BLACK+DECKER BCRK43V Compact Refrigerator Energy Star Single Door Mini Fridge with Freezer, 4.3 Cubic Ft., VCM

Great little mini fridge. Keeps things very cold and was well packaged. Easily installed and I got a 2 year warranty from the manufacturer. The color is accurate to the photos, and there’s no strange smells to it. It feels well built and durable. Overall I would recommend it! It even came with a drip tray, and ice cube tray.

Good construction, nice shelving, pretty quiet except when the compressor cycles on and off, though not loud enough to be a problem. Gets sufficiently cold around the 5, almost 6 setting out of 7. The "freezer" compartment is laughable, but it's how the compressor cycles the cooling element through the inside of the storage compartment. I didn't buy it hoping to freeze one popsicle at a time while I keep beverages and snacks cold, LOL!

So far, this Black and Decker mini fridge has been rock solid. I’ll share some thoughts on the unboxing, some gotchas, and hopefully a thing or two to help you make an informed decision on this fridge.For me it arrived well packaged: instructions were clear on removing the packing tape, which as others have mentioned is pretty much everywhere. The glass is adjustable and sturdy enough, but not super thick.The instructions state you’re supposed to set it on level 7 for fifteen to twenty minutes after you unbox, and there are some peculiar things to note reading the manual. One I found a typo in it because I was a proofreader in a past life. The bottoms are easily adjustable so the unit sits flush on the floor. I was surprised at how quiet it is. After filling it up with stuff, it seems to keep items cold enough. I set it back to level 4.If you tilt or put it on it’s side, you’re supposed to wait 24 hours before plugging it in. Similarly, if you want to reboot the fridge, that is best done over a few minute period, which is weird because as far as I know this thing doesn’t run FridgeOS.The design is somewhat weird internally with how stuff is connected: like it slightly differs from the manual in ways you don’t really notice unless you look at it head on. At the very top, It does not appear to be actually level. Likewise the back bottom left side of the unit has a little divot in the plastic. You probably won’t notice unless you look right at it but it’s a little odd. The freezer has a note in the manual that you should NOT freeze items more than 5 days or so, which surprised me. Maybe the freezer compartment doesn’t really get as cold as one would think.Overall I like this thing: it’s compact, looks nice (though isn’t actual steel on the outside) and stays cold (even to the outside). The front is magnetic, so feel free to attach whatever flair you desire to it. I was able to slide two full gallon jugs of milk after reconfiguring the shelves, so there’s a decent amount of space in there.So far so good.

Has some scratches on the top and sides of the fridge but seems to run well. Got cold pretty quickly and seems to be quiet.Not sure where the drip tray goes but we will figure that out. This should work well for our son at school.

Seems I have bad luck with mini fridges.I originally bought a 2.7cf mini fridge from my local supercenter. Didn’t work so I drove back to supercenter without the original box and I returned it. Got my money back in less than 20 minutes including drive, not much hassle. I figured I shouldn’t buy a generic not-well-known brand again.So I went browsing here on Amazon and found Black and Decker. There is a brand I can trust! This model fridge is smaller, 1.7cf and more expensive. I figured I am paying a name-brand tax. Must be better made!So after a few days on Friday, I got my BD mini fridge. Excitingly, I unpack the unit. It is covered in this hard to remove protective plastic film. I removed the tape securing the door and shelves.The manual states to turn the thermostat to “7” for 10-15 minutes. Okay... waited 30 minutes. I heard some clicking every now and then. I check inside and there is no cooling. No audible hum or noise except for occasional click.I’ve read from others that got a defective mini fridge. Apparently, it will make a clicking sound and not cool. The large black compressor does get warm... but not much else going on.Tried a different outlet. Same result. Nothing is obstructing the compressor area from cooling. And others with working units have reported the fridge starts cooling almost immediately. I am getting nothing but a warm compressor and occasional clicking.I don’t feel safe keeping this plugged in!Black and Decker / Westinghouse support are only available weekends 10:30 to 6:30 eastern. So on this Friday night, no help from manufacturer.Tried Amazon return process. Amazon support called me to help troubleshoot the unit. Then Amazon rep tried calling manufacturer. No answer from manufacturer again. So Amazon rep is going to do a callback for Saturday. I already know nobody at Black and Decker / Westinghouse will be there to answer the call. So yeah...Amazon support is great - but had I bought this at the supercenter 5 minutes away from me, I could have had my money back quick - no hassle.This is a hassle! Now I’m stuck with a more expensive name brand nonfunctional mini fridge that I cannot simply return and get my money back.The only reason I ordered a mini fridge through Amazon was because I believed returns were super easy. No smooth Amazon returns with this item. Now I know better.No choice but to wait and see what happens. Not happy waiting!Update : I waited a day and I did not get a callback as promised. So I went back to the email from Amazon on the rep’s response. I selected “not resolved” and I got another option for Amazon to call my phone. Alright, so I spoke to another rep and explained. The new rep said he wasn’t sure why the first rep went through the manufacturer - since the fridge was sold by Amazon, the manufacturer does not get involved. The fridge is “nonreturnable” meaning it would be way too expensive to ship back - so they refunded my money. Great!I got my money back but the only negative is that now I have to dispose of this large object myself. I don’t think I could get this defective fridge professionally repaired without spending the same amount of money or more of original price.

This refrigerator is the perfect size to sit on my art room counter and keep my bubbly waters cold on these hot days. You can hear it running in the background if you listen for it, but it is not a disturbing volume. The door was easy to switch over so it hinged on the left instead of the right (which is how it comes), and I appreciated that as I recently had a poor experience with a small freezer that I will also use in my art room. The other thing I liked is that Black and Decker made sure that all the tape and plastic wrapping the unit was easy to remove! Sounds like a small thing, but believe me, it is not! It took 15 minutes to remove all the protective plastic that wrapped the aforementioned freezer. What a pain that was! The fact that B&D thought of this small thing makes me feel very good about the quality of their products overall. Good job Black and Decker!