We haven’t loaded any of these fridges. This guide uses manufacturer documents and our own arithmetic, and it doesn’t give a per-shelf count, because we found no published shelf layout to base one on.
What a rated can count doesn’t tell you
NewAir rates the AB-1200 for 126 standard cans and the ABR-960 for 96, but those pages don’t say what size a standard can is. One NewAir manual does name a size. The NWB076BS00 manual refers to 12 oz cans, and it calls its bottle capacities approximate maximums.
A full fridge also isn’t always the right goal. The AB-1200 manual says not to overfill the fridge, to keep drinks away from the rear wall, and not to pack them too tightly, so that cold air can circulate.
Your cans may not be the ones in the rating
Cans with the same volume can have very different shapes. These sizes come from one can maker, Crown, so other makers’ cans may differ slightly.
| Can | Diameter | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 12 oz standard | 66 mm (2.60 in) | 122.22 mm (4.81 in) |
| 12 oz sleek | 58 mm (2.28 in) | 156.59 mm (6.17 in) |
| 16 oz standard | 66 mm (2.60 in) | 157.23 mm (6.19 in) |
The inch figures are our conversions. A sleek or 16 oz can is about 1.4 inches taller than a 12 oz standard can, so check it against the gap between your shelves.
Work out your own number
1. Start with a margin. There’s no manufacturer figure for how far below the rating to plan, so choose your own. This table is plain arithmetic, rounded down, and the percentages are examples rather than test results.
| Model | Rated cans | At 90% | At 75% |
|---|---|---|---|
| NewAir AB-1200 | 126 | 113 | 94 |
| NewAir ABR-960 | 96 | 86 | 72 |
2. Adjust for taller cans. A 12 oz standard can is about 78% as tall as a 16 oz can, with the same diameter. If a cabinet’s rating assumed 12 oz standard cans, and space were the only limit, 126 would become about 97 cans of 16 oz, and 96 would become about 74. NewAir doesn’t state that assumption, and shelf gaps can make the real number lower, so treat this as a rough guide.
3. Allow for bottles. We found one manufacturer figure for this, and it applies only to that model. The NWB076BS00 manual says its beverage zone holds 18 standard bottles or 60 12 oz cans, which is a little over three cans per bottle. Its specification table lists 58 cans instead, so even this figure varies. These bottles are 750 ml Bordeaux bottles, and other bottles will differ.
4. Ask about the shelves. If you drink tall cans, ask the manufacturer for the gap between shelves at each position. We didn’t find these figures in the NewAir documents we read. The AB-1200 page says you can adjust its shelves to make room for taller cans and bottles, so expect the can count to change when you do.
What we can’t tell you
We don’t know how many cans of your mix will fit, or how much a tightly loaded fridge affects cooling. We found no source that measures either, so don’t treat the numbers above as a promise.
Two models from this guide
For size, clearance and installation differences, read our AB-1200 and ABR-960 comparison.
126 cans, freestanding
NewAir AB-1200
126 cans; 3.4 cu ft
Listed at $339.99 on . Confirm the current price with NewAir.
96 cans, 15 inches wide
NewAir ABR-960
96 standard cans; 3.2 cu ft
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Sources
Drafted with AI, based on the documents listed under Sources, not hands-on testing. Figures were checked against those sources. A person hasn't yet reviewed this article. How we work.
- AB-1200 product manual v1.3, NewAir. Accessed .
- 126-Can Compact Beverage Fridge (AB-1200) product page, NewAir. Accessed .
- 96-Can Built-In Stainless Steel Beverage Fridge (ABR-960) product page, NewAir. Accessed .
- NWB076BS00 24-inch French door wine and beverage fridge manual v1.0, NewAir. Accessed .
- 12oz./355ml Standard can specifications, Crown. Accessed .
- 12oz./355ml CrownSleek can specifications, Crown. Accessed .
- 16oz./473ml Standard can specifications, Crown. Accessed .