Hey Appliance Fans,
28 cubic feet of capacity. 29 cubic feet of capacity. 30 cubic feet of capacity. 31 cubic feet of capacity. Do you know where I’m going with this? Yup. I’m talking about refrigerators; specifically large capacity refrigerators. The reason I’m bringing this up is because consumers don’t realize just how big these units are until they get them in their home. Today’s topic is going to be about these behemoth appliances. I certainly don’t want to talk you out of purchasing a refrigerator this size, but I want to make you fully aware of what you’re getting yourself into.
Bigger Is Better
And I’ve lost my appetite.
As Americans, we assume this to be true on a daily basis. If bigger wasn’t better, Costco, BJ’s, and Sam’s Club wouldn’t exist. I mean, how dare you tell me that I don’t need a fifty pound jar of beef jerky and a five gallon vat of relish. But bigger isn’t always better such as a credit card bill, a leak, or Honey Boo Boo’s Mom. Of course bigger isn’t always better when we’re talking about refrigerators and let’s list some reasons:
- It doesn’t fit in your cabinetry giving you the look you want
- It blocks a pathway or work flow in the kitchen
- It won’t fit into your home
There’s no question that 28-31 cubic feet of capacity is enormous and will store lots of food. In fact these refrigerators offer slightly more storage room than the Sarlacc which resides in the Great Pit of Carkoon (my very FIRST reference to Star Wars in the blog!!) Do you really need that much room? Probably not if you’re a family of two or three. If you have a few teenage boys that eat their weight every two hours, then maybe you do need something with a larger capacity. I want you to think about what’s in the back of your refrigerator right now. Go ahead. You probably don’t know what’s back there, do you? Whatever is back there is probably more like a science experiment than a late-night snack. My point is don’t be seduced by a bigger size refrigerator. Try and figure out how much capacity your current refrigerator has now and determine if that capacity works for you or not. If it does, why would you get a bigger unit?
The Sarlacc offers slightly less capacity than a 29 Cubic Foot Refrigerator from GE.
It Won’t Fit Into Your Cabinetry
This isn’t entirely true. As long as you have enough width and enough height in the cabinet cutout, then the unit will fit. What people don’t realize is how deep these units actually are. Adding depth is how manufacturers achieve super-large capacities. If you want a particular look of an almost flush install with your cabinetry, these models are NOT for you. I repeat: these models are not for you. If you want a flusher look, get a counter-depth unit. In fact, we just put a 29 cubic foot GE Profile into cabinetry on our showroom floor to give customers a visual of what to expect:
No Flush Look For You!
It Blocks a Pathway or Work Flow In Your Kitchen
I’m piggybacking off of the whole won’t-fit-into-your-cabinetry idea. Before you purchase one of these babies, take note of where its final resting place will be. For example, do you have an island right in front of the refrigerator that might impede traffic flow with the added depth of the unit? Because these refrigerators stick out more, ask yourself:
- “Will it get in the way of an entrance into/out of the kitchen?”
- “Will this unit interrupt traffic flow if more than one person is cooking or interrupt the general traffic flow inside the kitchen?”
The added depth may or may not affect your kitchen or cooking habits, but certainly double check.
That’s a lot depth. Make sure it doesn’t impede the flow of your kitchen.
It Won’t Fit Into Your Home
Because of their depth, I can almost guarantee that our drivers will have to remove the refrigerator doors just to be able to fit these units through your front door; however, there’s only so much we can do on our end. It’s important to measure not just the final destination of the appliance, but also the pathway our drivers need to use to get the refrigerator in place. If you live in an older house, this could be even more important as doorways and hallways were narrower than they are now. You might be dreaming of a refrigerator that can fit an elk, but we might not even be able to get the unit into your house let alone the kitchen. *
*Legal is requiring me to mention that I have not tested to see if an elk will fit in a large refrigerator. I’ve used a literary device called hyperbole so back off.
We’re coming to a close for this week’s post, but remember these things before you purchase a large capacity refrigerator:
- Measure. Will it fit in the desired area? Will it fit through hallways and doors that lead to the desired install location?
- Will the depth of the unit affect any traffic/work flow in your kitchen?
- Will the refrigerator even fit through the front (or back) door?
Tip: Having problems visualizing how much one of these refrigerators will stick out of your cabinetry? Place a yardstick against the wall where the unit will rest and take note of where the yardstick ends. Though there’s not one depth for all of these units, guesstimating a 36” depth is a good guide to go off of for a general idea of what you’re getting into.
That’s all for this week, appliance fans. Until next time, America!
P.S. Here’s the awesome fight scene from Return of The Jedi with the Sarlacc. You’re welcome.
