An extra Freezer can help keep your refrigerator freeze clear from clutter. Before purchasing your new freezer familiarize yourself with the capacity and configurations of the different freezers Abt Electronics has to offer. Be sure you choose a freezer that meets your family's needs. For additional help contact our award winning sales staff at 888-228-5800.

Freezer Capacity

Abt Electronics and Appliance carries freezers that range from 3.6 cubic feet up to 25 cubic feet. To determine the needs of your household, consider the following:

• How big is your family? The more people you feed, the more food you need.
  
• What are your food shopping habits? Do you buy food, especially meat, in bulk packages to save money? Every cubic foot of freezer space holds about 35 pounds of food.
  
• Does your family pre-prepare food in bulk? Farmers, gardeners and hunters may have more need for a freezer than city apartment dwellers.
  
• How much space do you have for a freezer? This factor may also influence your decision whether to buy an upright or chest freezer.
  

Configuration

• Freezers are available in a top-loading chest style and a front-loading upright style. Freezer baskets help maximize the space and convenience of chest freezers, while in-the-door storage does the same for uprights.
  

Freezer Features

Here are some features that you should think about when you buy a freezer. Make sure you choose a model that has all the features you consider important. And don't forget to plan for the future--your new freezer should give you years of good service.

• Adjustable temperature control
  
• Textured steel doors
  
• Magnetic door seal - Safer than traditional latches
  
• Self-defrosting feature Lock - Safety feature

Capacity: The measurement of the interior of the appliance, usually in cubic feet. Use the dimensions for comparison. Manufacturers use different terms to define capacity, one extra large appliance may not be the same as another.

Defrost drain: Water from the melting ice flows out of the freezer through this drain. A defrost drain makes it easier to defrost the freezer because you won't have to collect all the water with a sponge and bucket.

Defrost features: Most freezers are defrosted manually, which requires 40% less electricity than the no-frost models. Some upright freezers have the no-frost system. Chest and compact freezers are manually defrosted. The manual defrost freezers are better at holding the temperature at one level for large amounts of food. Front drains are available on some models, which provide easy connection to hoses to release water during defrosting.

Energy- Efficient Rating (Energy Guide Label): EER allows product comparison and assist in calculating the overall cost of operating an appliance.

The Energy Guide label gives you two important pieces of information you can use for comparison of different brands and models when shopping for a new refrigerator/Freezer:

• Estimated energy consumption on a scale showing a range for similar models
  
• Estimated yearly operating cost based on the national average cost of electricity
  

Freezer - Chest: A freezer that opens from the top. This type operates with more energy efficiency, but may make items harder to access.

Freezer - Upright: A freezer styled like a regular refrigerator. Items are easier to locate and remove.

Frost-free: Frost-free freezers prevent ice buildup by automatically defrosting approximately once daily. A timer turns the compressor fan on and off, while simultaneously turning on a small heater to melt away any collected frost. During the defrost cycle, the internal freezer temperature does not change by more than two degrees, so food is not adversely affected. The slight temperature change concerns some consumers who have heard that their food will preserve better in a manual, rather than frost-free freezer. However, temperature changes in the frost-free cycle are approximately the same as the changes in a manual defrost freezer where the compressor cycles on-and-off. Frost-free freezers do not cause freezer burn, which occurs when food placed in the freezer is improperly wrapped or kept frozen for an extended period of time. Wrapping food in heavy-duty aluminum foil, plastic-coated freezer paper or polyethylene bags prevent freezer burn.

Manual defrosts: You will need to remove the food temporarily and turn off the freezer until the built-up ice melts.

Removable storage basket: These baskets are designed for use in chest freezers and help organize food.

Swing-down gate: A wire gate that holds food in place and swings down for access to the food.

Temperature
Freezers keep food at 18F° and fast freeze at 26F°. Fast freezing is the optimum freezing temperature for fresh food to retain most of its nutritional value. It is important to keep the freezer temperature constant in order not to increase energy expenditure - every degree below - 18F° increases energy expenditure by 5%

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