Why You Can Trust CNET GE GBE10ESJSB Compact Bottom Freezer Refrigerator review: This small bottom-freezer fridge was a big disappointment
The GE GBE10ESJSB bottom-freezer fridge is just 24 inches wide and barely over 5 feet tall. Is it the right pick for tiny kitchens?
- 10 years product testing experience with the CNET Home team
If you're living with a cramped kitchen, or if you just want a small, simple second fridge for a basement or a garage, then you might consider the GBE10ESJSB, a compact bottom-freezer model from GE. It's just 24 inches wide and barely over 5 feet tall, but it still offers over 10 cubic feet of storage space. The cost? $900.
GE GBE10ESJSB Compact Bottom Freezer Refrigerator
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
I'd recommend shopping around before buying. To be specific, you'll want to take a good look at the LG LTNC11121V, a similarly narrow, compact top-freezer model. It costs $200 less than GE's compact-size option, but offers better performance, slightly more storage space, a nicer-looking design and even a couple of extra features like a pull-out shelf and a manual ice maker.
Even in its slim package, the GBE10ESJSB sticks to the bottom-freezer script. Your fridge section is up top for easy access to your fresh ingredients, while the freezer section sits below. You'll get to that freezer by opening a door that swings open, which is typically a little less desirable than one that pulls out like a drawer for easier access.
Still, it's a nice design considering that most full-size bottom freezers start at around $1,200. If you don't need the full-size space, then the GBE10ESJSB offers the same fresh-food access for less money.
Compact fridges: A small-size showdown
| GE GBE10ESJSB Compact Bottom Freezer Fridge | LG LTNC11121V Compact Top Freezer Fridge | |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge capacity | 7.3 cubic feet | 8.5 cubic feet |
| Freezer capacity | 3.2 cubic feet | 2.6 cubic feet |
| Total capacity | 10.5 cubic feet | 11.1 cubic feet |
| Height | 60 3/8 inches | 66 1/2 inches |
| Width | 24 inches | 24 inches |
| Depth | 27 3/8 inches | 26 inches |
| Yearly energy consumption | 387 kWh | 339 kWh |
| Yearly energy cost ($0.12 per kWh) | $46 | $41 |
| Yearly cost per cubic foot | $4.38 | $3.69 |
| Energy Star qualified | Yes | No |
| Warranty | 1 year parts and labor | 1 year parts and labor, 7 years sealed system |
| Suggested retail price | $900 | $700 |
| Lowest retail price (as of 10/7/16) | $803 | $625 |
Size-wise, this is a pretty typical compact model, but it gets the job done with more than 10 cubic feet of total storage space. Though things were far more cramped than I'd be comfortable with in my own kitchen, I was able to fit almost all of our test groceries inside -- even two bulky 12-packs of soda that didn't quite fit into the compact LG top freezer I tested earlier this year. That's pretty impressive, given that the LG model actually has the bigger fridge compartment. GE does more with less.
The GE didn't wow us in our performance tests, though. Budget-price compact fridges usually come with at least a couple of hot spots, because they focus their limited cooling power on getting the body of the fridge where you want it. This GE was no exception, and its hot spots were especially egregious, with the top door shelf coming in above 50 degrees F even when the fridge was dialed to its coldest setting.
The coldest air is focused at the bottom of the refrigerator, which leaves the top shelves awfully warm.
In fact, the entire top third of the fridge or so came in hot (hence all of the orange in that heat map). Meanwhile, the freezer came in with staggeringly low temperatures, near 20 below zero. That's a huge swing from top to bottom, and much more dramatic than in the LG model.
Both fridges have limited hardware keeping things cold, but the LG model -- a top freezer -- is asking the cold air from the freezer to trickle down. GE's asking the cold air to trickle up. That puts it at a clear disadvantage from the get-go, which is why LG's top freezer is able to outperform it while using less energy.
One last point of note: multiple reviews on GE's website call this a pretty noisy fridge, and that was my experience, too. That's more or less par for the course with small fridges like this one, since they typically don't have a whole lot of heft to dampen the noise. Still, it's something you'll definitely want to consider before making a purchase.
The verdict
If you need a compact-size fridge, and you're dead set on going with a bottom freezer, then you can give this fridge your consideration, but keep in mind that you'll be making a lot of compromises. It's noisy, it's a poor performer and it got beat by LG's compact top freezer at almost every turn -- including the asking price. At $900, it's a tough model to recommend.