Interesting "Vintage" Frigidaire Fridge
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Ridiculous
"Vintage" 2015 or something.
"Vintage" 2015 or something.
interesting but not "rare" (at least to me)
It was made in Brazil from 1980-something to 2019.
Original design is by Prosdócimo, which was bought by Electrolux.
It was never a huge success among household consumers in Brazil, but it had a legion of lovers (major "Apart-hotel" and extended stay hotel corporations in Brazil and in Europe.)
It was also sold under the brands Dometic and Zanussi.
It's basically a wide minibar with a freezer, almost the same size. but narrow.
They helped tiny apart hotel kitchens look "not so empty", saving the number of cabinets to "fill" a wall, consequently saving money building those hotels.
Being that narrow, it also worked ok in RVs, giving the impression the fridge is way bigger and roomy than it really is.
Forget ergonomics, unless you're a dwarf. the back pain is free and comes standard with all units.
It was made in Brazil from 1980-something to 2019.
Original design is by Prosdócimo, which was bought by Electrolux.
It was never a huge success among household consumers in Brazil, but it had a legion of lovers (major "Apart-hotel" and extended stay hotel corporations in Brazil and in Europe.)
It was also sold under the brands Dometic and Zanussi.
It's basically a wide minibar with a freezer, almost the same size. but narrow.
They helped tiny apart hotel kitchens look "not so empty", saving the number of cabinets to "fill" a wall, consequently saving money building those hotels.
Being that narrow, it also worked ok in RVs, giving the impression the fridge is way bigger and roomy than it really is.
Forget ergonomics, unless you're a dwarf. the back pain is free and comes standard with all units.
I despise all refrigerators that require cupping in order to open their doors. Perhaps one good thing to come out of COVID will be more people shunning this unsanitary design flaw and causing it to disappear from the market entirely.
Electrolux professional still has it, but now it's way more modern, with sensors that debit the item to the hotel bill automatically and a software that fully integrates with Aloha, Amadeus, CM and Desbravador hotel management and POS softwares. It not only charges the items, but also manage the temperature based on room occupancy, to help the hotel save electricity. if the guest says "no minibar at all" during check in or for underage guests (like school groups), they could also lock the doors remotely to prevent underage guests to have access to those cute tiny Johnnie Walker and Absolut bottles.
For an Extended stay hotel chain (Not sure which one, maybe Accor or Sheraton, if I'm not wrong) a special and exclusive "spin-off" model was made with two fridges adn three doors. We even had to develop a new software compatible with their internal management software The bottom was the minibar (with the sensors), that was loaded with all sorts of tiny (and super expensive) bottles of liquor and the top was a regular fridge with a small freezer on top) that was kept empty to have room if the guest brought something that needs refrigeration. Between both fridges there was the third door, made of glass, that was basically a cabinet to place peanuts, coffee grounds, sewing kits shower caps, shoe polish and other amenities (all with the sensors, of course). Until very little time ago, Brazil had the culture of the ONLY amenity that is really "free" is ONE tiny soap bar (more in the fridge and if you grab it, even if you put it back, it's too late, it's charged.) Want shampoo, conditioner, shower cap? Forget baby. If you want it, you PAY for it. (and of course they intentionally cost a fortune).
The third compartment became necessary after the condom law to help preventing HIV transmission. All hotels MUST have available 3 condoms and three "single dose" pouches of water based lubricant per guest number, for free, per night (so a room for 3 guests must have 9 condoms and 9 lube pouches) and, it's not exactly a good idea to keep condoms and lube in the fridge... they'd be... humm... refreshing. but again, if the room has underage, the access must be limited. The integrated locks matched the law and made that fridge even more popular.
More recently (less than 10 years ago), the culture went to the extreme opposite. Hotels include full size bottles of high end cosmetics brands for free, like Natura (same company that own bath body works) or O Boticario, which is considered a premium brand found only in exclusive and freaking expensive franchise stores. and encouraging guest to take them home.
Knowing the drinking habits and mixing it with the "reduce waste" culture, those tiny liquor bottles were also replaced by full size (or sometimes even "giant" bottles. A staple in probably all 5-star hotels in Brazil is a giant 1 or 2 gal bottle of Chivas that has a stand. That can easily be emptied by ONE person in ONE night. The trick is... even if you want only "half dose", if you break the seal, you pay for the whole bottle.
Many hotels still have those fridges just because they don't want to spend money remodeling, but when they die, they're being replaced by silly cheap "Tragic Chef" mini fridges just like those found at The Homo Depot.
The first generation had wooden cabinets. latest versions could be personalized in wood, glass doors, brushed stainless steel or fully integrated.
For an Extended stay hotel chain (Not sure which one, maybe Accor or Sheraton, if I'm not wrong) a special and exclusive "spin-off" model was made with two fridges adn three doors. We even had to develop a new software compatible with their internal management software The bottom was the minibar (with the sensors), that was loaded with all sorts of tiny (and super expensive) bottles of liquor and the top was a regular fridge with a small freezer on top) that was kept empty to have room if the guest brought something that needs refrigeration. Between both fridges there was the third door, made of glass, that was basically a cabinet to place peanuts, coffee grounds, sewing kits shower caps, shoe polish and other amenities (all with the sensors, of course). Until very little time ago, Brazil had the culture of the ONLY amenity that is really "free" is ONE tiny soap bar (more in the fridge and if you grab it, even if you put it back, it's too late, it's charged.) Want shampoo, conditioner, shower cap? Forget baby. If you want it, you PAY for it. (and of course they intentionally cost a fortune).
The third compartment became necessary after the condom law to help preventing HIV transmission. All hotels MUST have available 3 condoms and three "single dose" pouches of water based lubricant per guest number, for free, per night (so a room for 3 guests must have 9 condoms and 9 lube pouches) and, it's not exactly a good idea to keep condoms and lube in the fridge... they'd be... humm... refreshing. but again, if the room has underage, the access must be limited. The integrated locks matched the law and made that fridge even more popular.
More recently (less than 10 years ago), the culture went to the extreme opposite. Hotels include full size bottles of high end cosmetics brands for free, like Natura (same company that own bath body works) or O Boticario, which is considered a premium brand found only in exclusive and freaking expensive franchise stores. and encouraging guest to take them home.
Knowing the drinking habits and mixing it with the "reduce waste" culture, those tiny liquor bottles were also replaced by full size (or sometimes even "giant" bottles. A staple in probably all 5-star hotels in Brazil is a giant 1 or 2 gal bottle of Chivas that has a stand. That can easily be emptied by ONE person in ONE night. The trick is... even if you want only "half dose", if you break the seal, you pay for the whole bottle.
Many hotels still have those fridges just because they don't want to spend money remodeling, but when they die, they're being replaced by silly cheap "Tragic Chef" mini fridges just like those found at The Homo Depot.
The first generation had wooden cabinets. latest versions could be personalized in wood, glass doors, brushed stainless steel or fully integrated.
Frigidaire Compact refigertors
There are a lot of these around, we have fixed quite a few, they seem to have defrost problems, bad timers and iced over drains.
These have been made in China for quite a few years now.
Hi Ralph What on earth is unsanitary about these ref door handles ?, many even very high end refs have recessed handles they are a much cleaner design and they stay cleaner because you are not always cleaning finger prints off the door as with regular handles.
John L.
There are a lot of these around, we have fixed quite a few, they seem to have defrost problems, bad timers and iced over drains.
These have been made in China for quite a few years now.
Hi Ralph What on earth is unsanitary about these ref door handles ?, many even very high end refs have recessed handles they are a much cleaner design and they stay cleaner because you are not always cleaning finger prints off the door as with regular handles.
John L.
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