Chest Freezer or Upright: Cubic Feet and Defrost Type Compared

The temperature rating decides before capacity does

A 0°F to 110°F ambient operating range is listed for four of the six freezers here: the GE FUF21SMRWW and FUF17DLRWW uprights and the GE FCM16SLWW chest on their AJ Madison and Abt specification listings, and the Danby DUFM101A2WDD upright on Danby’s own page. The Whirlpool WZF79R20DW publishes a different kind of figure. Whirlpool’s dimension guide says the freezer operates most efficiently where the temperature will not fall below 40°F (5°C), and tells you to locate it accordingly. That splits the list before you look at a single cubic foot. If your garage drops below 40°F in winter, Whirlpool’s own guidance excludes its model. The large GE chest is a different problem: GE may well have tested it across a wide range, but no range could be confirmed for it from the documents retrieved, so you would be buying the biggest cabinet here on an assumption about the one condition that defines the purchase. Treat “garage ready” without a number as no rating.

Rated cubic feet: what the figures do and do not tell you

Capacity runs from 10.1 cu ft for the Danby to 21.7 cu ft for the GE FCM22DLWW chest. In between sit the GE FCM16SLWW chest at 15.7 cu ft, the GE FUF17DLRWW upright at 17.3 cu ft, the Whirlpool at 19.7 cu ft and the GE FUF21SMRWW upright at 21.3 cu ft.

Two of those figures come with caveats from the manufacturers’ own documents. GE’s spec sheet for the FCM22DLWW lists 21.6 while GE’s retail page says 21.7 cu ft. Whirlpool documents the WZF79R20DW cabinet in its dimension guide under the related model code WZF34X20D at 19.7 cu ft, and retailer listings for the WZF79R20DW round it to 19.6 or 19.65 cu ft. Neither gap is large enough to change a decision, but if you see a different figure on the product page than in this guide, that is why.

The largest chest and the largest upright are the clearest pair for seeing what the form factor costs and gives. The FCM22DLWW organizes its volume with five sliding baskets and a second-level rail that lets baskets sit at different heights. The FUF21SMRWW uses slide-out bins. The other uprights publish their shelving in more detail: the FUF17DLRWW has four glass shelves, two adjustable, plus a slide-out basket. The Danby has three wire shelves and four door shelves. Shelves and door bins sit inside the rated volume, and the rated figure does not subtract them. A chest’s baskets lift out.

Floor space: the arithmetic for a garage bay

Chest freezers are long and low. The FCM16SLWW is 65 inches wide, 33.375 inches tall and 28.5 inches deep. The FCM22DLWW is 73-1/4 inches wide, 33-3/8 inches tall and 33 inches deep. Uprights are narrow and tall.

The uprights move the problem upward. Garage door tracks, overhead storage and low basement joists are the obstacles to measure against.

Clearance is where the published figures run out. None of the chest listings retrieved prints a lid-open height, and the cabinet height of 33-3/8 inches is not the height you need when the lid is up. Among the uprights, only Whirlpool publishes a door-swing figure: 58-7/8 inches deep with the door open 90 degrees, against a 29-1/8 inch closed depth. That is the number to picture for any upright, and only one manufacturer here gives it to you. For the GE uprights and the Danby, confirm side, back and door clearances in the installation documents before committing to a spot.

Defrost type is a separate decision from shape

Three models here are manual defrost: the GE FCM16SLWW and FCM22DLWW chests, and the Danby DUFM101A2WDD upright, which Danby lists as manual defrost with a drip tray. Three are frost-free: the GE FUF17DLRWW and FUF21SMRWW uprights and the Whirlpool WZF79R20DW. The Danby is the reason not to infer defrost type from the cabinet. It is an upright that still needs emptying and scraping.

The Whirlpool is the only one that publishes an annual energy figure, 525 kWh/year as an EnergyGuide estimate, and that figure came from a manual summary that could not be re-opened to confirm. GE publishes no kWh/year figure for any of its four models in the documents retrieved, and Danby publishes none for the DUFM101A2WDD. ENERGY STAR qualification is stated for the FCM22DLWW chest on GE’s spec sheet, for the FUF17DLRWW upright on its listing, and for the Danby on Danby’s page. It does not appear in the documents retrieved for the FCM16SLWW, the FUF21SMRWW or the Whirlpool. Certification is a threshold, not a figure, so even among the three certified models you cannot rank running cost.

Checking status without opening the lid

The FCM16SLWW has an exterior light that alerts if the temperature rises. The FCM22DLWW has an audible temperature alarm. The FUF21SMRWW has an external electronic temperature control panel with an audible alarm, so you can read and adjust the setting from outside. The Whirlpool is sold with a temperature alarm in its product name. Locks with key are listed for the FCM16SLWW, the FCM22DLWW and the FUF21SMRWW, which matters in a garage that other people walk through.

Two models list a fast-freeze function for loading a large quantity at once: the FUF21SMRWW calls it Turbo Freeze, and the Whirlpool calls it Fast Freeze. The FUF17DLRWW listing gives an electrical rating of 115V and 20A. No other model here publishes an amperage in the documents retrieved, so it is the only one you can check against a garage circuit before buying.

When the smaller or simpler option is enough

The Danby DUFM101A2WDD is enough when 10.1 cu ft of overflow storage covers what you keep. In its favor are the published ambient range, manual defrost in an upright cabinet, a reversible door, ENERGY STAR qualification and a 5-year parts-and-labor warranty with in-home service. Against it, no exterior dimensions could be confirmed from the documents retrieved, and it is less than half the capacity of the FUF21SMRWW.

The GE FCM16SLWW chest is enough for a cold garage when you have 65 inches of wall and prefer lift-out baskets to shelves.

The Whirlpool is the right call in a heated basement or utility room that never drops below 40°F. It is the only model with a published kWh figure and a published door-swing depth, and its shelf layout is documented in more detail than any other upright here. Whirlpool also lists an optional icemaker. In an unheated cold-climate garage, Whirlpool’s own guidance takes it off the list.

The GE FCM22DLWW is the one to be careful with. It has the widest footprint here and no confirmed ambient range. For a conditioned space with six feet of wall, it is a strong candidate. For the garage this comparison is built around, the unconfirmed number is the reason to look at the FUF21SMRWW instead, whose listing prints the range.