refrigerator know frost or drip which is betterRefrigerators requiring monthly defrosting have been replaced by units with automatic defrosting. The torment with pots, puddles on the floor gave way to the flour of choice: a “know-frost” refrigerator or drip - which is better. Both systems have ardent supporters and fierce opponents with their arguments. Discussions on online forums on this subject are quite stormy. If you look, the differences between the two systems are few, although they seem significant to the debaters.

What is drip freezing

The drip system has been tested by time, although it continues to improve. Drop defrosting works like this:

  1. An evaporator built into the back of the refrigerator first cools it more than the rest of the space.
  2. Condensation that has occurred here is freezing. And when the evaporator turns off, the ice melts and flows down the wall into a special container.
  3. She is over compressorwhich heats up during operation. Moisture evaporates from the tank under the influence of heat and leaves the room. How often the compressor turns on and off depends on the set temperature and the load on the camera.

The whole process is ongoing and completely invisible to the user. Modern drip models need defrosting, but very rarely: once every one to two years. And such a thick ice layer, as in old refrigerators, no longer exists.

What is the know-frost system

This term is quite new for us, as well as refrigerators with this method of defrosting, but already very popular. No frost translated from English means "no frost". Indeed, there is no frost anywhere: neither on the back wall, nor on any other.

Evaporators in such refrigerators are located in the rear wall or above the freezer, and fans are installed next to them. First, freezing occurs in a similar way: the evaporator heats the back wall and forms condensate. But in the know-frost system, drops do not flow into a special hole, but immediately evaporate and discharge due to air circulation.

Nothing ever flows or drips from such refrigerators, but they also need to be checked periodically (once a year or two), defrosted and washed if necessary.

Differences between drip and No Frost auto-defrost technology

So, the similarity is clear: both self-freezing systems relieve the owners of manual defrosting of the refrigerator and the difficulties associated with this. But the differences between these two types are fundamental, and it depends on them which refrigerator - “know-frost” or drip, customers choose.

Units with drip technology of freezing:

  • usually cost less;
  • have a greater amount of internal space due to a simple design;
  • less Energy consumption;
  • it is more quiet refrigeratorssince they have no fans;
  • they are easier to repair in the event of a breakdown.

But they lose to their competitors in the following ways:

  • due to constant condensation inside it is quite humid;
  • they must be defrosted manually more often, although it depends on manufacturer and specific models;
  • the temperature in them is uneven: on the upper shelves it is slightly warmer than on the bottom (although it is easy to adapt to this drawback and turn it into one of the features);
  • Cool longer when first turned on
  • the condensate drain hole is sometimes clogged, and all the water does not drain into a special compartment, but to the bottom of the chamber.

refrigerators

The fans of know-frost have such arguments in favor of this system:

  • absolute dryness inside the refrigerator;
  • it is believed that thanks to her, and products are stored longer;
  • uniform cooling of the entire interior thanks to the fans.

Among the shortcomings are the following:

  • higher price (although this is not significant for everyone);
  • greater energy consumption (although modern refrigerators have energy class A - the lowest);
  • high noise level due to fans (some manufacturers, according to customers, are not higher than drip-type defrost models);
  • they are credited with airing and drying the products (but supporters deny this property and offer to keep the entire contents of the “frost frost” refrigerators in containers or cover with a film; the presence of a biofresh camera or freshness zone, which modern models are equipped with) will help to avoid this problem.

Hard choice

The happy owners and potential buyers of modern kitchen appliances in the forums heatedly discuss drip refrigerators and no-frost, the differences and similarities, advantages and disadvantages. It is impossible to say unequivocally that it is better, because they differ in nuances, and the most important advantage is common: automatic defrosting, whatever it is, eliminates unnecessary trouble and frees up a valuable resource - time.