OT - freezer is dead or dying

Legume

I've lost my upright freezer, need to replace today or I'll be replacing a freezer and a crapload of meat.

I want to be in the 13-17 cu ft range.  Other than frost-free and a basic temp alarm, I don't need features.  Any suggestions on brand to go with or brand to stay away from?  Inexpensive is good - it stays in the garage, don't care what it looks like.

Legume

forgot to tag @NPHuskerFL to troll for his opinion

RRP

In the last 42 years we have had only 3 upright freezers and gotten excellent use. The first was a Monkey Ward and the last two came from Sears. No clue who actually made them.

Eggcelsior

RRP said:

In the last 42 years we have had only 3 upright freezers and gotten excellent use. The first was a Monkey Ward and the last two came from Sears. No clue who actually made them.

Most likely Frigidaire.

tarheelmatt

I have and like GE products.  I do work for them, which sweetens the deal.  

Jeepster47

Like Ron we've had a Sears (Frigidaire) upright for over a decade.  No problems with it so far.

Fair warning if you haven't bought on in awhile.  The skin on mine is thin, thin, thin.  I picked up the first one ... found the skin to be wrinkled way too much for a new freezer.  They delivered the second one ... we inspected it before it went in the house ... yep, it went back also due to wrinkled skin.  I believe that both of those were caused by rough handling.  The third freezer, deliver by Sears, was acceptable and is still going strong.

NPHuskerFL

we bought ours from a big box store Home Depot I believe and it is 21 cf for around $650. Holds -10℉ w/ digital controller. I set ours for -6℉ & it also has a flash freeze function which is real nice. Made by Frigidaire.

Canugghead

Our full size Kenmore upright is >25 years old and never had an issue, touch wood!
If I can give one advice ... stay away from frost-free models.
Just did a forum search and found this good explanation:
==================================================

Eggcelsior Posts: 11,221

September 2014

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.
===============================================

The easiest way for me to defrost is place pans of hot water under each shelf, then sponge the water over the ice with a towel.... way faster and safer than using a hair dryer   Think cooling down food in ice water vs. fan

DaveRichardson

I've got a chest-style freezer in the garage for about 8 years now with no problem other than a crapload of frost that builds up inside it.  Its starting to keep the baskets from sliding around where I can't get to food. 

But it keeps my ice cream good and cold for after yardwork, so I don't really mind the frost then!!!

theyolksonyou

Just chip it off for margaritas ❄️

NPHuskerFL

@Canugghead I respectfully disagree with pushing toward NOT purchasing a frost free model.  No forum search necessary. New technology and most use this style....defrost is based upon time & temp-- meaning defrost is typically done every 6 hrs (4 cycles per day) and defrost terminates (normally on most commercial and residential reach in freezers) at 30 minutes or when the coil reaches a predetermined setpoint (whichever occurs first) and these units are certified Star Energy compliant.  And I have yet to have frost &/or freezer burn on anything.  So unless you enjoy removing all the food in your unit or manually defrosting I don't see it  being a benefit of going with a non frost free unit. 

Langner91

Sorry to hear of your freezer issue.

 I am on vacation this week to deal with my 20 year old upright that died. I didn't lose any meat, thank goodness.  But, getting it out of my basement involves deconstructing part of my deck. I started Saturday. I hope to finish, with new freezer and deck back together by Thursday. 

I have no no idea which brand to buy, so I will be watching this. Good luck.

Canugghead

@NPHuskerFL  thanks for the update, I'm definitely from the last century 
I need to hook up my energy meter and see how much juice this monster is sucking!  Perhaps a new energy efficient model would have paid for itself had I replaced it a decade ago?  No, I don't enjoy the defrosting chore.

NPHuskerFL

@Canugghead Our old 11-13cf non frost free is still operating but, rehomed to our friend/neighbor (gave it to them). We have definitely seen utility benefits not to mention well over 7cf more space and no defrosting every 4-6 months. I hated defrosting that thing IMHO it was a PITA. They work quite well I think you'd like it. Shopping now  

Eggcelsior

NPHuskerFL said:

@Canugghead I respectfully disagree with pushing toward NOT purchasing a frost free model.  No forum search necessary. New technology and most use this style....defrost is based upon time & temp-- meaning defrost is typically done every 6 hrs (4 cycles per day) and defrost terminates (normally on most commercial and residential reach in freezers) at 30 minutes or when the coil reaches a predetermined setpoint (whichever occurs first) and these units are certified Star Energy compliant.  And I have yet to have frost &/or freezer burn on anything.  So unless you enjoy removing all the food in your unit or manually defrosting I don't see it  being a benefit of going with a non frost free unit. 

Blake, just because FF are energy star compliant doesn't mean that they aren't more expensive to run(around $20 more per year than manual ones). Also, the circulating fan FF freezers use to move that air does in fact create greater risk of odor migration and freezer burn, your personal anecdote aside. A positive to the fan is that they cause foods to freeze faster than manual ones and they do better in warm, humid environments(like a garage).

Ultimately, the best freezer is a chest freezer. Cheapest, most usable space, and least amount of problems. The biggest problems with chest freezers are the larger footprint and the lack of convenience compared to uprights in regard to organization. 

blasting

I like to purchase big things like this from Costco.  If it breaks before it should have, return it.  

Legume

Costco and Sams didn't have anything really, just a couple of small Haier chest freezers.

not sure Sears has anything in stock anymore

I walked HD and Lowes.  HD didn't have much in stock, so we bought a Fridgiaire upright from Lowes.  Frost free.  Probably not exactly what I would've picked out if I had wanted to order and wait a few days but features just weren't that important to me.  It's basic, it will be in the garage for a long time hopefully.

Thanks for all of the input.

Legume

Two quick comments - I did find that the cost/year differential for a chest freezer I was looking at vs a little bit bigger frost free upright was $14/year, so that's not even close to meaningful.

on frost free cycling and what it does to food.  I always repackage meat in vacuseal bags, so I don't see a freezer burn issue.  Those frozen meat bricks will be frozen long after the frost is gone and the freezer cycles up again.  Where I see issues are with breads or other less dense foods or mostly water foods (like fruit) that react to the change in temp more quickly.

NPHuskerFL

@Eggcelsior  Different strokes I guess. $20 more efficient on the non frost free?   Maybe/Maybe Not... I'll eat the $20 and let the unit dft itself. My old unit is still operational (also a Frigidaire) but, I did see a reduction in utility usage. And honestly there are too many variables to prove or disprove this without hooking a data logger up to each unit and comparing the logs.  My ideal freezer or cooler is one that has enough space, is reliable in holding temp, has a good reputation w/ a reasonable warranty and is serviceable. & Yes, of course, price also plays a role. And my friend it wasn't my personal anecdote. You are in the medical field...granted this freezer we're taking about is for food but,.... A Harris Cascade freezer that "holds/maintains" -80℃ and has the dft function and cycle rate I described with a forced evaporator fan and is definitely FF doesn't ever cause freezer burn to organs, tissues, etc. Similarly a True, Traulsen, Whirlpool, Frigidaire, etc (in proper working order) aren't going to damage the product they're cooling/freezing. You are more apt to incur "freezer burn" from improperly wrapped product. If it is vac saved or cryovac pkg it is good to go. For obvious reasons a NF freezer will be less$$$ and for good reason....do they work? ABSOLUTELY. 

NPHuskerFL

@Legume Here's a nice way to freeze berries and ensure they stay fresh and undamaged.  We recently picked and brought home around 9+ gallons of blueberries. This can be done with other berries and bananas as well.  With a large pan lay them flat and spread out and freeze.  Then once your done vac save them in manageable portions for later use (they'll never be as good as fresh but, for smoothies, pies, sauces, etc they're perfect). 

Skiddymarker

I'm in the commercial non-frost-free camp. Have a 20 cubic foot upright manual GE we've had for years (15?) It gets defrosted about once every two years, which is not a big deal - everything comes out, wheel it to the garage door and hose out the inside, then using the leaf blower, dry it - back in business in less than an hour. The energuide is 400kWh per year - never checked it, that's what the sticker says. It also says estimated cost to operate is about $20 per year - haven't seen 5 cent kWhs for some time... 

Eggcelsior

@NPHuskerFL I just looked at the averages of consumer products of each type. Cost is based on kWh used at 12cents/kWh. Variables are unnecessary to account for when you are cross-shopping new units since all you can base your info on is the energy guide attached to the unit. Sure, you can buy one of each and data-log them after a year of use, but this is not a reasonable position for most people. You 

 I am a nurse now, but prior to this I sold major appliances in a retail store. We are just coming at this from 2 different angles.

If  "And I have yet to have frost &/or freezer burn on anything." is not a personal anecdote, then what is? Freezer burn is always caused by improperly packaged product. Most people don't vac seal and most people don't store cryovaced meat. It's typically leftovers tossed in a Ziploc or a sale item on Styrofoam wrapped in shrink wrap. The difference between FF and manual is that the risk is higher with FF because there is air movement which causes evaporation.

$20 a year my seem like nothing, but amortize that out over 15-20 years and you just paid for a large chunk of the new freezer. 

Personally, I would go for a FF based on my needs. I was just offering objective information since that is what always served me best selling the things. I was never on commission, so I couldn't care less if someone bought a specific unit.

My personal anecdote? My parents have a manual chest freezer that has needed a defrost 2 times in 22 years.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Skiddymarker

@Eggcelsior - there's the other things to consider - chest or upright and how humid it is where you live. RH can be a **** with uprights if they are in a non-AC'd room I'd think. Chests don't let the cold air fall out so humid air doesn't rush in and condense/freeze. 
My parents had a chest that was never defrosted that I can recall, it did sit in the air conditioned basement. 

Eggcelsior

Skiddymarker said:

@Eggcelsior - there's the other things to consider - chest or upright and how humid it is where you live. RH can be a **** with uprights if they are in a non-AC'd room I'd think. Chests don't let the cold air fall out so humid air doesn't rush in and condense/freeze. 
My parents had a chest that was never defrosted that I can recall, it did sit in the air conditioned basement. 

Yeah. That's why FF uprights are better in a garage that manual ones.

Legume

I don't store lump in the freezer, so I won't ask which brand freezes better and send this thread down that rabbit hole.

ain't it great we have so many choices?  'Merica! (btw I saw a t-shirt for a little kid in Target the other day that had 'Merica on it, it was sooo cool).

FWIW, 15-20 year old freezers are really inefficient, I would imagine that will continue to be true, so the cost differential over time is a mess anyway, I won't have this in 20 years, if I do, it will be wasting my money.

Preference is what it's really all about, I don't want a chest freezer unless I'm going to be freezing heads or body parts.  If I don't have a FF, I will get several inches of frost - I'm that guy that opens the door and stares just to get ideas.  Yes, I know this costs me dollars more per year, but ideas cost money.

In the future, I'll have a freezer that runs on lasers and popcorn and it will be bitchin' and you will all be jealous of me and my laser/popcorn freezer.

theyolksonyou

Technically, you're freezing body parts. Just sayin' 

Legume

theyolksonyou said:

Technically, you're freezing body parts. Just sayin' 

C'mon man!  You know I'm talking about human parts, like Blake.  I hear he has a freezer full of human heads.

theyolksonyou

Have I ever told you I'm a engineer?

NPHuskerFL

@Eggcelsior I've had 4 or 6 8.8 stouts and I'm not entertaining this anymore. I do this **** all day damn near everyday. I'm not trying to get into a pissin' contest. Google enough crap and somebody becomes an expert I'm out. That and way too lucid to debate y'all. Even though I love a good debate. Sorry to disappoint.
For your viewing enjoyment. OBTW this is one of my lovely wife's favs when our Son plays it acoustically. 
https://youtu.be/jhat-xUQ6dw

NPHuskerFL

@Eggcelsior Do your folks live in sadistic humid @$$ FL?  Eff that I had to do it a minimum of 5-6 x per yr. No thanks. $20 well spent. I'm in and out of that freezer. The more ya open it the more humidity. And dammit here I go again....  

NPHuskerFL

@theyolksonyou Jason so what you are saying as an engineer is you overanalize virtually everything except for....beer?