Frost free or manual defrost budget fridge freezer?

CompBunny

Hiya,

We're moving soon and need to get a fridge freezer. We're on a fairly small budget so have to compromise: smaller freezer, frost free, or larger freezer section on manual defrost..

I wish they did cheap 80ish litre freezers with a tiny fridge space at the top!:D:p

I do freeze a fair amount to help keep the grocery budget down (eg frozen veg=no waste, plenty of frozen veggie "meat") but I'm sure I could learn to freeze less. Most important things I guess are:
Bag of carrots
" Brocolli
" Peas
" Sweetcorn
Small bag of peppers
" diced onion
Veggie mince
Veggie sausages
Chips (i know, naughty )
6 Rolls
2 x spare sandwich meat for OH

Do you think these would fit in a 63litre freezer?

Its between these two models: Beko Frost Free 63l freezer capacity http://www.appliancesonline.co.uk/product/CDA539FW-Beko-Fridge-Freezer-White-14670.aspx
Hot point Manual 105litre freezer capacity www.365electrical.com/RFA52P.html

Do you have frost free or manual defrost? Is it much hassle to manually defrost them?

I'm so confused

Thankyou for any wisdom that can be offered!

abankerbutnotafatcat

I have read that the frost free bit uses up extra electricity so perhaps check out the energy consumption of the two models and take this into the equation. I went for one that had a frost free fridge but a low frost freezer as this had lower energy consumption than the all frost free models.

maureen59

I have a Beko. Not had any frost or any problems. Great freezer storage for just 2 of us and a big enough fridge. I love the fact that I don't have to defrost it!

CompBunny

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

I have read that the frost free bit uses up extra electricity so perhaps check out the energy consumption of the two models and take this into the equation. I went for one that had a frost free fridge but a low frost freezer as this had lower energy consumption than the all frost free models.

Thanks, a good point there! I checked the energy consumption and its 307kwh for the manual defrost and 297kwh for the frost free one! Not much in it, I guess its because the Beko frost free one is smaller though I hadn't heard of the low frost ones! Were they labelled as such?

maureen59 wrote: »

I have a Beko. Not had any frost or any problems. Great freezer storage for just 2 of us and a big enough fridge. I love the fact that I don't have to defrost it!

Thankyou That's a frost free model I assume? Not having the hassle of defrosting does sound good, but I am worried about the storage!

abankerbutnotafatcat

CompBunny wrote: »

Thanks, a good point there! I checked the energy consumption and its 307kwh for the manual defrost and 297kwh for the frost free one! Not much in it, I guess its because the Beko frost free one is smaller though I hadn't heard of the low frost ones! Were they labelled as such?

Yes, it was called a low frost. I specifically chose the model I did because it's so low on energy consumption on the basis that it's one of the few things in the house that's actually on all the time so its energy use is really important. I realise it's not the sort of thing you're looking for but I attach a link for your reference as it shows the low frost feature. We didn't pay that much by the way, much though I love John Lewis we got it from a local independent for quite a bit less and there was a £100 off part exchange promotion.

http://www.johnlewis.com/231222469/Product.aspx

CompBunny

abankerbutnotafatcat wrote: »

Yes, it was called a low frost. I specifically chose the model I did because it's so low on energy consumption on the basis that it's one of the few things in the house that's actually on all the time so its energy use is really important. I realise it's not the sort of thing you're looking for but I attach a link for your reference as it shows the low frost feature. We didn't pay that much by the way, much though I love John Lewis we got it from a local independent for quite a bit less and there was a £100 off part exchange promotion.

http://www.johnlewis.com/231222469/Product.aspx

Average annual energy cost £15.70


Wow! I will read the descriptions of some other manual ones then to see if there is anything similar at the cheaper end of the scale, I'd be suprised but you don't know until you look:rotfl:You are quids in there with running costs!

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4868815/c_1/1|category_root|Kitchen+and+laundry|14418476/c_2/2|14418476|Fridge+freezers|14418615/c_3/3|cat_14418615|Frost+free+fridge+freezers|14418628.htm#pdpFullProductInformation
I found this Freezer too but never heard of Bush as a freezer manufacturer, reviews seem OK.

This whole business is so confusing How often do you guys defrost your manual defrost ones and is it easy enough? Do you lose frozen food in the process?

abankerbutnotafatcat

Do you have an existing fridge freezer (possibly just a fridge or freezer but you'd need to check)? If so you could do this offer which we did.
http://www.siemens-home.co.uk/save-£1200-with-siemens.html

We decided which model we wanted and then got phone numbers for our local dealers (link below) and phoned a few local independent dealers to get the best price.
http://www.siemens-home.co.uk/store-locator.html

With this offer and phoning around you should be able to get this fridge freezer (link below) for around £300 - it's at John Lewis for £414 without the £75 off and I found the independent Siemens dealers (has to be a Siemens dealer to get the offer as per the link below to one of my local stores) were quite a lot lower than the John Lewis price. The Siemens will come with a 2 year guarantee. Make sure you factor in delivery costs, from my experience some charged and some didn't.
http://www.rdo.co.uk/productdetails.asp?id=4913&cid=300

I also found a Bosch low frost fridge freezer with a two year guarantee at RDO for £329

Hope i've at least given you a few more ideas!!!