Freezing Fantastic (Bosch GSE28421GB)

Member Name: zebra

Product:	Bosch GSE28421GB
Date:	21/07/03 (379 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sturdy construction, efficient and eco friendly

Disadvantages: the price!

I have owned a Bosch freezer for five years and it has been the best freezer I have ever had. The equivalent model now is the GSE 28421 which appears to be even better. My freezer has a net capacity of 210 litres/7.4 cu. ft. and an EC efficiency rating of C. The GSE 28421 has a slightly larger capacity of 225 litres/7.9 cu. ft. and an energy rating of B with annual running costs of £26.32.

When we replaced our kitchen I decided to have a built in larder fridge and a separate free standing upright freezer which would be located in the new larder area of our kitchen extension.

Prior to this we have had two free standing fridge freezers. The first of unknown make was 'built in' to the kitchen when we arrived and I really liked its layout. The freezer area below was larger than the fridge area and it had drawers. However, the fridge part broke down and it was very difficult to find a replacement fridge freezer with the dimensions and qualities of the old one. I eventually settled on an Electrolux which nearly fitted the bill but it had flaps rather than drawers. This appliance was a complete disaster and it failed twice and had to be replaced. After a couple of years use several of the freezer flaps broke or kept falling off so I knew that when I replaced it I would be looking for something sturdier preferably with drawers.

When we had our new kitchen I decided I didn't want a built in fridge freezer because I am quite short and couldn't reach the top of any models on show. Also experience had taught me that we needed a big freezer so I decided to have a larder fridge built into the kitchen units and have a separate freezer with drawers.

The only model which fitted the bill was the Bosch GSD 2616. It was expensive at £439 - but I'm worth it. Bosch have always been at the forefront of developing CFC and HFC free products and working toward improving energy efficiency. My freezer is a C rating which has now been im
proved to a B rating on the later model. The environmental aspect was quite important to me especially as my last freezer had leaked its fluid and thus added to the environmental problem.

This freezer has 5 drawers which are made of strong plastic and are of one-piece construction so there are no bits to break or fall apart. An added bonus with these drawers is that when you are defrosting the freezer the food can be stacked still in the drawers which not only is more convenient but also helps to keep it cold. My freezer has opaque drawers but in the GSE 28421 they are transparent which is even better as you can see the contents easily.

Another very useful feature in this freezer is a tray for open freezing of berries, other soft fruit or anything else. I find this a very useful feature as we grow a lot of fruit but the tray is also a good place to store ice cubes and the 'freezer packs' which were supplied to keep food cold while defrosting but which double for use in picnic ice boxes.

The control panel is at the top of the freezer and has an on/off switch, temperature selector which can be set from -18 t0 -26 and fast freeze. I particularly like the freezer temperature display which always remains illuminated. There is both a visual and audible alarm if the temperature drops for any reason. The alarm has only gone off once when my husband didn't close the freezer door properly - so at least we know that it works. The fast freeze switches itself off automatically 26 hours after being set which is quite useful if you forget to do it.

Defrosting the freezer is very simple and only needs to be done about once a year. There is a flip down outlet at the bottom of the freezer and it is designed so that the bottom freezer drawer can be used to collect the water. This works very well and I haven't had the major leak problems encountered while defrosting previous freezers.

If I ever had to replace my freezer I wou
ld almost certainly buy another Bosch.

Further information on the freezer is available at http://www.bosch-da.co.uk/ I think it costs about £430.

Summary: