What to choose for your home: chest freezer or cabinet

Chest freezer or cabinet: features, advantages and disadvantages

The fact is that both chest freezers and freezers are presented in a large number of different models that are suitable for both business and home. However, it is worth understanding their main advantages and disadvantages in order to decide what is better in a particular case.

Chest freezer

The chest is a horizontal single-chamber device. Typically, such a unit has a large internal displacement. At the top of the chest you can attach special baskets for convenient placement of products. The lower part of the freezer is designed for storing large products.

Advantages

• Large chamber volume. Allows you to load a large number of products.
• Horizontal loading. Reduces condensation formation and keeps the device cool.
• Thermal insulation. Due to the fact that the lid is located on top, it presses the seal under its weight, which creates a good seal.
• Electricity. It consumes a small amount of electricity, since it has only one chamber and additional systems that require additional energy to operate are less often installed in chests.

Flaws

• They occupy a significant area due to horizontal placement.
• Designed for long-term storage of products. This reduces the possibility of storing small-piece products.
• There is no specific storage system. Despite the presence of upper drawers, all the products are piled up (especially in the lower part). Even the boxes don’t help the situation much, since they either don’t hold many pieces, or they are too deep and everything is piled on top of each other.

Freezers

Freezers are very similar in appearance to refrigerators. They even have a large number of different functions, systems and capabilities that housewives are accustomed to seeing in ordinary household refrigerators.

Advantages

• Occupy a small amount of space. Thanks to the horizontal type of installation, they do not take up much space, and they can also be built into the kitchen wall.
• Convenient loading. Thanks to the presence of shelves, drawers, containers (and in some models even special cells), products can be conveniently laid out in such a way that each of them will be accessible, without having to remove other products.
• Designed for everyday use. The freezer door is not heavy and is designed to be opened quite often. Therefore, it is convenient to store small-piece products in such a unit.
• Two compressors. Depending on the ambient temperature and the amount of food, the cabinet automatically turns on one or both compressors.

Flaws

• Due to vertical loading, moisture accumulates and frost forms.
• The density of the elastic band. Over time, its density decreases, which reduces the fit of the door. The worse the door is attracted to the device chamber, the more frost forms inside.
• Electricity consumption. The freezer consumes more electricity due to the presence of two compressors, as well as additional systems (such as No Frost, etc.).

Pros and cons of freezers

These household units are represented by low-temperature cabinets, which look very similar to conventional refrigerators. Among the main advantages of the freezer are:

• convenient storage of frozen foods on shelves, in drawers and containers;
• space saving - these units take up as much space in the room as conventional refrigerators;
• narrow focus - models that are equipped with two or three compressors allow you to store frozen products at different temperatures.

Freezers also have some disadvantages:

• It is difficult or impossible to store large products, products in bulk packages or briquettes in them;
• relatively small usable space due to the smaller dimensions of the camera;
• when the door is open, cold “comes out” of the chamber, which is displaced by warm air from the room, causing the internal temperature to change.

comparison table

Dimensions and capacity of chest freezers

The standard height of chest freezers is 75-85 cm. The width and length may vary. The external dimensions of the chest are directly related to its capacity. The useful volume of a horizontal freezer can be from 90 to 800 liters.

Small chest freezers are suitable for household use: for a family of 2-3 people - 100-250 liters, for a large family of 4-5 people - 300-400 liters. Models with a capacity of more than 400 liters are considered industrial and are used mainly in professional kitchens and retail facilities.

What to choose for your home: freezer or chest?

You should choose based on the needs of a particular family. In addition, you should carefully study each model you like.

Reference! But in general, it is worth noting that a freezer is more convenient for storing and freezing food at home.

Capacity

For home use, models with a volume of up to 300 liters will be sufficient. You can purchase a device of smaller volume. For example, if only fruits/vegetables are frozen, then it is better to choose small models with a volume of up to 100 liters. If your family often freezes semi-finished products, then you should pay attention to models with a volume of about 150 liters. And for freezing various meats, it is better to choose devices up to 300 liters.

Large freezers (with a volume of 500 liters or more) should not be purchased for home use, since even for the largest family it will be problematic to fully load such a model, and the energy consumption will be significant.

Built-in or free-standing

In this case, you should choose based on the interior design and the possibility of placing the device. In addition, only freezer cabinets can be built in; you will have to find a place for chests.

Autonomous cold storage

Some devices are able to remain cold for some time after being disconnected from the network. Therefore, it is important to consider such a feature in cases where frequent power failures occur.

Super freezing - is it necessary or not?

This feature is available in some freezers to quickly freeze large items without damaging the food's internal structure. Super freezing is necessary in case of long-term storage, so it is worth deciding whether it makes sense to overpay for an additional function.

Electricity consumption

The devices use consumption classes C, B, A, A+, A++, A+++. The least economical devices of classes C and B, it is not recommended to install them at home.

Control system - electronic or electro-mechanical

And although in some devices you can still find a completely mechanical control system, it is becoming less and less relevant. Many manufacturers install mechanical buttons and levers and complete the device with a display. Others make the control panel completely electronic. In principle, electromechanical control will be sufficient for home use (it allows you to set modes and temperatures quite accurately).

Important! Models with all-electric control have a significant cost.

Defrosting method: with or without “No Frost”

There are freezers that defrost manually. To do this, you need to turn off the freezer on a regular basis, wait until it is completely defrosted, then rinse it, and then start it up again.

Automatic defrosting and No Frost system allow liquid to flow into a specific container and evaporate. Therefore, there is no need to turn off the device.

Freezing temperature

Marking of devices by temperature conditions is indicated by “*” with this sign. The most optimal devices are with three stars (from -18 to -24 °C), those with one or 2 stars freeze to only -12 degrees.

Power

Capacity indicates how much food the device can freeze in a certain period of time (usually an hour). It depends on the volume of the chamber. The following are considered optimal:

• devices up to 100 l – 4-5 kg;
• up to 150 l – 10-11 kg;
• up to 200 l – 16 kg.

One or two compressors?

If the device has large dimensions and a good chamber volume, then you should opt for a model with two compressors. If necessary, the device will automatically turn on/off the second compressor, but no power will be lost. For small models, one compressor is sufficient.

Where are chest freezers applicable?

It is widely believed that chest freezers are exclusively commercial equipment for supermarkets and shops. It's not like that at all. Chest freezers come in different varieties. They are actively used in trade and catering, and in the household.

If you need a spacious freezer, and you can allocate space in your house or apartment for its installation, we recommend buying a chest freezer. It can be placed directly in the kitchen, if it is spacious, or in a separate utility room, if available. A chest freezer will serve as an invaluable service if you have a homestead. It can store large stocks of homemade products and home-made preparations.

Professional models of chest freezers can be seen in retail outlets, in the kitchens of catering establishments, and in food warehouses. Large chest freezers with transparent lids are installed in sales areas, which serve not only as a freezer, but also as a display case.

What to choose for business?

For commercial purposes, larger volume models should be selected. However, a chest or freezer depends on the purpose. In shops and supermarkets it is worth giving preference to display chests for displaying and storing goods. Various units can be installed in utility rooms.

For small-piece products (semi-finished products, vegetables, fruits, etc.), it is better to choose freezers. If it is necessary to store fish, meat, etc. for a long time, it is better to give preference to capacious and convenient chest freezers.