ISO advice on a new freezer

[jabbur]

The compressor on my freezer died. I need a new one. I've always had the manual defrost freezers. Anyone have experience with the frost free ones? Do they keep food as well as the manual defrost ones? I've heard in the past that the frost free ones don't usually get as cold as the manual ones so are not as good for long food storage. I don't mind getting another manual defrost since they seem to be a bit cheaper but thought I'd get some other views before purchasing. Fortunately it's cold here right now and the freezer is in the unheated garage so it should keep the food okay for a while. I hope to get something by the end of the week.

 

[Katie H]

I've had both and have never noticed any difference. Currently we have an upright frost-free model and really like it.

The only thing I can recommend is that you wrap your food well because of the drying effect of this type of freezer. However, with things like FoodSaver bags and such, you have no worries.

I use my FoodSaver and have NEVER had any drying issues with my food.

 

[Andy M.]

I would definitely go with a manual defrost refrigerator. It's much better for preserving food quality for long term storage.

A frost-free freezer works by blowing warm air into the freezer to melt newly accumulated frost (ice) so it can be drawn off with the fan. Then it switches back to cold air to keep foods frozen. Unfortunately, the warm air also melts the surface of the foods in the freezer promoting freezer burn.

I have a manual defrost upright I bought from Sears 10-12 years ago and it's been great. It has a drain in the floor so I can defrost it and let the runoff water drain out of the freezer.

 

[4meandthem]

I have a Sears Kenmore chest freezer that is well over 10 years old now. I would buy another one.

 

[jabbur]

I have a Sears Kenmore chest freezer that is well over 10 years old now. I would buy another one.

Mine has to be an upright because I'd never get into it otherwise. DH would have so much stuff piled on the top that the lid would never be seen again! I'm currently looking at Sears. They are having a sale right now so the price is fairly reasonable but I want to check with the local mom and pop store first. That's where I got the one I have and they are really good with customer service.

 

[justplainbill]

We've had good luck in the past 10 or so years with our 19 cu ft manual defrost GE upright. Living in a high summertime humidity area, we need to manually defrost at least once per year. Wish we had room for a bigger one. Would've preferred a chest type but do not have enough floor space.

 

[sparrowgrass]

When I was married, I had a chest freezer that got stuff piled on it all the time. I yelled and nagged--didn't help. Finally, I pulled it out from the wall a little so that when I opened it, all the piled junk fell back behind the freezer. After he had to stand on his head to pull stuff out a couple times, the problem ceased to be.

 

[jabbur]

When I was married, I had a chest freezer that got stuff piled on it all the time. I yelled and nagged--didn't help. Finally, I pulled it out from the wall a little so that when I opened it, all the piled junk fell back behind the freezer. After he had to stand on his head to pull stuff out a couple times, the problem ceased to be.

We bought a 21 cubic ft. upright manual defrost GE from the local mom&pop appliance store. They will deliver, set up and haul away the old one on Wed. It was about $80 more than the on sale Frigidaire at Lowes that we wouldn't get for 10 days. This last one was a GE too so I think we did okay.

 

[joesfolk]

When I was married, I had a chest freezer that got stuff piled on it all the time. I yelled and nagged--didn't help. Finally, I pulled it out from the wall a little so that when I opened it, all the piled junk fell back behind the freezer. After he had to stand on his head to pull stuff out a couple times, the problem ceased to be.

I hope I have the nerve to try this!!!!

 

[Robo410]

Have a Sears Kenmore chest freezer. Great. The chest is good because cold air sinks. Open a chest freezer and the cold air stays inside. Manual defrost. Reasons given above. I use this as my long term "deep freeze" and don't want to freezer burn on good meat.

 

[jabbur]

The new freezer arrives this afternoon. In a bit, I'll go pull everything out of the old one into coolers so the delivery men can haul it away and get the new in place. It'll be a fairly big job since the freezer is pretty full. I've not opened it for several days so I hope stuff is still mostly frozen.

 

[Andy M.]

Good luck with your new freezer. Is it larger than the old one?

 

[jabbur]

It's a bit bigger but not a lot. Decided to get the biggest one available! I think the old one is around 18 cubic feet and the new one is 21 cubic feet.

 

[jabbur]

IT"S HERE!!! Yea!! I've got it set up and cooling down now. I'll leave it sit about another hour then load it up!

 

[FrankZ]

It's a bit bigger but not a lot. Decided to get the biggest one available! I think the old one is around 18 cubic feet and the new one is 21 cubic feet.

Dare I dream.. dare I dream...

 

[sparrowgrass]

Joesfolk--notice that that was my EX husband. Just sayin'.