It feels like food costs are getting higher every week. If you’ve always relied on daily trips to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner, stocking up on freezable food can save you a lot of money over a few months. All you need a little space in a closet, basement, or garage and you can bring home an Insignia chest freezer to freeze a week’s worth of perishable food.
I just took a look at the Insignia 14 cu. ft. chest freezer (coming soon) and I was impressed with the space-saving design, roomy interior, and added features like a child lock. It’s the perfect size for a family. If you’re looking for a smaller chest freezer, take a look at my review of the Insignia 7 cu. ft. chest freezer.
Appearance and features of the Insignia 14.1 cu. ft. chest freezer
The Insignia 14.1 cu. ft. chest freezer is a compact chest freezer that weighs 127 lbs. It measures 32 inches high (81 cm) by 53 inches wide (134 cm) and is 28 inches (71 cm) deep.
- Roomy interior with three slide-able wire baskets for storage and a built-in shelf
- External lock on the handle ensures young children can’t access the freezer
- Adjustable dial temperature gauge is on the front of the appliance and offers a range of temperatures from -12° to -24°C (10.4° to -11.2°F)
- LED light on lid lights up the interior of the freezer when you open it
- Built-in defrost drain offers you an easy way to defrost when ice builds up
- Casters are pre-installed so you can roll your freezer into position
- Energy-efficient design to save you money on running costs
Setting up the Insignia chest freezer
The Insignia chest freezer comes packaged in a large box. Because it’s almost 130 lbs you’ll need assistance moving the box. Once it’s in the room you’d like it in you’ll be able to set it up quite easily.
To remove it from the box you’ll just pull the box up and over the chest freezer, tipping it slightly to pull the bottom of the box out from under it. Once you have it out of the box you’ll be able to roll it into position and plug it in.
There is tape securing the lid that you’ll have to remove, and once you do you’ll be able to open the freezer. The handle is inside the freezer in a bag with a set of two keys and the instruction manual. The screws to install the handle are also included, so you’ll need to use a screwdriver to attach it. Once the handle is installed, you’ll be able to lock and unlock the freezer with the included keys.
I love child locks on freezers. It gives you peace of mind, and I always put the key to my chest freezer on the key chain I use for my vehicle. It seems like a simple thing, but I always know where those keys are if I have to get inside the freezer.
Features on the Insignia 14 cu. ft. chest freezer
It’s hard to get an idea of how large a chest freezer is until you open the lid, and the compact, low design of this freezer really hides how roomy it is inside.
Moveable wire baskets
There are three wire baskets in the Insignia chest freezer. You can slide them from one side to another to access what you’ve stored below. I like having removable wire baskets as I store a lot of popsicles, ice cream, and other treats in them. If I have something bigger to store, like a lot of meat or a season of frozen fruit, I’ll take out one of the baskets to make room.
The side shelf inside the freezer helps lift up items you’d like to stack like loaves of bread. That way you can store items you’re more likely to access on a daily basis and stack food you want to access occasionally on the bottom.
Adjustable dial
My parents always had a chest freezer, and when I was a kid I would think it was weird how there was no temperature dial on it. You’d plug it in and it would freeze your food, but you never knew how cold the interior was or if it was even on unless it had a light on the handle.
With the Insignia chest freezer, you can adjust the temperature right on the front of the appliance. It has a temperature range of -12° to -24°C (10.4° to -11.2°F) so you can set it exactly how you’d like it. The blue light near the dial will glow if it is on. There is also a LED light inside the lid that will turn on when you open it.
Defrosting and drain hole
Defrosting a chest freezer used to be quite a process. When ice builds up on the sides and you’d like to remove it, you had to unplug it, let the ice melt, and find a way to remove the water. I remember my parents attempting to tip their chest freezer over enough to dump out the water from ice build-up Given that the freezer must have been a few hundred pounds, it must have been a struggle.
Thankfully, the design of new chest freezers has really changed. The Insignia chest freezer has a drain hole inside and outside the freezer. When ice builds up you can use the included ice scraper to remove frost or unplug it and let it melt. Once the ice has melted you can just open the drain hole inside and the drain hole outside, put a tray under the outside drain, and water will drain out.
Energy efficiency on Insignia chest freezer
If you’ve never owned a chest freezer because you worry it will add to your energy bill, the Insignia chest freezer is for you. Its estimated annual electricity use is only 281-kilowatt hours. On average, it should only cost you about $50 per year to run. That’s not a lot considering the money you’ll save by storing food.
Should you choose the Insignia 14 cu. ft. chest freezer?
With its compact design, roomy interior, and storage baskets to organize your frozen food, the Insignia 14 cu.ft. chest freezer (coming soon) is a great choice. The child lock is a welcome addition, and there is a ton of room to store family-sized groceries.
The cost of running the Insignia chest freezer is very low. You’ll be able to stock up on meat, bread, and other frozen foods and you won’t have to run out to the store every day. You can find your own Insignia 14 cu.ft. chest freezer on Best Buy right now.
