Thank you so much for your input! I went to a showroom yesterday to see the Electrolux Icon set (the only one around Baltimore that had them on the floor!) I was really impressed with the quality and the layout. The Thermadors give up just two inches but that seems to make a difference in the layout (There are no shelves on the whole bottom half of the Therm too.) The *only* thing that somewhat bothers me is that I wish the ice machine was in the middle like the Therm or the GE Monograms because I have two daughters who can't reach or will pull the ice down on their head, but I could always put in a second container of ice down on a lower shelf given how much space is in the freezer! We are also getting an ice machine for a wet bar but I hate to think of 8- and 10-yr old hands going in it every time they want a drink! I've also heard good things about the Electrolux ovens and particularly like the roll-out racks which are included (and all extra for the Therm.) So, that pushes me towards the Electrolux as well. There's a nice rebate going on right now and I'm up to three items b/c the fridge and freezer are considered separate appliances. That's an $800 discount, need to investigate a couple other Electrolux appliances (have heard good things about the bev center, wine cooler and/or ice machine. Not sure about the dishwasher vs the others) because I could get it up to $1000. And, going with the Electrolux is certainly lower than the Therm even with the 1-2-Free deal, especially since it's not guaranteed to be the best products for my situation across the board. Anyway, that's where I stand right now. Would love to hear more - Thanks!

We have the Kenmore Pro ones (like these) which I think are made by Frigidaire. (?) We've only had them installed for 2 months, but before that they sat for 2 years in our dirty garage -- long story -- so we were a little worried about how they would work after sitting for all that time but bottom line, no problems, and we're thrilled with them. For the price they can't be beat. There are two slightly odd things about them however. One is that there's no meat drawer, which I was used to in our other fridge and I do miss that. There are two HUGE drawers which I love having, but we fill one with fruits and the other with veggies, so then I just have meat on one the shelf above the drawers, which is okay but I would rather have a drawer for it. The second odd thing is that the shelf structure above the drawers are actually attached to the drawers themselves and they don't seem to come off for cleaning. The glass itself lifts out, but the surrounding shelf frame doesn't detach from the drawer (at least that we could figure out!) which makes it awkward for cleaning as you can't just turn it upside down into your sink and dump out fallen particles. Those are very minor inconveniences for the space and convenience (especially the freezer space which is incredible), and overall I love these appliances and I would get them again in a heartbeat.

I prefer manual defrost. If you are keeping food for longer than 2-3 months, the quality will be better - and you don't have to have freezer burn to have a loss in quality (particularly with dessert and dairy items). Besides lower energy costs as others have pointed out, manuals are usually quieter - although this may not matter depending where you put it. I've seen larger frost free chest freezers, but I don't think I've seen any in the size you are looking for. My old Sears manual defrost chest freezer had a flash defrost feature which was nice because it speeded up the process considerably. Are you sure 5 Cu ft is enough? It probably wouldn't cost much more to go up to 7 or 8. My guess is once you start using it, you'll want the extra space. Best wishes.

I've had chest freezers for most of my life and never had any issues with finding food (nor do I hate a chest freezer). I use boxes to organize my frozen veggies (one box per type). I have sections for meat and other frozen stuff. I use baskets for butter and stock. Anything else is labeled with a marker. I rotate the contents with each shopping trip (quarterly or so) or when I make stock/soup/chili etc. I've never lost anything nor have I had mystery product. I also put bottled water in there for storage and to fill up space. I defrost once a year, usually in the fall or early winter. Everyone is entitled to their personal opinion and should use what works best. If you are planning on long term storage, a manual defrost is the best option. The frost free (or self defrosting) units cycle heat to keep frost from building up inside. That seriously diminishes the life of any product you store in the freezer. In terms of size, go with larger. In terms of brands, well, that's personal opinion. You can buy the same products pretty much any where. That's personal preference too. The freezer we had when I was a kid conked out at 40 years old. In the past 22 years, I've had two. The current one is about 10 years old and has spent it's life mostly in an unheated garage (in TN). Having said that, note that manufacturing of appliances has gone the way of everything lately; seems like they are disposable and it's cheaper to replace than fix. Stick with a brand name you're comfortable with and purchase from a store you feel good about. Just keep dead bodies out of there.