Freezer (Let the opinions fly)

NPHuskerFL

There was a recent discussion by another member of "Egghead Nation" regarding freezer purchase. I'm in a similar boat. My wife and I have decided to replace our "non" frost free upright freezer with a frost free upright. Obviously because of my professional background I have a strong opinion on what to get. Unfortunately my want is somewhat pricey even getting it at cost + wholesaler markup. I think I've narrowed it down to the True T series T-19F or the T-23F both are -10F freezers. Now to convince my wife that this is the best option.

True T-series restaurant refrigerators: http://youtu.be/hd8kEHBybSg


Thoughts?

Shiff

Over the last few years we have purchased 2 Frigidaire upright frost free freezers - 17 cu ft and 26 cu ft.  They are "his" (26 cu ft) and "hers" (17 cu ft).  They are working great and are set for 0 degrees.  We have noticed very little degradation in meat quality even if the meat was in there for almost a year.

I don't know anything about the brand you mentioned, but I can't see spending a fortune on a freezer.  I know that consumer reports has given lower ratings to so called professional appliances over the years but I don't believe they included the brand you mentioned.

No matter what you end up with, having a large dedicated freezer is great.

DMW

Build a walk in freezer. I know you can.

BugCollector

I like the his and hers approach.  That would be a good idea for us (though she could NEVER be organized enough to use just her freezer.  Anyway,  -10 would keep food safe for a very long time. We have a chest freezer (Kenmore) that goes to -7, must have been an anomaly. True is a popular commercial freezer.  I've seen them everywhere.  I wonder how noisy they would be in a residential environment.  

cook861

Me being a professional cook i would take the biggest one that will fit in my home 

Dobie

If its in the budget why not.

NPHuskerFL

@BugCollector‌ the compressor, although oversized for quick recovery (almost true flash freeze or blast freezer) is remarkably quiet as well as the condensing fan motor. Obviously if I was looking at a 3 door model with a much larger compressor the db would be in turn higher.
Side note: if I found a "residential upright freezer" that actually held -10F I'd be impressed. Most residential or professional models sold by big box stores give maximum rating vs nominal. Commercial units are built to withstand heavy usage and have a fast recovery rate due to the oversized evaporator coil and btu rating of the compressor, There are certainly things on the residential models I do like as far as cosmetic and convenience features. But, ultimately I desire a freezer that will stand up on demand, hold temp, parts are easily obtainable and reliability.

NPHuskerFL

Dobie said:

If its in the budget why not.

Thinking my first and only born could bring in some $$$ )

Zmokin

I used to own a deep freeze and got tired of chasing around old food.  Decided fresher is better and got rid of it, and the cost of operation and the back-up generator I bought so I wouldn't lose all the food during a power outage.  I feel liberated not having it take up precious garage space. 

NPHuskerFL

Zmokin said:

I used to own a deep freeze and got tired of chasing around old food.  Decided fresher is better and got rid of it, and the cost of operation and the back-up generator I bought so I wouldn't lose all the food during a power outage.  I feel liberated not having it take up precious garage space. 

I try to buy while on sale and if not already vac packed I throw in the vac saver and label with the date. Vertical or upright reach in freezer I find is easier to organize. And mine is in our kitchen so it just makes sense for us and has proved to be a necessary item to have over the years.

Dobie

NPHuskerFL said:

If its in the budget why not.

Thinking my first and only born could bring in some $$$ )

If its not in the budget then quit fantasizing about appliances, its gross [-X

NPHuskerFL

Lol @Dobie‌ it's affordable.

blind99

Ok take a second and educate me. How does frost free differ from non frost free? As in What's the difference in how they operate?

The commercial unit sounds pretty badass. Getting the food down below 0 quickly sounds like a great quality in a freezer. The POS thing I bought for the garage surely can't do that.

Zmokin

NPHuskerFL said:

I used to own a deep freeze and got tired of chasing around old food.  Decided fresher is better and got rid of it, and the cost of operation and the back-up generator I bought so I wouldn't lose all the food during a power outage.  I feel liberated not having it take up precious garage space. 

I try to buy while on sale and if not already vac packed I throw in the vac saver and label with the date. Vertical or upright reach in freezer I find is easier to organize. And mine is in our kitchen so it just makes sense for us and has proved to be a necessary item to have over the years.

My parents had a deep freeze when I was growing up and so I naturally as an adult bought one thinking it was necessary.  but after 15 years or so, I realized, I didn't need it, I could live without it, and I'm happy with my decision.  Yes, I bought quantities of meat on sale, and all of that other good stuff.  But I now much prefer buying a fresh steak from a butcher shop when I want to have steak.  I make use of the freezer that comes with the fridge, but deep freeze storage for me  dropped from a perceived "need" to a "I don't want or need".  The BGE always will  remain, a most definite "WANT".

Mross

I wish I had a walk in cooler and freezer in my kitchen. I hate digging in a fridge or freezer for something.

bcsnave

sub zero..just my opinion

lkapigian

@NPHuskerFL‌ the trade your in I'd keep my eyes open for a slightly used of excellent quality..... heck put a cam lock box together

fusionhq

You asked for my opinion, here it is...buy two and give me one! 
)

johnkitchens

We just purchased an upright Frigidaire last month. So far we love it. 

Eggcelsior

blind99 said:

Ok take a second and educate me. How does frost free differ from non frost free? As in What's the difference in how they operate? The commercial unit sounds pretty badass. Getting the food down below 0 quickly sounds like a great quality in a freezer. The POS thing I bought for the garage surely can't do that.

@blind99 Frost-Free freezers cycle the temp from 0F to 32F to prevent the formation of ice crystals(frost). They use more energy than manual defrost and make food more prone to freezer burn.

Manual defrost have one drawback - defrosting, at least once per year. You have to take everything out of the freezer and turn it off to allow the ice build-up to melt off. If you live in a temperate climate, this is most easily accomplished in the winter when the temp will be below freezing for a few days in a row. If not, you'll need another space to keep the food frozen.

Dawnl

I have a 17 cubic foot chest freezer ( my kids joke it holds 2 bodies, it's soo big)  and a frig that is all frig. no freezer and I love it.  Have no problem remembering what's in it, one side is taken up with 25# of parrot food and the other is leftovers and fresh frozen meats.  An upright just wouldn't fit the bill,  It is not frost free but that gives me once a year to clean it out.  Just my opinion.  

jscarfo

Your better off finding a 10 yr or older commercial freezer. I I have owned a ice cream store for about 12 yrs. a lot of my older ones are running strong, anything new I buy they tell me I'm lucky if I get 5 yrs out of it. I would check Craig's list for good quality older unit

blind99

@Eggcelsior‌ thanks for the explanation. I remember putting pans of hot water in the freezer when I was young and getting all the frost out. Seemed neat that I don't have to do that now but never knew why.

horseflesh

I would love a True but man, they are loud. It would need to be in the garage for sure. 

NPHuskerFL

@blind99‌
Not frost free. )

NPHuskerFL

@horseflesh‌ what are you basing the "man they're loud" from? I'm specifically looking at the T series T-19F or the T-23F or possibly a Hoshizaki but, I don't care for having the condensing section on top as it doesn't allow for storage on top and it's kind of a pain to access for maint. The new T series is well built and not much louder than a regular professional series model. This will be located in my kitchen.

@jscarfo I'd agree with this but, I don't want to buy somebody else's problems. I have found a way to get one thru a national account and save big. I would also agree "some" new commercial products out there really suck. You could say the same about "most" residential products as well (compressors and coils are cheap and high fail rate). There are certainly exceptions to this. You couldn't pay me enough to buy a Metalfrio and they try to compare their product line to True, Hoshizaki etc (NO WAY). The new True units I've installed have been reliable.

@Eggcelsior‌ depending on manufacturer the defrost can be time initiated and/or time/temperature terminated. And I would say any freezer allows for freezer burn if poorly packaged. If you have vac sealed your product or if the product was purchased in cryovac from store you're golden. Never really had an issue with this. My purchase will be ultimately be decided by a joint decision by my wife and myself. I'm really leaning toward the T-23F.

Eggcelsior

NPHuskerFL, no doubt. I'm just basing that on what I used to deal with when selling appliances. Most of the models I dealt with (frigidare, GE) cycled up to 4 times daily based on temp. You're less likely to get freezer burn with a constant temp near zero but like you said, packaging is the biggest arbiter of quality over time.

NPHuskerFL

Now the sound thing ie db rating sort of concerns me as I definitely don't want a loud unit sitting in my kitchen. Maybe I never noticed them to be loud because I'm used to seeing multiple units in a row and all ruining at the same time it's difficult to hear the difference. I may need to pay a visit to a showroom to get a better idea.

Skiddymarker

Big fan of the non-frost free commercial units for uprights, chest not so much. 

I do take everything out of the upright every year - did it this week, Mine is in the garage so , unplug - wheel it to the driveway and hose out the interior- dry the seals and insides with the leaf blower - about 30 minutes and she is ready to go. Ours is a commercial F&P. 

horseflesh

NPHuskerFL said:

@horseflesh‌ what are you basing the "man they're loud" from?  

I haven't seen that specific model, but I have seen other Trues on site. They are just plain louder than a residential model, which is essentially silent. I too was thinking about one for home but a restaurant supply store guy actually tried to talk me out of it due to the noise. 

Commercial models are not just more reliable, they are made with much faster recovery times. In a restaurant, it will be opened a million times a day and it has to cool down rapidly each time. While that is a neat feature, it isn't really what attracts me to commercial grade... It's the reliability and ability to hold low temperatures that I really want. 

Anyway, I would absolutely find a way to audition a commercial fridge before you brought it home and put it in your kitchen... And then please post what you learned. If you find a nice quiet model, I want to know about it.

(A friend of mine was telling me about a commercial unit he saw with a remote compressor... The compressor stayed outside, and one compressor could run two fridges inside. I think he said that you could even set each interior unit to fridge OR freezer. Now, that sounds cool!)

NPHuskerFL

@horseflesh‌ ya I actually thought about removing the condensing section and locating outside except that would really defeat the efficiency (because of high outdoor ambient temperature) & the new T series are actually registered energy star efficiency. Today I had a job at a Ritas Italian Ice and their one and only R-I-F is a True T-23F (pretty much brand new...he has had it for maybe 1 yr). It's fairly quiet in the back where it sits and yes it's slightly louder than a residential unit but, not much. I was impressed because I would tend to agree the older True (& other manufacturer's) were loud which I saw a 26 yr old True today also (not broken and humming right along holding -10℉) but, it was very loud in comparison to the new design.
I still have to get the green light from the BOSS B-) (HuskerMaMa)--- Hey I know my place and even though I may wear the pants in the family she tells me which one's to wear. Lol

Here's a shot of the new design. I like it a lot.


Q: "Working hard or hardly working?"
A: I'm a multitasker and do both. )