Freezers

[ABR]

Not sure if this is the correct place but here it goes. We've been without a garage freezer since the last one died over 2 years ago and I'm ready to buy a new one. Hoping to find a good deal on black friday/cyber monday. I'm trying to decide what size we should get? It would mostly be used for meat and a few other random things. I don't want it to be too small but also don't want it so big that it's only half full all the time.
Recommendations?
*Keep in mind that summers get really hot and it will be in an old detached garage that is not climate controlled

 

[zoomzoom]

IMHO, go big. If there's empty space in the freezer, put in some 1-gallon water jugs (not completely filled due to expansion) to keep the freezer full. Should you have a power outage, those jugs will keep your freezer cold for a lot longer than just air in there.

Are you thinking chest or upright? A chest will keep cold air in a lot better than upright, especially if you open the door frequently.

 

[ABR]

IMHO, go big. If there's empty space in the freezer, put in some 1-gallon water jugs (not completely filled due to expansion) to keep the freezer full. Should you have a power outage, those jugs will keep your freezer cold for a lot longer than just air in there.

Are you thinking chest or upright? A chest will keep cold air in a lot better than upright, especially if you open the door frequently.

Yeah we usually have gallon jugs in our freezers. We're thinking upright. It won't be opened frequently and I don't want to have to take everything out to reach stuff on the bottom, especially during the summer.

 

[haulitdragit]

wattage use is what we think about in summer...coz...we'll be giving it shots of power with inverters..if powers out
.in winter...cold freezin winter...we can keep outside...oh...also settings on it..to be able to use as fridge if needed...good hunting

 

[Mountain trapper]

We have 2 chest freezers in the shop. A big one and a smaller one. Between the two they're big enough to hold a whole beef, a whole hog, 50 chickens and miscellaneous other things. This time of year they also have a lot of fur and carcasses from trapping, so the wife has to be careful what she grabs.
As we use the food out of the big freezer we replace it with food from the small freezer, eventually unplugging the small freezer. We also have a large fridge/freezer in the house and a small fridge/freezer in the fur shed.
We're totally on solar power here.

 

[Cascadian]

When we were looking at a new freezer last year there were some that were more suitable for inside the garage. I don't remember what the nomenclature was because ours was going on the house. I think they were harder to find a year ago also. We went to a mom and pop store and got an off brand at a good price. They said there were only 2 or 3 manufacturers regardless of what the brand label says. Ours is a conservator. We love it and have had zero issues. It has less bells and whistles but I figure less to go wrong.

Also we went with a big upright. It's like 6 feet tall. In my experience with most things you only regret going big on the day you pay for it. Good luck and let know how it goes.

 

[DrJenner]

We have 2 chest freezers in the shop. A big one and a smaller one. Between the two they're big enough to hold a whole beef, a whole hog, 50 chickens and miscellaneous other things. This time of year they also have a lot of fur and carcasses from trapping, so the wife has to be careful what she grabs.
As we use the food out of the big freezer we replace it with food from the small freezer, eventually unplugging the small freezer. We also have a large fridge/freezer in the house and a small fridge/freezer in the fur shed.
We're totally on solar power here.

Are you able to use the chest freezers year round and is your shop climate controlled? We need to bring our freezers out here (they are currently in my sister in laws garage) but they won't be in a climate controlled area. Our RV fridge/freezer stops when it gets too cold outside.

 

[Peanut]

I had a chest freezer die last spring. Found a replacement 125 miles away, a GE. It's still running fine.

However, it is still difficult to find large freezers in this area, 20cuft range. 8cuft or less seem plentiful.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/whats-everybody-doing-today.474/page-1166#post-455561

This freezer thread is from last year... might have useful info..

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/recommendations-for-a-good-freezer.12695/#post-351661

 

[zoomzoom]

Our RV fridge/freezer stops when it gets too cold outside.

That's a common problem/situation. If you're putting a freezer in a below freezing outside temp, look into it before investing.

 

[backlash]

Freezers are like gun safes.
Buy the biggest one you can afford and one you have room for.
No such thing as too big for either. You will fill it up eventually.

 

[Bacpacker]

We are looking at a mid sized chest model. It will be limited by the length and the space we have available. I think its a mid teens to 20 CF model that we currently have

 

[Cascadian]

I was going to add the extra room comes in handy when you want to freeze a 25lb bag of beans or something for a week. Also I am really grateful I don't have to eat all the turkey noodle soupy wife makes in the same week.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Are you able to use the chest freezers year round and is your shop climate controlled? We need to bring our freezers out here (they are currently in my sister in laws garage) but they won't be in a climate controlled area. Our RV fridge/freezer stops when it gets too cold outside.

Yes, we use the freezers year round, though we try to shut one down whenever possible. The shop is well insulated but not climate controlled. When I'm working in the shop I heat it with a propane jet heater. So far it has never frozen inside. This afternoon it was 16 degs outside and 40 degrees inside the shop.

 

[Patchouli]

@ABR I was wondering about a chest freezer in my garage, also not climate controlled, in Texas. Are some models not manufactured to withstand the high temperatures?
Some can keep running well in cold temps too?
I think I’d better wait until I move to a more climate friendly environment. Had an upright in the basement back east. It was old and worked fine. It was my mom’s first. Must have been at least 20 years old.

 

[Morgan101]

We have a Kenmore upright freezer in the garage. It has been O.K., but I am not thrilled with it. Most of our other appliances are Kitchen Aid, and IMHO that is a better brand. We have had no troubles with Kitchen Aid appliances. The freezer has given us some unwanted surprises.

 

[Bacpacker]

@ABR I was wondering about a chest freezer in my garage, also not climate controlled, in Texas. Are some models not manufactured to withstand the high temperatures?
Some can keep running well in cold temps too?
I think I’d better wait until I move to a more climate friendly environment. Had an upright in the basement back east. It was old and worked fine. It was my mom’s first. Must have been at least 20 years old.

Our freezers are in the basement, not climate controlled. Never saw any issues with them due to that

 

[ABR]

@ABR I was wondering about a chest freezer in my garage, also not climate controlled, in Texas. Are some models not manufactured to withstand the high temperatures?
Some can keep running well in cold temps too?
I think I’d better wait until I move to a more climate friendly environment. Had an upright in the basement back east. It was old and worked fine. It was my mom’s first. Must have been at least 20 years old.

It's not that I'm worried about a chest freezer not staying cold enough in summer here. It's more to do with the fact that in order to get to things at the bottom you have to sit there with it open and take everything out before you reach the bottom stuff. With ambient air in the garage reaching over 100°F your stuff will start thawing and getting warm very quickly and make the freezer work harder to get everything back down to temp. Does that make sense?

 

[Magpie]

I have two, both in the garage. one an old chest freezer and the other a 3-year-old upright. Technically I presume the new one is more efficient to run, but I'm guessing the chest freezer is better because the cold doesn't 'fall' out when I open the lid. The upright is useful because of the drawers in it- I have one for chicken, one for beef etc. handy when you are in a hurry to grab something to defrost on your way out the door. It has no light, strangely.
I would say what you need depends on your lifestyle. and what you can afford to run. We bought the chest one because it stored a lot of bread and stuff I would go through a lot of when the children were little. I now keep larger containers of homegrown peas, fruit etc, hunks of meat and full chickens in it, along with the box of bread rolls. If there was just the two of us, I'd be happy with the upright.

Also, I forgot to say, when people know you have a freezer they can be very generous with unwanted produce!

 

[Peanut]

@ABR My new freezer came with rails, movable trays and dividers. It makes the freezer far more usable. I open the freezer a few times a week, no issues. Finding what I need or adding to it is simple.

Of course I don't have this new freezer packed like the old one. But the old one was an unusable chunk of ice. These trays and rails are great.

 

[ClemKadiddlehopper]

Someone was problem solving with the lower rail. Are there more baskets than shown?

 

[Peanut]

@ClemKadiddlehopper There are 5 baskets and more dividers. At first I thought more baskets would be better. But after using it for a while I found it works great with 5. It gives space at one end for large or odd shaped objects and still have space to slide baskets around for access.

It's also deceptively roomy. I thought there'd be lots of dead space but there's not so much as it seems.

Most importantly it's easy to organize. it's all usable space instead of a huge chunk of ice.

 

[zoomzoom]

Most importantly it's easy to organize. it's all usable space instead of a huge chunk of ice.

Does yours have a button or knob you can press to do a quick defrost? I find that feature to be extremely handy.

 

[Wingnut]

Friend o' mine had an older top-loading chest freezer in his garage in Imperial Beach, which was NOT climate-controlled, and it never gave him any problem, but the temps there on the beach are pretty mild, so maybe it never got "tested" that way. It was handy to have, though, because whenever there was a good deal on meat at the grocery store, he'd add more stuff to the freezer, which he kept pretty full anyway. I think it had one rack on high, but the rest was just open space... my friend used old plastic milk crates to make things a little easier, but those also reduced overall storage space. Just my $.02, I don't have a freezer except what's part of my fridge, and there are times when I long for more space, but I'm not sure how cost-effective it would be with just one guy and five cats. Now, if I can just get those blasted varmints to quit stealing beer outta my fridge, I'll be good to go...

 

[Pearl]

An older lady who lives a few miles from us has an old upright freezer from 1962. It died today!! Lived in three different garages Over the years!

 

[viking]

If you can find a commercial upright freezer that has section doors inside the main door it would save most of the cold air, I happen to like chest freezers the best because cold air doesn't dump out every time the door is opened.

 

[Pearl]

If you can find a commercial upright freezer that has section doors inside the main door it would save most of the cold air, I happen to like chest freezers the best because cold air doesn't dump out every time the door is opened.

I like the BIG chest freezers! My small one hides things on me! Very good point Viking!!

 

[Solar Geek]

We have 57 cu ft of deep freeze in 3 pretty new uprights. 2 are Frigidaire 20 cu ft and the other is a 17.5 Cu ft Whirlpool. Love all 3 equally but the newest has the most interior usable space. All are self defrost as I plan their openings well - sometimes all we need for the week and transfer later to be used items to my Kitchen fridge freezer.

No special gizmos. I use clear plastic storage bins on each shelf. Keeps it neat and not so heavy to get at the stuff that inevitably hides itself!

 

[Magpie]

I just spent a while moving items around the chest freezer. I put two small boxes in and in them bags of veg & bits that I want using up first. I am reliant on the freezers for long term storage, as this country is so damn damp. I'll be story more veg this year.
I also have an upright, about 5 years old, that I use for fish and meat. The chest freezer is about 22 years old. On occasion I think it's not working properly, but it always rallies, I'm going to look for a new seal, and as I've been using the older items its nearly half empty. I'm tempted to clear it out and defrost it (theres a ton of nigella seeds at the bottom, which to a stranger would look like mouse droppings ) and clean the back of dust etc, in an effort to give it a longer life.
I keep a blanket on top, in case the electricity goes.
My question (eventually) I'm considering getting a few freezer bags like in the pic and keeping the food in that. My theory is in case of power loss they keep things a bit better; it will be easy to find stuff, I could have one colour for veg, one for rolls etc, and they stack. Any thoughts on this or am I wasting my time?

 

[Pearl]

I have a small chest freezer that did great during a 4 1/2 day power outage. I have two frozen (of course) gallon jugs of water in it and some freezer packs in the top basket. It was at 22° when I checked it right after that outage! Even though they take up room, the jugs and freezer packs saved everything in that freezer!!

 

[zoomzoom]

@Magpie - will the soft-sided be an issue when you put in items that aren't yet frozen? E.g. you put new items in a bread or veggie container then re-stack your bags? Will the new stuff get crushed?

Have you considered something that's clear and hard-sided? Easier to see what you have and things won't crush.

The pic below is kind of what I'm thinking. I will say that you need to be careful of what hard-sided product you choose. If the plastic is very hard, it'll be more likely to crack in the extreme cold. When I use totes in the winter, they have to be of the softer plastic.