In August and September, it is especially relevant to ask about purchasing an additional freezer. Nature's gifts, no matter how you look at it, require storage, and freezing is one of the most convenient ways. But where to place it if the apartment is not that big?
Compact and functional devices like the Gorenje F492PW freezer come to the rescue. It looks simple and seems reliable, but what about its thermal insulation and freezing capacity? We will find out during the testing process.
Characteristics
| Manufacturer | Gorenje |
|---|---|
| Model | F492PW |
| Type | freezer |
| Country of origin | China |
| Guarantee | 1 year |
| Total volume | 91 l |
| Useful volume | 81 l |
| Control | mechanical |
| Defrosting | manual |
| Number of boxes | 3 |
| Power | 100 W |
| Opening the door | to the right |
| Power consumption | 141 kWh/year |
| Temperature maintenance time during power outage | 24 hours |
| Climate class | N-ST-T |
| Energy efficiency class | A++ |
| Coolant | R600a |
| Noise level | 40 dB |
| Weight | 34 kg |
| Dimensions (W×H×D) | 560×845×579 mm |
| Length of network cable | 1.6 m |
* Contrary to popular belief, this is not the period after which the device will necessarily break down. However, after this period, the manufacturer ceases to bear any responsibility for its functionality and has the right to refuse to repair it, even for a fee.
Equipment
The freezer is packed in a brown cardboard box, securely fixed with nylon straps on a foam base. The packaging contains only essential information: the manufacturer's logo, transportation instructions and the manufacturer's contact information.
The paper sticker contains the model index, certification information and brief technical specifications of the device.
To remove the freezer, you need to cut the packaging straps, remove the box and remove the foam tray. It is recommended to do this with two people, since the weight of the device is 34 kilograms, and it will be difficult for one person to lift it.
The kit includes the freezer itself with installed drawers, a removable door handle, an ice mold and a set of documentation.
At first glance
The Gorenje F492PW freezer is a white parallelepiped with smooth walls – a classic minimalist design.
The freezer's plastic door can open more than 180°. There are no decorations on it other than the manufacturer's logo.
The door opens to the right, but if desired, the hinges can be moved to the left side. There are holes on the right and left ends of the door for installing a handle, which is packaged separately and is attached to the freezer before use.
The handle design allows it to be installed on the right or left. The mounting holes are covered with plastic plugs.
The inner surface of the door is plastic, with a wide grey rubber seal running along its perimeter.
There are three drawers in the freezer. The top drawer is slightly lower than the other two, and the bottom one, behind which the refrigeration unit is located, is much shallower than the top two. Thus, the middle drawer is the most capacious.
The freezer's transparent plastic drawers are equipped with recessed handles.
This model uses white painted steel evaporator grates as dividers. These grates are installed above each drawer, and the fourth pipe runs in the «floor» of the freezer.
The tubes are laid along the back wall of the chamber and are not covered by anything. There are no ventilation holes here: the operation of this model implies manual defrosting only.
The side walls of the case are smooth, without stiffening ribs. Adjustable front legs allow you to correctly level the freezer.
The smooth back wall is made of silver metal. The heat exchanger grilles are not visible: they are hidden behind the side panels and do not protrude beyond the dimensions of the device.
The niche for the refrigeration unit is located at the bottom of the device. The design uses a SZ59E1HL GMCC/Toshiba compressor, which is a fairly common model with a good reputation. The cooling system is filled with R600a refrigerant.
The freezer comes with a traditional ice container that holds twelve cubes.
Instructions
The 30-page user manual is published as an A5 brochure and is written in Russian.
The manual describes in detail the safety rules for using the device, and also briefly describes its operation and maintenance. At the end of the brochure there is a small table with possible malfunctions and ways to eliminate them yourself.
The documentation set also includes a service book, a sheet with certification information and stickers with energy efficiency data.
Control
The desired temperature in the Gorenje F492PW freezer can be selected using a mechanical round regulator on the top end of the lid.
The easiest way to adjust the regulator is with a flat screwdriver or a small coin. Perhaps the designer thought that the user would not change the freezer settings often.
The regulator rotates approximately 270°. There is a scale around it that symbolically indicates the cooling level: the minimum value is in the far left position, and the maximum is in the far right.
In the middle of the scale there is a single mark «Eco», indicating the optimal temperature level recommended by the manufacturer.
Operation
Before using the freezer, remove the packaging and place it on a flat horizontal surface. Uneven floors can be corrected by adjusting the front feet of the unit.
To ensure normal air circulation, the manufacturer recommends leaving at least 10 centimeters of space between the side walls of the cabinet and the walls of the room. The appliance should not be exposed to direct sunlight and is not recommended to be installed near stoves, heating devices or open fire sources.
The climate class of the freezer is N/ST/T, which indicates its normal operation at temperatures from +16 °C to +32 °C. If the room temperature is outside these limits for a long time, the manufacturer does not guarantee the proper operation of the device, for example, installing the freezer on an unheated balcony is not recommended.
Before using it, it is recommended to determine which way is more convenient to open the door and, if necessary, hang it on the left side. After that, if the installation conditions allow, you can attach the plastic handle to the corresponding end of the door.
During operation, the freezer makes a smooth quiet sound (measurement results will be given below). The cabinet door is not equipped with an opening alarm, so the user must independently monitor its tight closing.
As usual, we will provide photographs of the device in operation in the infrared range.
Photos of the left/front and right/back sides of the unit when it's on. The compressor is clearly visible.
In addition to traditional capacity measurements using a ruler and tape measure, we demonstrate freezer capacity using more visual examples.
For our evaluation, we use standard 400-gram bags of frozen vegetables, as usual. The top drawer (slightly shorter than the others) holds four stacks of five bags.
The average box can accommodate a little more: six to seven bags in four stacks.
The depth of the lower drawer, behind which, as we remember, the freezer compartment is located, is slightly smaller: it only holds two stacks of five to six bags.
Care
This model can only be defrosted manually, and the manufacturer recommends doing this at least once a month. In this case, it is necessary to remove all products from the drawers.
To speed up the process, you can place a container with warm (about 50 °C) water in the chamber and remove the ice with a plastic scraper. Do not use a hair dryer to heat the device or remove the ice with sharp objects.
After defrosting, the chamber should be washed inside, avoiding abrasive materials and hard objects, and wiped dry. It is recommended to leave the switched off device with the door slightly open for a while to get rid of residual moisture and foreign odors.
Our measurements
The useful volume of the freezer is defined as the total volume of all drawers, which we calculate by measuring the internal dimensions.
Therefore, the results of our measurements may not coincide with the data specified in the manufacturers' documentation, since they usually provide the full volume of the compartments, while we calculate the useful volume.
The volume of the freezer drawers was: for the upper one — 37.5 × 39.5 × 14 = 20,738 cm³, for the middle one — 37.5 × 39.5 × 14 = 31,847 cm³, and for the lower one — 37.5 × 19 × 24 = 17,100 cm³. In total, we get 69.7 l.
We measured the energy consumption of the device in maximum power mode for 3 days, as a result of which it consumed 1.305 kW h. The maximum daily energy consumption was approximately 0.435 kWh.
The noise level during compressor operation did not exceed 37 dBA, which makes the Gorenje F492PW a fairly quiet device.
| Useful capacity of the refrigerator compartment | 69.7 l |
|---|---|
| Maximum recorded power consumption | 85.5 W |
| Daily energy consumption in maximum mode | 0.435 kWh |
| Noise level when the compressor is running | 37 dB(A) |
Freezer measurements
To measure the freezing capacity of the freezer and evaluate the thermal insulation of the case, we used a hardware and software system developed in our laboratory based on the Arduino mini-computer and DS18B20 digital sensors. These sensors are designed to operate in the temperature range from -55 to +125 °C and provide a measurement accuracy of ±0.5 °C in the range from -10 to +85 °C.
To eliminate the influence of the processor's heat generation on the microclimate in the chamber and the measurement results, the device was installed outside. The sensors were connected to the mini-computer using three wires with a cross-section of 0.3 mm², which were additionally sealed where they passed under the door seal.
Two temperature sensors were placed inside four-liter containers of water, trying to install them as close to the center as possible. We placed these containers in the middle and bottom drawers, since there was not enough height in the top drawer for a third container. Thus, the total volume of ballast used was eight liters.
While measuring the water temperature, we also recorded the air temperature on each shelf.
Work in normal mode
Like most refrigerators of this type, the Gorenje F492PW is equipped with a classic on/off compressor. The power of the device is regulated by turning the engine on and off, and the average period of air temperature fluctuations is about half an hour.
When operating at maximum power, the average temperature in the top drawer is approximately -24 °C, in the middle drawer it is approximately -27 °C, and in the bottom container it is approximately -28 °C, making it the coldest. The freezer stably maintains the set temperature with a small amplitude of fluctuations.
| Temperature, °C | Average | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top drawer | -24.4 | -25.7 | -23.3 |
| Middle box | -27.3 | -28.1 | -26.3 |
| Bottom drawer | -28.0 | -30.0 | -26.1 |
Freezing capacity
In this test, we investigate how quickly water in containers freezes when the freezer is running at maximum power. To do this, we closed the freezer door when the ballast temperature was slightly below 20 °C and left the appliance running for an extended period of time. The results of the measurements are presented in the graph.
The experiment lasted for a little over two days. During the first 28 hours, the compressor worked without interruption, after which it switched to cyclic mode.
The first signs of freezing of water in the containers appeared after about 12 hours, and in the bottom drawer — after about 18 hours.
About 50 hours later, the temperature of the ice in the containers equalized with the average air temperature, and the freezer returned to normal operation.
Defrosting
To assess the quality of the body's thermal insulation, we decided to check how long the freezer retains cold when the power is turned off. After three days of operation and filling with frozen water ballast, we disconnected the device from the network and watched as the temperature inside began to rise.
Twelve hours after the power outage, the temperature of the «products» in all three boxes fluctuated between -5 °C and -7 °C. In the middle container, the ice temperature reached zero after 16 hours. At the same time, the negative temperature in the lower container remained for 19 hours, which is an excellent indicator and confirms the high thermal insulation of the device's body.
Conclusions
The Gorenje F492PW freezer is a reliable and high-quality household appliance from a well-known manufacturer. Its compact dimensions make it an excellent option as an additional freezer for a small apartment, cottage or insulated loggia. In addition, high energy efficiency ensures low power consumption and reliable storage of products even during long power outages exceeding half a day.
The freezer is not overloaded with modern technologies and does not offer the function of precise temperature adjustment in the chambers, and does not have operation indicators. However, it copes well with the main task — long-term storage of frozen products.
Pros:
- good energy efficiency
- easy operation
- low noise level
Cons:
- manual defrosting only
- no operation indicators
- no precise setting of storage temperature