Bought a chest freezer. Let's share stories.

In My Humble Opinion
1

I just picked up a new GE 5cf chest freezer. We’ve never had such a unit in my household, although we’re used to the smaller freezer compartments in refrigerators.

I bought it for these reasons:[ul][li]To avoid frequent trips to the store, which is not close by[]To provide more food choices[]To make more space than my small freezer compartment, which always seems to be overloaded[]To make available many single lunch portions on demand[]To be able to buy quantities of stuff, save part of it, and not have it spoil before usingTo tide me over in the winter when trips the store are impossible or dangerous, although if the power goes out, :rolleyes: not sure how useful this will be…[/ul][/li]My observations so far:

There were 3 models available at the superstore I went to in Green Bay, a 5cf, a 7cf, and a 9cf upright freezer. The bigger ones were more expensive and probably bigger than I needed. Still, the choice was limited, IMHO.

None of the models offered any kind of temperature readout or low-temp alarm. This model has a pilot light, which only tells if the unit is plugged in, not if it is turned on or if the temp is high.

This model has a single wire basket. The 7cf model had two. Both seem inadequate for common use. I can envision stuff 10 layers deep that you can’t get to and will probably forget about until defrost time. Meanwhile, I am looking around for plastic containers of just the right size as organizers.

These freezers were all manual defrost models. This one had a drain, but I will have to mount it on some scrap 2x4’s to make the drain work, and the drain does not have a hose attachment, so it will drain onto the floor. This strikes me as very poor design. Even my dehumidifier has a hose attachment.

There were no internal lights in the 3 models. How hard is it to provide a light? We can go to Mars, but can’t put a 25 watt light in a freezer? Looks like I will have to wire up a bulb socket on the nearby wall (it’s sitting in the basement laundry room).

The thermostat has a dial from 1…7. I’m not sure why 4 is the recommended setting – wouldn’t colder be better? Anyway, it’s been at 7 for 24 hours and the temp inside measures -5F with no food. While I’m sure this is adequate, I was expecting something slightly lower, but my refrigerator’s freezer measures 0F with the same thermometer.

Any hints for a chest freezer virgin?

2

The stackable plastic trays at places like Target are fine; if you have a Dollar Store equivalent in your neighborhood, those might work as well. They probably won’t get abused much, so expensive doesn’t necessarily help: they just need to sit there, be cold, and hold stuff. We would use paper shopping bags, in a pinch…

Most of the things you indicate as negatives are the hallmarks of the less-expensive appliances of the world. I’ve often wondered why my slow cooker has no power on light, but it has a power switch, and my rice cooker has a power on light, but no power switch…

Check around for local ranchers who will sell you a side of beef pre-cut into serving sizes; you can buy beef, a goat, a lamb, or a pig for much less than store prices, and it should last in the freezer long enough for you to eat all of it. Up-front price can be spendy; though. A whole cow would probably fill your freezer; I’d start with a side or quarter.

You might also see lower temps once you fill it–it’s more efficient to keep a full freezer cold, because only the very top gets exposed to warm air drafts from outside.

3

You need to wrap the meat in paper and then plastic to avoid freezer burn, unless you’re intending to eat it really quickly.

4

You may already know this, but to freeze stuff like Ziploc bags of spaghetti sauce or beans or what have you, first freeze them lying flat on a cookie sheet or something and then stack them.

I like my upright freezer, frankly, because you don’t use all the space like you do in a chest freezer but it’s SOOO much easier to find stuff! YMMV.

5

0F is fine. The 1 to 7 settings are to account for different environments that the freezer is in and the different amount of goods you put in the freezer which will affect the rate of loss. Make sure you have a table or shelf or counter top nearby because getting stuff out of the bottom often takes a lot of shuffling. If it’s not full, keep some containers of water in the bottom, you want to avoid air space inside. The model was probably originally designed with a drain hose, but you bought it from a big box store which requested models with lowest conceivable price from the manufacturer, so they didn’t include the hose and fitting. Freezer rarely have lights because they don’t survive the conditions well and don’t do a good job of lighting the interior. I find uprights more useful. Less floor space, and it’s easier to get things in and out, though trickier to defrost because they usually have exposed coils in the shelves. Plastic containers for organizers are a good approach. Double wrap everything you freeze. Make sure it’s level, that affects the compressor bearing life (though you can get 20 years easily). Extremely off level will affect the door seal. Make sure to keep the door seal clean. Anything you put on top has to be moved each time you want to open it, so don’t put anything on top, your family will do that for you anyway.

6

Thanks for the input, Ethilrist.

True, this is a less-expensive appliance. But the store (Home Depot) didn’t offer any more luxurious models in this size tange. I would gladly have paid a little more for one with a temp readout, alarm, and maybe some nice shelves. Why does a small appliance need to be so bare-bones in the features?

I doubt if a 5cf unit would store a side of cow and leave room for much more. I may have to settle for only the moo. I was thinking more of buying a 10lb package of hamburger or chicken parts and dividing it up in smaller packages.

Our Dollar Store closed. We have a Target (no food there) and a Super Wal-Mart. I think that will work. If I’m lucky, a hunter will offer me some of his venison; illegal to sell, OK to give away.

7

If you want to store mass quantities of cow or deer a vacuum sealer will be well worth it. They have several models at Target. Vacuum sealed, whatever you put in there will last a year without freezer burn.

You cam also vacuum seal veggies, fruits, etc. Freeze them first on a tray, then seal them.

8

Great hint; I hadn’t thought of that.

Considered. The store had one model in my size range, but I did a “practice extraction of food” and discovered that I was ALWAYS bending over to get stuff out of the upright (the highest shelf was below chest level), but only *sometimes *bending over on the chest model. Besides, if what you want is in the back or bottom, you end up removing everything in front or top first anyway. And the upright unit was more expensive.

I think I’d prefer an upright if the cost weren’t more and I could mount it about 2 feet off the ground. It didn’t seem like it was worth it in this case.

Good idea, and I already planned for a shelf.

Also a good idea, and it would make the stuff at the bottom move to the top. Then if space was needed, I’d just dump the extra water bags.

Could be.

Any light would be better than no light. Why not a light in the lid? That would light the interior better than a light on the wall, which is what I will probably end up with.

Yes, but see above.

They better not. They’re very dead. If anything gets moved not by me, zombies are afoot!

It’s hard to understand why a full freezer would be colder than an empty one, if we can ignore opening and closing. While more mass would be useful to weather a power outage, more mass does not colder make.

9

It is the opening and closing. If it’s full, and you open it, not much warm air gets in. If it’s half-full (of air…) and you open it, more warm air gets in. More warm air = warmer inside, and the freezer has to work more to keep the temp down.

If you have access to a big-box store like Sam’s Club, and you use cheese in various recipes (making your own pizza, burritos, hot dish), buy the big, 5-lb bags of shredded cheese and decant them into ziploc sandwich bags. Each bag holds about a recipe’s worth of cheese, and you can use it frozen.

Also, if you’re eaters of ice cream, the gallon-or-larger-sized buckets of ice cream make handy containers for other stuff you’d like to freeze, like soup or stew.

10

Regarding a light in a chest freezer, I just had an idea. You can get light ropes that use very little electricity and can be mounted almost anywhere. I wonder if I could mount (tape, glue) one on the inside of the freezer, just below the lid level, on the perimeter, then run the power cord to the outside?

Don’t know if consumer-grade rope light bulbs are affected by temperatures.

I could set up a microswitch outside to turn the lights on when the lid was opened (or have a manual toggle switch). The power cord could be routed thru the seal with little or no heat loss (cut a notch or a hole). And a rope light would be much more even light than a bulb.

Anyone ever tried this?

[quote=]
It is the opening and closing. If it’s full, and you open it, not much warm air gets in. If it’s half-full (of air…) and you open it, more warm air gets in. More warm air = warmer inside, and the freezer has to work more to keep the temp down.
[/quote]
No problem, no dispute. For a minute, I had a vision of an urban legend. “Put more food in there, and it’ll get colder!”

11

If you have a seafood store nearby you could see if they’ll sell you fish buckets and clam buckets for a buck or two to use as storage containers. I’ve found these better and more durable than any of the commerical brands. Regional names may differ, but fish buckets are about 12"x16"x4" high, clam buckets are gallon buckets, some tall and thin, some short and squat. It’s a lot easier to shuffle a few big containers than a lot of little ones.

12

Good idea, but 5cf is pretty small; this isn’t restaurant sized. What I need is small square-sided buckets, not round, to best fit the freezer chamber without wasted space.

13

Actually outdoor christmas lights should work well enough if you want to mount them in the freezer. But they’ll probably come loose or break as you take things in and out. Just get a reflector lamp with big spring clip to hook on the lid or side when you need it. Just like the drain hose the light options weren’t selected by the box store. If you do want an interior light, DO NOT CUT THE SEAL! It’s a hollow tube with a magnet inside. Cutting the seal will allow moisture to infiltrate and keep if from sealing properly. If you want to risk your warranty you can drill a hole through the lid. If you try that on the side Murphy’s law says you’ll hit a cooling coil or a wire. Keep the extension cord outside the freezer and plug in the lights when you need to use them.

14

Might be simpler just to use a stick-on punch-light. Or attach a flashlight to the wall next to the freezer, and then you’ve got an emergency flashlight someplace where you know it’ll always be. Especially handy if you’re down in the dangerous basement at night when the lights go out…

15

“Punch-light”? Froogle doesn’t supply a likely candidate that applies.

16

Don’t you watch infomercials? You can get a second one free!

plus Postage and Handling

17

small labeled totes make withdraw and replace quicker and so less frost.

a wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer works great for this.

keep a diary/log of what/where/when so you can rapidly retrieve stuff and use before too old.

18

I think he means a taplight. You turn it on by just pressing on the whole thing, so it’s very easy to find/use in dark spots. I’m sure either Target or Walmart or a local hardware will have them.

19

Dude, there’s not an appliance in my house that hasn’t been modified by Yours Truly. Sometimes the mods work, sometimes they don’t. Since warranties are rarely collectable without gotchas, that isn’t a consideration. :slight_smile:

When the checkout clerk offered me a $45 extended warranty, I was to laff. If I can’t fix it, it goes to the dump. Yeah, I feel screwed, but it’s cheaper than the time it takes to negotiate a fix. Believe me, this is the Voice Of Experience. :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

20

Lights that look like flying saucers with black rims, about 5" across. You push (punch) the center white thing to turn it on and off. They’re usually $5-10 at hardware stores. “adhesive lights” might be a better way to search for them.