Hisense HRB171N6ASE Backside-freezer Fridge Assessment

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A shot of the fridge's interior, focusing on its interior wall, specifically the large gap between some of the shelf slots.

Credit score: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

We love adjustable cabinets, however some customers have discovered the spacing of accessible slots don’t present sufficient flexibility.

The Hisense HRB171N6ASE has a stainless-steel exterior with massive sq. handles. Opening the highest door reveals the fridge compartment with controls alongside the highest edge. Three cabinets delineate the inside, and there’s a single crisper drawer on the backside. The door has one full-width bin and 4 half-width bins.

The freezer drawer is kind of customary, consisting of a white plastic shelf above the principle drawer.

In regards to the Hisense HRB171N6ASE fridge

A shot of the fridge's interior and door bins, all stocked with food.

Credit score: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

The HRB171N6ASE has three spill-guard cabinets and a crisper in its fundamental cavity. Its door has a full-width bin and 4 half-width bins.

Dimensions: 69.1” x 31.1” x 29.1” (H x W x D)
Counter-depth: Sure
Measured capability: 8.75-cubic-foot fridge, 2.87-cubic-foot freezer
Finishes: Stainless Metal
Dispensers: None
Person guide: Hisense HRB171N6ASE Backside-freezer Fridge guide

What we like

There are regular temperatures in each the fridge and freezer

A close-up of the fridge's freezer drawer, with both its main bit and upper drawer filled with frozen foods.

Credit score: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

Remember to calibrate your HRB171N6ASE proper out of the field, in any other case sure elements of the inside shall be above 40°F—the temperature threshold the place micro organism begins to proliferate quickly.

Fridges must function inside a really slim band of temperatures: Something beneath 32°F will freeze, however something above 40°F permits micro organism to proliferate quickly, so that you need your fridge to remain inside an 8°F vary.

When speaking about temperature, there are two components to deal with: What common temperature the fridge will hit contemporary out of the field (most customers by no means calibrate their fridge), and the way constant its temperatures are.

The HRB171N6ASE has bother with its preliminary calibration, however that’s a straightforward repair: You simply have to show it down by a level or two. Temperature consistency, however, can’t be solved with calibration. Fortunately, the HRB171N6ASE has just about no downside preserving secure temperatures.

Over time, the temperatures we recorded remained constant all through the fridge compartment, not wandering exterior a 2°F vary. We did see some hotter and cooler spots all through the fridge, although these are minor: Temperatures in direction of the center stayed about 2°F colder than each the highest and backside areas.

The freezer has equally secure temperatures, and it does come pretty properly calibrated out of the field. Throughout testing, its common temperature was -2.21°F, and it wandered by lower than a level.

Total, whereas the Hisense HRB171N6ASE doesn’t have excellent temperature efficiency, it’s nonetheless remarkably good, particularly for a fridge on this worth vary.

It places an emphasis on vitality effectivity

The Hisense HRB171N6ASE is about twice as vitality environment friendly as the common fridge. A part of that is possible on account of its smaller, counter-depth dimension creating much less quantity to maintain chilly, however even in comparison with different counter-depths it does a great job.

For context, the common fridge prices about $39.98 per yr and different counter-depths usually price $24.42 per yr to run. The annual price for the Hisense HRB171N6ASE is $16.81. These aren’t astronomical financial savings, however customers which are acutely aware of their carbon-footprint will possible choose the HRB171N6ASE’s efficiency over its friends.

What we don’t like

The fridge is simply too heat out of the field

A close-up of the fridge's control panel, located along the top edge of the compartment.

Credit score: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

Remember to calibrate your HRB171N6ASE proper out of the field, in any other case sure elements of the inside shall be above 40°F—the temperature threshold the place micro organism begins to proliferate quickly.

Folks count on the merchandise they use to work straight out of the field, and we all know that—statistically talking—nearly all of customers received’t calibrate their fridges earlier than use. They’re merely not conscious it’s obligatory.

Out of the field and set to the producer’s settings, the Hisense HRB171N6ASE’s temperature averaged 40.5°F throughout our testing, starting from 38.81°F at its coldest to 42.73°F at its warmest.

We suggest that anybody who buys the HRB171N6ASE ought to calibrate it first. As soon as it’s now not hitting above that 40°F hazard zone, you’ll actually begin to profit from the shelf-life longevity its regular temperatures present.

There may be solely a single crisper

A close-up of the fridge's singular crisper drawer, with a root vegetable in it for scale.

Credit score: Reviewed / Jonathan Chan

It’s usually a good suggestion to have two crisper drawers, because the ethylene gasoline from fruits could cause leafy greens to rot quicker than you’d count on.

The Hisense HRB171N6ASE solely has one crisper drawer, which spells bother for purchasers who take pleasure in contemporary vegatables and fruits. The rationale most fridges have two separate crispers is as a result of sure fruits give off ethylene gasoline, a plant hormone that promotes ripening, which might trigger leafy greens to rot prematurely.

How massive of a problem that is will rely on what you intend to retailer within the crisper drawer. If you happen to’re searching for a fridge on your storage, and/otherwise you don’t foresee your self storing each fruits and leafy greens, then a single crisper must be simply superb.

What homeowners are saying

This fridge is barely out there via Lowe’s, the place it’s receiving a median of 4.3 out of 5 stars. Nonetheless, because it’s unique to a single retailer, it has far fewer person opinions than we’d usually see—and it’s good to strategy smaller knowledge units with some skepticism.

Customers that love the Hisense HRB171N6ASE primarily cite its worth and small footprint: It’s a comparatively cheap fridge that matches the place it must and is able to preserving issues chilly. Others observe how good it appears for a lower-cost possibility.

One of many extra frequent complaints is that the shelf spacing is odd: A number of the notches appear too low to accommodate customary (however taller) gadgets like wine bottles or gallon jugs. Whereas we perceive the frustration there, any such design could also be intentional—to pressure a big sufficient hole above your groceries to permit air to flow into.

One other frequent criticism is that temperatures within the fridge are inconsistent, main some gadgets in direction of the again to freeze. This concern could also be associated to the earlier criticism, as low air circulation does exacerbate sizzling/chilly spots. In our testing, we did discover a roughly 2°F distinction between the center of the fridge and the highest and backside. Whereas minor, this temperature distinction might be the distinction between gadgets preserving chilly and getting frozen. Once more, we extremely suggest that everybody calibrate their fridge as a part of its preliminary setup.

Guarantee

The usual guarantee for main home equipment is one yr. Hisense presents a two-year guarantee. We like longer guarantee intervals, as they may help clients really feel safe of their buy. If a protracted guarantee is necessary to you, you must also take a look at fridges by Samsung and LG, as they’re two of the few firms that supply for much longer warranties, masking sure elements for as much as a decade.

Do you have to purchase the Hisense HRB171N6ASE fridge?

Sure

The Hisense HRB171N6ASE is without doubt one of the higher bottom-freezer fridges we’ve reviewed. It does have one fundamental hurdle to beat—the fridge is worryingly heat out of the field and desires calibration—however when you’re previous that half this fridge offers a variety of worth for its buy worth.

It’s uncommon to see a cheap fridge with such regular temperatures (fortuitously considerably extra frequent over the previous yr). It additionally presents respectable storage for its smaller dimension.

If you happen to want a fundamental counter-depth fridge on your kitchen or storage (and ensure to calibrate it), this fridge is a good finances purchase. We additionally suggest testing the Haier HA10TG21SS, which is without doubt one of the finest fridges you should purchase for lower than $1,000.

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Costs had been correct on the time this text was printed however might change over time.

Meet the testers

Mark Brezinski

Mark Brezinski

Senior Author


@markbrezinski

Mark Brezinski is a senior author with over ten years of expertise reviewing shopper tech and residential home equipment.

See all of Mark Brezinski’s opinions

David Ellerby

David Ellerby

Chief Scientist

Dave Ellerby is Reviewed’s Chief Scientist, and has a Ph.D. from the College of Leeds and a B.Sc. from the College of Manchester.

See all of David Ellerby’s opinions

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