Best Direct Cool Refrigerators in India
Hey There! In this post, I will be reviewing some of the Best Direct Cool Refrigerators in India.
Are you looking to buy a refrigerator for your home? There are quite a few types in the market to confuse you. However, if you are like me, you would probably have a clear picture in your mind as to what you want. I don’t mind the manual effort involved in any home appliance as long as I can buy it at an attractive price. This is why I personally prefer direct cool refrigerators.
Yes, they are not as advanced as their frost-free counterparts, but that doesn’t worry me a lot. Here, I have tried to review the top 3 best direct cool refrigerators in India that are worth your money, so that you can have a better idea than before when setting out to buy one.
Summary – Which Direct Cool Model to Buy?
I have reviewed a lot of direct cool refrigerators that are available in India. However, out of them, I strongly believe that this Samsung Single-Door Refrigerator is the best option available. This is because it offers you a very good value for your money in terms of capacity, performance and features.
This same model is also available on Flipkart. So do remember to Click Here and compare prices before you decide to buy.
What is a Direct Cool Refrigerator
Today, there are two types of cooling systems used in refrigerators used in homes – direct cool & frost-free. Direct cool refrigerators are the first type of refrigerators that used to refrigerate the contents inside by making use of the cool air that was circulating inside it.
The convection process is used by these refrigerators, as a result of which the cooling effect is created, thanks to the contents inside the insulation compartment. This circulation of cool air starts to freeze after some time. Therefore, you will have to defrost the direct cool refrigerators manually, before you go to bed every night.
While these direct cool refrigerators are definitely way cheaper than the frost-free-models, not many people prefer it because it comes with a lot of limitations. Is it worth investing in a direct cool refrigerator? Keep reading to know more about the merits and demerits of these models.
Pros
- Gives you a decent cooling effect and reasonably fresh food at an affordable price
- Works best for bachelors and small families
- Consumes lesser power than frost-free models
- Exteriors of the refrigerator aren’t hot when the appliance is in use
Cons
- Manual defrosting is essential every day to prevent over-freezing of the cool air
- The maximum capacity of direct cool models is limited to 250l only
- No uniformity in temperature distribution across the contents kept inside
- Comes as single-door models only
- Causes freezer burn problems because of irregular temperature circulation; therefore, not very ideal for storing frozen foods
- Coils at the back of the direct cool unit aren’t covered; therefore, it can lead to accumulation of dust and dirt
Best Direct Cool Refrigerators in India
1. Whirlpool WDE 205 CLS
As you would have noticed in the summary section above, I recommend buying the Samsung model.
However, I still placed this Whirlpool fridge on top of my list of Best Direct Cool Refrigerators in India is simply because it is a lot cheaper compared to that model.
Hence I know a lot of people would be interested in this model. It is one of the top-selling models in the category and has some amazing feedback from the customers.
Check More User Reviews & Latest Price – Amazon India | Flipkart
Features
- Excellent 190L Single-Door Refrigerator that is suitable for bachelors and small families up to 3 members
- Comes in different & attractive colours of Black, Blue, Grey and Wine
- Comes with a 9-hour Cooling Retention technology even during power cuts
- Warranty of 1 year on the product and 5 years on compressor
- Wired-Shelves enabled to make the most of the storage space and store boxes of different sizes
- A quick defrosting mechanism that is easy to understand
- Comes with an inbuilt stabiliser
- Very big vegetable crisper enabled with honey-comb technology to retain the moisture of the contents, racks for storing big bottles with ease and two shelves for organizing your contents
Helps retain moisture in the vegetables, thanks to a stylish moisture slider sheet - Storing milk packets, chocolates and other small cans is now easy thanks to the spacious chiller in this unit
- Comes with a removable anti-bacterial gasket that you can clean regularly to get rid of bacteria and fungi accumulated inside
- 3-Star Energy rated, which ensures that it doesn’t cause a huge dent in your power bills
To have a close look at the product, have a look at the video below:
2. Samsung RR22M272ZS8
This is the product that I recommend buying. It is slightly more expensive. However, the overall build quality, looks and assurance of being a Samsung product makes it worthwhile to buy.
Check Latest Price & Offers – Flipkart | Amazon India
Features
- 215L, direct-cool, single-door refrigerator that is suitable for bachelors and families up to 3 members
- Excellent warranty terms – 1 year on the product and 10 years on the compressor
- Digital Inverter Technology adopted by the compressor, which means that it not only consumes less energy but also emits very little use when it is used
- Comes with an inbuilt stabiliser that operates at 100V – 300V power; so, you don’t need an external stabiliser
- Comes with a Super-Freeze zone, which allows you to make ice cubes quickly
- Great storage space, as it comes with toughened glass shelves that can store up to 150kg of foods and containers; this refrigerator can also have a big enough bottle guard to hold three 2L bottles with ease
- The vegetable box comes with a moisture-retaining cover that helps them to remain fresh for a long time
- Fresh Room zone is the one that functions as the chiller tray, enabling you to store your milk packets and other desserts without getting worried about their freshness
- The handle of the refrigerator comes with a keyhole; so you can lock it safely when you are not planning to use it for a while
- No chance of accumulation of bacteria or fungi inside the refrigerator because the doors are lined with anti-bacterial gasket
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3. Haier HRD-1703SR-R
This is the last product on my list today. Like Whirlpool, this model too is very light on the pocket and provides a great value. If you are looking at buying a cheap refrigerator, I suggest you compare the features of these two models.
Do keep in mind, that this model of Haier has a lower capacity of 170 Liters while the whirlpool model above, has 190 L storage capacity.
Check the Latest Price Online – Amazon | Flipkart
Features
- Attractive 170L, Single-Door Refrigerator that is suitable for bachelors
- Comes with a warranty of 1 year on the product and 5 years on the compressor
- An energy rating of 3 stars. Which assures you that this unit doesn’t consume a lot of energy
- Comes with an inbuilt stabiliser that operates in the range between 135 and 290V
- Enough storage space to keep big bottles, vegetables, fruits and anything else of your choice
- Diamond Edge Freezer Technology-enabled, which ensures that the ice cubes that are formed are as firm & perfect as diamonds
- Comes with the door-lock facility and anti-fungal gasket, which ensures that the contents inside your fridge remain safe and healthy for long hours
- Classic Haier touch with its leather-finish cabinet, which makes the refrigerator resistant to scratches
- Known for its efficient cooling technology
You May Like – Samsung vs Haier Refrigerators – Which Brand to Buy?
Direct Cool vs. Frost-Free Refrigerators
Though I love the direct cool refrigerators because of their simplicity of operation and affordable price, I would definitely opt for a frost-free model, when my family grows in size.
As a bachelor who lives alone, I find that the direct cool model perfectly fits my lifestyle.
Here are a few interesting points you have to consider when you plan to buy a refrigerator for your home:
- Direct cool models are affordable, but they aren’t as durable as their frost-free counterparts. Therefore, I would recommend you to invest in a frost-free model right away. You can consider this as an investment that will give you enough returns over many years.
- The main purpose of a refrigerator is to keep the foods fresh. In a direct cool model, you cannot be assured of this fact, because convection fans are used to create cooling. Therefore, the temperature circulation across the refrigerator is not uniform at all. Sometimes, the frozen foods that you store in these models may turn stale because of improper cooling technology.
- When you are trying to expand your family, or when you already are part of a big family, the direct cool refrigerators will not work for you at all. They come in the range of 50 to 25ol, a range that is ideal for very small families and bachelors. If your family is more than 3 members, you have to opt for a frost-free model only.
If you are considering buying a Frost Free Refrigerator, then I recommend checking out my list of Best Frost Free Refrigerators in India.
How do you defrost a Direct Cool Refrigerator?
When you buy a direct cool refrigerator, you have to ensure that you manually defrost it once every day to get rid of the thick layers of ice formed inside and outside of the freezer unit. Here are the simple steps that you can follow for manual defrosting:
- In the regulator button of your refrigerator, you will find a knob with many options such as On, Off and DEF (Defrost). When you choose the ON button, you can set your fridge to different degrees of cold temperature, ranging from 1 to 5.
- While if you press the DEF button, you are opting for an automatic defrost. This ensures that when the freezer is completely cleaned of all the ice, your refrigerator will restart automatically.
- When you first press the OFF button before pressing the DEF button, you are opting for a manual defrost. Here, you wait until the frost is removed completely before you press the ON button again to get your fridge working again.
Now that you have got a good idea about direct cool refrigerators, you should be able to understand that it is a sensible decision to buy one only if you are a bachelor or have a small family up to 3 members.
These are quite affordable and provide you with a reasonable cooling effect without burning a deep hole in your pockets.
Always ensure that you read through the features and understand the functionalities of the components very well before investing in a particular model of direct cool refrigerator.
If you have any further question or would like to leave feedback for any direct cool refrigerator model/brand that you have used, feel free to use the comments section below.
