Bar Fridges: Everything You Need to Know [Part Two]

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Bar Fridges- The Ultimate Guide 

This week’s a continuation from last week’s post, where we talked about maintenance and operation for those of you more interested in the features bar fridges have to offer...

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A bar fridge is an ideal way of keeping food and drinks cold, without taking up a lot of space. Especially with the range that is available, and the right help, you should have no problem finding one that suits not only your design but also your needs.

Size

The first thing you should really look at when considering how big or small you want your bar fridge to be, is what you want to put in it. For example if you’re looking on storing wine bottles, you’ll need more space than if you were just going to chill a few beers to have over lunch.This continues if you want to also go further than just drinks.

bar fridge

Most manufacturers don’t recommend storing food though, as the temperature can fluctuate too much to keep it cold enough. However there are some brands, such as the Beefeater fridges, that are designed not to have this problem, and are able to chill food properly. If you really like to socialize, you can even decide to go bigger. Bar fridges don’t have to be just a single unit, ranging from one, two and even three doors depending on how much space you need.

Glass Door vs Solid Door

 

Both options are visually a really lovely addition to your outdoor design. There are pros and cons to both, nothing scary I promise; it’s more about finding what will suit your outdoor kitchen better. A glass door is great for seeing inside the fridge without actually having to open the door. This will limit the amount of cold air that escapes if you were to have to stand with the door open in order to decide which drink you were feeling like.

However, glass doors do cost more to run than solid doors. This is because they are not as insulated as a solid door and have to work harder in order to keep the air inside chilled. But wait! Don’t let this turn you off glass doors too quickly, if you check back to part one of this post you’ll find all the [really simple] ways you can prevent this so you won’t feel it at all.

Glass door

A solid door is much more discrete, blending much more subtly into the rest of your outdoor kitchen. Stainless steel is the most popular in this category, it’s sleek, it’s clean, and professional. A drawback would have to be that stainless steel collects fingerprints and smudges, and while this can easily be wiped away, it can get annoying to have to clean it every time you go to open the door.  

However, some brands have countered this problem with “finger resistant” stainless steel, which will prevent you from compulsively wiping down your door. Something to consider is also which direction you want your fridge door to open. This is more for those of you who are a little more detail-oriented; I’ve spoken to a few people who don’t mind which way the door opens as long as it does.Solid Door Some brands will provide the option of being able to manually change which way the door will open to suit your preference. A door’s direction doesn’t really impact a lot to your outdoor kitchen, it only becomes a concern with the placement of your unit, like if it’s against a wall and needs to open a certain way or it can’t at all.

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If all this information is a little overwhelming, don't worry. If you choose to use a team of outdoor kitchen specialists then all of these points will be talked through with you at your speed, including all the other parts of a kitchen that I haven't covered here. Get in touch today.

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