Originally published at: Why aren't you using a more efficient chest refrigerator? | Boing Boing
…
16 Likes
Yes, my family has a chest freezer in the basement and digging out anything that’s not already sitting right on top is always a chore. And that’s assuming you can even remember what items are down there, way out of sight.
Now if there was some kind of cool automated food retrieval system like in those ice cream vending machines then it would be worth considering…
21 Likes
Chest freezer? My needs run more towards the full-body freezer.
35 Likes
This is probably the opposite of efficient refrigeration, but I was looking through homes for sale and saw a house that was using a commercial glass front fridge. Looks neat, but probably sucks a lot of juice.
(This isn’t the same one I saw, but similar. I couldn’t find the listing I originally saw.)
8 Likes
Not if you cut them up. The people that is. Er… I mean french fries.
8 Likes
Aside from the aggravation, a refrigerator is usually in the main living space of the house (since it’s used so much more often than a freezer), and a chest refrigerator uses more floor space by a factor of 2 or more than a traditional upright.
If you are keeping a fridge in the basement/garage (where there’s usually more space) dedicated for beverages, using a chest probably makes sense though.
12 Likes
I presume they’re great for people who need to freeze things fairly long term (think someone that goes hunting or fishing and doesn’t want to prepare all of it quickly). For people like my mom who cooks a lot i can see how she might make use of a chest freezer, but as others have mentioned, it’d be a pain in the ass to have to dig through everything if you need to get at something more towards the bottom.
11 Likes
Technology Connections did a great video on this a couple years ago. From there I am determined to get one as soon as I have the space. Chest Freezers; What they tell us about designing for X
7 Likes
Mind your own business.
9 Likes
Our Samsung “hybrid” fridge has French doors (boooo!), but the two-level chest freezer at its base (yaaaaaah!) has given us no aggravation. The freezer’s two shelf design is a joy to use and affords tons of room.
12 Likes
5 Likes
New fridges tend to be way more energy efficient than older models. I can say from experience that although my old freestanding fridge from the 1990s worked well and kept stuff cold, the newer fridge kept things way colder on lower settings and used substantially less energy.
5 Likes
That design’s nod to efficiency: One can see what needs to be pulled out before opening the door, eliminating the time spent in searching things out, thereby lessening the time spent with the door open.
12 Likes
Chest freezers are great as freezers, I love mine. Filled it up with frozen veggies and vacuum sealed meats before the covid panic-buying started and it got us through the worst without a hint of trouble. But I can’t imagine trying to use one as a fridge. My frozen stuff doesn’t really care if it gets shoved around when I’m looking for something towards the bottom, but fresh foods aren’t going to be happy.
15 Likes
I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want the version that takes up twice as much space and requires them to bend down to get their food from floor level.
14 Likes
Yes. The items at the bottom became lost forever in our chest freezer. Still loved it. Extra surface space on top 
3 Likes
cool thing about a big chest freezer is that it is a treasure trove that keeps on giving! as @Grey_Devil aluded, after a big catch, we will cut up grouper, snapper, mahi, tuna and more, vacuum seal and plonk it all into the deep freeze. also, when greens and peas/beans are overwhelming, a light blanche, vacuum seal and into the freezer. it is always fun to do a deep dive into the deep freeze and come up with some catch that had been all but forgotten. almost like being there again.
14 Likes
One good thing about a standard refrigerator is that it has shelves where things may be placed without having to worry about the Jenga game I play every time I want to get something out of the bottom of my small chest freezer. I can’t imagine trying to deal with: a plate of leftovers, a defrosting steak, an open carton of milk, a bottle of juice, a half squash, a clamshell of berries and a half eaten bowl of yogurt, all of which are currently resident in my refrigerator.
13 Likes
The only issue is price, I think. This is such an easy concept to design, yet some companies want tons more money for that. 
6 Likes
The counter point to this argument is the fact that fridge’s from the 90’s were built like proverbial tanks and many are still running strong today. Compared to a new fridge which is made with cheap plastic parts and dies within 5 years.
Anecdotal evidence supporting my claim: I have an old Fridgedair side by side sitting in my garage which I bought new in 1995. I’ve replaced the “main” fridge in my kitchen 3 times in the past 15 years.
6 Likes
