Non-self-defrost freezer: How to minimize frost buildup?

[Haertig]

Many years ago we bought a giant freezer. We found that you could get an even bigger super-giant freezer if you skipped the self-defrost feature. So we did that.

Big mistake. Defrosting this thing is a real pain, so we seldom do it, which means it frosts up even more. It looks like Antarctica in there, with huge frozen mountains of ice. Our super-giant freezer is functionally a super-small freezer due to the ice buildup.

Besides simply replacing the freezer, is there anything that can be done to help with the frost buildup? Would putting a dehydrator (one of those desiccant-filled things like you might have in a gun safe) help any? Or would that just serve to desiccate your food as well?

We're in Colorado, and our climate is arid here. So I'm wondering where this freezer is getting all the moisture from to build it's magnificent internal ice sculptures.

 

[Supervisor42]

Besides simply replacing the freezer, is there anything that can be done to help with the frost buildup? Would putting a dehydrator (one of those desiccant-filled things like you might have in a gun safe) help any? Or would that just serve to desiccate your food as well?

We're in Colorado, and our climate is arid here. So I'm wondering where this freezer is getting all the moisture from to build it's magnificent internal ice sculptures.

The source of the moisture is easy to track down.
1. Door seals that don't seal good. The dollar-bill test still works today. A leaky seal will build ice on one wall of the freezer first.
2. Door opened too often (unlikely). Frequently accessed stuff should be in the refrigerator freezer instead.
3. Meat wrapped in paper or the wrap from stores is the biggest culprit. If a desiccant in there can dry your food, the containers with food inside are not airtight.
Take a close look at the containers that the food is inside. Ziplocs inside of plastic containers can be your friend, just like containers inside of Ziplocs.

p.s. Stuff that is "freeze-dried" in your freezer will taste like crap too.

 

[phideaux]

Where is it located ?
Garage? Basement ?



Jim

 

[Caribou]

We bought a used freezer from a friend. Sometimes it doesn't completely seal and the ice buildup is horrendous. I would expect your ice to be primarily from the moisture in the air either from opening and/or a poor seal.

 

[Haertig]

The freezer is in the basement. That is the most humid place in the house, but being Colorado, even the basement is not very humid.

What is "the dollar bill test"? I'm guessing you try to insert a dollar all around a closed door, and if it goes in, you've found the spot(s) of your bad seal?

I will check into food packaging now that the freezer is defrosted. I tend to use a vacuum sealer these days, but there was a lot of stuff in there that pre-dated the vacuum sealer, and was in original manufacturer packaging. For example: if I buy a small bag of frozen vegetables I don't typically vacuum seal them (but I usually re-seal the mega Costco bags into smaller quantities).

 

[Weedygarden]

We're in Colorado, and our climate is arid here. So I'm wondering where this freezer is getting all the moisture from to build it's magnificent internal ice sculptures.

Some of it comes from the food that is in your freezer.

The freezer in my garage has an ice buildup as well. I know it is from a bad seal.

 

[phideaux]

Moisture is not allowed (as much as possible) in my gun safes.
I use a heat rod to burn off moisture. Can't do that in the freezer. I also dehumidify the room where my safes are. I monitor the humidity in the safes ant keep it at 45% year round

I said that to say this ...the only way moisture enters my safes is thru the seals leaking, or the guns/cases I put in there, or the big one, opening the door.
So, I think the area around the freezer being high humidity is a culprit, the seals , culprit, the contents a culprit.

Open the door, place a dollar bill on seal, close the door see if you can remove it with little or no resistance, at different spots around the door. If so , seal is bad.
Maybe a small dehumidifier for that area,

Combination of all three culprits is probably your answer

Jim

 

[Haertig]

Thanks - I'll do that dollar bill test. I do know that immediately after shutting the freezer door, it is very difficult to open. I believe there is some kind of vacuum fan in there. After several seconds, the door gets easier to open, but you can hear the seal pulling loose when you open the door, FWIW. The seal looks to be in decent shape, but I haven't laid on my back and tried to inspect the bottom. And, that seal is the original - over 20 years old I'd guess. So how good could it still be after all those years? Our typical humidity around here is mid-30's, a bit higher on moist summer mornings.

Should have bought the self-defrosting model I tell 'ya! Oh well, it's all defrosted now, thanks to the wife's valiant efforts all day yesterday. This freezer is huge again!!! Found a bag of coffee beans totally encased and buried in one of the frost mountains, and it had a masking tape label on it saying "1999". I guess that was my Y2K stash of emergency coffee, pushed to the back, and eventually overcome by the glacier!

 

[zoomzoom]

At 20 years old, it's almost time to consider a new one. Maybe in a few years when you have to defrost again.

Most freezers have that vacuum effect. It's thermal transfer by itself, not anything motorized.

A little late to mention it now but the easiest way I've found to clean out the glacier is to:
1. Turn it off/unplug it.
2. Open door and let it sit for an hour or so and maybe with a little fan blowing in area with the least amount of frost so you have a starting point for chiseling.
3. Using a PLASTIC spatula, run it between the cooler and frost buildup and separate the 2. It should come out in chunks.

 

[backlash]

Check on how much your old freezer cost you to operate then compare it to the new ones. You might save a bunch of money replacing the old one.
I use a kill-a-watt meter to check power consumption and cost. Somethings really surprised me.
$20.59 at home depot.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kill-A-Watt-Electricity-Monitor-P4400/202196386
When I defrosted mine I just moved it outside, opened the door and hosed it out. Let it dry then put it back in the shop. Yours being in the basement that's probably not an option.