

For in-depth performance information, please visit the Science Page.

The Frigidaire FFTR1514QW's lackluster crispers are devoid of any humidity adjustor.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

The lackluster crispers are devoid of any humidity adjustor.

Imperfect, But Effective

Specialty size for an affordable price

As we mentioned, 15-cu.-ft. fridges aren’t exactly ubiquitous in American kitchens as most consumers have room for something bigger. This makes the Frigidaire FFTR1514QW something of a specialty machine, but without the bigger price tag you might expect to find attached to a niche appliance.

Sure, the main compartment is a little warm, but playing around with the thermostat can minimize this. At the end of the day, if you need a 15-cu.-ft. fridge and don’t want to spend more than $475, this Frigidaire is the one to beat.

The Cold Hard Facts

Generally speaking, the Frigidaire FFTR1514QW (MSRP $599) is a mixed bag, especially when it came to average temperatures and moisture retention. However, a bit of experimentation with the thermostat is a small price to pay for this low upfront cost.

Temperature Performance

Here's the biggest tip we can give you: Don’t trust the labels on this Frigidaire's temperature controls. We set the fridge to the normal setting marked on the thermostat, and boy did it run warm.

At the top, middle, and bottom of the main fridge section, our testing equipment recorded average food temperatures of 41.22°F, 40.41°F, and 42.95°F, respectively. That’s way too warm and will accelerate food spoilage.

You'll want to move the Frigidaire FFTR1514QW's controls toward something colder for effective cooling.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

You'll want to move the controls toward something colder for effective cooling.

The freezer, too, was quite warm, with average temps of 7.92°F at the top and 11.07°F at the bottom.

Fortunately, both sections were relatively consistent over time. The fridge only fluctuated by ±0.3°F over time, while the freezer only shifted ±0.49°F. That’s pretty darn good, and it means you can easily fix those warm average temperatures by turning down the thermostat.

We place thermocouples into meat substitute in order to measure temperatures, but you can just a small thermometer and put it in a glass of water inside the fridge to nail down the ideal 37°F.

Moisture Retention

The twin drawers at the bottom of the fridge are more buckets than crispers, as there’s no adjustable humidity slider. Our testing materials recorded an average hourly loss of 0.25 grams of moisture over the course of three days. That’s not very good—some of the better drawers we’ve tested lose less than half that.

The Frigidaire FFTR1514QW's lackluster crispers are devoid of any humidity adjustor.
Credit: Reviewed.com / Matthew Zahnzinger

The lackluster crispers are devoid of any humidity adjustor.

Freezing

Freezing times were average. Our carefully stored room temperature testing materials were cooled to 32°F by the Frigidaire’s freezer in 1 hour 34 minutes. We’ve seen better, but we’ve also seen worse.

Storage Space & Energy Efficiency

As this is a 15-cu.-ft. fridge, there’s not a ton of space to play around with. That said, the shelf layout does make the most of a somewhat cramped situation.

Adjustable wire shelves will hold the bulk of your fresh food, as well as a third glass shelf fixed above twin drawers at the bottom. Door storage, while fixed, is available in different heights and widths for your convenience. All told, this top freezer serves up 8.62 cu. ft. of usable space.

Without an icemaker, the only thing breaking up the featureless freezer interior is a single wire shelf. Combine that with the two identical door shelves, and you get 3.35 cu. ft. of usable freezer space.

Energy consumption is one of this fridge’s strengths. Using a typical American rate of $0.09 per kWh, we estimate this fridge will only cost you $17.80 per year to run. That translates out to roughly 0.05 kWh needed to cool each usable cubic foot.

Meet the tester

Matthew Zahnzinger

Matthew Zahnzinger

Logistics Manager & Staff Writer

@ReviewedHome

Matthew is a native of Brockton, MA and a graduate of Northeastern, where he earned a degree in English and Theatre. He has also studied at the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and spends most of his free time pursuing a performance career in the greater Boston area.

See all of Matthew Zahnzinger's reviews

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