There are a variety of freezers on the market today, but a chest freezer is the most adaptable and best value for money. This article goes into the details of how this purchase can make your life easier, and make the most of your time and space.
What To Think About When Choosing A Freezer
Firstly, think about how many people are present in your household. Are you a busy working family, who eats out regularly? Do you often plan and cook larger dinners? Do you like to have frozen food available in your home for ease of defrosting and cooking?
If you live in a town or city close to a supermarket, you might not need a large freezer. But if you live in the country, you might have your own vegetable garden, or you might even have access to your own home killed meats. This will obviously mean that you will need a larger capacity freezer, and with that some features to ensure that reaching inside the freezer or defrosting it will not be too much hard work.
Many people who are busy during the week like to cook extra food in the weekend and freeze it for ease and convenience in the week. If you have freezer space available this process is much smoother.
Additionally, having more freezer capacity means that bulk food can be prepared and stored in the home.
Secondly, you must decide how much space you have available for your new freezer. Most homes do not have space for both a refrigerator and an upright freezer in the kitchen, but they do have space available for a chest freezer in the garage. A chest freezer has more space available for food than an upright freezer, and is more suitable for storing food for longer periods of time.
It is worth it to measure the space you have available in your home. Even if you think your home is lacking in space to keep a chest freezer, you might be pleasantly surprised at what is out there. Chest freezers come in a range of sizes, and many have features that will make your life a lot easier. The sizes are measured in cubic feet, so you can easily compare the different capacities of the models you’re considering.
Ensure Maximum Efficiency
The chest freezer is one of the appliances in your home that runs all the time. It is worth researching this purchase carefully, as if a breakdown occurs it can be extremely expensive to lose all that carefully stored food. Some insurance companies do not cover the cost of spoiled food in the case of carelessness with a freezer. A good idea can be to cover the switch of the power point with duct tape to make sure that it cannot be turned off accidentally.
Position your new chest freezer carefully, as it should not be exposed to direct sunlight or put in a place that is too hot. This will mean that the motor of the freezer will work fairly continuously to keep the interior temperature cold, and cause your power bill to be higher than it needs to be. It should also be an inch away from the wall, not pressed up against it. Many models have adjustable feet, which mean that the freezer can sit squarely on a sometimes uneven floor of a garage. If the chest freezer is placed on an uneven surface, the refrigerant gas inside may not circulate properly which would make the freezer run inefficiently.
Chest Freezers usually have a light, which is useful as it means you can check to see if the freezer is operating problem-free. If loaded correctly the freezer will be almost noiseless, so having a light to check on is a good idea. Opening the lid unnecessarily is a drain on power and this should be avoided. It also means that warm air enters the freezer which must be cooled, adding condensation which will mean a build-up of ice. However chest freezers are better for power conservation than upright freezers, as cold air falls, thus trapping the majority inside the chest freezer itself (as compared to being lost as the door of the upright is opened).
Many chest freezers now are fitted with an alarm, which will sound if the temperature inside gets too high. This will probably be audible inside your home even if the freezer is kept in the garage, but it is worth inquiring about before purchasing.
Best Ways To Store Food
Most, if not all chest freezers contain baskets which sit on the rim of the freezer itself. This means that the food which will be used sooner can be stored in the baskets, while items that will not be needed for a longer period of time can be packed into the bottom of the freezer itself. The baskets are usually very light, as the items stored inside are heavy when frozen.
It is very advantageous to keep your new freezer packed very efficiently with frozen food. Keep containers regular, even when freezing your own food – use containers that are easily stacked on top of each other. One way to do this is to freeze liquids inside heavy duty freezer bags which are placed inside an ice cream container. Once the liquid has frozen to fit the shape of the container, it can be removed and stacked inside the freezer while the container is freed to provide the form for something else. Keep everything packed neatly and tightly. It is probably easiest to fill a collection of recycled milk containers with water and freeze them, then using them to fill any gaps. If you need the space to add more food, just remove a container or two and place it by the freezer until you need to fill the next gap. Every space that is free inside the freezer means that you are paying more than you need to keep that air cold. However you must ensure that the lid closes without impediment.
Finally, try not to put warm or hot items into the freezer as these will also cause condensation. Make sure they are cooled in the refrigerator before loading them into the chest freezer itself.
So you have come to the conclusion that you will look around for a chest freezer, and armed with this information you will be certain that you’re running your new freezer to its best efficiency.
