Description
What the PRB24C01CPG is and where it fits
This is a built in drinks cabinet, not a refrigerator. Zephyr’s Presrv line is designed to be installed under a counter in a run of cabinetry, and the panel ready specification means the door is supplied bare and takes a custom panel cut to match the surrounding cabinet doors. Dimensions are given as 23.88 by 25.5 by 33.88 inches and the unit weighs 108 pounds. Zephyr rates the interior at 7 bottles plus 108 twelve ounce cans, which describes a machine biased heavily toward cans with a small wine allowance rather than a wine cabinet with room for a few beers. Where it fits is an island, a wet bar or a butler’s pantry in a kitchen that has been designed around it.
Living with it day to day
The single zone specification is the first thing to understand. One zone means one temperature for everything inside, so wine and cans share a setting. That is a compromise if the intention is serious wine storage, since wine keeps best in the low fifties and cans are usually wanted colder, and a dual zone cabinet exists precisely to avoid that trade. For a household that mostly chills cans and keeps a few bottles ready to open, one zone is entirely adequate and costs less to buy and to run, and it avoids giving up shelf space in the main refrigerator, which on a narrow cabinet such as the GE GWE19JYLFS is at a premium.
Three wood shelves are specified, which is the wine cabinet convention: wood contours support bottles on their sides and damp cellar air does not rust them. Zephyr does not publish a decibel rating in this listing, and that omission matters more here than on most appliances, because an under counter cooler in an island sits within a few feet of where people stand and talk. Nor does the listing publish an annual energy figure. The capacity field in the specification table reads 12 ounces, which is obviously the can size rather than the cabinet capacity, and is a data entry error rather than a specification. Anyone wanting a general purpose small refrigerator instead of a drinks cabinet should look at the GE GLE12HSPSS, which occupies a similar width for a completely different job.
Controls and connected features
Nothing in this listing describes an app, Wi-Fi or any connected feature, so the cabinet is operated from its own controls. For a built in appliance that is unremarkable and arguably preferable: a temperature setting made once is a setting that stays made, and there is no account or platform involved. The features an app would otherwise provide, principally a temperature excursion alert, are worth thinking about here because a beverage cooler full of wine represents real value and a failure that goes unnoticed for a week costs more than the appliance. Nothing in the listing describes an audible high temperature alarm either, so that should be checked from the manual rather than assumed.
Running cost and upkeep
No electrical specification is published. Voltage, amperage and circuit requirements are all absent, which for a built in appliance being wired into a cabinet run during a kitchen build is a genuine gap: the electrician needs that information before the cabinet is closed up. The installation manual is the only reliable source. There is no water supply and no drain requirement for a beverage cooler, so plumbing is not part of the job, but ventilation is: a built in under counter unit rejects heat through a front vent, and blocking that vent with a plinth or a panel is the standard way these appliances fail early. The listing does not state the ventilation clearance either.
Two costs are hidden in the listing text rather than in the price. Zephyr states that the handle is sold separately and that wood panels are not included. That means a buyer who orders only this item receives a cabinet with no handle and a bare door, and cannot install it into a finished kitchen without a cabinet maker producing a matching panel and a handle being ordered to match the rest of the run. Neither is a small cost in a custom kitchen. Beyond that, upkeep is minimal: no filters, no consumables, automatic defrost, and periodic cleaning of the interior and the door gasket. One more specification error is worth flagging: the installation type field reads Countertop for an appliance Zephyr describes as under counter and built in, and those are opposite installation requirements as far as ventilation is concerned. This cabinet is the only entry in the beverage refrigerators category here, so buyers comparing options will need to look at full size cabinets such as the Samsung RS27T5200SR or the counter depth GE GZS22IYNFS to see what the alternative use of that money buys.
Highlights
- Panel ready construction allows the door to disappear into a run of custom cabinetry.
- Rated by Zephyr at 108 twelve ounce cans plus 7 bottles in a 24 inch width.
- Three wood shelves, which support bottles properly and do not corrode.
- Automatic defrost, so there is no manual defrosting routine.
- Built in under counter design, purpose made for an island or wet bar.
- No filters and no consumables, so ongoing cost is electricity only.
Things To Consider
- The handle is sold separately and the wood panels are not included, so two extra purchases are required.
- Single zone means wine and cans share one temperature setting.
- The capacity field reads 12 ounces, which is the can size rather than a capacity.
- The installation type field reads Countertop for an appliance designed to be built in under a counter.
- No electrical specification is published, which an electrician needs during a kitchen build.
- No ventilation clearance, decibel rating or annual energy figure is published.
Who it is not for
Anyone buying this expecting a finished appliance will be disappointed, because without a handle and a custom panel it cannot be installed into a completed kitchen. Serious wine collectors should look at dual zone cabinets, since one temperature cannot serve both bottles and cans well. Renters and anyone who might move should think carefully before buying a built in appliance that has been panelled to match one specific kitchen. And anyone who simply wants cold drinks in a spare corner should buy a freestanding compact refrigerator instead, which costs far less and needs no cabinetry, joinery or electrician.