Freezers: Chest vs. Upright

[rbattelle]

For those who have experience with freezers, do you prefer the upright or the chest style?



Chest freezers are more efficient.



People say upright freezers are easier to find stuff in.



My preference is to go with efficiency, and it doesn't seem like a chest freezer would be all that difficult to find stuff in.



My wife is skeptical.



So how hard is it to find stuff in a chest freezer?



Ryan

 

[p-Bar]

Guess if you like bending over at your young age they work great. I have an upright. All the newer stuff is all pretty efficient.

 

[daytripper63]

Its only diffucult to find things in a chest freezer when there is a frozen body in the way of you and your ice cream:-laf

 

[DJW]

My wife's upright freezer has 4 shelves thus 5 spaces to place food, can see pretty much all contents with one glance, the top layer of a chest freezer hides 90% of the contents, and you have to move and find a place to park the items to even find the one you want, (cold fingers) as p-Bar mentioned today's freezers are very efficient.

 

[RGardner]

The new chest type have lots of baskets which make it much easier to find and organize things. Chest types are much more efficient. The next time you open your upright do it bare footed, you can feel the cold air spilling out. You don't loose much of the cold when you open a chest type. I have had both and would recommend the chest type if you have the space.

 

[Bill Stockard]

The new chest type have lots of baskets which make it much easier to find and organize things. Chest types are much more efficient. The next time you open your upright do it bare footed, you can feel the cold air spilling out. You don't loose much of the cold when you open a chest type. I have had both and would recommend the chest type if you have the space.

Yes, we've owned both type at the same time. We gave the upright to my brother and SIL and kept the chest type. The chest freezer is kept in our garage, survived three moves, and it has run flawlessly for over 25 years.



Bill

 

[rbattelle]

It's a tough decision. The chest freezers we're looking at are small (5-6 cu. ft. ) and don't come with plastic dividers.

I told my wife I could make her some simple dividers out of plywood. But we're still undecided.

Ryan

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I guess we're just sloppy and poorly organized - but the chest type freezer we had before our move here to eastern Oregon was a pain to find stuff in after a few weeks of other stuff coming and going - and stuff left near the bottom for any significant period of time seems destined to merge into one large unmanageable LUMP!



We left it for the new owners of our home and property.



We found stuff in the bottom of ours as we emptied it prior to our move that we hadn't seen in YEARS! :-laf



Here, we have a side-by-side refrigerator/freezer, and really need an additional small freezer to better take advantage of price-saving sales - will probably reluctantly go for for another relatively small chest type...

 

[nickleinonen]

the chest ones are more efficient. it can be a pain to find stuff in them if you are not the only one putting junk in them. i just went through mine while looking for some food and found a bunch of good food i didn't know was down there.

i buy lots meats in bulk and freeze them in the fake tupperwear containers. if you label stuff and keep a list of what is inside the freezer [notepad magnet stuck to freezer] the chest ones are the way to go imho

i will get a new chest freezer once i move into the new home [if i can afford it after getting all new appliances in stainless]

 

[hammersley]

Upright - much easier to find things.....

let's be honest - you don't find COMMERCIAL CHESTS---maybe they exist - but NOBODY uses them... ... they are all walk in's..... or smaller uprights..... they cost more to operate... ... and you can't put as much in - as it will fall out... . BUT it is a whole lot easier to find stuff AND you have a door to put stuff in as well... .

 

[BimmerAgent]

Chestie

We've had a cheapo Sam's Club chest freezer for years. Works great, never hear it running. We always had chesties on the farm. Don't really know why, except they were big and held a lot. You do have to pay attention as to where you put stuff, though. Bruce

 

[HOBrian]

Ryan, just make sure the freezer you get is NOT self defrosting. The food will last much much longer with NO self defrost.

 

[PatrickHansen]

Another criterion to consider: how tall (or small) is your wife? We switched to an upright this year so my sweet wife wouldn't have to strain her back as she retrieved our next feast. The new unit is a commercial non self defrosting model.

 

[JLEONARD]

I've had both types and now I have a 8 cu chest freezer. Yes some things end up in never-never land but my job is to get stuff off the bottom and get it into sight. LOL

Most of the chest freezers are NOT self defrosting from what I've found... doing research now for one for my daughter. Not sure if I want to buy her a chest type as I'm a little concerned that my grandaughter may try to climb in at some point to reach the ice cream and ..... ?? Any thoughts about this??? I know they can be locked... . that may be necessary.



What I like about the chest is that it seems to be the only place in my basement with any room on top to layout projects, glue things together, etc. So in that regard it serves a second function. :-laf

 

[Skydiver]

Check the energy data info.

I prefer the upright Non-defrosting type.



If you keep it in the garage or a non heated room it will use less energy. If kept in doors the heat that it gives off must be removed by your home A/C in the summer.

 

[hammersley]

also be sure to

NOT put anything against the sides..... you should leave at least 6 inches of free space on the sides for cooling.....

 

[Dieselnut59]

I have a 1969 Sears Coldspot chest freezer I inherited from my mother and a 1980's upright I was given by a friend when the defrost timer failed. The chest freezer keeps food more consistently cold due to the fact that cold air is heavier than warm air and "sinks", therefore does not escape as quickly as it it does in an upright where the entire front is open when the door is opened. My upright is fan forced, auto defrost. It gets cold quicker than the chest one but varies greatly in temperature cycles, even when the door is not opened. I have digital thermometers mounted to my refrigerators, freezers and a home heat/ac vent to keep tabs on performance of each. The chest freezer holds temperature more consistent, even when the door is opened. I would recommend the chest freezer.

 

[RGardner]

When we moved into our present house we inherited a IHC chest type freezer in the basement. The basement was dug and the addition was built over it! No getting that baby out! Anyway it was purchased by my wife's grandparent probably in the 50's? It finally gave up the ghost about 5 years ago and make a great place to store stuff. That freezer would keep ice cream rock hard! I finally but a thermometer in it and it constantly kept the temp at -10! Hated to see it go but it probably was not the most efficient freezer going.

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

My vote was for a chest freezer. The uprights, if you keep it full, always had things falling out,(PITA). Dont have that problem any more.

 

[Motorhead]

We have had the small chest freezers for our family of four. We are on our second one in 20 some odd years. It is the size of a washing machine, holds plenty. They are usually pretty cheap. I have seen them for under $200. 00 new