Yes, I did research there. I have a local store who will order me anything and match prices. My husband wants to see everything in person. I will look at Lowes, thanks for the advice.

I bought a 13.7 cu. ft. Kenmore upright freezer over a year ago. I certainly love having it. I have only 4 cu. ft. in the freezer in the kitchen. When I got the new Kenmore freezer I thought I could never use all that space! I almost got a smaller one (8 or 9 cu. ft.), but I liked the light inside (of the larger 13.7 one) and I figured I would eventually appreciate the size. Well, although I do have enough space for alot, because it has fixed (non adjustable) shelves I have to pile things on top of and in front of things. If I had to do it again I might have gotten the 16 cu.ft. It's only about an inch wider and deeper, but it's a lot taller. That is it wouldn't have taken up any extra space. Air space I have plenty of...floor space is another matter. In the end the reason I did decide was because I decided not to pay for the extra energy for the larger model. It wasn't much really but it just seemed like so much space. The Kenmore is made by another company of course I don't know which one. A poster above said Whirlpool? Here are my observations: - A lot of space, including on the door, but fixed shelves limit flexibilty. - I wouldn't pay for the glass shelves all other things being equal. Glass shelves are great in a refrigerator (contains spills) but not important in a freezer (IMO) - It is noisy. It's much noisier than my refrigerator, but I wouldn't worry about that if it is going to be in the basement (unless the basement is used for watching TV or sleeping or something). I have read about the noisiness online so it's not just mine. - It seems to keep a good cold temperature without any problem (mine is indoors). - Food seems to keep well pretty long (e.g. freezer burn). However I put everything in ziplock bags. And of course any automatic defrost model will cause more degradation of food over time than a manual defrost. I hope this helps. - Jim

I am researching standalone freezers for a friend who doesn't have internet access, so am glad to find this thread! She doesn't want a reach-in freezer because of back issues. She's also on a restricted diet (as am I) and prefers to make things ahead and freeze. So she's decided to put a separate freezer in another room so that she can load it up with her homemade baked goods and breads while using the fridge's freezer for things like frozen veggies, etc. Is 11.5 cf considered a "small" freezer? My Samsung SbyS has an 11.5 cf freezer compartment and I find it too small, mainly because 2/3 of the door is taken up by that darn ice/water dispenser! My previous fridge was a GE Profile Arctica with no ice maker and I had plenty of room even though the freezer dimension was probably smaller. And I cook for just myself. :-/ Steve, how badly did the extra freezer impact your electric bill?

cynic, Again, I don't have a freezer, therefore my statements are just based on my understanding of how things generally work. Also, I am not saying that a manual freezer is a lousy freezer. I can understand a self-defrost may not be as efficient because it uses a heating system inside to defrost regularly and there is a fan to circulate cold air. Also, I think a manual defrost most likely will need thicker insulation because it can't even out inside temperature as well, while a self-defrost will uses thinner insulation to give you more storage, which is a good selling point. However, some of this lack of efficiency is balanced out when you manually defrost a freezer, because you need a lot of energy to melt the ice and re-cool the entire freezer again and all the food that's been out for an hour or so. thinner insulation can give you around two cubic feet more of storage. "----dcarch, I assume you're saying keep a freezer in a cold garage.------" Actually I am talking about a split system. The condensing coil is installed outside of the house. This system gives you bonus cooling in the winter and will not heat up your house in the summer. The basic mechanics of a refrigeration cycle, just like an air conditioner, it is most efficient when you don't really need it. "----I don't see freezer burn as ever being a good thing!-----" Of course not. What I was trying to say was that a self-defrost freezer uses forced cold air and that can mean faster freezer burn if you don't package your food well; however, it is a good thing because the food get frozen much quicker. The quicker the food gets frozen, the smaller the ice crystals will form inside your food (less cell membrane damage), which may mean better quality food (similar to flash freezing). One of the main advantages of a frost free unit, besides convenience is its ability to keep recommended temperature quickly and evenly throughout the inside. The thermostat typically used in a freezer is of the capillary type. This kind of thermostat will take anywhere from 10 to 20 degrees F from the set temperature to turn the compressor on and off. This deviation from 0 degree F in an unevenly cooled freezer can mean a less than ideal storage environment for food. This condition gets worst when ice is formed on the freezer walls because ice is a relatively good insulator. dcarch