Not quite the bargain it appears to be
3/5
I have mixed feelings about my new chest freezer..
The capacity is fantastic, and the three supplied baskets hopefully make rummaging for deeply buried items a thing of the past. The light is helpful as it's placed in a fairly gloomy garage. It's very quiet in operation. It's apparently economical, though I haven't had an opportunity to check if it is consuming as little power as promised.
On the downside- the build quality is best described as budget. I'm aware this wasn't a top of the line appliance, but little things irritate like the side vent covers which are not properly seated in the body of the freezer, one of the LED indicator light covers has been pushed too far back - nothing major, just a bit sloppily put together. The baskets are clearly very cheaply made and the plastic coating on them is thin or damaged in places which may mean they rust quickly. More worryingly the rubber lid seal is completely compressed- I assumed from being tightly packaged, but it hasn't yet sprung back. The lid doesn't temporarily suck down as with my last freezer which makes me question how effective the seal is- and if it will deteriorate further. The delivery drivers mentioned how light it was compared to similarly sized freezers from other makers- one has to question the quality of the materials used for something so large to be so light!
The outside of the freezer runs with condensation on a damp day even though the garage itself is bone dry. Normal, apparently but not an issue I had with my previous freezer and could be an problem for anyone with wooden floors if used inside where humidity is often high. The freezer has rollers at all four corners- great if you want to move it, not so great when it scoots across the floor every time you open the lid. They don't adjust so on a slightly uneven surface they had to be levelled with bits of wood, and wedged in place to stop the whole thing moving every time I opened the lid or pressed against it while reaching inside.
My freezer doesn't have the fast freeze button advertised, instead you have to turn the dial to a fast freeze setting. Fine, as long as you can remember where the dial needs turning back to, or the flimsy knob doesn't come off in your hand.
My biggest concern is about the temperature it holds inside. Mine is holding at around -20c, which is just a little colder than the recommended -18. However, to achieve this the dial is almost all the way round to the maximum setting. It gives me little scope for further adjustment- as the machine ages I wonder if I will be able to adjust it enough to keep it below the required temperature.
Overall, I think it's fair to describe this freezer as adequate. It does the job, but could be better. Given the choice again, I'd likely go for a slightly more premium brand. This freezer doesn't fill me with confidence. This was clearly a machine built down to a budget, using cheap materials and cheap labour. I have my doubts about how long it will last.
I may live to eat my words, but I think it's more likely I shall be desperately trying to eat my way through a ton of rapidly defrosting food when it breaks.