Quick freezer question

[xcaliber]

Hey folks, we moved closer to both kids and we left our freezer at the old house. I don’t remember what size it was but it held all of our normal stuff and had room for two butchered deer. It was a vertical model to fit our utility room but I want a chest freezer this time. 10cu.ft. Should work, it’s just me and momma. I know there’s deer and bear hunters here, help. I don’t want more than we need really.

Thanks Dan

[grouse]

I'm curious as to why you want a chest freezer. I've had both types and prefer the uprights. It was harder to keep things organized with the chest freezer and everything seemed to worm its way to the bottom where it was hard to find and sometimes forgotten about. Chest freezers are more efficient and easier to load but I prefer the upright type.

Auto defrost is a feature I don't like because it promotes freezer burn. We just wait until a cold night, take everything out of the freezer (unplug it) and put the items (which are in a cooler or box) on the back deck. Early the next morning I'll wipe the freezer out with a towel, plug it back in and reload it.

[AJ01]

I like uprights. We have 2 of them. Our oldest daughter has a chest, she hates it.
Ours are "Frost Free" but unlike Grouse, I haven't had any concerns from "freezer burn". We hardly ever buy meat from the store, and I vacuum seal everything that goes in the freezer.
Kids and grandkids then come raid the freezer!!
Even vegetables from our garden.

Side Note: The quality of the material you use to vacuum stuff in makes a difference too.

Most things don't last long enough around here to worry about it. Properly prepared, food can last up to a year. Un-prepared, just bought and thrown in the freezer packages from the store can have freezer burn start in as little as 2 days.
Freezer burn isn't really a burn from the cold, it's the leeching out of moisture from the meat, thus drying it out and making it tasteless, or so bad tasting nothing will eat it!!

Freezers are a personal choice. Kinda like the vehicles we drive.
I just find the uprights easier to organize and most have a way smaller "footprint" than a chest.

Just my thoughts on the subject. Good luck Dan!!
AJ

[lituani]

^^^ What grouse and AJ01 said ^^^

Apologize if we're not giving the answer you'd like to hear, but standing freezers are the best! And for all the previously stated reasons, plus one more: takes much less floor space. The only circumstance I would recommend a chest freezer is if you plan to freeze an entire unbutchered quarter (but why would you do that??). We prefer butcher paper to vacuum bags, but that's a personal choice.

We have two vertical freezers for close to 30 years with zero regrets. Never a single piece of meat or poultry or fish with freezer burn, and some were frozen over two years! Wife totally thaws it annually (removing the ice promotes more efficient running) and forces us to re-inventory everything.

So, again, apologize if we avoided answering your question, but we think stand-up freezers are THE answer.

[Boo]

We grow a lot of veggies so we need a lot of cold storage. I've always been conscience of electrical bills so we have 3 freezers, all of them chest freezers that are 61"' 43" and 31". Chest freezers don't lose as much cold when they are opened and hold more. As the year goes on and we have less food in the freezer we shut down a freezer and use 2. We eventually get to one freezer and by that time the other 2 are defrosted and cleaned up. Yes they are difficult to organize but we use boxes and big Ziplock freezer bags with handles. There are only 2 of us in the house but we do give lots to our kids. We bought these freezers way back when. We have hydro net metering with solar panels and our bills are usually $25. So if I had net metering when we bought freezers we would have bought a couple of uprights.

[janesy]

Hey folks, we moved closer to both kids and we left our freezer at the old house. I don’t remember what size it was but it held all of our normal stuff and had room for two butchered deer. It was a vertical model to fit our utility room but I want a chest freezer this time. 10cu.ft. Should work, it’s just me and momma. I know there’s deer and bear hunters here, help. I don’t want more than we need really.

Thanks Dan

Hey Dan, I have a 3', 4' and 5' chest freezer, and an upright.

Altho the upright is the best for convenience, you could fit all your stuff plus 2 butchered deer in a 5' chest. Aside from the immediate benefits mentioned above, a chest freezer is over twice as efficient as an upright freezer and will maintain temp for days longer than an upright.
Technically if you are just storing meat, the chest freezer is the better choice.

[xcaliber]

Thanks, going to get a chest freezer, loved the upright we had but I think I can get more in a smaller chest freezer.

[papabear1]

Thanks, going to get a chest freezer, loved the upright we had but I think I can get more in a smaller chest freezer.

Enjoy
I don't think you'll be disappointed

Dave