Chest Freezers

Chest freezers are great for long-term storage

Manual-defrost chest freezers perform almost as well as self-defrosting upright freezers (and better than manual-defrost uprights), but they're not quite as convenient to use. Once or twice a year, you'll need to remove all of your frozen goods and defrost the freezer by hand. Depending on how you organize your chest freezer, you may also wind up frequently bent over, digging through the contents to find particular items. Still, chest freezers offer some benefits: they're more budget-friendly than uprights, very quiet, and they're available in a wider range of sizes, so you won't be forced to buy something larger than what you need.

If you prefer a chest freezer, the 14.8-cubic-foot Kenmore 16542 (*Est. $425) receives high ratings and favorable comments from owners posting reviews to Sears.com, where it earns 4 out of 5 stars overall from nearly 30 reviewers. This model is almost identical to the now-discontinued Kenmore 16552, which was a strong performer in professional tests. The Kenmore is Energy Star-rated, has interior and power-on lights, two lift-out baskets and a keyed lock. While effective as a child-safety device, the lock doesn't seem strong enough to prevent theft. We read one report from an owner who says her 14-year-old daughter was able to pick it with a pencil. The Kenmore 16542  is covered by a one-year warranty.

For those with more modest freezing needs, we found some good recommendations for the 8.8-cubic-foot Kenmore 16922 (*Est. $290). It includes the same basic features and one-year warranty (including a keyed lock) as the Kenmore 16542. It isn't Energy Star-rated, though it does use less electricity because of its smaller size. It's also a bit quieter than its larger sibling. In one professional test, the Kenmore 16922 outperformed other chest freezers of about the same size, and owners posting reviews to Sears.com rate it very highly (4.5 out of 5 stars overall from more than 50 reviewers), though one user says the outer casing could dent easily. Bestcovery.com's Mariette Mifflin chooses the Kenmore 16922 as the second-best manual-defrost freezer in a recent roundup on freezers, saying it "offers great bang for the buck" and "performs well overall".

At the other end of the size spectrum -- if you need a huge amount of freezer space -- the Kenmore Elite 16582 (*Est. $740) is one of the largest residential chest freezers available. This 24.9-cubic-foot freezer has three lift-out baskets and removable dividers that make it easy to organize frozen foods. Other features include an interior light, digital power and temperature display, temperature alarm, keyed lock and a fast-freeze option that allows you to quickly freeze fresh foods to maintain optimum taste and nutrition. This freezer has a one-year warranty.

The Kenmore Elite 16582 hasn't been professionally tested and only receives a handful of reviews at Sears.com. For the most part, users are pleased with the large storage space and the included organization tools. A couple of reviewers say the freezer doesn't last longer than three years because the circuit boards start to go out. However, we read one review from a user who says their freezer lasted for 15 years.

In the past, Frigidaire manufactured self-defrosting chest freezers under the Frigidaire and Kenmore labels. These have been discontinued and self-defrosting chest freezers appear to be extinct. All of the current residential chest freezers we found reviews for must be defrosted manually.