Buying kitchen appliances may seem like a mundane and uninteresting chore, but if you think about it in more depth, you will discover that it actually matters.
Chances are that you won’t be buying a new fridge or a stove every year or two, which means that you will be stuck with your purchase for the foreseeable future.
Appliance experts at Lars Appliances know this, and that’s why they decided to share this simple guide to buying a new freezer. Whether you should go after a chest freezer, or an upright one really depends on your preferences and needs. Here’s the breakdown.
What Is the Difference?
At the most basic level, chest and upright freezers differ in their orientations. Upright freezers are, well, upright, much like your fridge is, whereas chest freezers are horizontal and top-opening.
However, there are some other differences that might not be apparent at first glance. For instance, chest freezers are typically larger, so if you only need a small freezer, an upright one might be your go-to format.
Chest freezers also tend to be slightly cheaper (for comparable products) and easier to install than upright ones.
What to Know About Upright Freezers?
If your floor space is limited, perhaps an upright format is better for you. These freezers tend to be the size of an average fridge and that is perhaps one of the biggest advantages. With these freezers, you can organize your food much more easily. It is also easier to access all of the food in the freezer without leaning over the edge of the chest freezer.
However, these freezers are not perfect. For starters, large food items can be very difficult to store due to the shape of the device – the depth dimension is typically too shallow to store big items like haunches of venison or other big chunks of meat. That’s why hunters prefer chest freezers.
They also tend to be a bit more expensive than chest freezers, both in initial cost (by some $100), as well as due to lower energy efficiency. Keep that in mind if you’re looking for the most budget-friendly option. Also, if you’re in a power-outage prone area, you should be aware that the stored food spoils faster in this type of freezer.
What to Know About Chest Freezers?
As mentioned before, chest freezers tend to be a bit larger, so if you need to store more frozen foods, this is a better option for you. They are also cheaper to buy and install, as well as more energy-efficient, meaning they will cost less to run. On top of all that, they tend to last longer, anywhere between 15 and 20 years, whereas upright freezers have a lifespan of 10-15 years.
Sadly, chest freezers do come with their set of drawbacks, too. For instance, the food stored at the very bottom of the freezer is really hard to access – both because it is essentially at the bottom of a 30-50’’ chest, but also because there is other food on top of it.
You may also find that it is much harder to clean due to its shape and hard-to-reach corners. Seeing how these models do not have auto-defrost as an option – cleaning will need to be done manually and will take a longer time compared to the upright freezers.
If you’re unsure about which type of freezer you should buy, use this helpful guide to analyze your needs and the features that each of the formats offers. All other things being equal, chest freezers do offer a better deal for your money.
