Best Deep Freezer?

R

rovster

Full Fledged Farker
Joined
May 20, 2020
Messages
448
Reaction score
619
Points
0
Location
Miramar, FL
Sorry if this off topic but I know those of us that love our meats have a deep freeze in the garage. Mine has been running strong for a LONG time and it’s time to replace. I’m looking for some more capacity and want to replace before this one kicks out. Wondering if you guys had any suggestions, general recommendations on brands or features, etc. Looked on google for reviews and a few Top 5-10 lists, but wanted to hear from the brethren!! Thanks👍
 
For me the best freezer is the one that fits down the basement stairs.

But mostly I would never buy a self defrosting freezer for long term storage.
 
I have chests and an upright. A smaller chest holds a lot more than a larger upgright.

Unfortunately, assuming you are looking at reasonably priced mass market options, there aren't huge differences between most of them assuming you get one that has a compressor. While I don't see anything wrong with the Korean branded models, I tend to stick with the legacy American names which generally are built in Mexico.

I also prefer two ~13cu ft chests to one 27 cu ft chest. In the smaller chests, I tend to "LOOSE" less meat and, if one goes out, I still have the other one and, the 13 cu ft models are a commodity item so, if the freezer dies in the morning the new one is loaded and cooling by early afternoon at the latest.
 
I have an upright freezer that has a deep freeze setting. My wife hates it because it takes a good 15 minutes on the counter for ice cream to thaw out enough for her to scoop. I love it because it can freeze a 7lb eye round in 15 minutes enough to slice without any problem.


Its a Whirlpool.
 
Around here you can't buy a freezer anywhere, they flew off of the showrooms when the virus hit and the mfgrs shut down. I ordered a new freezer Memorial Day weekend and I'm still waiting on delivery.
 
unnamed (41).jpg

I replaced my old one a few years ago with this one. It has constant temp. showing and a high temp alarm if it goes out. unless on vacation for a week it will notify you.
 
I like uprights, Manual Defrost.
I empty content and drag across garage floor to driveway to defrost. Garden hose knocks ice out in a few minutes then back in service.
 
Right now the best one is whatever one you can get your hands on. I'm still signed up on multiple websites waiting for inventory but I did manage to get a 7 cu ft commercial freezer. And by commercial, it means it has stainless steel corner protectors.

Some things to keep in mind:
  • Avoid frost free freezers unless you like freezer burn.
  • Chest freezers are always manual defrost.
  • Chest freezers are more efficient, but harder to keep organized.
  • Keep a pair of insulated gloves by the freezer. It makes freezer diving less painful.
  • The best intentions of keeping an organized freezer go out the window the first time the pain of handling frozen food sets in.
  • Sometimes the best meals come from surprise forgotten discoveries.
  • Not many made in USA freezers anymore. Many of the well known American brands are made in China and are shockingly poor quality.
  • I'd recommend a good thermometer to monitor the freezer temperature.
 
Locally, all freezers are currently sold out. Echo the manual defrost over frost-free. Food lasts longer Chest over upright due to more capacity. Someone mentioned in a thread before to keeping an inventory of products in the chest and to check-off everything that comes out. That's a great idea that I never thought of and need to implement.



Robert
 
Curt.P said:
Right now the best one is whatever one you can get your hands on. I'm still signed up on multiple websites waiting for inventory but I did manage to get a 7 cu ft commercial freezer. And by commercial, it means it has stainless steel corner protectors.

Some things to keep in mind:
  • Avoid frost free freezers unless you like freezer burn.
  • Chest freezers are always manual defrost.
  • Chest freezers are more efficient, but harder to keep organized.
  • Keep a pair of insulated gloves by the freezer. It makes freezer diving less painful.
  • The best intentions of keeping an organized freezer go out the window the first time the pain of handling frozen food sets in.
  • Sometimes the best meals come from surprise forgotten discoveries.
  • Not many made in USA freezers anymore. Many of the well known American brands are made in China and are shockingly poor quality.
  • I'd recommend a good thermometer to monitor the freezer temperature.
Click to expand...

Very well said. Excellent advice from my perspective. If you can afford a quality, non Chinese manuf it will likely last 10+ years. If you get a Chinese manuf then expect 2-5 yrs. Chest seem to last longer than upright. Just my experiences
 
Robert said:
Locally, all freezers are currently sold out. Echo the manual defrost over frost-free. Food lasts longer Chest over upright due to more capacity. Someone mentioned in a thread before to keeping an inventory of products in the chest and to check-off everything that comes out. That's a great idea that I never thought of and need to implement.



Robert
Click to expand...

I did this last year when I purchased a 1/4 beef. Also took inventory of what was already in the freezer. Very handy indeed when figuring out meals for the week.
 
jermoQ said:
My recommendation is to get a large capacity standup freezer...no more diving in to find things.
Click to expand...



After having a chest type and a standup I can confirm that upright is the way to go.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
I'm gonna go against the flow... I love my chest freezer... stays cold more efficiently. Cold Air is heavy, when you open a chest, the coldest air stays in, you have less loss and it doesn't run as often or work as hard to stay cold. Everytime you open an upright, you're dumping all the cold out onto the floor at your feet, the freezer then has to work harder to play catchup when you go in looking for things...


Does that make sense?
*shrug* either way, I prefer chest type freezers... mine is going on 20 years old and still working great.
 
Another great use for a freezer is to put a external adjustable thermostat on it and use it like a fridge. (or a beer fermenter) The flat bottom makes it easy to put a keg or two in.
 
I work on them for a living and there's less problems with chest freezers, the food lasts longer and if you use milk crates to sort stuff into its easy to keep track of whats in there. Up rights are ok but drains get stopped up Freon leaks in the evap coils or defrost problems. That said none are made as good as the old ones and that goes for fridges also. Also its true they use less electricity and can normally take the heat better like in garages due to no temp loss when a door is opened or its in a defrost cycle
 
Being a retired HVAC guy, got to ask why some do not like auto defrost be it upright or chest freezer?
 
I prefer chest freezers, you can hold more, they are cheaper to buy, cheaper to operate, and keep food at a constant temp.

Downsides is organization until i figured out the secret.

Use paper bags or reusable fabric grocery bags. Label things, chicken, beef, ground beef, pork, sausage, vegetables.

When you are looking for something, LIFT out the bags on top that arent what you are looking for. SET them on the ground. GET bag you want, TAKE what you want, SET other backs back in. I got into my wife after we started this and she just wanted to shift the bags and move everything around......just take them out and put them down, they will be fine for 1 minute on garage floor.

If you can keep your spouse on the same page, it permanently keeps the freezer very neat and tidy with very minimal effort.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

PitRow
Recommendations needed: freezer alarm
Replies
11
Views
1K
nmeyer414
N
AKMIMNAK
Taking Good Food Pics?
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
AKMIMNAK
AKMIMNAK
cayenne
Vacuum Sealers: Need Recommendations (Brand, External vs Chamber, Bags)...?
2
Replies
39
Views
2K
cayenne
cayenne
J
Chest Freezer in Garage in the Winter - Is this OK?
2
Replies
24
Views
1K
MI Smoke
M
jkief
Decision made. What to take?
2
Replies
23
Views
1K
Hoss
H
Back
Top