Chill out with this beauty (Beko CDA751FS)

Member Name: Gary25

Product:	Beko CDA751FS
Date:	15/10/08 (429 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 'A' rating efficiency, big capacity, loads of extra's.

Disadvantages: Can't afford enough food to fill it.

This appliance is a frost free combi fridge freezer in silver. It's a big piece of equipment so the measurements come first, as it's no good if it won't fit in your kitchen. Height : 190cm, Width 70 cm, Depth 60cm.

Lets look at the specifications,

Energy Efficiency Class 'A' and uses an energy consumption of 320 Kwh/year (useful for comparisons with energy prices rising as they are).

Net storage volumes are,
Fresh food 230 litres,
Frozen food 118 litres
Total gross 410 litres
Now the above means nothing to me in real terms so I'll just say that both the fridge and the freezer easily copes with a very greedy family of four (OK, I'm the only greedy one).

The frozen food compartment has a four star rating, with a conservation time from failure of 18 hours. In other words, if there's a power failure you've that length of time before the food perishes.

The freezing capacity is 6lbs.

Operating noise level dB(A) is 41. All I'll say about that is I've noticed that it can be quite noisy (but not unbearably so) every now and again as it switches through its cycles.

Description.
It is a very stylish and modern looking appliance. There's no sticking out handles, simply two recesses to easily pull open either the fridge door (on the top) or the freezer underneath. The instruction manual also explains how to easily change the door opening from one side to the other - useful if you happen to be hampered by space. The edges are not straight 90 degrees and have a sympathetic angle to them almost giving the appearance of a separate seamless trim.

Before I describe the interior, I'll just say the temperature is very easily controlled by way of a thermostatic knob located on the ceiling of the fridge compartment. Settings available are 1 - 5, with 5 being the coldest. I've found 2 to be quite adequate. It's important to mention that some secions of the fridge may be cooler or warmer (such as the salad crisper or top of the cabinet) which is normal. Should ice build up in the fridge (if you have it too cold), simply drop the setting to 1 until the ice disappears and it starts auto defrosting.

Right, what's in the fridge. Nothing food wise because I've eaten it all. Well, in the door you have small shelves at the top for small bottles, cans or tubes, an egg tray, and adjustable shelves with retainers for tall large bottles (e.g. 2 litre bottles of pop, milk etc). In the main part of the fridge you again have glass adjustable storage shelves (x3) to store baked, chilled cooked food, dairy products and cans. There's also a metal bottle rack suitable for bottles of wine though you can squeeze those 2 litre pop bottles in if you are tee-total. The lower storage shelf is sensibly used for storing meat, sausages and other raw meats. Directly under that is a glass plate covering two plastic salad containers for fruit and veg (plently of room in those). There is a drainer channel at the back used during automatic cycling.

Moving to the freezer, there are four levels. The top being the fast freeze, and at the back of that level is the freezer fan which circulates cold air (that shouldn't be blocked too tightly otherwise preformance could be affected). A nice little addition to this shelf is a separate compartment containing Twist & Serve ice cube trays and an ice cube storage tray . Sadly it's not had much use this Summer!! It is reached by pulling down a plastic flap.
You are then left with three further levels each containing a pull out plastic container.

The instruction manual is extremely comprehensive and easy to follow with tips for storage, saving energy, care and cleaning, along with a trouble-shooting guide (that I have never had to use). It is very easy to clean and wipe out - it's frost free.

Beko is perhaps not as well known as some of the other brands but this is a top-notch product and is highly recommended. I paid £349 for this in November 2007 from Currys and have no complaints at all.

I hope you enjoy this review and helps you when considering this model. I've also got this on Ciao.

Summary: A superb combined fridge / freezer.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Features:
Cleaning/Maintenance: