Small freezer

[Chuckanut]

Can anybody recommend a small freezer, with about four to six cubic feet of storage? Essentially I want to double the freezer space I now have in with my refrigerator. The freezer would be in the garage and used for food that will be stored for weeks if not months.

[Choices]

I have a fridigaire that is about 2 by 3 feet and 3 feet high. Chest freezer from Sears store, cost $75 5 uyears ago. It fit in the back of my Highlander, so self delivery.
Works great. Holds extra produce from my garden and grocery store bargains.

[tmm99]

I used to have a chest freezer as well as an upright freezer. When we were downsizing, I got rid of my chest freezer. The upright freezer is more convenient IMHO. Things got lost more easily in my chest freezer and it was hard to find things I was looking for, or dig them out.

[Another Reader]

I was going to buy a 15 cf Whirlpool chest freezer at Lowes on sale for $380 over the Memorial Day weekend. However, I had also been keeping an eye on the cheap freezers sold under the Insignia label at Best Buy. The reviews were pretty good.

At the end of the Memorial Day sale, I bought the 5 cf Insignia model for $100. I wanted it primarily for frozen fruit, vegetables, and the extra flour, rice and pasta we keep on hand. Bugs get into everything here, so need to keep all grain products frozen.

The Best Buy people loaded the freezer into the SUV. I unloaded it with the help of a neighbor. It's 65 or 70 pounds with the packaging. It's not fancy and there is no interior plastic liner. None of the small freezers seems to have a liner. So far, it's a little noisy, but has maintained -10 degrees consistently. I don't know how much it will cost to operate, but the yellow tag shows about $26 per year.

I'm not sure enough of the temperature consistency yet to try meat and ice cream. Another month at -10 degrees, and I will move some over. It's not frost-free, so I expect to defrost every 6 months to a year. I do not like automatic defrost cycles in a storage freezer. The interior temperature is warmed above freezing to melt the ice. Over time, the food degrades.

The freezer goes on sale for $100 pretty regularly. I figured for $100, it met my storage needs, and if it lasts five years, it has met its' objective. Take a look, and if it works for you, it will go on sale soon. Sometimes it will show up in the Best Buy "Deal of the Day" list as well.

[Breedlove]

This is funny , a couple weeks ago we bought one on Craigslist for 40.00 it is 5.5 cubic foot Haier . I think Walmart sells them new for around 176.00 . So far it works fine no complaints .

[Walt34]

We bought an about 15 cubic foot Whirlpool, it was the smallest one we could find that has automatic defrost. It lives in an unfinished area of the basement so noise was not a concern, but it is very quiet. If the freezer is kept relatively full the interior temperature won't vary much if at all during the defrost cycle, as only the evaporator needs to warm above freezing. We haven't noticed any degradation of the food, nor have I ever seen the thermometer in there change.

I've lived with a freezer that didn't have automatic defrost and swore "Never again!"

[grasshopper]

I have a small Magic Chef out in the barn, today it is 97 only the first 1.5 feet on the bottom stay at 0-10 in the summer. YMMV

[Souschef]

I have a small Kenmore 6 cu ft and it is great for the 2 of us. It is nice when something goes on sale at the local market. For instance, my market had a sale on rib eye steaks for $4.50 a pound, so I stocked up.

[davebarnes]

30" Freezer Drawers - Panel Ready | ID-30F | Sub-Zero Appliances

And, it will be quiet

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 I used to have a chest freezer as well as an upright freezer. When we were downsizing, I got rid of my chest freezer. The upright freezer is more convenient IMHO. Things got lost more easily in my chest freezer and it was hard to find things I was looking for, or dig them out.

The benefit of a chest is they stay colder longer... my BIL had a small one and the electricity went out for almost 2 days and he did not have a big thaw... I had a thaw on my upright after 8 or so hours... not bad, but water was starting to come out... got it fixed and checked and most things were still frozen but moisture on the top of everything...

[ncbill]

$25 got us our 15 cuft. chest freezer over 15 years ago from a yard sale.

Plugged it in and the temperature stabilized at -20ºF, never bothered to change the setting.

Helps us store large purchases from Costco and free food from relatives (lots of blueberries every summer)

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grasshopper I have a small Magic Chef out in the barn, today it is 97 only the first 1.5 feet on the bottom stay at 0-10 in the summer. YMMV

Since it is out in the barn, perhaps it just needs more insulation. You could glue 2" of the really good pink foam to the back,sides, and front (even bottom partially?).
The top is not needed as much as the cold air sinks.

[Beldar]

Do these little chest freezers have a restart feature after power failure/glitches, or do you need to manually restart them? That could be a consideration if the power hiccups, the freezer shuts down, and you don't check it for several days.

We'd like to get one for our garage to take advantage of grocery sales, but don't want to worry if we're away from home for several days or more.


_B

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beldar Do these little chest freezers have a restart feature after power failure/glitches, or do you need to manually restart them? That could be a consideration if the power hiccups, the freezer shuts down, and you don't check it for several days. ... _B

Wouldn't it be just like your fridge/freezer in the kitchen, what does it do ?

[daylatedollarshort]

We have a small GE chest freezer that comes in handy. I stock up on items from Costco, loss leaders at the grocery store and bargain closeouts, like $3 dark chocolate bars for 25 cents each.

[Beldar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunset Wouldn't it be just like your fridge/freezer in the kitchen, what does it do ?

I would presume so, however, I recall somewhere (quite some time ago) reading/hearing that some small freezer-only units do not restart after power loss. They have a manual start function that does not reset after power loss.

Maybe thats only a concern if there is an electronic control with no state memory (similar to a clock radio or microwave oven with no battery backup).

I suppose I could read the package liner, or trust the salesman.

_B

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beldar I would presume so, however, I recall somewhere (quite some time ago) reading/hearing that some small freezer-only units do not restart after power loss. They have a manual start function that does not reset after power loss. Maybe thats only a concern if there is an electronic control with no state memory (similar to a clock radio or microwave oven with no battery backup). I suppose I could read the package liner, or trust the salesman. _B

I have never heard that.... and it does not make any sense either...


Probably somebody pulling your leg or not knowing what they were talking about...


My freezer, just like my fridge, has no switch.... if you want it to run you plug it in.... if you do not want it to run you unplug...

[Chuckanut]

Thanks for all the advice. You folks have given me a nice summer project.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another Reader At the end of the Memorial Day sale, I bought the 5 cf Insignia model for $100. I wanted it primarily for frozen fruit, vegetables, and the extra flour, rice and pasta we keep on hand. Bugs get into everything here, so need to keep all grain products frozen.

I keep my grains, pasta, flour, etc. in plastic containers. My favourite ones to use are old protein powder tubs (about a gallon) with screw on lids. Airtight and bug proof.

[RunningBum]

I go back and forth on getting a small chest freezer. My freezer can get fairly crowded, but I probably need to go through stuff better rather than let it pile up on the bottom. I just went through it this morning after starting this post, and moved some of the cooler bags I rarely use to my small dorm fridge/freezer in the basement. I don't know that I trust it for keeping food frozen, but I don't care if those bags get thawed. I also need to do better about labeling. When I buy bulk meat I keep the store package label in the gallon freezer bag but sometimes I mix packages in the same bag.

I weigh the advantages of stocking up vs. stuff staying too long in the freezer or a prolonged power outage losing it all. Plus there's the energy cost of running the extra freezer. As a single person I think I can just get more efficient rather than adding space to pack rat freezer stuff in.