"I just received this the other day, so I can't address any concerns other reviewers had as to longevity. Right now its a few days old. I was excited to get this as a replacement fridge for our bedroom. We had a small, dorm style fridge before that had a useless freezer that just took up space. It finally gave out on us so I went searching for a replacement. We use the fridge upstairs for drinks only, so I came across this one and liked the style and design. I like being able to look at the items we have without having to open the fridge - thus I can quickly glance and determine if I need to bring more sodas, gatorade or water. It looks great, its a pretty good size too. A little bigger than I imagined but not like I measured it out before purchasing. So far I'm really enjoying this fridge. There were other reviews that addressed concerns of not being cold enough. I guess this is subjective. My main fridge in our kitchen is set to 38 degrees and stays there. This fridge doesn't quite get that cold. I have it set to the "Max" coldness and it is between 42-45 degrees (I stuck a fridge thermometer in there to check this). For me, this is plenty cold and I do enjoy my beverages cold. I can't drink sodas barely cold, so the fridge gets cold enough in my opinion, although I do wish I didn't have to set it on max to get to this temperature, which means no more wiggle room if I wanted to get it colder. Also, a tip - if you are putting this on carpet you WILL need to place the fridge on something solid - like a tile or block of some sort. The door will drag. We have very short berber carpet and the door was dragging. For now, I've simply put little blocks under the feet to give it some lift. The reason the fridge didn't get 5 stars, and this is extremely annoying for a fridge dedicated to drinks and called a "Beverage Center" is the grates on the shelves it comes with. They are too wide! This means that drinks are near impossible to balance! Normal soda cans and 16 ounce bottles of water will LEAN and sort of tip unless you can stuff a bunch of them in there to push against one another. This is a very annoying problem. Almost earned it a 3 star review because of this BUT I am going to contact Danby to see if they can send out shelves with a narrower grate. I don't get why the heck they used a big gap grate for something dedicated to drinks. I promise, you'll spend a lot of time trying to balance them just right so they don't lean or tip. I'll update this review with what the company says. If they don't make a better shelf I may lower the review to 3 stars because to me, this is a huge oversight. I also wish the legs would extend a little further to make it stand better on carpet but that's easily rectified and probably a better idea to put it on something in event of leakage. Aside from drinks tipping and leaning, this is a great fridge. I am enjoying it. I love being able to store big quantities of drink in here. We have actually freed up a lot of space from our main fridge in the kitchen (I drink a ton of soda and bottled water). I can now keep several 12 packs of various drinks without having to take up all the space in our main fridge. I did buy the extended warranty on this b/c of what I've read in the reviews. I'm really hoping this doesn't break down in a few months like some people have complained. If so, I'll update my review. All in all, this is a great fridge for your home or game room. Its a tad on the large side for the bedroom (we are going to move to the our bedroom closet soon) but its so far been worth it. I like the style, I like the fact that its dedicated to drinks. If they'd just put in better grates this would be a 5 star review ---------REVIEW UPDATE-------------- Unfortunately I had to downgrade the fridge by another star because of the shelving grate spacing. I contacted Danby customer service and said that unfortunately they don't make any other shelves for this fridge that have narrow grates. If they would have even sold me the right shelves I would have left the review rating as is. If they gave me the shelves it'd be a 5 star review. I really, really like this fridge but if you plan on using it for 12 ounce soda cans or water bottles, you will be frustrated by the spacing of the grates on the shelves. It'll drive you mad trying to balance the cans. I guess you could lay them down but I don't want to do that, I'd like to use the fridge as its pictured and as it should be able to support. Danby did say they would pass my comments on to their product team, so we'll see if they come up with a better solution in future iterations of this product. Would I still buy this fridge? Yeah, I probably would. I can put up with this minor frustration but I still can't figure out why the heck they didn't think about the spacing on the grates more for cans - which is what almost everyone will use this fridge for."
Danby DAR017A2BDD Compact All Refrigerator, 1.7 Cubic Feet, Black (Compare Deals from $99.00)
"I began researching a variety of cooling devices to store my ever-growing collection of beers and was frustrated by the dearth of information readily available for such storage. Dedicated beer refrigerators/coolers were far more expensive than their wine cooling counterparts and, given that I was looking to keep the cost relatively low, I was unwilling to shell out more than $300 for one. After seeing the wide variety of thermoelectric coolers available, I was initially reticent to purchase a refrigerator because it seemed like there was a steep price differential between the two. The more I considered proper beer storage and read about the aforementioned coolers though the less comfortable I was with using them. Ultimately, I came across the Danby DBC120BLS Beverage Center and liked what I saw in terms of the price, the reviews, and the product itself. I liked also that at least a few people were using it to store beer and so I made my purchase. I wound up setting it up last night and discovered a few things that I thought would be of interest to anyone else in search of something to use as a beer cellar. BEST ASPECTS OF USING THE DANBY BEVERAGE CENTER FOR BEER CELLARING 1. The adjustable temperature range covers a wide assortment of beers. Usually the target temperature for aging beer is between 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit. Many of the thermoelectric coolers feature extremely narrow ranges with the LOWER end being closer to the low 50s (which means that it would have to work essentially at max capacity at all times just to maintain the temperature). Plus, if there are any temperature fluctuations, say, of five degrees or more, you could wind up impacting the long term quality of your beers. The 43-57 degree range of the Danby is great because it affords more leeway, particularly if you live in an area that gets particularly warm in the summer thereby creating a substantial temperature differential between the interior and exterior of the refrigerator. 2. At the $200 price point, you'll be hard-pressed to find better capacity. By comparison, most of the wine cellars available at and around $200 hold less than 20 bottles and, in most cases, 18 or fewer. Depending upon what you are aging beer-wise, you will easily store double that amount or better with the Danby. 3. The removable shelves provide flexible storage layouts. Again, depending upon what you're looking to age, you will have a variety of options in terms of how to store your stash. The single most limiting aspect though is the type(s) of bottles that you're looking to age. When it comes to cellaring beer, the common best-practice is to store it upright, especially if the beer is corked. The problem with this is the fact that most corked bottles tend to be of the larger variety (750ml) and thus take up much more space than their twelve ounce counterparts. The existence of multiple shelf grooves will allow you to make the most of the space available but only to a certain degree. One of the photos for this unit had a comment that the user was able to get 49 twelve ounce bottles and 4 bombers for a total of 53 bottles. None of the bottles appeared to be corked and a few were being stored sideways--something to consider, again, if you have a variety of beer bottle types. As for my current setup, I have the top-most shelf in along with a single shelf towards the bottom dividing the interior into three zones. At the bottom I currently have 8 large bottles including three corked 750mls, 1 uncorked 750, and four bomber sized bottles along with 6 smaller bottles, two of which are corked. Now, you won't be able to take advantage of the full space on the lowest level because there is a small portion that juts out to allow water to drain towards the compressor during the automatic defrosting cycle. Having the corked bottles standing on a wire shelf ABOVE this point should allow you to get more in...but the thought of overloading the shelf and losing bottles of Black Tuesday and the Firestone barrel aged series made me anxious. Instead, I opted for the security of the ground level at the expense of housing a few more bottles (which, at present, I don't have). On the middle shelf I have 29 bottles approximately half of which are the standard slender 12 oz and half are the stubbier, slightly fatter bottles; these are all vertical as well. Lastly, I have six bottles stored on their side in two pyramids on the special top shelf. You lose a little bit of space at the very top so that you can keep the fan clear (the shelf is designed specifically for this purpose) so you can't make use of the ENTIRE interior. In total though, with nearly a dozen very big bottles, I was able to get a total of 49 bottles into the unit. They are perfectly chilled at the moment and, with any luck, they will remain that way for a long time to come. The bottom line: if you're looking to cellar beers then this is the ideal unit with which to do so!"
"This beverage center proved to be a very bad purchase for our family. However, at the end of my bad-news story, there is a happy ending. The first Danby DBC120BLS Beverage Center we ordered lasted 3 months before it stopped working. No warning; it just died a mysterious and unexpected death. Amazon was wonderful and quick to replace the lemon, which we hauled to the street for city pickup. The second (identical) Danby functioned but was so terribly loud that the noise intruded on conversations, TV watching, napping, and everything else connected with daily living. Our oversized fridge, in the same room, was silent compared to the little-but-clamorous Danby Beverage Center. The noise was driving us crazy, so we contacted Amazon. Amazon told us to contact the manufacturer, and the manufacturer told us to contact Amazon. (You know how THAT goes.) If we were to hope for a replacement, Danby required an authorized technician to examine the appliance. We scheduled a visit and waited (and waited) our turn. The technician agreed the noise was abnormally loud. He said the Danby needed a new compressor, which would cost more than the purchase price of a new unit. He suggested that Danby simply replace the appliance. Despite the authorized technician's written report, Danby squabbled about a refund. We were, however, welcome to crate and ship the unit back to them -- a heavy-lifting project that would end up costing as much in handling/shipping as the mini-fridge itself. (You can imagine our frustration.) Long story short: Danby non-cheerfully sent us a refund for the beverage center, which we unplugged and got rid of ASAP. Now what? We still needed a beverage center to fill the hole in our kitchen. We certainly were not willing to try another Danby, although it was the exactly-right size for our cabinetry. Here's the solution: First, we searched online for all beverage centers of appropriate dimensions, including units that were smaller than the above Danby. Next, we researched each of the units on our list to compare features, price, and RATINGS FROM CUSTOMERS. Because excessive noise is a common complaint in these little fridges, we did not want to order a new one (of any brand) and get stuck, again. We found a beverage center that looked good on paper and was not criticized for noise: Summit Model SCR312L. We had never heard of this brand before. We found out it was sold online by a "big box" store but was not available in-store. We spoke with the local store manager, told her we were interested in the Summit, but would need to plug it in at the store to listen to it before we committed to it. She agreed to order it for us; no problem... Well, the Summit SCR312L passed the test! It cools AND it is quiet! It isn't as tall as the Danby, but it holds a lot more than it looks like it will hold, which is enough for us. We use the excess space at the top to store a decorative box filled with extra beverages... Did I mention that this little fridge is quiet? ... My intention is not to promote Summit here. But I am suggesting that you find a way to see and hear the product before installing it in your home. We learned the hard way."
"So far, I am very pleased with this beverage center refrigerator. I think the company listened to some of the complaints and concerns of previous buyers and made some improvements to this model. For instance, our unit does have leveling feet in the front. The owner's manual does explain how to turn on the light so it stays on with the door closed. (Unfortunately, the light bulb is still incandescent, not LED. That would be a nice improvement but would probably add to the price.) The wire shelves really aren't too bad. After reading some of the reviews here, I was planning on putting some shelf liners in or cutting some pieces of plate glass to fit on them to keep the drink cans upright. But again, I believe the company redesigned the shelves, adding more wires to them because we haven't had too many issues with cans tipping over. In terms of performance, this unit is very quite and cools quickly. No clicking sounds as others have reported. I put a refrigerator thermometer in it so I could perfectly set the temperature. Contrary to what others reported, you can make this unit quite cold. I have it set to around 36 degrees F. according to the thermometer. I have had no problems with the drinks freezing on the bottoms shelf. The unit arrived well-packed, double boxed with no dents or cosmetic defects. One thing that I think may be causing problems for other buyers: Be sure to let the unit stay in its normal, upright position for about 5 hours after unpacking it and before plugging it in and turning it on. (This is not specified in the manual, except in one place that explains how to reverse the door so it opens the other way, and there it says to wait for one hour before turning the unit back on after tilting it backwards or laying it on its side.) All refrigeration systems have oil in the compressor that can get into the coils when the unit is tilted out of the vertical position. You need to let the unit sit for a few hours so all the oil can drain out of the coils and back into the compressor before turning it on. Otherwise, you shorten the life of the compressor. This may be why a few people complained that the unit was making loud clicking noises or not cooling very well. We can barely hear the compressor when it turns on and the internal fan is nearly silent. I have only had this beverage center running for about a week, so if I run into any issues with it in the future, I will update this review."
"I picked this one for the size and design. I considered a full size fridge, but there aren't a lot of options that don't include a freezer, and in those size/price ranges, none of them are frost free. I didn't want to deal with that. I've had the Danby for a couple of months now. I keep it in the basement, so it's in a cooler place, and doesn't have to work so hard. I do like to keep my drinks ice cold, and even when fully loaded, it delivers. And I do not have the temp setting at the coldest. Using it primarily for bottles. Almost all the smaller fridge and beverage coolers show with cans, so it's tough to judge how many bottles it will hold. So I got the larger size. Turns out that was a good idea, since the shelf mounting options are fairly limited, I ended up using only 2 shelves to maximize the placement of bottles. And it holds a LOT of beer bottles. I can fit about 20 lying down on the bottom, in front of the compressor hump, and each shelf is, I think about 7 bottles deep by 6 wide. It's a LOT of room. Gets everything cold pretty quickly and keeps it there. In my random trips to the basement for beer or other things, it is rarely running the compressor, so it seems to be fairly efficient. I do have a couple of nitpicky complaints: The wire shelves do not suit for balancing a full load of bottles, you end up with bottles leaning on other bottles because of the spacing of the wires. It still works, but it could be better. What the heck is up with the top shelf with the hump in the middle? Seems like it's a spacer for the light, but it doesn't seem to make any sense to me at all, I don't use it. If you live in a humid area, like I do, you'll have a LOT of condensation on the glass. When I first turned it on, the front glass was completely covered with a thick layer of water. I wiped it clean/dry a couple of times after it was cooled down to the proper temp. That helped a bit, but the bottom 1/2 to 1/3 is usually wet at all times. Not bad enough that you can't see inside, but maybe it needs better dual-glass insulation or something? Not sure. Overall, I'm very happy with it so far. I can easily fit 10 different 6 packs and a 12 pack or 2 of bottles ice cold."
"The warranty indicates a repair or replace. That is NOT what Danby does. Its a refund, which I am still waiting for. My first Danby lasted almost 14 years in the Las Vegas heat, so when it finally bit the dust, I replaced it with a newer model. Troubles from the start: the door wouldn't stay closed, so figured I would reverse the door opening. Found out the one adjusting leg was improperly installed, I jury rigged the leg to get it level and the door stayed closed (noticed when I did this that insulation on the bottom was exposed and there were dents on the bottom, but the refrigerator worked; about 2 - 3 months later the refrigerator started getting noisy, but it was outside, and then it stopped cooling. This was in month 13 of the warranty, so good news for the 18 month warranty. I called Danby customer service. Used their call-back process since the wait time was extensive. Spoke with an agent who requested proof of purchase, even though I registered the refrigerator online when I originally purchased it. No problem, as I had all the receipts and UPC codes (cut the UPC from the box and attach it to the receipt, for your records). I received an email reply saying that they don't repair or replace they refund the original price. In order for them to refund the price I had to take picture of the refrigerator showing the barcode on it, plus a picture of the barcode destroyed, plus a picture of the power cord cut. Okay, did all that and sent it in to Danby, on June 18, 2015. Received an acknowledgement email. On July 6, 2015, I called Danby to request the status of my refund. They had no record of my email. Forwarded the original email to the person on the telephone (very polite and helpful). She stayed on the line with me to confirm receipt of my email and that the pictures were what they requested. They were, and she said a check would be cut on July 9. Called Danby on July 14, 2015 to request the status of the check. Used the call-back process again. After 3 hours of no call-back, I called Danby again and after 15 minutes spoke with an agent. She told me first I wasn't in the call-back log, and that yes the check was "cut" on July 6th, but it then takes 4 to 6 weeks to go through the approval process and since they were in Canada it might be longer going through the mail. I guess "cutting" a check in Canada means something different than in the USA. So I am still waiting for my check. Oh, the new model is costing me $248.62, versus the original of $193.80. The new model works fine and is quiet, but then my first model lasted 14 years and cost less than $150."
"So I'll throw this out there: your mileage may vary. All and all, it isn't a bad little beverage center for the price, but there is the potential for some pain points. The first unit we received cooled pretty well and got a little frosty around the heat exchanger which turned out to be its death rattle. No more than 4 hours after we plugged the unit in, it was dead. Normally I ignore the little "don't return to store" fliers that the manufacturers bundle with small appliances but I decided to give Danby the benefit of the doubt and called in to the customer support. After about 5 minutes of conversation, I was told there wasn't really any troubleshooting steps and to return it to Amazon (which Amazon promptly shipped out a 2nd unit). I'm on my second unit, and the Danby seems to be doing dandy (Alert: pun warning). What I noticed with the second unit seems to have been echoed here in several comments: at some point Danby must have implemented an engineering change and a packaging change. The second unit not only had different packaging (with more padding around the compressor), but the refrigerant lines were tucked in a little better and seemed to be crimped better as well (something that should have keyed me off on the first one). I can only guess that my initial unit may have had a loss of refrigerant at some point. I also noticed this one is slightly louder (not by much) than the first unit as well. Performance wise, the DBC120BLS isn't bad: it's fairly quiet (compared to my full sized french door refrigerator), the seals are good, it looks great, and it seems to get pretty chilly. Granted, it is not the 35 (2C) degrees of my dedicated refrigerator, but mine has gotten down to the low 40s (4-6C) without any adjustment from the factory setting; I may crank it to max to see what happens. I *DO* however wish they had used a cool white LED bulb instead of the generic incandescent though. Either way, it's worth the price I paid for it - initial issues aside."
Danby DAR017A2BDD Compact All Refrigerator, 1.7 Cubic Feet, Black (Compare Deals from $99.00)
