Hisense RB3K330SAIC

Design and Features

• KitchenFit design
• Works with ConnectLife app
• Flexible space

An attractive slab of stainless steel, the Hisense RB3K330SAIC features a minimalist design on its front. For many people, that’s a good choice, as the design fits in with practically any kitchen, and the flush pull handles mean that this fridge freezer doesn’t stick out.

That’s particularly important as this model is one of Hisense’s KitchenFit models. At 60cm deep, the Hisense RB3K330SAIC is only as deep as a kitchen counter, and its doors need 3mm of space around them on the sides and 5mm above them to swing open 103°.

I’ve loved the previous KitchenFit models, such as the similar Hisense RB5K330GSFC, and the new Hisense RB3K330SAIC continues to impress, as you get the benefits of an integrated fridge freezer with a flush fitting, but don’t compromise on space by having to have two doors (a regular fridge door and then the kitchen cabinet door on the front).

There’s a decent amount of space in this model, with 215-litres of fridge space, and 115-litres of freezer space, for 330-litres overall. The integrated Hotpoint HTC20T322UK has similar fridge space (212-litres), but has to compromise on freezer space, with just 68-litres, for a total of 280-litres.

While the Hotpoint HTC20T322UK is a great integrated model, the reduced space it offers (as do all integrated models) is something to think about.

Hisense has done a good job organising the space inside the fridge, although you do have to make a few compromises.

In the door, there are three deep door pockets. The middle one can be placed in one of two positions, but this may involve a compromise. On the higher setting, I found that the middle shelf didn’t have enough height to hold a bottle of ketchup. On the lower setting, a four-pint bottle of milk was too tall to fit, but a two-pint bottle did fit. On balance, I’d say that for my uses, the middle position for the door pocket is best.

Inside the main fridge, you get three glass shelves and a MultiTray, which has ribs for keeping bottles from rolling around. I love these kinds of shelves, as they’re more flexible than a traditional bottle rack and can be used for extra storage space for anything.

With the Hisense RB3K330SAIC, the MultiTray could easily hold two-litre bottles of drink, with the spacing just right.

This tray and two glass shelves can be put in any order that you like, or you can remove one if you need more height. I found that with all of the shelves in place, the bottom had the most headroom, and the remaining shelves are best for packs of food, or items that you can lay down.

There are two pull-out boxes on this model. There’s a 0°C tray for fresh food, such as dairy, fish and meat products. Underneath that is the fruit & vegetable crisper, which has a humidity dial on top, so you can adjust to suit the type of product you’re storing and avoid floppy carrots, for example.

Overall, the space is flexible, but you may need to slightly compromise on where shelves go, or what you store, to get everything in.

The freezer section is standard, with three drawers. The top two are bigger than the bottom one, but the overall space should suit most families, and it’s easy to find everything you want.

Hisense has put the main control panel behind the fridge door on the rim of the fridge. There’s individual control of the fridge and freezer, plus it’s used to turn on the Wi-Fi so that you can hook the Hisense RB3K330SAIC up to the ConnectLife app.

It’s well worth doing. Remote control over fridge and freezer temperatures isn’t that useful in itself, but the app does explain the other modes without having to get the manual out. These are Super Cool, which lowers the fridge temperature, so you can load up the fridge with fresh produce; Super Freeze, which does the same thing for the freezer compartment; and Eco, which sets the fridge to 6°C and the freezer to -18°C.

I also think that the app is brilliant for warning you about issues, such as someone leaving a fridge or freezer door open.

Performance

• Good temperature control
• Good running costs
• Top of fridge a little warmer than average

I tested the fridge by loading it up with freezer blocks, to represent food, and then adding temperature sensors throughout the cavity, taking readings every 15 minutes. My automatic door opener was connected to the fridge compartment, opening and closing this door on a schedule.

With the fridge compartment set to 4°C, I found that the average was 0.63°C warmer at 4.63°C. That’s a very good result and close to the temperature I want. I found that the middle and bottom shelves were close to the ideal, although the top shelf was a touch warmer at 5.52°C. I’d keep items that need cooler temperatures in the middle or bottom of the fridge.

Measuring standard deviation, most temperatures fluctuated by +/-0.79°C, so it shows that temperatures are very stable (anything under 1°C in this test is very good).

For items that need colder temperatures, the cold box in the fridge averaged 2.87°C, with most temperatures +/-0.48°C from this. I’d prefer to see a cold box deliver temperatures closer to 0°C, but the Hisense RB3K330SAIC at least delivers stability.

Moving to the freezer, I set this to -18°C. Overall, the average temperature was 0.95°C colder at -18.95°C. Again, that’s a good result, and this time there wasn’t much variance between the top, middle and bottom drawers.

Most temperatures fluctuated by +/-0.71°C, which is another excellent result, demonstrating that the Hisense RB3K330SAIC can maintain stable temperatures.

This is a C-rated fridge-freezer, so right in the middle of the efficiency scale. Recording the power usage over two weeks, I estimated that the Hisense RB3K330SAIC will cost £27.09 a year to run, or a reasonable 8p per litre of space.

To get much cheaper running costs, you’d need to find a fridge freezer with a higher efficiency rating, such as the B-rated Beko CNG7603VPX, which I estimated would cost £18.79 a year to run or just 5p per litre of space.

Should you buy it?