Freezer Review

Choosing between freezers

Consumers looking for a large freezer have two options: upright and chest freezers. Uprights are tall, narrow units that possess a footprint similar to a kitchen refrigerator. Chest freezers, on the other hand, are shorter and wide. Either freezer type is a good choice, depending on your budget and needs.

In general, our research shows that upright freezers offer the best performance. Most models have a self-defrosting feature, so users don't need to defrost by hand. Manual-defrost upright freezers exist, but they're not recommended by experts. Without the fan present in self-defrosting but not manual-defrost freezers, uprights often struggle to maintain a consistent temperature, which can cause food to thaw and spoil over time. Uprights also tend to cost more than chest freezers.

Chest freezers, while relatively inexpensive, take up more floor space and have to be manually defrosted. Chest freezers are also quieter than upright models and are available in a wider range of sizes, so you won't be stuck buying a freezer that is larger than you really need.

Surprisingly, among kitchen appliances, we found freezers receive the least attention from professional reviewers. Still, one recent article from ConsumerReports.org evaluates 20 upright and chest freezers. Testing is straightforward and editors offer a helpful buying guide (identifying the pros and cons of different features) but there's not much discussion about individual freezer models.

The U.K.'s Which? and Australia's Choice magazines perform thorough tests and offer helpful buyer's guides, but the freezers they spotlight aren't sold in the U.S. We also found freezer reviews at ConsumerGuide.com and Bestcovery.com. Unfortunately, there's no indication that their selected freezers have been tested -- or even seen in person -- so these ratings should be taken with a grain of salt.

In the past, we've turned to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) for freezer recommendations. Unfortunately, their current website does not discuss freezers. It does, however, link to the Energy Star list of high-efficiency freezers to assist in choosing a more efficient freezer.

Beyond that, consumers provide the best insights on freezers. GardenWeb.com is a discussion website that has several threads about freezers, and is a great place to ask questions and get specific answers. However, freezer information is scattered across the site, so consumers have to do some searching.

In terms of sites that provide the most consumer feedback, Sears.com leads the pack, but most of the reviews are of the store's Kenmore brand. Amazon.com, HomeDepot.com, Buzzillions.com and Epinions.com also post user reviews.

As noted above, several reports reveal some freezers have trouble maintaining a low enough temperature. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 0 degrees Fahrenheit is the proper temperature for long-term storage of frozen foods. At this temperature, bacteria and other sickness-causing microbes can no longer reproduce, so frozen food is safe from spoilage. The temperature in a freezer may vary slightly over time, as the compressor turns on and off, but food experts say the temperature in an upright or chest freezer should never reach higher than 5 degrees.

One freezer that appears to have this issue, the General Electric FUM5SNWW (*Est. $300) is no longer manufactured, but it's still widely available online. One tester found this freezer never reached a temperature below 34 degrees, and at times, rose as high as 48 degrees. However, these findings have been contradicted by users, and most consumers seem to like this freezer.

Another interesting fact about U.S. freezers: The majority are manufactured by three companies: Frigidaire (owned by Electrolux), W.C. Wood (based in Canada) and Haier (based in China). Frigidaire makes freezers under the Frigidaire and Gibson names, and along with Haier, makes some freezers for Kenmore and General Electric. W.C. Wood makes freezers for Amana, Magic Chef, some units for Maytag, Danby and Whirlpool. Haier makes freezers for GE, Kenmore, some units for Maytag and Amana in addition to selling some models under its own name. Thus, it's no surprise that reviewers find no significant differences in efficiency and performance between brands of the same manufacturers (as long as they're new models of similar size and style). Additionally, this means some shoppers may pay a premium for high-profile names when the products are nearly identical. For example, Frigidaire freezers sometimes cost more than GE freezers and Maytag freezers may fetch a premium over a W.C. Wood freezer.