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Gonna start buying beef in bulk, so I need to get a stand alone freezer. Looking around I can spend $200 or I can spend $500. Anyone know what the difference is? We're not buying some much that it's going to be frozen for 4-6 months, so can I get away with spending a bit less?
Bought a 15-20 year old upright from my MIL's neighbor for 25 bones. Fucker purs and looks like new. My folks have a 30 year-old chest freezer that also purs, and has never had an issue.
Moral: buy used.
This thread would have been better if it involved dead hookers.
it's never too late...
Crawl space is for the dead hookers.
The older freezers run great but use a ton of energy. I would recommend a chest freezer if you have the floor space for it. That way if you ever need to you can convert it to a kegerator. The chest design is much more efficient than the upright and if you keep it full most of the time there is that thermal mass thing of all the frozen stuff.
We went with a manual defrost upright for food storage, if you time it right not a big deal and much cheaper.
Usually the difference in cost boils down to size and if it is auto defrost or manual.
Cool, good info. In Denver there's a Sears with a Scratch and Ding outlet. We've picked up some crazy deals there on a washer/dryer combo, so I think we'll hit it up this weekend and see what we can find. If nothing there we'll check out Craigslist too.
Also a fan of the upright with manual defrost. They are harder to find with less options, but I prefer it to a 'frostless' freezer which cycles the temps slightly. I find I can keep stuff frozen for longer and it's still 'fresh' when you pull it out.
if you have the option get your beef sealed in kryovac instead of butcher paper. it will last 18-24 months compared to 6.
same w/ dead hookersQuote:
Originally Posted by steepconcrete
FIFYQuote:
Originally Posted by hitek79
http://www.freeinfosociety.com/media/images/1135.jpg
Can't say I'm much of a freezer afficionado (I compost all of my dead hookers - it's good for the environment), but we have a cheap chest freezer from Home Depot. It works fine and doesn't seem to frost much. We keep it in the garage, so in the colder months I don't even think it kicks on very often.
Is there a problem with a deep freeze in a unheated space? I see lots of people put them in garages but is there any thing to watch for with that?
Go to Costco and buy one of those Foodsaver vacuum baggers. I vacuum store all the meat I put in the freezer and it works so much better than ziploc baggies or other solutions. I end up using it a fair amount since I'm single but like to buy food in bulk.
While you're there, check and see if they have freezers too. I picked up my 7 cuft chest freezer there for under $200.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sinecure
They cycle temps a lot- to be frost free, they bring the temp up to just above freezing so the ice melts, then they refreeze. It's a great way to get freezer burned food. My house fridge freezer is frost free and there's always sticky berry juice on the bottom of it from that.Quote:
Originally Posted by pointemstraight
They are fine in unheated spaces, people put them on their porches (not a good idea in bear areas though).
I prefer a chest freezer because they keep the cold in better, however an upright is easier to find stuff. Chest freezers are cheaper. Get the size closest to what you'll fill, because they are cheaper to run when full. If they are near empty, put big jugs of water in them to hold the cold.
Used is great.
Yeah, I got a Haier chest freezer from costco. It works great and had enough room for 200lbs of buffalo. Chest freezers are the way to go, if the power goes out the freezer won't leak cold air as fast.Quote:
Originally Posted by DJSapp
Craigslist. No need to spend more than $100 on a chest freezer.
The babe bought a side of grass-fed beef so I had to get a smallish chest freezer. Got an energy-efficient one from Sears which fit just right in our space. Don't recall the brand (GE?) or the exact price, but it was cheaper than I had expected.
Goddamn global warming.
My parents had chest freezers, two of them in the basement of their big ass old house. Both crapped out about same time. My Dad chainsawed them apart, put in a walk in. When I was little, probably 8 or 9, some slutty babysitter let us watch Amityville Horror. I wouldn't go downstairs to fetch jack shit out of those things for years.
Old appliance tech some years ago told me that when external temps fall below the thermostat setting, the compressor does not run. If the compressor does not run for long periods of time, the bearings in the compressor can seize, or you may get small coolant leaks in the system. Same applies to air conditioning systems in vehicles over the winter - it's good to run the AC now and again to lube all the parts and circulate the coolant.Quote:
Originally Posted by DougW
Garage is better than an exposed porch, a room heated just above freezing is best of all.
I always wondered what happened to NortonQuote:
Originally Posted by CMSIV
Half of my garage is for my wife's car, the other half is for bikes. Freezer will reside warmly in the basement.
I was fortunate to see him with SMB shortly before he died. do do do do do do livin' in the USAQuote:
Originally Posted by irul&ublo
+1 on not getting "frost-free"...all it does is fuck up your food. Note: keep temperatures at about 0-5 degrees F and things will frost less because they never get close to melting.
A new freezer will be many times more energy-efficient than an older freezer. How much this matters depends on where you live, whether the freezer is inside or outside, and how often you plan on moving. If you can find a $50 or under freezer on Craigslist and might move in a year or two, jump on it...but watch your electric bill carefully if you buy an old upright, because some of them are massive energy pigs.
The smaller the freezer, the more energy-efficient it is. A 7 cubic foot cheapo chest freezer will cost about half as much to run as a 14 cf Energy Star-rated freezer...so choose the smallest freezer that still holds what you need it to.
Save milk jugs and 2L soda bottles: fill them about 3/4 with water (ice expands) and take up the empty freezer space with ice. The temperature will stay more stable and it'll stay frozen longer in a blackout.
Chest freezers are much more efficient, far cheaper to buy when new, and seem to hold their value much better when used. Uprights use more juice and cost more new, but don't seem to cost any more used than a chest freezer. Frankly, we've all got freezer compartments in our kitchen, so I don't see a need for an upright for meat storage (yes, I've owned both).
ALWAYS DATE ANYTHING YOU PUT IN THE FREEZER. Keep a permanent marker next to the freezer. Month and year is fine. Like steepconcrete said, vacuum-packed meat will last over a year vs. paper-wrapped, which lasts about 6 months.
Freezer sales seem to happen on Black Friday and right afterward because it's deer season.
This ^^^^^^Quote:
Originally Posted by steepconcrete
steep knows what he it talking about.
Sorry, but I knew Norton and soaking wet I don't think he would push the scales over 150. Miss that guy. He did come up and play at a mutual buddies wedding not long before he died. Just kind of sat in with the band and ripped it. Glad he made that last show.Quote:
Originally Posted by irul&ublo
so if the ambient in the space was to go to 20 C once a week then that would cover the lube probelm. Was planning on putting deep freeze in barn ( enclosed and insulated portion) which will lets say once a week creak up wood stove and make liveable as office /workshop. So as long as not long periods left at -10C outside ambient should be fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by BCMountainHound
our JC Penneys brand chest freezer is outside and has seen more than 20 years of freeze/thaw cycles (outside, not in the freezer) going to -40 for weeks at a time and generally never getting above freezing between the months of October and April. (it was a hand-me-down from my parents) i'm pretty sure it uses a bit of energy in summer, but it doesn't use any in winter, so i think it probably makes up for it. it does still work fine, and it keeps food frozen all summer, so while the compressor might have been affected by not running all winter every winter, after more than 20 years it does still work. we do need to get a new one some day soon, however, since the seal around the top has gotten a little wonky from being weighted down with snow for the last 4 winters... i should be nicer to it, but keep thinking we'll replace it... we'll probably get another chest freezer, though smaller this time. most likely from sears or home depot or lowes. we're expecting to pay $300-500, but then again the chest freezer is our only freezer, as our fridge is an under-the-counter unit with no internal freezer (thank goodness someone makes em without! i hate those useless little freezers) that we had to special order.
I have both chest and upright freezers. Go upright hands down. This way you will be able to SEE what you have and use accordingly rather than have the dreaded "where the fuck is my stuff, ahh, hell, fuck it, i am going to buy something since i don't want to dig for what i wanted".
I'd go upright for what was mentioned above me. Digging for shit in a chest freezer gets out of control. id be on craigslist daily looking for one. As mentioned you need a newer one thats an energy saver. a whole slew of foreclosures coming with that new deal the banks struck. They'll start taking houses now. so you shouldnt have a problem finding one on craigslist in the next 6 months. Appliances are the first thing to go.
when purchasing used be sure to look inside the tied shut door for a dead hooker.
bf
Bump.
Any reason not to buy the cheapest 7cf upright on the market?
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insigni...?skuId=6346184
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Depends on your goals. I'm sure the freezer in and of itself is totally fine. For my purposes (just meat), dead simple with NO auto-defrost is the name of the game. I like to go through a freezer-full through the course of the year and by the time we're ready for another cow, we've depleted our stocks 100%, unplug, open her up, defrost fully, clean it out, and fire 'er back up for another year with fresh meatz. For us, the el-cheapo models have been perfect! I've actually heard great things about that little Insignia one. I think they're pretty reliable and the size is actually a positive for many who don't want a giant unit hogging up their entire space.Quote:
Originally Posted by nickwm21
I used to defrost my freezer with an ice hammer (kind of an old school miniature ice axe). Works fine if you're careful.
Plugged in the 1968 Kenmore ur the other day and its cold af two days later. Its going to live with my brother since he needs a freezr.
I bought a super cheap Haier from Walmart 10yrs ago and it’s still going strong. No issues; occasionally I’ll de ice every few yearsQuote:
Originally Posted by nickwm21
I've been using a Midea unit at home for a few years now with zero issues.
I bought one for our Burning Man camp and it kept ice frozen solid on the playa and ran from solar panels, pulling around 70W average. There is no reason to spend more.
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Frigidaire from Walmart. Less than $200. Delivered to my door free. Started out with a couple tuppers frozen till I filled it with meat and goodies. Almost never runs. -15 to 20
I guess the dog ain't getting in there!