Consumer Reports Says This Is The Best Type Of Fridge To Use In Your Piping-Hot Garage

The fridge in your garage is like the second-string quarterback or the understudy for the Broadway lead. It's your Plan B, but if you bought six cases each of Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero because Publix had a sale or you need to store 50 pounds of venison from that eight-point deer you hunted, your kitchen fridge is going to need backup. So what type of garage fridge will be up to the task? A top-freezer refrigerator is the answer, according to Consumer Reports.

The biggest challenge, of course, is that your garage fridge needs to be able to stand up to that confined heat lingering in there all summer. A poorly insulated garage can easily reach triple digits on an especially hot day, maybe even climbing to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and that puts your fridge at a disadvantage from the get-go. 

But when things start to heat up, many newer-model, top-freezer varieties won't let you down, and here's why. You need something that's practical and durable without a whole lot of bells and whistles — essentially, the Buick of the refrigerator world. Top-freezer models tend to be fairly straightforward and simple but also reliable and robust. Leave all the fancy-schmancy crushed ice makers and water dispensers for the fridge inside the house and stick to a more basic, affordable, and dependable top-freezer fridge. If you find a refrigerator marked as "garage-ready" or that has an Energy Star rating, there's a better chance that it will perform well.

It might be tempting to retire your old but still-functional fridge to the garage when you get a shiny new one for the kitchen, but Consumer Reports says this isn't the best approach. Newer fridges are usually more efficient in both energy usage and temperature control, so they're better suited for the garage. Consumer Reports runs a rather rigorous testing program, putting every refrigerator through the ringer — including leaving them at the coldest setting in 110-degree Fahrenheit heat nonstop for four days.

The highest-scoring fridge on Consumer Reports' list is the Samsung RT70F18LRSR. Specifically designed to thrive in your garage, this model proved that it could keep things very cool while also maintaining the temperature evenly. Plus, it is energy-efficient and quiet — more of a purr than a rumble. On the other hand, the downsides are that it isn't as user-friendly as it could be, and its crisper drawer was below par. But overall, this is a fridge that you can just fill and let chill. Just don't overfill it — that's the common habit to avoid if you want the appliance to last.

Another highly rated fridge is the Whirlpool WRT112CZJZ. It passed muster in areas such as temperature control, energy efficiency, and noise level, and it held its own in the heat. However, like the Samsung model, its main flaws were that it's less easy to operate and the crisper drawer could be better. Still, it comes in three different finishes — black, white, and stainless — and is an excellent and economical choice for the garage.