Amana ART308FFDB Top Freezer Refrigerator Review

The Amana ART308FFDB Top Freezer Refrigerator with 18 Cu. Ft. of Storage, Reversible Door plus Double Drawer Crispers

OVERALL:  The Amana ART308FFDB Top Freezer Refrigerator is a modern and classical styled refrigerator with a bit extra storage space that should be big enough for a family of 3-4 people.

Often top freezer refrigerators are quite basic but this one has a few more bells and whistles to make it feel less of a dorm fridge and a bit more grown up.

It's always a plus to find an inexpensive refrigerator that also feels a bit like a splurge. That said, it's also reliable which is one of the main reasons we thought we should add it to our list of Recommended Amana Top Freezer Refrigerators. 

Rating:

Notable Features of the Amana ART308FFDB Top Freezer Refrigerator:

The Amana ART308FFDB TOP Freezer Refrigerator may not be the refrigerator of your dreams but it fits the bill in regards as it's the middle of the road model that Amana offers. It has a few more bells and whistles than the ART104TF model which are worth talking about:

• Flip Up Storage: It’s always great to have 'in-door storage' for larger items such as gallon jugs of milk. The difference with this refrigerator is the shelf above it flips up so that you can put in taller 2 L bottles of soda or bottles of wine for easy access.
  
  
• Gallon Door Storage Bins:  If you've ever tried to put large items anywhere but on the door you know it makes organizing your refrigerator super difficult. We're happy to say that this refrigerator has easy acces  storage for large items for the most common things we use.
  
  
• Humidity Controlledtm Garden Fresh Crispers: The Amana ART308FFDB top freezer refrigerator comes with two crisper drawers at the bottom of the refrigerator. Plus they can adjust  the amount of humidity in each drawer for fruits or vegetables to keep your produce fresher for longer time.
  
  *Plus the glass shelf above them makes it easier to see inside to find what you're looking for easier.
  

• Electronic Temperature Controls: This refrigerator has electronic temperature controls that are place up front and center. You won't need to fumble around your food to reach the thermostat should you want to change the temperature.
  
  *Please note that this fridge only offers 3 different temperature settings: Cold, Colder & Coldest. This makes smaller shifts a bit more difficult in regards to adjusting the temperature. (We prefer the dial thermostat over the electronic.)
  

• Reversible Door Swing:  Having the ability to switch sides as to where the refrigerator opens to make a world of difference and this refrigerator allows you to do that.
  
  You can make it right or left opening - just make sure to let the company you purchase it from when you buy it.
  
  

• Optional Automatic Ice-Maker Kit: It’s always great to have ice-maker so that it's not up to you to make sure there's ice in the freezer.
  
  *If you will be wanting one then we recommend to have it installed before it is delivered.  Aftermarket installation isn't a great option in our eyes. Not only is factory installation covered by Amana should it not work, we've read about issues that the installation make the warranty on the entire fridge null & void.
  

• Stylish Design:  Admittedly, we tend to like the look of these Amana refrigerators so we're a little biased.
  
  They're both sleek and modern and have a tasteful design that works in almost any kitchen environment. 
  
  That said, you have to decide for yourself if this is the look for you.
  
  

CAPACITY:   14.3 Cubic Foot Interior  (10.46 in the fridge and 3.87 in the freezer)

COLORS:  White, Black & Stainless Steel

MSRP:  $949.00 (though we've seen it on sale for much less)

Pros & Cons

We love to give our opinions on refrigerators but want to make sure we check in to see what others have had to say about them. This is some of what we found when we scoured the internet to see how it scored.

Here's what we found.

Pros:

1. Perfect as a primary or secondary fridge for extra refrigerated foods.
   
   
2. No handle today get in the way.
   
   
3. Lots of space in the door for condiments.
   
   
4. Easy to maintain: The black and white finishes don’t show fingerprints.
   
   
5. Great size for a motor home.
   
   

Cons:

1. No light in the freezer makes it hard to see what’s in it. 
   
   
2. Difficult to adjust the temperature in the fridge with just 3 settlings.
   
   
3. Gallon storage isn’t very deep and will only hold thinner containers and not standard size.
   
   
4. Cannot maintain temperature in a traditional garage without AC or heat. Works off of ambient temperature so being somewhere with extremes won’t work well. 
   
   
5. Missing a smaller drawer for things like meat and cheese that can be difficult to manage without one.
   
   
6. Wire rack shelves make things much trickier than the glass shelves in the ART318. Cans and bottles tend to fall easily as well as smaller items can fall through. Also leaks that happen on the top shelf drip all of the way down. All around not a huge fan of wire shelves.
   
   **Most people end up lining their shelves with some form of plexiglass to keep these things from happening but who wants to spend another dime on an appliance after making that big spend?
   
   
7. Only shelf in the freezer holds the ice maker so you will have to find inventive ways to make it easy to use.
   
   
8. Icemaker often comes separately which means you have to install it and if there is a problem with it then it’s on you to fix it not Amana.
   
   
9. We did see some complaints around the compressor failing within the first 9 to 12 months. 

Wire shelving can make a simple task a bit more complex than it needs to be.

One little shelf in the freezer can make it difficult to organize anything.