NewAir Weatherproof and Outdoor Rated Refrigerator (NCR053SS00)

We are loving all the NewAir products that have been sent our way for review. Just in time for summer NewAir sent over one of their newest outdoor refrigerators for us to take a look at! The NCR053SS00:

Need more space for food and drink storage? With the Newair 24” 5.3 Cu. Ft. Commercial Beverage Fridge, you get the best of both worlds in a fridge: a stainless-steel body that’s tough enough for outdoor use but stylish enough for residential use. IPX4 water resistance lets this fridge live comfortably outdoors. The finish is fingerprint resistant, so it looks great no matter what you throw at it. This roomy fridge fits flush between standard counters and is ideal for storing extra food in the kitchen, drinks in the outdoor bar, or raw ingredients in professional settings.

https://www.newair.com/products/newair-24-5-3-cu-ft-commercial-stainless-steel-built-in-beverage-refrigerator-steel-interior-weatherproof-and-outdoor-rated-energy-star-fingerprint-resistant-and-self-closing-door-adjustable-shelving-system-and-recessed-kickplate

You can purchase this directly from NewAir’s website here. If you use code CASAS10 you will get 10% off your total purchase!

Shipping/Unboxing

As usual, NewAir sent the NCR053SS00 Refrigerator over to me in record time. I think the shipping from west coast via Fedex took about 2 days. The unit came in a very large box with no damage. The box is wrapped in four plastic straps.

Once you cut those straps the top of the box slides right off to expose the unit which is wrapped in thin plastic foam to protect against scratches and a larger outer wall of thick foam to protect against any dents or dings. The packaging on this product is brilliant.

Setup

The NCR053SS00 Refrigerator is a breeze to setup. Inside the unit you will find three, heavy, rubber-covered shelves, a packet with instructions, keys, and shelf mounts, as well as the unit’s door handle. The handle screws on easily with the two included screws. After that you will need to use the shelf mounts in all four corners of the machine to mount each shelf. The shelfs are made of aluminum which I feel much safer handling than plastic.

There are at least 30 different heights you can use to mount the shelves so it’s very flexible depending on your storage needs. Once you drop the mounts in all you have left is to place the shelves and plug the unit in. Located in the back of the machine is a panel where you can set the internal temperature, fahrenheit or celsius, and the internal LED light.

Storage

Don’t let the pictures fool you, the NCR053SS00 Refrigerator is a beast! The shelf capacity fits 7 cans across and 7 cans deep or 49 cans per shelf! I set up mine so that I can fit 49 x 12oz cans on each of the first two shelves and 49 x 16oz cans on the bottom two shelves. In the image below I added a 72oz Yeti thermos for comparison to the bottom shelf.

A big plus to this is that there isn’t a lot of extra bulk. The fridge is actually flush on all sides including the back so it will fit right up against any wall.

Cooling

I thought the storage is where the NCR053SS00 Refrigerator would shine, but the cooling is even more impressive. Because of the 100% steel interior construction the unit cools down extremely fast and hold temperature better than most fridges I have in my possession. Without anything inside the unit took about 20 minutes to cool to my desired 47 degrees inside. The unit can be set between 32 and 72 degrees. After filling it up completely on every shelf it took about 2 hours to get down to 47 degrees. Using an external thermometer I measured the variance over 2 full days and the temperature only fluctuated 3 degrees which was one above and two below the setting I had inputted. Not only does it cool quickly but it maintains temperature flawlessly.

Features

The fridge features a bottom locking mechanism to keep unwanted guests out of your snacks. It also has a metal kick plate which is great for added durability. The entire interior of the fridge is lined with steel making cooling and maintaining temperature much easier on the machine. There is also a great added LED light which turns on to illuminate the interior of the fridge when it is open. I think this would be considered a feature however, I found it slightly inconvenient at times, especially when loading the fridge. When you open the door the fridge has a very hard pull to automatically close. It almost slams shut which makes you have to prop it open to load the fridge if you don’t want to hold it open with your free hand. A great added featured to this I found however is that if you leave the fridge door open for too long a loud beep is played to remind you that you need to close it up.

Overview

This is a great, indoor or outdoor machine. I have my NewAir NCR053SS00 Refrigerator setup outside cause we spend most of our summers outback and even in the 90+ temps we have been reaching already, the machine doesn’t fail. It’s heavy, its built like a tank, and it holds temps. I mean, the only real downfall it is isn’t as pretty as some of the other models so it comes down to if you prefer aesthetics or performance. One item to note is that the front of the fridge actually shows fingerprints pretty easily. It’s minor, but worth mentioning.