Midea 3.5 cu ft Chest Freezer: Is it the best of its category?

Midea 3.5 chest freezer Review Summary

Price Check: Is the Midea 3.5 cu. ft. Chest Freezer a good deal?

The MRC04M3AWW model from Midea price is No products found., which is a bit high, yet not excessive, compared with other freezers of similar capacity in the market.

What elevates the price of this unit is it is garage ready, meaning it is guaranteed to perform well in extreme temperature conditions, and not every chest freezer can do that. Also, Midea group is a very well established brand and their chest freezers are among the most popular and affordable when compared with other big brands like GE or Koolatron.

Additionally, this chest freezer has D-shaped pipes that make it more efficient and quick to cool down. If you add this to the immense popularity and positive feedback it has, it makes much more sense to pay its price.

While its true there are more affordable options, keep in mind that if you want a reliable and high quality chest freezer at a reasonable price, there best balance is with Midea.

Comparison Table: The Midea MRC04M3AWW vs Similar Models

Here is a quick comparison table for you to check other options.

Space Efficiency: Space footprint vs Inner Capacity

This freezer is a small appliance and it does not take up much space. Yet there are a few things we noticed while evaluating it that are worth mentioning here.

First of all, its space efficiency ratio is 42%, which means the internal cabinet space is almost half of the entire volume of the unit. Ideally you want this number to be as high as possible, and space efficient chest freezers are rated above 40%.

Also, the space you need for this freezer is not what its dimensions say, but a little bit more, and this is to ensure its performance is optimal.

The dimensions of the Midea chest freezer 3.5 are 21.5 inches from side to side, 19.5 inches front to back, and 33.5 inches tall.

Consider 16 extra inches to the side to side dimension and 8 extra inches to the front to back. This way the freezer will have enough room for heat dissipation and air circulation, which is important for its performance and durability.

Be sure to leave enough space above the freezer as well for a total open lid, which is about 58 inches in total.

In short and for optimal performance, we recommend you to reserve a space of 37.5 x 27.5 x 58 inches. While that may seem more than what you anticipated, it is the minimum required to ensure you freezer work well.

The Sealing: Will it keep your food frozen?

Midea has added a flexible plastic gasket that ensures the seal of the unit is achieved. The plastic frame of the freezer as well is a flat and polished surface that completes the circle and helps to have a perfect seal.

What we’ve seen here is both the gasket and the frame tend to get dirty or frosty with time, so be sure to clean them often using a dry cloth.

Frost is a big thing, because it adds up before you notice it, so be sure to remove it from the frame to always have a perfect seal and thus an efficient freezer.

Also, the seal can be compromised if the unit is not level, so be sure to measure this and if the unit is not perfectly horizontal, use the adjustable legs of the Midea 3.5 to accomplish this.

While some people complain about it, a good seal always makes it a bit hard to open the lid right after you close it. With time, frost or dirt builds up and creates gaps where the cold air can escape.

Do this test once in a while and if you notice you don’t feel that resistance right after closing the lid, it may be a good time to clean the gasket and the frame.

Performance: Is the Midea 3.5 a Reliable freezer?

Midea is a big player in the industry of chest freezers and all of their models are dependable and perform great. This is thanks to the D-Shaped pipes they use for their cooling systems, as well as years and years of continuous improvement.

Based on our experience with this brand, if these freezers fail, more than often has to do with the way they are used.

As long as you defrost your unit periodically, allow enough space for it to dissipate heat, and don’t abuse or misuse it, you should be fine. Yet in the case of something extremely weird happening, you can always contact customer service for help.

For Optimal Performance

Here are our recommendations for never having issues with your freezer:

Manually Defrost it Periodically

Most people know these units require defrosting for cleaning, yet they don’t know how often. In reality it is hard to tell a specific period of time. Instead, chest freezers professionals recommend to defrost the unit when you see the frost inside is between 0.25 and 0.5 inch thick.

Defrosting the unit not only serves for cleaning, but also ensures you freezer is more efficient because frost makes it warmer inside the cabinet. When you remove the frost, the compressor has to work less to keep the temperature inside stable.

Low to Mid Temperature Setting

The higher you set the temperature control of the Midea MRC04M3AWW, the more the compressor has to work to reach and keep that temperature level. You want to keep the temperature level of the unit in the low to mid to not force it that much.

Use the freezer between 80% to 90% of its capacity

Of course you can always top it, but the 3.5 cu ft Midea freezer performs better if the amount of food it has to freeze (that is, remove heat from) is less.

We want to be smart and put the optimal amount of food inside, so that we maximize its space but minimize the workload it has, and we’ve seen that using it between 80 and 90% of its capacity achieves this.

More Benefits with this Freezer

When it comes to performance, there are other things you want to know about this freezer.

Silent Operation: You can barely notice this freezer is present while operating, and that is because its compressor is pretty silent.

Energy Efficient: While energy consumption will vary depending on the use you give it, this Midea mini freezer is rated to cost around 23 USD per year to run. The secret to keep this running for less is to

Other features worth mentioning

The Midea freezer 3.5 comes with other features that while not needed to make its primary function, they contribute to the user experience and make your life easier as a user.

Stay open lid: This is almost standard in most chest freezers these days and we like the fact the lid will stay open without you having to hold it there. This is useful in case you need both hands to put in or get out food. Just make sure you close the lid because this feature may keep it open.

Sliding Basket: Contributes a lot for organization. Just keep in mind this is a metal wire basket and is coated with paint. This paint may suffer wear with time and without it the basket may rust. Treat it gently every time you manipulate this basket.

Drain Plug: Useful for doing the maintenance of your freezer. Instead of having to scoop out the melted ice and water residues, this drain plug facilitates the process evacuate everything.

Adjustable Legs: As mentioned before, this help a lot to keep the unit leveled, and this is a great aid to ensure the seal is perfect.

Frequently Bought Together

This freezer thermometer can help a lot to ensure your freezer is running at the desired temperature, and it is pretty small so you can put it among the food items and ensure the temperature is right every time you open the lid.

Downsides: Things to know and make and informed purchase

There is not a perfect product, and thus here we discuss things we think you need to be aware of before making the final call. While these are not deal breakers for us, we think is important to mention them here.

No power on indicator: Something we miss on this model is a power on indicator. While the operation of the freezer is not altered by it, it does provide a good visual check for users that the freezer is powered and running.

No interior light: Make sure you put this freezer in a well illuminated area because it does not come with an interior light. You still can use your phone for that, but some freezers do come with internal lights.

Final Words: The Midea 3.5 cu ft chest freezer is the best of its category

We started this post asking if the Midea 3.5 cu ft chest freezer was indeed the best of its category, and after evaluating all we’ve shared in this post, we think this is the best 3.5 cu ft chest freezer in the market.

Its price may seem high at first, but once you understand it is garage ready and add all the positive feedback it gets from current users, it makes a lot of sense to invest in this appliance.

This 3.5 cu ft chest freezer is pretty straightforward and is a reliable and dependable solution to increase your frozen food storage capacity without having to sacrifice a lot of floor space.