Each store owner or household has different needs and factors to consider when shopping for a chest freezer. Follow this step-by-step guide to think about which option is right for your store or home.

Chest freezers often referred to as a deep freezers, are a very popular choice for the cost and energy-conscious buyer. If you have a lot of food you need to keep frozen or large items you’ll want to fit in your freezer, they’re the best choice. They use less energy than upright models and stay cold for longer when there’s an energy outage.

They’re not as convenient for everyday use as upright freezers, because getting to any items on the bottom of the freezer will require moving everything on top of them. The hanging baskets that chest freezers often come with (and more can be purchased) help a bit with the issue, but you’ll still likely be stacking a lot of foods, which require more bending to reach the items on the bottom, making it a physical difficulty for some customers. On the bright side, they typically cost less than going with an upright model, both in upfront costs and long-term energy costs.

How can you choose the best chest freezer?

1. Find a place for your deep freezer

Most people buying a chest freezer may have already had some freezer space and are looking to expand. That makes capacity the most important considerations for many freezer buyers. Before you start browsing your options, you must have had an idea of how much you want your freezer to hold.

But here I want to remind you that you’d better keep in mind how much space it will take up. Where do you plan to keep the freezer, and how much space is available there for it? An upright freezer will be easier to fit into a kitchen, but if you need the capacity of a chest freezer, Like, Smad 55.8 Cu. Ft. 3-door chest freezer, or 14.9/18.4 Cu. Ft. double door deep chest freezer, you’ll have to be sure to find or create a big enough space in your home to keep it in.

So before you buy a deep freezer, be sure that your home or your store has the space to accommodate the appliance. For proper air circulation, freezers need 1–3 inches of space on all sides. Chest freezers take up more floor space due to their horizontal orientation, so homes with less floor space would benefit from an upright option.

It is also important to compare a freezer’s dimensions with the measurements of your doorways, as the appliance will need to be able to pass through doors for installation. If you plan on installing your deep freezer in your garage, the appliance must be labeled “garage-ready.”

2. Energy Use

Freezers need to keep running constantly (at least any time there’s food in them) to do their job. That means they’ll be using energy pretty much 24/7. Choosing an energy-efficient freezer can therefore make a noticeable difference in your overall energy costs and electricity bill.

Energy Star does rate freezers, so looking for an Energy Star qualified model can work as an easy shorthand for identifying a freezer that performs well in terms of energy use.

3. Temperature and Climate Classification

According to the FDA, you should keep your freezer temperature at 0° F (-18° C). While all freezers will be designed to reach this temperature, their ability to do so consistently can be affected by the climate they’re kept in.

If you’ll be keeping your freezer in your kitchen or another room inside, you probably don’t need to worry about this. If you’re planning to keep your freezer in the garage, outside, or in any space where the temperature fluctuates with the weather, check on the optimum temperature range of any freezer you consider. Some models are designed to work just fine in a garage or other comparable space, while others will work less efficiently or have trouble staying cold enough.

4. Manual or Self-Defrost

The major difference between the two types of freezers is how excess ice and frost is eliminated from the cavity. With a self-defrosting freezer, the appliance's heating elements cycle on and off throughout the day. During the defrosting process, water from melting ice is discharged through a small hose at the back and down to a drip tray positioned at the base of the unit. A manual defrost freezer relies on the owner to remove the excess frost and ice from the cavity. It does not contain any automatic heating elements to prevent the build-up of frost or ice.

As you’ve seen, choosing the right chest freezer is more complicated than finding something that will keep things cold. You have a lot of options to consider and taking some time to work out what you want from a freezer and which model on the market is the best fit for you will ensure you’re more likely to be happy with your purchase.