Kenmore Upright Frostfree Freezer

This purchase has been one of the better ideas my wife suggested in the last few months.

We have always been avid eaters and like to buy meat and vegetables in season at their best and also at their most reasonable. The problem: How to preserve the freshness of these bulk quantities of food so we can enjoy it later when it’s out of season?

We tried canning, too messy. Dehydration, good, but time consuming. Finally we broke down and decided to buy a freezer.

I had always had good luck with Sears for major appliances. In fact, I have a Kenmore refrigerator in my kitchen already. Sears has always stood for quality in the area of refrigerators, freezers, stoves, washers and driers, and the like, in my mind.

Luckily, I had been uncharacteristically reading some junk mail recently and become aware of a Sears "Scratch and Dent Center" Large Appliance Outlet, located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, about ten or fifteen miles from my house.

These outlets sell major appliances, televisions, furniture, riding mowers, and the like for good discounts, since they are considered floor models or cosmetically marred. Really, most of the merchandise is indistinguishable from brand new, but it allows Sears to off load a ton of merchandise, and thus compete with Walmart, Kmart, and any other marts out there, without eroding their basic pricing structure in place in their retail stores. Some people have no problem paying retail, but if you’re like me, you like to save money whenever you can. Sears Large Appliance Outlet is perfect for people like us. The merchandise is warranted the same as new, but you save 15-20%. What’s not to like?

My wife and I jumped in the Concorde and rode down to Sears. We were met with an embarassment of riches. Row upon row of freezers, upright, chest, frostfree, manual defrost, and so on. Which one to choose?

Well, the decision was easier than you think.

First, my wife is short, so the chests were out. Second, she said, "If you think I’m going to defrost that thing, you’re crazy." So we were getting an upright frostfree freezer. See how simple my thought process was? :>

Now, we only had to decide on the size and color. We settled on the white 16.7 cubic foot frostfree model 28741.

The large freezer has four plastic coated wire rack shelves for durability, a large slide out wire basket at the bottom, and five shelves on the door, two of which are swing out baskets, again made of large gauge wire for durability. The freezer freezes food quickly and maintains a stable temperature. This is important as it means your food will last longer in storage. You will notice the difference in your lifestyle when you eat that sweet corn in January that tastes the same as when you picked it last July!

We quickly blanched a lot of home grown vegetables and put them in Glad® Freezer Storage Bags. The next time we went to the market, we bought a large quantity of meat, French bread, and ice cream. I mean, we had to check that puppy out, no? I am pleased to inform you, the freezer passed with flying colors.

The freezer sells for $629 new at Sears. We paid either $499 or $509 (I forget) at the Sears Large Appliance Outlet. So the way I figure it, we saved enough to load it for the first time with food on Sears. I think I made a very good deal. What do you think?




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 500