It now has a wide variety of freezers coming in with different brands and models in the market. Do you know how to choose a suitable freezer? The following article will give you the ultimate guide to choose a freezer that best fits your needs.
What is a freezer?
The first freezer was invented in the 1940s but it was not widely used in several countries and territories until the end of World War II.
A freezer is a cold storage device that keeps food at very low temperatures, below -18 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, bacteria cannot grow. This would help you to store different types of food for an extended period of time without loss of quality. Freezer can be a separate part of the fridge, or it can be a separate appliance for households.
The main purpose of the freezer is to keep food frozen as well as make ice cubes.
Further reading: Best Small Freezers for Garage
How do freezers work?
The operation principle of a freezer is very simple to understand. Here’s how:
A cooling pipe is linked with a pump which is used to suck in vapor from that pipe. The process of sucking makes it easier to transfer liquid into vapor. During this time, it will release some heat out of your freezer. So, the interior temperature inside the freezer would fall down significantly below the freezing point.
Types of freezers
There are now 5 different types of freezers available for multiple purposes as follows:
Portable freezers
To be easy to move around, the freezer has a small size which does mean that it offers you a limited storage space. You can have this freezer to keep frozen food for your travel, picnic, or in any favorite room.
Further reading: Best Portable Fridges and Coolers for Camping
Display freezers
The display freezer is designed as an upright freezer with glass displays. It comes in with different sizes and models. This type of freezer is more common for stores or supermarkets to display their products rather than family kitchens.
Drawer freezers
This can be the best option to keep all frozen food organized properly in your home. With the special style, it is accessible for both kids and disabled people. However, the price for a drawer freezer is much higher than that of others. It might not be a perfect alternative for a full-size freezer for you as well.
Chest freezers
The chest freezer is the most popular freezer suitable for commercial use. It has a large box shape which provides you a lot of room for food storage ranging from 2.1 to 40 cubic feet.
This type of freezer also has hinged doors so that you can open and use it easily. Some baskets are available in each chest freezer to help you organize your food effectively.
However, it requires much more space to set it up. And there is no fan inside the freezer to keep the temperature consistent.
Upright freezers
Unlike the chest freezer, this freezer will offer you a large storage capacity without taking up much space. This is the reason why it is more suitable for domestic use. The biggest drawback is that it is much more expensive than the chest freezer.
It has some types of upright freezers including:
- Side-by-side freezer (American style freezer)
- Standalone upright freezer
- Fridge with a freezer above
- Fridge with a freezer below
What are the benefits of freezer?
As mentioned above, more and more people are now choosing a freezer for various benefits and purposes.
- Keep food fresh longer: When foods are frozen, they can last longer than being refrigerated in the fridge. With proper freezing, most foods would remain the quality for a few months or even years inside the freezer.
- More storage space: You can easily keep different types of food in the freezer for both commercial and domestic use. It will offer you much more room to store your food for the long term use or sale without worry about much damage.
- Use for travel: The portable freezer would allow you to keep frozen food for your long trip or journey. Several travelholics will enjoy the freezer as a great method for their food storage.
Further reading: Why Should You Buy a Chest Freezer When Your Fridge Already Has a Freezer?
Key features of freezers
Adjustable temperature
Most freezers support an adjustable thermostat so that you can modify the internal temperature under different climate conditions.
Provided shelves
To keep your freezer well organized, several freezers offer you one or more removable shelves. For chest freezers, some hanging baskets will be provided.
Manual or automatic defrost
This feature will help you to reduce the ice buildup inside the freezer. So it can keep your freezer functioning well in the long run.
Speed of freezing
An effective freezer would freeze your food very quickly at a low temperature. If you place your food in the bottom of the freezer, it is much faster for them to be frozen.
Energy saving
Most current freezers are energy efficient. It does mean that they can work effectively throughout the day with less power use.
Which type of freezer is the most suitable for your family?
A freezer seems to be the most suitable for your family if it is:
- Spacious enough for food storage: The ideal space to store food in the freezer is about 1.5 cubic feet per family member. The more members your family has, the larger the freezer should be.
- Economical: The Energy Star qualified model is a great choice to save maintenance cost with low energy use. If you do not need too much space for freezing, a fridge with a freezer is highly recommended instead of the separate ones.
- Flexible for organizing options: If you need to store a large quantity of food, it is helpful to buy a freezer with additional shelves. So you can organize food more effectively.
What should you consider when buying a freezer?
If you are looking for a great freezer for your home, you should not ignore the following aspects:
Purchasing cost
Depending on the models and brands, the price for a freezer will vary. In fact, the chest freezer tends to be more economical than the upright freezer. Besides, the more functionalities the freezer has, the higher its price is.
Further reading: What Are the Best Cheap Freezers for Home?
Size
It is necessary for you to know which size of freezer you should need. In case you would like to have a separate freezer, you need to prepare a lot of space to set up. So you should consider whether your place has enough room to keep the freezer.
Storage capacity
To know if the freezer is suitable or not, you should review your own shopping habits, the food amount for your family, the number of family members, etc. All of these factors will determine how much storage space you need with the freezer.
Energy consumption
Having an energy efficient freezer might bring you several benefits. It can help you not only save your monthly power bills but also reduce the footprint as much as possible. And, a freezer model with the Energy Star rating label will perform better in terms of energy use.
Noise level
You might not want to have a noisy freezer in your room. So, before purchasing any freezer, you should check different models to see which one is quieter than the others. Normally, the manual defrost freezer will be quieter than the automatic ones.
Manual or automatic defrost
Defrosting is an essential problem for any freezer due to ice buildup over the time. It would take more time and effort for you to defrost the freezer manually. Self-defrost freezer can be more convenient and effective. However, it is more costly, louder as well as more likely to get freezer burn.
Tips for using freezer
- Only stack the food storage containers after foods are frozen
- Check and maintain the interior temperature at or below 0 degree
- Do not refreeze the defrosted foods to prevent them from freezer burn. In case any of your food gets freezer burn, you can remove the damaged part and keep the remaining.
- Set the freezer to the coldest mode several hours before putting a huge amount of food inside.
- Freeze around 2 to 3 pounds of food for each cubic foot so that you do not overload your freezer, thus leading to malfunctioning.
- Do not take frozen food out of the freezer in case of power failure. Any freezer can maintain the cooling temperature for so long even if it encounters a power issue. So it is better to keep your food inside in this case.
You may also like: Best Containers for Freezing Food
Freezer care and maintenance
- Check the temperature regularly to make sure that it is constant
- Have a plan to defrost and deeply clean the freezer routinely. Too much ice formation will lower the efficiency of the freezer
- Check the seal often to determine whether it is still good. You need to repair and replace the door immediately if the door is not working well
- Keep little kids away from the freezer as much as possible
- To improve air circulation, vacuum the exposed condenser coils
- Avoid to open and close the door of the freezer too often
- Ask for the professional support if your freezer has any serious problem out of your control
Upright vs Chest freezer – Which is better?
Normally, the chest freezers occupy about 20% more usable space than upright freezers. However, in terms of the energy consumption, chest freezers use less energy than upright freezers, that will both save the planet and save your money.
It’s not easy to say which one is better. Let’s see in detail the differences that may help you make the right choice.
Upright freezer
An upright or vertical freezer is a type of freezer that looks like a regular refrigerator, but has a higher cooling capacity, keeping food fresh for a long time.
Advantages of upright freezer:
- Compact design, giving you a beautiful layout in any space.
- Divided into separate compartments, helping you to divide foods easily. As a result, food is cooled evenly, quickly, and optimally for food preservation.
Disadvantages of upright freezers:
- Longer cooling time
- Although dividing many separate compartments helps you to divide food easily, it limits the cabinet space, causing a lot of cold air loss, wasting energy.
- Freezers are limited in size and weight because they are divided into separate storage compartments.
- High price.
Chest Freezer
Chest Freezer is a freezer designed in a rectangular shape, with a glass door above, usually with 1 or 2 compartments. Inside, there are removable hanging baskets, with a lot of space to store food. It is more popular than vertical or upright freezer.
Advantages:
- Large capacity.
- Saving energy due to less loss of cold air to the outside.
- The ability to keep cold for a long time. If there is a power failure or sudden disconnection of the power cord, the temperature in the refrigerator can keep food cold for several hours.
- Smooth operation, less annoying noise.
- The price is cheaper than the upright freezer.
Disadvantages:
- There are only 1 or 2 food compartments, so you need to spend time sorting food into different bags and boxes to avoid confusion.
- If the freezer is full, it will be difficult for you to get the food below because you must remove all the items above to get it.
- Takes up a lot of space.
Should you buy a freezer with an aluminum or copper indoor unit?
Aluminum and copper both have different advantages and disadvantages.
Freezer with Copper: The copper indoor unit helps the freezer to cool quickly with a deeper cold. The ability to keep heat stable to preserve for a long time and best. In addition, the copper indoor unit also helps limit mold and effectively antibacterial, so that the food is always fresh and safe for health.
Freezer with Aluminum: Aluminum has the advantage of limiting snow formation and is easier to clean. However, the freezing time of food will be longer, the ability to stabilize the temperature is less, because the aluminum material absorbs heat. Aluminum indoor units are cheaper than copper indoor units.
So, if you want a high-quality, fast, and durable freezer, you should choose a copper indoor unit. If you do not require high quality or features and want to find a cheap freezer, the aluminum indoor unit will be the right choice.
The 3 popular freezers worth buying for your home
If you would like to get a great value freezer, it has some common options available including:
Galanz GLF70CWED01 Chest Freezer
Dimensions: 37.4 x 22.2 x 33.27 inches
Weight: 70.6 pounds
Voltage: 120 Volts
Capacity: 7 cubic feet
Color: White
Pattern: Solid
Defrost: Manual
This chest freezer has a storage capacity up to 7.0 cubic feet which is able to store many foods and beverages for a family. It also gives you 3 indicator lights to show the state of the freezer without opening.
A sliding basket is provided along with the freezer for more storage space. Besides, it can not only consume lower energy but also make less noise.
Whynter CUF-301BK Upright Freezer
Dimensions: 15.25 x 14.25 x 26.25 inches
Weight: 57 pounds
Voltage: 125 Volts
Material: Alloy Steel
Capacity: 3 cubic feet
Color: Black
Form factor: Stand alone
Defrost: Manual
Noise: 42 dB
The freezer comes in with 2 cooling shelves and 1 slide basket shelf. With 3.0 cubic feet storage space, this model can offer you enough room for different food but still take up less room in your home.
The reversible door is styled to make it easy to open from both sides. Additionally, the outstanding feature of the freezer is that it has a cylinder lock for more security.
Midea MRC04M3AWW Chest Freezer
Dimensions: 20.59 x 22.2 x 33.5 inches
Weight: 53.9 pounds
Capacity: 3.5 cubic feet
Color: White
Material: Iron
Form factor: Stand alone
Voltage: 120 Volts
This model of chest freezer has 3.5 cubic feet storage space suitable for frozen foods, ice, etc. You can also adjust the temperature through a Thermostat ranging from -12 to -28 Degrees.
The hinge door of the freezer is able to open between 45 and 75 degree angles. Along with this freezer, there is a hanging basket made from wire for food storage.
FAQs
Can a freezer be extremely cold?
Sometimes, any defective or broken component can make the freezer over cold. This issue would be the reason for the fast and frequent ice formation in the freezer, thus leading to several negative impacts in the future.
Why does your food get freezer burn?
If there is air left inside the containers due to careless sealing, water molecules will split and move into the open space surrounding the food. Under the low temperature of the freezer, water will transfer into ice on the surface of food. In turn, oxygen molecules would replace the position of these water molecules, and then ruin the food gradually.
How long should you freeze different types of food?
- Cooked meat: 3 months
- Ground meat: 4 to 6 months
- Fatty fish: 3 to 6 months
- Shellfish: 6 to 8 months
- Raw poultry: 12 months
- Cooked poultry: 2 to 3 months
- Vegetables: 6 to 8 months
Conclusion
It has five main types of freezer available in different designs and sizes. Each kind of freezer has its own advantages and disadvantages. Hopefully, this ultimate guide of choosing a freezer for your needs will bring you some useful information. You should consider many factors at the same time to choose the best option for your family use.
References:
- Different Types of Freezers, homestratosphere.com, Retrieved on Aug. 16, 2021
- Refrigerator freezer care maintenance tips, brubakerinc.com, Retrieved on Aug. 16, 2021
- How to choose the best fridge freezer features, saga.co.uk,
- How to Choose the Best Freezer, compactappliance.com,
