Chest Freezers

Chest Freezers

A chest freezer holds more food per euro and per unit of electricity than any upright, for a simple physical reason: cold air sinks, so opening a lid loses far less of it than opening a door. The trade is access, since everything is stacked vertically and the thing you want is usually at the bottom, which is what the wire baskets are for. This is bulk storage for a utility, a garage or an outbuilding rather than an everyday appliance for a kitchen.

Capacity in litres is the decision, and the range runs from around 98 litres for a small utility up to 371 litres for genuine bulk storage. Counterbalanced lids stay where you put them and open one-handed, which matters more than it sounds when both hands are full. Two features are worth looking for: extra insulation that holds temperature longer during a power cut, which is what protects a full freezer through a winter storm, and a garage-safe rating, because a standard freezer in an unheated space can stop running correctly in cold weather. Measure the lid clearance above as well as the footprint, since a chest freezer under a shelf cannot be opened.

Belling runs from 98 litres to 371 litres with counterbalanced lids across the line. Beko covers the same spread, with Freezer Guard models adding extra insulation to hold temperature for longer during a power cut, and Hisense sits in the middle of the range at 191 litres. See also upright freezers and the full fridges and freezers range.

Chest freezers sell hardest in the weeks before Christmas, when households add a second freezer for the turkey and the batch cooking, and that is when stock runs tight rather than cheap. Prices are live all year, so see what is reduced now on fridges and freezers on sale, or the Black Friday fridge freezer deals.