A good refrigerator is vital to any Indian household, as it contributes to healthier and fresher living. To get yourself the best refrigerator in India right now, you’d need to look at its type before you move onto the features.
There are two types of refrigerators out here in the Indian market; These are Direct Cool Refrigerators and Frost Free Refrigerators. Both of these refrigerator types have their unique qualities.
So here we will discuss Direct Cool Vs Frost Free Refrigerator. And provide you with some information to let you know of the right kind of refrigerator you should buy.
How do they work?
These refrigerators perform differently to one another. Hence, cooling has different results.
1. Direct Cool
In this kind of refrigerator, air circulates within the fridge through a natural convection process. As a result of this natural process, the temperature distribution can sometimes be uneven, leading to ice formation from the water vapour. You cannot control the temperature distribution. Therefore, you’ll see ice in and around the freezer.
The fridges come with a button or knob provided that you can use to defrost the refrigerator manually. This kind of cooling system is seen in Single Door Refrigerators only.
2. Frost Free
At the base, this one cools with the same mechanism. However, this type of refrigerator uses electric fans over the natural convection process. These fans distribute the cold air evenly within the fridge, preventing ice formation.
Frost Free refrigerators come with a timer and a thermostat which cut off the power supply when the desired temperature is reached. Some models come with a heating system that works continuously to melt ice that possibly gets formed.
Direct Cool Vs Frost Free refrigerator
Here we’ll talk about how the features of each type work and how they perform. We will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both briefly.
1. Energy Consumption
As the Direct Cool refrigerators don’t use any external fans to manage air circulation, they tend to draw far less electricity.
Frost Free refrigerators come with external fans and heating systems that lead to higher power consumption.
2. Keeping the Food Fresh
A Direct Cool refrigerator keeps food fresh for only a short period when compared to Frost Free refrigerators.
The Frost Free fridges are specifically designed to make food last, and they do keep food fresh for a very long time.
3. Family Size
Direct Cool freezers are only suitable for a small family of 3 members or less. They have a low range from 50 to 250 Liters.
Frost Free refrigerators, on the other hand, are flexible. Their storage capacity starts from 50 Liters, but can go as high has 650 Litres. They’re an excellent option for both small and large families.
4. Number of Doors
As Direct Cool refrigerators distribute air unevenly, they can’t work with more than one door without impacting performance.
Yet, Frost Free technology can work with Double Door refrigerators and even work in Triple Door as well as Side By Side Door refrigerators.
5. Heating Issues
Direct Cool freezers don’t have any heating problems as they do not use any external parts; it rather works through a natural process.
But when it comes to Frost Free refrigerators, there is a little heating involved. These fridges use a heating system to melt ice, and the external fans have motors that heat up. This heating does not have any significant impact, but the freezer should still be checked in annually.
It would help if you also kept some distance between the wall and the back of the fridge to allow for better heat disposal.
6. Maintainance
With a Direct Cool refrigerator, you need to clean quite often. Due to frost formation, and manually defrosting afterwards, the inside of the fridge will be filled with droplets. That needs to get cleaned as the interior colour could fade, and the food has a more significant chance of contamination.
In a Frost Free refrigerator, such maintenance isn’t necessary, and the food stays safer because of the automatic defrosting.
7. Cost
As of right now, a Direct Cool refrigerator costs far less than it’s Frost Free counterpart. The power bill might be meagre with this kind of fridge; however, it’s cooling system is quite backdated.
Frost Free refrigerators are catching up in terms of affordable prices, and are seen more often in Indian residences over the DirectCool ones.
| Direct Cool Refrigerator | Frost Free Refrigerator |
|---|---|
| Cooling done by natural convection process. | Cooling works with external fans. |
| Less power consumption. | Higher power consumption. |
| Keeps food fresh for a short while. | Keeps food fresh longer. |
| Suitable for a small family. | Suitable for both small and large family. |
| Low storage range (Upto 250L). | High storage range (Upto 650L). |
| Only one door usable. | Multiple doors support. |
| Exposed coils at the back accumulate dust. | Coils at the back fully covered. |
| Manual defrosting required. | Automatic defrosting. |
| Relatively inexpensive. | Increased features resulting in a much higher cost. |
| Getting obsolete. | Popular and newer technology. |
Direct Cool Vs Frost Free Refrigerator – Which one should you buy?
Now that we’ve talked about all the points of each type in our Direct Cool Vs Frost Free refrigerator discussion, it should be fairly evident that Frost Free Refrigerators are more efficient over the Direct Cool ones. If that isn’t enough, then let us clarify why our experts and we think that this may be the best fit for you.
1. Freshness
Uniformity of cold air supply is a must if you want to keep your food fresh for a long while. With even temperature distribution, Frost Free refrigerators can keep your food fresh longer. Whereas, the residues of manual frosting, uneven air supply and ice formations in the Direct Cool refrigerators lowers the chances of the food remaining fresh.
2. Cleaning Issues
If you’re getting a Direct Cool refrigerator, then you’re in for a lot of effort. The fridge needs to be defrosted with a button frequently. Afterwards, this manual defrosting leaves behind water droplets that need to get cleaned as well. But that’s not the end of it. The rear of this kind of refrigerator remains exposed, with coils accumulating dust. These coils can malfunction if not cleaned regularly.
You do not need to go to such lengths for Frost Free refrigerators, though. They clean up their frost automatically and have their rear sides covered.
3. Convenient Design
Direct Cool refrigerators only come in single door models. Now in India most residences have Double Door refrigerators, which are Frost Free refrigerators.
With Frost Free technology, it is possible to have a fridge with multiple compartments. Temperature control is more efficient, and you can keep items in each compartment according to different cooling needs. The appearance is also neat and modern.
4. Variable Settings
Frost Free refrigerators come with a plethora of settings that you can tweak to suit your needs. Such versatility is still not found in Direct Cool refrigerators.
With a Frost Free refrigerator, you get a thermostat, temperature control, timers and even convertible modes that let you change the function of one compartment drastically.
5. Parts Availability and Durability
While you may save some bills with a Direct Cool refrigerator, you’d still end up losing the saved money sometime in the future. Direct Cool refrigerators are slowly becoming less relevant. In time, parts will get rarer, and you might have to pay extra to get ahold of a part for the fridge.
Frost Free refrigerators, on the other hand, are booming on the Indian market. You won’t be running out of parts anytime soon. Even if you have a smaller family, we recommend that you get a Frost Free refrigerator that’s good at the low end of budgets.
Direct Cool Vs Frost Free refrigerator – Frequently asked questions
1. Why is my Frost Free refrigerator icing up?
It’s not supposed to. Check up on your gasket. If the gasket leaks, the frosting will often occur in the evaporator. When a gasket is damaged, warm and moist air enters the freezer and interacts with the cold surfaces inside, leading to the frosting.
2. Do Frost Free refrigerators need defrosting?
A typical Frost Free refrigerator does not require manual defrosting. That is because these refrigerators come with a mechanism that automatically clears out the frost without any sort of interaction needed from a user.
However, in some cases, due to malfunctions, outside air can enter into the freezer compartment and create frost. Even then, these occurrences are infrequent and only happen to old fridge models.
3. Is a Frost Free refrigerator better?
They most certainly are. There’s no headache involved in the maintenance of these refrigerators, as they defrost on their own and have coils that are shielded from dust, unlike their Direct Cool counterparts. Not only are they sturdy, but you get the ability to use other temperature modes and separate doors to suit all your needs.
4. Why is water leaking out of my refrigerator?
There’s most likely ice in the bottom of your refrigerator. That ice probably comes from a blocked defrost drain. The drain hose can get stuck when it gathers bits of food and debris. This blockage redirects the ice to the bottom and begins collecting there.
5. How long can a Frost Free refrigerator last?
These refrigerators can last up to 15 years, typically. However, that depends on how you use it, such as how frequently you use the fridge and if they get serviced manually to fix up little problems.
Unlike the Direct Cool versions, they have their rear coils covered to protect them from dust and the ice defrosting is done automatically, so they last longer. Dusting the condenser coil and cleaning the drain hose can significantly increase longevity.
6. Are Frost Free refrigerators noisy?
Alongside the usual compressor, the usage of external fans also means it will generate some noise. This noise is continuous. However, it isn’t audible from a distance. It will only remain a soft hum that won’t be heard unless you’ve very close to the refrigerator.
7. Is a very noisy refrigerator dangerous?
Yes, if your fridge is generating an unusually high amount of noise, then consider that a sign of danger. Shut it down immediately and take it over to a service centre to let the servicemen fix it up. A refrigerator contains a lot of flammable and plastic components that might be a potential hazard.
A noisy refrigerator means that the parts are somehow malfunctioning. This malfunctioning can quickly lead to short-circuiting and fire. The fire spreads rapidly, releasing toxic gases. Therefore, always remain cautious and turn it off at any sign of damage.
8. Is there a way to speed up defrosting?
You can defrost your fridge faster through hot water. Take a large pot and fill it up with hot water before putting it on a hot pad inside the freezer. Make sure that there is nothing in the vicinity of the pot. Also, remember to add a towel down at the bottom of the fridge, to soak up water as the ice melts.
9. How long does a refrigerator take to defrost?
Usually, refrigerators don’t take very long to defrost, finishing within 10 to 30 minutes. You can generally see the time written as a label somewhere on the product.
10. Should you defrost your fridge often?
If you’re going to get a manual defrost refrigerator, you should defrost it as soon as you spot a quarter-inch of ice buildup on the inner walls. There are no specific guidelines, and it all depends on your usage. You might find yourself needing to defrost it regularly if you use the fridge often, while someone else has to do it occasionally because they don’t.
11. How long can you put food back in after defrosting?
You can put your food back in the fridge after a specific amount of time. It changes based on the temperature of your food. If the temperature was moderate when you had taken it out, then it would be ideal to put it in 30 minutes after defrosting. It is fitting because at that point the freezer will have the same temperature as the food.
However, if you put frozen food in after that time, then the food will start melting and get contaminated. To put in food of that temperature, you have to wait for more than an hour or more to let the air inside the refrigerator reach freezing levels.
12. How do you defrost quickly without turning the freezer off?
You can defrost the freezer without actually turning it off. Before you do so, lay a thick towel down at the floor in front of the fridge. You can get started afterwards, get a handheld hairdryer and open the door up. All you have to do is simply aim the dryer at the ice and let the hot air do its job.
Once you’ve finished defrosting, bring out a moistened clean cloth and wipe the freezer walls. All that you’ll need to do afterwards is just a basic cleanup. Mop away the water on the floor and leave the fridge door for 15 minutes before transferring any food inside.
13. How often does a refrigerator defrost?
Frost Free refrigerators typically repeat a defrosting cycle after every 6 hours. Of course, that may still vary from one locker from another. Some models defrost only once a day.
14. What happens if the freezer doesn’t get defrosted?
The added formation of ice breaks the airflow within the refrigerator. So, if you don’t defrost your freezer often, your food will not get optimal cooling. At one point, the interior will lose its usual chill, and the parts will end up taking more pressure, eventually breaking.
As the food won’t get any proper cooling, they might get contaminated. One thing about Frost Free refrigerators is that you don’t end up accidentally forgetting to defrost the fridge and spoiling your food.
15. How to keep food fresh when defrosting a refrigerator?
Firstly, bring out the food items from the refrigerator and store them inside a vacuum storage bag. Wrap the food item in a newspaper before doing so. And then, get a sizable container and put in some blocks of ice. You should then put the food inside and cover it all with more chunks of ice.
This method lets your food stay fresh for half an hour or so, enough time to defrost most refrigerators. However, if you want to store the food for a more extended period, we suggest using a food storage cooler or another fridge.
16. How to drain water from a defrosted refrigerator?
To begin with, unplug the refrigerator and sponge out any water at the bottom of the fridge. Afterwards, locate the drain line and tug on it gently to pull it off.
Then, add in a pinch of baking powder in two cups of boiling water. Make sure the solution is mixed in and suck it in with a turkey baster. Once done, put the turkey baster at the open end of the drain hose.
Once you’ve done everything above, you can squeeze it in and force the mixture through the hose. This mixture can clear up any kind of clogs in the tube, letting it all out. You can then reattach the hose and finish it up.
Conclusion
We discussed in detail about Direct Cool Vs Frost Free Refrigerator. It is clear at this point that Frost Free refrigerators are the best value for a buyer. The Direct Cool refrigerators are most suited for anyone that’s on a seriously tight budget and can’t go past 15,000 INR. If you plan to buy a Direct Cool refrigerator, then you’ll be having a lot of your time and money taken up with maintenance. The chances of finding available spare parts in times where the device gets are also low.
On the other hand, if you extend your budget upto 20,000 INR and above, you can choose Frost Free refrigerators without further though. This lineup of fridges contains what you may consider the best refrigerator in India as of now. Even with the high price, it is well worth the value. You get convenience, durability and a lot more versatility. The design is neat and modern, and you get separate compartments for multiple uses. Not to mention, they demand minimal maintenance, and you have the assurance for their spare parts for a long time. Obviously, with all these functions, your food stays fresher as well.
So, to wrap it all up, we think Frost Free refrigerators should be your first choice as they are far more efficient and you don’t have to run into substantial problems further down the line.
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Nice post! You always solve our problems by providing better solutions. Thanks for this amazing differentiation between direct cool and frost-free refrigerators.