Samsung escalates refrigerator wars

In a YouTube video posted by Samsung, two refrigerators are filled with water to support the company’s claim that rival LG overstated its product’s capacity. Still taken from YouTube

Samsung Electronics has posted a one-minute video titled “Inconvenient Truth of Refrigerator Capacity” on YouTube, accusing LG Electronics of exaggerating the capacity of its mega fridge.

The refrigerator confrontation has heated up in the wake of a contentious debate over 3D TV picture quality between the world’s top two television makers.

LG Electronics released a 910-liter (240.4-gallon) refrigerator that it said had the world’s largest capacity two weeks after Samsung launched its 900-liter refrigerator Zipel T9000 on July 4.

The YouTube video starts with laying the French-door-style 857-liter Zipel Grande Style 8600 and LG’s 870-liter French-door-style Dios on their backs and filling them with water.

The video does not name the brand of the second refrigerator, but a scene shows the unit’s doors that clearly identify it as a Dios.

In addition, blue water, the color of the company’s logo, was poured into the Samsung fridge, and red water, the color of LG’s logo, into the other. Text says interior elements such as shelves and drawers were removed.

The conclusion is that the Samsung’s refrigerator, which is supposed to be 10 liters smaller, contained 34 more liters of water than LG’s.

“We did not record it in this video, but when we experimented with Ping- Pong balls, 142 more fit in Samsung’s fridge than in LG’s,” said a Samsung employee.

“It has been confirmed that LG used a marketing strategy contrary to trade ethics by claiming its product has 10 more liters of capacity than Samsung’s to lure customers,” he added.

Samsung plans a similar test on LG’s 910-liter refrigerator, which hit stores two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, LG countered that Samsung is the one misleading consumers. “We accurately measured the storage capacity according to the Korea Industrial Standard,” said an employee at LG Electronics.

LG insisted Samsung’s refrigerator held more water due to a weak interior wall that bends under the weight of the liquid.

In addition, the spokesman said the video is part of a conspiracy to slander the competing product and defies logic since storage capacity is measured by solid products, not water.

According to the electronics industry, refrigerator specifications are certified by the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) designated by the Korean Energy Management Corporation.

Energy efficiency is measured by the KTL, but storage capacity, size and other specifications are calculated based on data from manufacturers.

Samsung claimed the KTL allows a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent in storage capacity, but LG’s claim was 4.6 percent higher than the actual measurement.

The controversy came as the two electronic giants battle for refrigerator dominance at home and abroad, with an appliance that often serves as an indicator of a brand’s technological expertise and future sales.

In the run-up to the dispute, Samsung and LG are both preparing for yet another battle for 900-liter and 910-liter fridges not only of their storage capacity but also overall technology, including cooling and power consumption.

By Kim Jung-yoon [kjy@joongang.co.kr]