Having a refrigerator in the kitchen is a must for the day. But that's no reason to flaunt it and make this big blotch public.
It's much better to buy a built-in fridge-freezer and hide it in one of the kitchen cabinet drawers. A single moment can spoil the whole event. The refrigerator, along with the chamber, occupies a large amount of kitchen space. In this case, you can act wisely, and spread these two freezing units to different places in space. This way we get a built-in freezer and a built-in refrigerator.
Installation instructions
In order to integrate a freezer into a kitchen cabinet, certain work must be done. In general terms, they are as follows:
- In order for the appliances to fit perfectly into the allotted space, it is necessary when buying a product to focus on the dimensions of the kitchen niche and the dimensions of the built-in freezers. In addition, they are guided by the operational characteristics of the models and their configuration.
- Make a box for the freezer. The dimensions of the box are increased by the amount required for normal ventilation. The dimensions of the ventilation threshold are indicated in the product instructions.
- The model is installed in a niche and the legs are adjusted. The rear legs should be a few degrees higher than those in the front.
- The doors are installed using the pantograph system. Doors are not provided for fastening to kitchen furniture, they are installed on the refrigerator door.
Freezer selection
When buying household appliances, it is necessary to provide for the technical characteristics, dimensions and configuration of the product. The right choice will help to integrate the freezer into the kitchen furniture without any problems.
Main criteria to consider when choosing a freezer:
- dimensions;
- power;
- capacity;
- attachment type.
Configuration selection
Freezers are divided into semi- and fully built-in. The difference between them is small, but it exists. It is believed that a half-built freezer under the countertop can be mounted or remain a freestanding appliance. The front wall of the model is not covered by the kitchen front.
Fully built-in appliances mounted under the countertop. Depending on the installation location of the freezer, the location of the ventilation holes is provided. For models that will be placed under the tabletop, the ventilation grill is made at the bottom of the equipment. Freezers built intocolumns, have ventilation holes at the top.
Freezers are divided into two groups according to the way the door is opened. The vertical version is the most familiar and familiar, the door opens like a regular kitchen cabinet.
It is possible to build a horizontal freezer only if there is free space above the freezer, because its door opens like a chest - upwards.
There is one compressor in the chest freezer. The built-in vertical freezer can be equipped with two compressors - in this case, the energy consumption of the equipment increases. But on the other hand, it wears out less and will work for a longer period.
Dimensions of built-in freezers
The dimensions of the built-in household appliances offered on the market correspond to the standard dimensions of kitchen furniture. When making a custom-made kitchen, this must be taken into account so that the built-in appliances can easily fit into the niche intended for it.
It is clear that the dimensions of built-in refrigerators, taking into account the installation gaps, should be smaller than the dimensions of the niche in the kitchen cabinet. Standard cabinets comfortably accommodate a freezer with a depth of 60 cm. For non-standard kitchen furniture, a built-in freezer with a depth of 80 cm is available. The height of freezer cabinets can be from 60 cm to 210 cm. The number of shelves depends on the height.
Freezer Chestsare made with a height of 85 cm, a depth of 60 cm, and due to the width, you can purchase a larger freezer.
Before you install the freezer, you must familiarize yourself with its technical characteristics.
Freezing Criteria
Freezing capacity or the amount of food that the model can freeze during the day can be from 7 to 25 kg. Of course, this indicator significantly affects the cost of the product. But in practice, the average family does not freeze 25 kg of food at once, from 8 to 11 kg is enough.
The quality of food preservation in frozen form is determined by the number of stars on the door:
- one asterisk informs about -60 С and about the possibility of food preservation up to a week;
- two asterisks correspond to -120 C, which allows you to store products for a month;
- three asterisks corresponds to temperature -180 С, which involves storage up to three months;
- four asterisks report temperatures lower than -180 C, which allows food to be stored for a whole year.
Defrosting
An equally important quality that must be taken into account before installing a freezer. Modern models are designed for two technologies:
- Manual defrost involves manual defrosting once a year.
- The No Frost function does not require defrosting. But the requirements forstorage of products, only the closed state of plastic bags is allowed.
Freezing capacity
This criterion is determined by the time that the food will remain frozen during a power outage. This time interval can be from 12 hours to 32.
Energy saving. To reduce energy consumption when choosing equipment, class A and A + are preferred. Models labeled B, C and D clearly lose out in this respect.
Climatic class. Ambient temperature is of great importance for the equipment that is used for cooling products. The climate class determines the temperature of the room in which the equipment can work. Our area requires equipment made according to class N and SN.
