I Think Our Freezer is Gonna Die!

[Scrounger]

We have a Kenmore 20 cu ft upright freezer. We bought it in 1994 at the Sears Outlet Store in KCMO. We don't have any place like that near us now, so we are basically doomed. We need one at LEAST as big to replace this one. Any recommendations? We are pretty limited to Beatrice, Lincoln, or Omaha Nebraska.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I'm pretty sure Omaha has a Sears store.

[Christiaan]

Go for a chest freezer, they are much more economical and preserve your food better.

[silentcrow]

I think chest freezers may have a bit more life to them, too. We have a monster of one in the basement...been there since '87. Of course it is finally starting to make a few odd noises

[Scrounger]

It's odd - we saw a small puddle of water on the floor under it yesterday morning. We found tjat some stuff had begun to thaw. We made sure the door was closing, but at about 8:00 last night the puddle was back and things were thawing. Now, at 5:00 AM, stuff is hard frozen again. Dunno what to do now.....

[Alice In TX/MO]

I hate our chest freezers. Things get put in there and are never seen again until we throw them out. I'll never buy another one. We only actively use the top six inches. The rest is just temporary holding till the products are too freezer burned to use.

[Scrounger]

Originally Posted by Rose

I hate our chest freezers. Things get put in there and are never seen again until we throw them out. I'll never buy another one. We only actively use the top six inches. The rest is just temporary holding till the products are too freezer burned to use.

We don't have the floor space for one, either. It's kinda like standing on your head for 20 minutes trying to find something!

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Check the classifieds, there are always pretty new ones listed cheap around here.

PS: I have a chest freezer because they are more efficient, to keep our food rotated, I do an "eat down" every year or so where I can't add anything until it is pretty much empty, problem solved!

[AJ Williams]

Originally Posted by Scrounger

It's odd - we saw a small puddle of water on the floor under it yesterday morning. We found tjat some stuff had begun to thaw. We made sure the door was closing, but at about 8:00 last night the puddle was back and things were thawing. Now, at 5:00 AM, stuff is hard frozen again. Dunno what to do now.....

Scrounger,
Check the coils for cleanliness. If they are dirty it can make the compressor cycle. Check electrical connectors on the compressor to make sure they aren't corroded.

[texican]

I've learned over the years (and through many horrible full freezer failures) that upright freezers are EVIL. There is no "positive" closing system. You may think the door is closed, but evil spirits will (at the worst possible time ...according to murphys laws...) open the door just a crack, and the thawing will begin.

I only buy chest freezers... and for good measure, put something heavy on top.

If you insist on keeping you're upright, I'd recommend putting some 'positive' closure system on the door. I've used a rope system, wrapped around the back, and through the handle on front... so I can loop one end of the rope thru a loop in the other end of the rope... cinch it down tight... this way the door can't accidentally open. I currently use a 5 gallon bucket of paint leaning against my only upright freezers door... no probs yet.

good luck.....

[EDDIE BUCK]

A problem we had one time was the cat would go behind freezer and every now and then would move the cord enough to cause it to stop. Solved the cat problem and the freezer is still working.

[highlands]

Definitely go with a chest freezer. They are better than uprights. You just need to be organized. Same with either. We use cardboard boxes to organize the freezer.

Consider getting a very old freezer. We have a very old, older than me(!), chest freezer. Works great. Lives out on the back porch. In the winter it hardly uses any electricity. It uses less than our new 'energy efficient' freezer. I measured both of their energy consumptions. The label that came with the new freezer says $48/yr. That's lie. It is $378 a year for the new freezer. The old one's only $230/yr in electricity. Even accounting for their exaggerated low assumption about the cost of electricity (6¢ vs our 16.5¢/KWHr) the advertised consumption is still way off.

Another problem with new freezers is they say they can't tolerate the cold. Absurd. They should build the compressors better.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
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