
If possiblie, keep your freezer in a cool spot - such as a basement or garage - where it can remain below normal room temperatures.Often freezers will come with at least a 2-year warranty on parts and labour. You should expect to pay anything between $250 and $1500 for mains powered chest freezers, while some LPG-operated units can cost up to over $2000.Įach brand will come with different warranty terms - some will repair the unit if something happens to it, while others might give you a whole new freezer - so it's important to read the fine print.

How much your freezer costs will largely depend on its size and any extra features it has. Interior light: This makes it easier to see the contents of your freezer (particularly what's at the bottom), and is especially useful in garages, which often don't have much light.This feature is usually more important for event caterers and other similar businesses than households, who usually keep a freezer in the same spot. Wheels: Wheels on a box freezer make it easy to roll around and transport.Door alarm: If your freezer door is left open for a prolonged amount of time, then a door alarm will alert you so that you can save your food from thawing.Drain: This conveniently gets rid of melt water when your freezer needs defrosting - this is particularly important if your machine doesn't have frost-free technology.Counterbalanced lid: A counterbalanced lid props open on its hinges, letting you rifle through your frozen goods with both hands.Snap freeze: A snap or fast freeze function quickly brings your freezer to a higher temperature so that you can preserve the freshness of your food.Frost-free technology: A frost-free chest freezer automatically gets rid of ice inside it, helping to prevent things from sticking together, reducing smells, and saving you time having to manually defrost the unit.This should be easily accessible, but not so much so that your little one could potentially thaw the whole freezer out. Adjustable thermostat: An adjustable thermostat lets you change the temperature to suit the contents of your freezer.FeaturesĬertain features can make your chest freezer safer, easier to use, and work more efficiently. Just because a freezer is large, doesn't mean that it should have a lower star rating than its smaller counterparts - efficiency is determined with both energy consumption and a freezer's internal volume in mind. The more stars a freezer has, the better it is for the environment and the less it will cost to run. Energy efficiency goes by a star rating, ranging between 1 and 6 stars.

Energy efficiencyįor those shopping with the planet and their purse in mind, considering a freezer's efficiency is vital. To avoid disappointment and wasted time, make sure that you measure your space and any freezer you're thinking of buying, as well as ensure that your freezer will be able to fit through the door. You can look for smaller baskets or racks that fit inside the freezer, as these are useful for keeping everyday goods in an accessible location, so you don't have to freeze your hands digging through your food to get what you need. Households of 5 should generally go for a freezer with a capacity of over 300L.Ĭonsider what you'll be storing: you don't want to be too safe and get an overly large chest freezer, as empty freezer space leaves more room for warm air and also takes more energy to run.A household of 3 to 4 people is usually well suited to a 150 to 300L freezer.If you have 1 to 2 people in your household, aim for a 50 to 150L freezer.Of course, different households and businesses have different storage needs, however here's a rough guide to the amount of litres you should aim for depending on your household size. For reference, 18L roughly equates to one bag of shopping. The capacity of chest freezers is measured in litres, and you can get freezers ranging anywhere rom 50L to over 700L. What should I look for in a chest freezer? Size and storage On the right: an upright freezer, image credit: Haier.

On the left: a chest freezer, image credit: Westinghouse. Shorter people might have trouble reaching the bottom of the freezer.
