Finding a Mini Fridge is No Small Task!
Know Your Dimensions
Mini fridges (or micro refrigerators as they’re sometimes called) may be the most common size of fridge consumers buy today. These refrigerators can range from small USB powered coolers that are less than one cubic foot capacity, up to small personal fridges that have their own ice box. While there are a lot of mini fridges on the market, sometimes it can be hard to get the actual dimensions for them. This is because these refrigerators usually aren’t made to fit in cabinetry, but rather they can be set on a countertop, table, or even taken to the beach and powered by a car adapter.
Since the dimensions of mini refrigerators aren’t that important in these applications, the actual dimensions aren’t always published. However you should be aware that many of these refrigerators actually require more clearance room than their larger cousins. This is because they are often powered by an electric heat exchanger. These heat up quite a lot, and since there isn’t room for a big radiator the air flow is very important. In fact these heat exchangers heat up so much that often they are reversible, so that you can use the mini fridge to heat up food instead of keep it cool.
The limited number of mini fridge dimensions in our database means our data isn’t as comprehensive yet as the standard, compact, mid-sized, or counter-depth refrigerator categories. We will be adding more mini fridge models and their specifications over time.
Average Mini Fridge Dimensions
| Minimum | Maximum | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 17.50 in | 18.88 in | 18.18 in |
| Depth | 17.88 in | 21.00 in | 19.56 in |
| Height | 19.38 in | 20.31 in | 19.89 in |
Manufacturer’s Recommended Minimum Installation Dimensions
| Minimum | Maximum | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | 21.94 in | 26.88 in | 23.91 in |
| Depth | 21.88 in | 25.00 in | 23.75 in |
| Height | 22.31 in | 23.38 in | 22.74 in |
The interesting thing to notice here is that the manufacturer recommended clearances are actually quite large. While full sized refrigerators tend to have a recommended clearance of 1/2 to 1 inch, these mini and micro fridges are closer to 3 to 4 inches of clearance. So if you are thinking of using one of these mini fridges in your kitchen, and building it into your cabinetry, be very careful about which models you choose. Most of them are not suitable for such applications.
