A refrigerator is an indispensable thing in any kitchen. The appearance of this miracle of technology eliminated many of the difficulties associated with storing food. They no longer need to be salted, rolled into jars, soaked and stored in cellars. Modern refrigerators allow you to freeze a large number of necessary products and store them for a long time.
Meat, semi-finished meat and minced meat products, as well as berries, other fruits and vegetables are traditionally subject to freezing. Refrigerators never cease to improve in the range of functions and capabilities, which pleasantly pleases modern housewives. After all, freezing food frees you from the labor-intensive process of preparing it for long-term storage.
List of the best refrigerator manufacturers
The rating of the most popular foreign companies producing refrigerators for the consumer segment is compiled based on the sales level of different brands. These indicators are provided by large household appliance stores. The assembly of such household appliances is also carried out in Russia. The following companies remain leaders in the production of refrigerators on the Russian market:
- Liebherr. The trademark belongs to a German holding. The company has been producing refrigerators since 1954. Liebherr are also pioneers in many ways, as this company was the first to introduce the No frost system. Also in the eighties, the company made great strides in the production of refrigerators that preserve the environment as much as possible. The “A” type of refrigerator and closed-cycle operation were also the first to be introduced by the Liebherr brand.
- Bosch and Electrolux. Bosch is also a German company. Refrigerators of this brand are available in different sizes, and consumers leave the best reviews about them. They maintain temperature conditions especially well. Electrolux TM refrigerators are manufactured in Sweden and are famous for their efficiency in energy consumption.
- Zanussi and Sharp. The first ones are distinguished by their functionality, positive reviews about the high performance of Zanussi refrigerators and a long guarantee for their operation. Country of manufacture is Japan. They are multifunctional and have a variety of designs and designs: the doors open in different directions, there can be two or four of them. It was also this company that introduced the “long-term freshness zone” chamber.
- Samsung. Refrigerators of this brand are closer to economy class. Their cost is not high, but the design solutions are very diverse and there is good customer service and support. They are silent and the warranty period for Samsung refrigerators is 3 years.
- "Atlant". Refrigerators made in Belarus. In the domestic market they receive the most positive reviews. Along with low cost and high performance, these refrigerators are also inexpensive to maintain and come in a variety of designs. Among the technical characteristics, the plus is the operation of two compressors and a bladeless filling system, as well as the energy efficiency of the Atlant “A” and “A+” class refrigerator models. They are made only from environmentally friendly plastic and do not have a specific smell. They have such modern technologies as: Smart Air Flow (air circulation with several flows), Air Receiver (converting room air into cold air), Super Fresh Box (refrigeration compartment with a temperature of zero degrees Celsius).
- Indesit is an Italian company. It produces refrigerators with a small range of models. Refrigerators are multifunctional and silent. They are also collected in Russia.
The average cost of a refrigerator on the domestic market is from 7 to 25 thousand rubles. The cost of refrigerators presented in the list can reach 100 thousand and more.
Refrigerators made in Russia
The production of household refrigerators in Russia is carried out by those factories that were “inherited” after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The best Russian refrigerators:
- Pozis - Tatarstan.
- "Biryusa" - Krasnoyarsk.
- "SEPO-ZEM", production in Saratov, produces budget refrigerators "Saratov".
Factories that manufacture refrigerators in Russia have currently been modernized to the latest standards and produce competitive products.
Undoubtedly, the functionality of domestic refrigerators is not as wide as that of well-known world brands. But Russian refrigerators have many other advantages, including their availability and inexpensive maintenance.
Refrigerators Pozis
For more than 50 years, the domestic plant for the production of household refrigerators Pozis has been producing reliable appliances for the home. Today, refrigerators from this plant are in demand and always find their buyer. The plant has made great strides in its modernization and currently produces products with different chamber volumes, wide functionality and a variety of designs.
The plant's equipment is manufactured using isobutane R600A refrigerant. It is safe and environmentally friendly for humans and the environment. Thanks to the isobutane refrigerant, the amount of freon in the cooling system can be significantly reduced.
Pozis has extensive experience in the production of refrigerators, based on which new models are created with a different set of functions. Previously, the plant produced such products under the name “Sviyaga”, which rightfully earned a reputation as reliable household appliances.
Russian ones, like foreign companies Siemens and Bosch, have an antibacterial coating that prevents the spread of germs and maintains a fresh smell in the refrigerator compartment.
Technical characteristics of Pozis refrigerators
Basic indicators:
- noise level less than 40 dB;
- climate class N (room temperature from 16 to 32 degrees);
- Full No Frost system in two-chamber refrigerators and the presence of a “freshness zone”, defrosting is required 1-2 times a year;
- energy efficiency class “A”: the input circuit of all refrigerators is made with galvanic protection; power surges in the network will not affect the stable operation of the unit.
The Premier series line has an energy efficiency class of “A+”, the warranty period for such models is 5 years. The advantage of such models is also tempered glass, which can withstand loads of up to 40 kg.
The lineup
The most popular models of Pozis refrigerators are:
- Pozis RS-411-Bg (small refrigerator weighing only 34 kg), available in beige color. The cost is about 10,000 rubles.
- Pozis RK FNF-172 W. Weight 73 kg, dimensions 60x64x186 cm. White, colored overlays are possible.
- Pozis "Peace" 244-1 Bg. Beige color. Capacity 290 l, freezer 60 l. The height of the model is 168 cm. The cost is about 17,000 rubles, some options from 19,500 to 23,500 rubles.
- Pozis RK-102 Gf. Dark and silvery color. Volume 285 l. 17,000 rubles approximate cost.
- Pozis RK FNF-172 S+. 344 l volume, of which 124 l Large refrigerator with No Frost system. Cost 25,000-26,000 rubles.
Russian Pozis brand refrigerators, in their range and technical characteristics, are able to satisfy the requirements of any consumer. Customer reviews are positive, there are a number of disadvantages, such as: the appearance of ice under the rubber seal, the freezer is frozen with snow. But, despite their small dimensions, refrigerators are quite powerful. Each model is equipped with two compressor motors. Pozis tops the rating of Russian refrigerators in terms of quality, design, functionality and positive consumer reviews.
Refrigerators "Biryusa"
The Biryusa factory is one of the leaders in the production of refrigerators in Russia. And it is on the second step of the rating. The factory's products are supplied to the CIS countries: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus.
Among the Biryusa refrigeration units: household refrigerators, chest freezers, freezing chambers, coolers, wine cabinets.
For the most part, users leave positive reviews about the operation of Biryusa refrigerators. The functional set of refrigerators from the Russian manufacturer, technical characteristics, and ease of maintenance are positively characterized.
Characteristics
Biryusa refrigerators have the following characteristics:
- Economical. Annual electricity consumption is 270 kW. Energy class A.
- No Frost and Low Frost technologies (drip system). Automatic defrost.
- R600a is a brand of refrigerant. Does not contain harmful impurities and does not destroy the ozone layer.
- Wide range of capacity options.
- Electronic control.
- Coating resistant to mechanical damage.
Another advantage of the Russian refrigerator is the long warranty period - 3 years.
The best models of Byurus refrigerators
- "Biryusa" R110CA. It is distinguished by its small dimensions, perfect for small spaces. The cost is within 10,000 rubles.
- "Biryusa" 10. Volume 235 liters. An excellent budget option for a refrigerator - 11,000-11,500 rubles.
- “Biryusa” 132. 330 l, the refrigerating compartment is divided into chambers, the total volume of which is 132 l. Cost 14700-15300 rubles.
The Russian-made Biryusa refrigerator will last for many years. In order for the refrigerator to work properly, you must follow all the manufacturer’s recommendations for installing and operating the unit.
"SEPO-ZEM" refrigerators
Saratov refrigerators are characterized by low cost and a minimal set of functions. The assortment is based mainly on the size range of refrigerators. Saratov Electrical Aggregate Association - manufacturer of Saratov refrigerators. Thanks to cooperation with the German company BASF, the thermal insulation of the body was improved, and the Italian company AFROS, together with SEPO designers, developed an improved look for refrigerators.
The manufacturer does an excellent job of producing small refrigerators, for example, the Saratov 452 (KSh-120) model. Its volume is only 107 liters, it is perfect for small apartments, boarding houses and hotels. Warranty for the Saratov model is 3 years.
SEPO also produces large two-chamber refrigerators. Their greatest advantage is their long service life and infrequent breakdowns.
Today, not a single home can do without household appliances. A refrigerator can be found in every home, only grandmothers don’t have washing machines, dishwashers are a rarer thing, of course, but not a curiosity.
Have you ever wondered how refrigerators are made? I wonder how things that are familiar to us come into being, are the shelves screwed together with love? I was invited to the Bosch plant near St. Petersburg. The world is divided into after and before. Do you think robots do everything there?
1 This is a full-fledged full-cycle plant with its own production and assembly line. More than fifty percent of components come here from domestic suppliers. Suppliers are checked at the world level, so there can be no kickbacks or contracts “through cronyism,” we are assured before the start of the tour.
2 The BSH Household Appliances plant, a subsidiary of the German Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group, was built in Strelna, near Peterhof in 2007. At that time there was only one workshop for the production of refrigerators, almost entirely made from foreign parts. Now the plant employs almost a thousand people. Work in two shifts, with regular days off; there are no open-hearth furnaces here and therefore non-stop production is not necessary.
3 The plant not only assembles, but also adapts European models for our Russian conditions. Special arrangement of shelves, additional thermal insulation, design improvements... in a word - localization. Russian specialists periodically go to Germany for training, and European specialists come to us.
5 We begin our walk around the factory. Although production is a conveyor belt and is located in one huge room, it is divided into several parts. Plastic is the beginning. It arrives at the plant in the form of pellets, from which extrusion line operators make plastic sheets. The sheets are cut to size and handed over to thermoforming machine operators.
6 Here, under the influence of a complex combination of high temperature and pressure changes, plastic sheets turn into the future inner walls and doors of the refrigerator.
7 The produced plastic parts are cut exactly to the required size.
8 Focus on resource-saving technologies is one of the important principles of organizing production for dry farming. At this site, a mill is installed that processes all plastic scraps into regranulate for subsequent use here. Samples from each batch undergo quality control. The part is drawn into sections, and each section is checked for density, rigidity, and thickness.
9 The next stage is the production of evaporators. The evaporator tubes are wound onto the freezers by robots, but, unfortunately, they cannot be removed. Trade secret. The output is something like this. The winding process is very important and many factors in the operation of the future refrigerator depend on it. By entrusting this stage to robots, BSH achieves 100% accuracy.
10 In the pre-assembly area of the freezer and refrigeration compartments, they are joined and the remaining parts of the refrigerator are secured.
12 After which they enter the foaming machine, in which the internal space of its walls is filled with technological foam. This foam is produced here in the mixing components of the machine. The process of foaming a refrigerator with an insulating mass is quite long. But the machine can simultaneously foam up to 8 refrigerators, which allows it to work in the same production rhythm with the entire assembly line. Doors are assembled and foamed using the same principle.
13 There is also a line for metal processing and the production of sealing tape. The seals consist of a rubber coating and a magnetic base. This makes the doors airtight and prevents room air from entering the refrigerator and freezer compartments.
14 On the final assembly line, parts made in other parts of this building meet each other - refrigerator cases, doors, shelves.
16 The controls and compressor are installed.
17 The refrigerator takes its final form to be transported along the conveyors to the quality control area. The control zone occupies two floors. On the ground floor there is a production test line where the condition of the refrigerator is checked before and after filling its cooling system with refrigerant.
18 Before filling, air is pumped out of the circuit, after which refrigerant is supplied to the tubes, and the ends of the tubes are sealed. Soldering is a responsible operation, and shareholders are the elite in production.
19 Check the electrical safety and appearance of the devices. And the package.
21 On the second floor there is an AWP - a special area where specialists from the quality management department conduct tests, which can last from 3 to 24 hours. 8-10% of devices pass through the AWP zone. If there is any doubt about the quality of the product, the refrigerators are automatically blocked and sent to the repair area, where the deficiencies are eliminated. And the refrigerators that have passed the inspection are sent to the finished product packaging area.
22 Product packaging is the most important part of production. It is not enough to make a good thing, it must be delivered to the buyer.
23 From the production workshop we go to the finished product warehouse. The attendant warns that you need to constantly look around, this is the kingdom of electric cars. And they rush around there very quickly. A loader on the other side of the belt collects already sorted refrigerators into pallets of twelve pieces and transports the assembly to a specific location.
24 The warehouse area is almost larger than the production workshop itself. Some compositions resemble the Empire State Building.
25 There is clear navigation on the floor. Its own roadway, traffic islands and crossings. Unless there are traffic lights - the forklifts always have the advantage.
26 That moment when eggs and chickens meet. Bags of plastic granules and finished refrigerators in one frame.
27 Loading a standard truck takes about twenty minutes. Every day up to fifty fully loaded trucks leave here. They deliver new Bosch refrigerators not only to customers in Russia, but also to stores in neighboring Belarus and Kazakhstan.
28 Do the refrigerators produced really meet all European requirements? This question can only be answered by subjecting the finished product to rigorous tests. This is handled by the quality management department. Each prototype or sample of already produced models undergoes a number of checks. Conditions with high or low temperatures are created in special chambers. Refrigerators operate in various modes, even with the doors open.
29 In a soundproofed room, the noise level of the refrigerator assembly or individual units is checked.
30 Checking the packaging. Transport conditions such as long-term vibration, a fall from a small height during unloading, an impact with a side wall during sudden braking, etc. are emulated. After all checks, the refrigerator is unpacked and checked for damage. Naturally, it should work.
This is normal, good production. I think it is no different in its structure from the European one, but it creates jobs for our country and makes products cheaper. With the same German quality.
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The Biryusa household refrigerator factory has been operating in Krasnoyarsk for half a century. The company's products are known far beyond the borders of Siberia and Russia: already in the late 60s, the plant's products were supplied for export under the Snowcap brand. Moreover, in Soviet times, Biryusa produced products for such European brands as Zanussi, Thomson, Brandt, Electrolux.
In modern Krasnoyarsk, this is one of the few enterprises that has a full cycle production - most parts are manufactured by the plant independently from materials and components from Russian and foreign manufacturers.
Today, the company plant produces 26 basic models of household refrigerators and freezers, 21 models of commercial refrigeration equipment, and about 2,000 refrigerators roll off its assembly line every day.
Cross cutting line. Here blanks for doors and side panels of future refrigerators are cut from steel rolls.
The cut piece enters the profiling line. In this case, this is a line for profiling the side panels of refrigerators.
These are presses. Each press has a force of 250 tons. At one, the door of a 60 cm wide refrigerator model is currently being manufactured, at the other, the door of a 57 cm wide refrigerator model.
Side panels, doors and other parts installed on the conveyor went to a modern German automatic powder coating line from Eisenmann.
For better adhesion, before painting, steel parts are phosphated: they are coated with a thin layer of a special substance based on titanium and zirconium, acquiring the characteristic sheen of gold.
Using a “gun” (spray), the refrigerator parts are coated with a layer of powder - polymer paint.
Next, the workpieces enter the polymerization oven. High temperature melts the polymer powder, and it firmly adheres to the previously specially treated surface. Perfectly evenly painted refrigerator parts emerge from the polymerization chamber.
By the way, “white” color in relation to Biryusa brand refrigerators is a conventional name for the color. In fact, the plant’s products have their own corporate color for their products, which is also called “Turk”.
In addition to the corporate color, refrigerators are also painted in “matte graphite” color at the factory.
Steel coils painted in metallic color arrive at the plant ready-made. The painted steel just needs to be cut, stamped and profiled.
Before heading to the assembly shop, where a refrigerator is made from parts on a conveyor belt, let's see how various components are made in other shops. Here, for example, is how shelves and grids and baskets for commercial equipment are made from wire of different diameters.
The wire is unwound and cut into blanks, which will later become ribs or frames for shelves or baskets.
The edges are bent. The result is baskets or lattice shelves.
Here is another process - painting quality control. The parts of the future refrigerator that come out of the painting machine are carefully checked for paint defects.
The painted steel blanks of the future door that have passed quality control are placed on a cradle, where they are connected to the inner panel made of impact-resistant polystyrene.
The cavity between the steel outer panel and the inner plastic panel is filled with polyurethane foam thermal insulation (PPU). The filling head supplies a mixture of components, which, upon contact with each other, form a dense heat-insulating mass. After eight minutes, the finished foamed door is removed from the conveyor.
The quality of foaming is checked regularly. To do this, in several doors selected from a batch, the plastic part of the door is torn off and the density and uniformity of distribution of the foam material are carefully studied.
Here is the production of another important part in the refrigerator - the magnetic seal. This is the rubber band that keeps the refrigerator doors tightly closed.
Raw materials for making seals.
The granules are sucked into the extruder like a vacuum cleaner.
They are heated, melted and pressed through the profile.
By the way, profiles for plastic windows, vermicelli, and food for cats and dogs are made using exactly the same method - the extrusion method.
As in the production of plastic windows, the edges of the blanks are melted and pressed tightly against each other.
Manufacturing of evaporators. A hollow aluminum tube from the reels is pulled out by a machine and, according to the program, is bent like a “snake” to fit a particular standard size of the refrigerator.
The curved evaporator is glued to the inner cabinet of the refrigerator. When the inner cabinet meets the outer cabinet, the space between them will be foamed and the evaporator will not even be visible.
Making an internal refrigerator cabinet. The plastic sheet is heated and the air is pumped out. Under vacuum it takes the form of a template. The method is called vacuum forming or hot vacuum forming technology.
It's time to talk about the principle of operation of the refrigerator. Gas has the property that when you compress it, it heats up. Everyone remembers that when you pump up a bicycle wheel with a hand pump, the pump heats up. On the contrary, if the pressure in a container filled with gas begins to decrease sharply, the gas cools. As an example, aerosol air fresheners: the gas coming out of them is cold.
A special gas circulates in the refrigerator - refrigerant. The compressor pressurizes refrigerant into the condenser, a long, curved tube that attaches to the back of the refrigerator.
Compressor.
Capacitor.
From the condenser, the refrigerant flows through a small hole into the evaporator. An evaporator is also called a “freezer” in everyday life. In other words, in the condenser, under the influence of high pressure, the refrigerant condenses and turns into a liquid state, releasing heat, and in the evaporator, under the influence of low pressure, it boils and turns into a gaseous state, absorbing heat.
Different models of refrigerators use different modifications of evaporators.
Well, now the most crucial moment - assembly. This is a series of ready-made sub-engine compartments. This is literally the bottom of the refrigerator, where the heart of the refrigerator - the compressor - will be installed.
The Podmotorka drives up to the beginning of the conveyor, they pick it up and...
...assembly of the external refrigerator cabinet begins: the side panels are attached to the bottom.
Which Biryusa model is currently being assembled on the assembly line is shown on a special display.
Each operation is strictly time regulated.
This is what the sub-assembly section of the assembly shop looks like.
At the exit of the conveyor belt of this workshop, we have an external refrigerator cabinet, which is mounted on the sub-engine compartment, and an internal plastic cabinet is also placed in the external cabinet. The prepared refrigerator moved along the conveyor to the automatic foaming line.
As a result of the injection of heat-insulating material, we have a finished refrigerator body without a countertop (plastic lid on top) and without any attachments. But this is already a matter for the masters of the next assembly line.
While a capacitor is being installed on one side of the conveyor...
...on the other side the evaporator has already been installed.
And they mounted a door to it.
Electrical installation and installation.
Connecting the compressor to the refrigerator unit by soldering.
Vacuuming.
The refrigerator system filled with freon now needs to be sealed. This is done by ultrasonic welding using a device that experts among themselves call “cobra”. This unit bites off the operating pipe through which the filling was going and welds it.
All. The refrigerator is ready. He goes to the test bench. Plug it in and check to see if it's cold?
The final test. A special device is used to check whether there is a refrigerant leak.
All that remains is to equip the internal cabinet of the refrigerator with plastic drawers, door barriers and shelves.
The refrigerator is ready. Packing is in progress.
The product range of the Biryusa refrigerator plant is presented in most retail outlets in Krasnoyarsk and the region.
This is the most spacious model “Biryusa 149” - 245 liters - the volume of the refrigerator compartment, 135 liters - the freezer compartment.
Today the plant produces models with both one and two compressors. This allows you to turn off either the freezer or refrigerator compartment if necessary.
Biryusa brand refrigerators use energy efficiently: class “A” means the lowest energy consumption.
There is such a thing as a “pseudo-foreign car”: this is what cars from foreign companies assembled in Russia are sometimes called. Disputes about the quality of such cars do not subside among car enthusiasts, but there are more and more of them on the country’s roads, and more and more foreign manufacturers are starting to assemble cars in the vastness of our homeland.
The situation is similar with large household appliances. For example, “Siemens refrigerator: made in Russia” a few years ago sounded like “Russian-assembled Mercedes,” but today it is a reality. And it’s great that we are developing high-tech production!
Text: Elena MAKAROVA.
We saw it with our own eyes
Regular readers of the magazine "Consumer. Household Appliances" probably know that we have such a section - "With Your Own Eyes." In it we talk about trips to factories where equipment is produced.
There have been many such trips in the last decade; after all, many new industries have opened in Russia.
In 2000, the Indesit Company bought the Stinol plant in Lipetsk. On April 1, 2010, the 20 millionth product rolled off the plant's assembly line. Indesit and Hotpoint-Ariston refrigerators are manufactured here.
In March 2004, the TekhPromInvest LLC plant opened in the Kaliningrad region, producing Snaige refrigerators. However, it did not survive the crisis and was closed in February 2009.
The most productive year for factories was 2006. In September, a plant was opened in the Ruza district of the Moscow region. The owner is LG Electronics. In October, the Beko plant opened its doors in the city of Kirzhach, Vladimir Region. At the same time, the official opening of the Vestel plant took place, where they produce up to 550,000 refrigerators per year.
In June 2007, a plant of the company BSH Household Appliances LLC opened in Strelna, near St. Petersburg. In the summer of 2010, it launched a second production line for Bosch and Siemens refrigerators. 500,000 units are produced here every year.
In addition, refrigerators of foreign brands are also assembled at some Russian factories: for example, in Ussuriysk, at the Okean plant, some Daewoo models are produced, and even Side-by-Side refrigerators are assembled. At the Biryusa factories and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise PA Plant named after. Sergo" produces Akai models.
And how do they work?
What can you say about these productions? The companies LG, Bosch, Vestel are extremely proud of their factories and are happy to invite journalists.
Still would! Their factories are European level enterprises with modern automated lines, equipped with the latest machines, behind which Russian workers work, sometimes even more than one shift.
For example, the plant in Aleksandrov produces not only Vestel refrigerators, but also appliances of other brands, which indicates the recognition of the enterprise by colleagues and competitors.
When preparing this material, many companies were happy to provide us with information about their Russian models. Representatives of Akai, Indesit Company, LG, Bosch/Siemens, Vestel told where and what they make.
The Beko representative sent a complete list of Russian refrigerators.
But Electrolux did not share information. You can find out about the place of assembly of their refrigerators only on the official website, in the instructions for the devices.
In addition, information about the country where a particular unit was produced can be found on the websites of some stores (in particular, M-Video and Holodilnik.ru).
Refrigerators from Akai, Beko, Bosch, Candy, Daewoo, Electrolux, Hotpoint-Ariston, Indesit, LG, Siemens, Vestel, VestFrost, Zanussi are manufactured in Russia. Perhaps this list is not complete: it is difficult to keep track of those companies that, without having their own factories in the country, order products from existing enterprises here.
One piece of advice - look at the operating instructions.
In addition, information about the manufacturer must also be contained on the output label, which is usually found on every household appliance. But there are some subtleties here: in rare cases, the country of the trademark owner may be indicated.
Foreign Russian refrigerators: should we buy them or what?
Here’s a quick question: aren’t Russian-assembled refrigerators worse than their foreign counterparts?
We will not rush to answer.
Any device can break down, regardless of price, brand and country of manufacture. Buying is always a bit of a lottery: lucky or unlucky...
Basically, everyone is interested in the quality of the components used. Potential buyers of Bosch refrigerators are excited that Russian-assembled refrigerators use Chinese compressors.
At the same time, Internet forums are full of positive reviews about the work of Russian Bosch. This is what the company’s representative office told us: “Danfoss (Slovakia) and Jiaxipera (China) compressors are installed on refrigerators produced in St. Petersburg. Jiaxipera is one of the largest compressor manufacturers.
They fully comply with the norms and standards of our concern. Using compressors from these two companies, we produce energy-efficient equipment with energy consumption class A+.” So you can confidently trust and buy!
And there are complaints about Russian Electrolux that shelves quickly break, handles break off and doors creak. And other Electrolux users, on the contrary, send positive reviews about the work...
In general, shelves are a rather weak point of many inexpensive refrigerators, not only those made in Russia. But in principle you can buy them, they are not as expensive as a new refrigerator.
What kind of Russian “foreigner” is he?
We tried to collect information in summary tables on all models of refrigerators of foreign brands that are assembled in Russian factories.
Basically, these are two-chamber refrigerators with a large-volume bottom freezer, tall, narrow (especially for compact domestic kitchens), with one compressor, without a freshness zone.
It’s nice that most models belong to class A in terms of energy efficiency. Naturally, refrigerants that are safe for the Earth’s ozone layer are used, mainly R600a. There are models with the NoFrost function in the freezer.
The refrigerator compartment is almost always defrosted using the drip type, i.e., melted water flows down the back wall inside it during periods when the compressor is turned off, into a special tube.
Special features: electronic controls, water dispenser, freezer lighting, “vacation” mode - are extremely rare.
The price of Russian “foreigners” is generally comparable to the price of domestic refrigerators. Therefore, it is up to you to decide who you trust more: a well-known global brand assembled at a factory in Russia, or a Russian manufacturer.
The understanding that food is better preserved at low temperatures gave impetus to the invention of the refrigerator. This became clear even before electricity was invented. Until the middle of the last century, many residents of small towns and communities stored food in public refrigeration facilities simply because it was cheaper. Buying a unit even in Europe was quite an expensive pleasure and a luxury item.
Who invented the refrigerator and when?
The first prerequisite for the appearance of refrigerators was the experiments of artificial refrigeration demonstrated by scientist William Cullen at the University of Glasgow. To lower the temperature, he used the effect of cooling the liquid through intense evaporation. Plain water was replaced with diethyl ether in a sealed container. By pumping out the air, he created a reduced pressure. As a result, the alcohol boiled at ambient temperature, absorbing heat from the outside and thus cooling the evaporation surface.
Afterwards, an absorption machine was created, which was supposed to produce ice from water. The installation was introduced by French engineer Ferdinand Carré in 1860. But it could not cool the air masses inside a closed space, as today’s refrigerators do.
Carré machine
Next came the refrigeration machine of the German Karl von Linde in 1874. This is the man who invented the refrigerator as we know it. It made it possible to cool air and liquids in confined spaces. This technology gave impetus to the production of the household refrigerator in the 20th century. By the thirties, it was inspired in the USA and used everywhere.
The first prototype of a modern refrigerator was created in 1895 by a French physicist, Marcel Audifrene. However, things never came to a working model, unlike the attempts of the Americans in 1910.
Model Odifren
It was a refrigerator that served its main function, but it bore little resemblance to the modern version of this device. Of course, it also had shortcomings, which is why its mass production never happened. But a year later, in the same place, in America, the manufacturer General Electric found a solution and released a number of household refrigerators. And, commemorating the merits of the French discoverer, the company named it “Audifren”. Its production lasted for 17 years, due to the following reasons: simple maintenance and the absence of complex parts.
Producing countries
Among the many brands of refrigeration units, only a few are particularly famous on the world stage. For example, Beko brand refrigerators are manufactured by Arcelic Turkey or the Nord company, which is a Ukrainian brand of large household appliances. Production at the company began in 1963, but Nord was released only in 1990. Today, their refrigeration appliances are able to consume energy at a minimum level, falling into class A+.
Another manufacturer is the DON plant, located in the Tula region. Here, the refrigerators produced go through a full cycle. What makes them reliable are raw materials made in Europe and high-quality equipment from Italy, Germany, Korea and Turkey at the stage of creation and assembly. New technologies make it possible to comply with the environmental safety requirements of DON refrigerators.
Refrigerators from the Haier company were able to win the love of consumers. This is a Chinese brand founded in 1984. It entered the foreign market only in the 90s, selling US goods. At the same time, Hayer made not only conventional installations, but also specialized installations for wine. The company located its production in Russia only in 2016.
The country in which Kraft is developed and produced is Germany. The brand came to Russia in 1992, and it successfully competes with many foreign brands. The strength, power and energy contained in the interpretation of the name are transferred by factories to their refrigeration units. It has been noticed that Kraft products not only look original and have a bright design, but are durable and functional.
Pozis is a Russian manufacturer of refrigerators, including those for pharmaceuticals. The industry of such installations began in 1959, and in 2010 the plant produced the millionth copy of its products.
Refrigerator for pharmaceuticals Pozis
The most popular and recognizable brand in Russia in the area under discussion is Stinol. It was subsequently sold to an Italian tycoon. It was from this time, in the 2000s, that the range of the brand began to expand. Therefore, today you can get a little confused when choosing from the models in the Stinol line.
KandiGroup is an Italian holding whose product range also includes refrigerators. The town of Brugherio, near Milan, is the headquarters of Kandy. The company began making refrigerators in 1985 and was the first in Italy to create them with the NoFrost system, without which today you can’t go anywhere.
Refrigerator Kandy
Shivaki is a Japanese brand founded in 1988. At first he made televisions and video equipment, but after that he managed to develop unique “white appliances” products - refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens. Today the company has branches in countries such as Germany, South Korea, France, Hong Kong and Russia.
Shivaki refrigerator
The main advantages of Leran brand equipment are considered primarily price, as well as reliability and design. The manufacturer is China, but the country’s desire in recent decades is interpreted as improving the quality of goods. Therefore, you should not be afraid to buy Leran; besides, there is an assembly line in the city of Chelyabinsk.
What refrigerators are produced in Russia
When choosing appliances for the home, especially those that are purchased for more than one year, domestic consumers increasingly mention “Chinese” products. It is believed that they will not last long. But in fact, many of them are now being made in the Russian Federation.
For example, since 2006, 88 models of Electrolux refrigerators have been manufactured in the Ruza district of the Moscow region. In the city of Strelna, Leningrad region, Bosch and Siemens are not just assembled, but undergo the full production cycle. And this product is supplied not only to the Russian market, but also to European countries. Kandy bought Vesta in the city of Kirov in 2005 and now Kandy refrigerators are made there, in the place where the once famous Vyatka washing machine was produced. The global brand Hayer has been “living” in Naberezhnye Chelny since 2016, and Indesit – in Lipetsk.