Freezers: Chest vs. Upright

[kdabbler]

I really want to retire our 70s era second fridge. But we really need it for the extra freezer space. We're just wasting energy for the few beers we have on the fridge side. I've been keeping an eye out on Craigslist for freezers because we can't really afford new at the moment.

In general, which saves more energy? The chest or the upright? Any pros or cons? I know the upright is nice - no digging and finding long forgotten pork chops. A chest has a wider foot print but can have shelving above it.

[zeldabee]

Originally Posted by kdabbler

I really want to retire our 70s era second fridge. But we really need it for the extra freezer space. We're just wasting energy for the few beers we have on the fridge side. I've been keeping an eye out on Craigslist for freezers because we can't really afford new at the moment.

In general, which saves more energy? The chest or the upright? Any pros or cons? I know the upright is nice - no digging and finding long forgotten pork chops. A chest has a wider foot print but can have shelving above it.

The chest freezer is more efficient, since the cold air "falls out" of an upright when you open the door. The ones I've seen recently in the store have baskets that look like they'd make it easier to put things in and take things out. That said, I bought an upright because I have no space for a chest freezer.

The key to keeping a big freezer is maintaining an inventory of what you've got, so you can peruse your list rather than stand in front of the open freezer. Also, I've found that by putting things in large labeled ziplocks is helpful. I can pull out a couple of bags to get at something, rather than 40 small things. This minimizes the digging.

[mightymoo]

Arg, I just typed out a nice post and it was lost. Sigh. This one will be less good.

Keep in mind that chest freezers as a flat surface collect clutter and that gets really annoying when you want to get something out.

Upright freezers have less space for the same cubic feet since you can't pack them as tight - you can fill a chest freezer solid to the top, but you can't do that with an upright things will fall out.

That said, I'm getting an upright because I know my limitations in terms of losing things at the bottom of a chest freezer and cluttering up the top. I also plan to use the top of it for storage of other things.

[Norasmomma]

I've had both and while a chest freezer is bigger the possibility of losing things is much higher(at least for me). I can see what is in my upright freezer, and have the shelves organized by what's on them.

I know that a chest freezer is less expensive to run, but I'm not opening my freezer a bunch everyday, just usually one time, and I do keep it open when I'm stocking and rotating, but that's it. I have a pretty small one and am looking on craigslist myself for another. I want to be able to freeze enough milk when it's on sale to to make it from sale to sale, or buy it from Costco. So I'd have one freezer for just that(my DD likes her milk). HTH.

[Lilcrunchie]

We have an upright purchased off of Craigslist. It is 20ish cubic feet, and it is a commercial grade freezer. I bought it for 150ish I think? In any case, it hasn't affected our electric bill much, and I figured even if it did, it would take a while to make up the $$ that a newer upright would have cost (although that's not the most environmentally responsible, but truly, we haven't seen any noticeable jump in our electric usage).

I like the upright because I'm short (5'2") and have bad memories of trying to retrieve stuff out of my parents' chest freezer (and feeling l ike I was going to fall in ) We usually only open it about once a week and transfer the stuff we'll be using to our upstairs fridge/freezer (my upright freezer is in a walk-in crawlspace underneath the house...kind of like a dirt floor basement.)

If you use a chest freezer, I've read and heard that sturdy bins (some say plastic will crack...I'm not sure) or sturdy cardboard boxes can make it easier to group things so you can move a whole bunch of stuff our of the way at once (don't make them so heavy you can't lift them obviously). It also makes it easier to locate chicken if all of the chicken is grouped together in one box, kwim?

[YesandNo]

A small chest freezer is much cheaper than a small upright. We got a cheapie chest freezer from Best Buy and are happy with it, for a $160 investment.

[ShaggyDaddy]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

I have a pretty small one and am looking on craigslist myself for another. I want to be able to freeze enough milk when it's on sale to to make it from sale to sale, or buy it from Costco. So I'd have one freezer for just that(my DD likes her milk). HTH.

I am not trying to be difficult, but have you run the numbers on the cost benefit of doing this?

A brand new 7.2cu foot chest freezer uses 276 kWh per year... at 14 cents/kWh (the energy rate I pay) that is 38.64/year. So if you use a gallon/week and save $1/gallon you will just barely break even on cost... assuming you get the chest freezer for free, and assuming it is new enough and small enough to only use 276kWh.

Roll in the cost of the freezer (cheapest I found on craigslist was $100 but maybe you could find cheaper) and you are talking 7.35 years to break even if you save $1/gallon and use 1 gallon per week and have an efficient freezer.

[kdabbler]

Originally Posted by ShaggyDaddy

A brand new 7.2cu foot chest freezer uses 276 kWh per year... at 14 cents/kWh (the energy rate I pay) that is 38.64/year. So if you use a gallon/week and save $1/gallon you will just barely break even on cost... assuming you get the chest freezer for free, and assuming it is new enough and small enough to only use 276kWh.

Roll in the cost of the freezer (cheapest I found on craigslist was $100 but maybe you could find cheaper) and you are talking 7.35 years to break even if you save $1/gallon and use 1 gallon per week and have an efficient freezer.

I love it when other people do the math. Cool

I like the upright because I'm short (5'2") and have bad memories of trying to retrieve stuff out of my parents' chest freezer (and feeling l ike I was going to fall in )

laughup Same thing would happen to me growing up. I was always able to cantilever myself back out though

The chest freezer is more efficient, since the cold air "falls out" of an upright when you open the door.

Good to know. Thanks.

[CameronsMama]

Originally Posted by mightymoo

Upright freezers have less space for the same cubic feet since you can't pack them as tight - you can fill a chest freezer solid to the top, but you can't do that with an upright things will fall out.

I'm going to have to disagree on this one point (although I agree with everything you said) because I had a friend who sold her chest freezer and replaced it with an upright (same cubic footage) and was able to fit everything from her stuffed chest freezer into the upright with no prblem at all. It is all about how you package the food and how you store it in the freezer, but if you are organized you can fit just as much into an upright.If you stack things neatly they won't fall out.

I plan on getting an upright mostly for ease of finding things. You might lose less cold from a chest freezer vs an upright when you open it, but if I have the chest freezer open twice as long because I'm rooting around for something on the bottom, then I don't think I'm saving anything in the long run! That's just me though, I know several people who are perfectly happy with their chest freezers.

[velochic]

I can't really speak in regards to the comparison of the two types, as I've only ever had uprights.

I love uprights and I will never have a chest freezer simply because I think that it would be easier to forget things in the chest freezer. I will give you one caveat emptor of the upright, though. Make sure you have it positioned so that it will shut completely even if you don't swing the door hard enough. We've never lost anything because of this, but once, when I was getting something out of one of our two freezers (we have just shy of 40 cu.ft. of freezer space), I didn't swing the door hard enough and it was left cracked open... a fuzz of frost was on everything (nothing thawed) that was a pain to deal with. If you have a space that is not level, consider this when buying.

[Norasmomma]

Well I know that I save more than that alone on milk, when it's on sale I save 1.50 a gallon. I already have my one chest freezer and I always have 2 gallons in the freezer, I also live far from town, so the less I drive also saves me, plus I live in the N.W. home of the .044 KWH(I am looking at my bill right now). So it looks like I am saving some $$, but I'm not getting into figures right now. If I go to Costco I save even more on milk OG milk there is 7.50 for 3 half gallons, at my local store it is 4.59 for one.

Also we go through about 3-4 gallons per week.

[koofie]

Originally Posted by Norasmomma

If I go to Costco I save even more on milk OG milk there is 7.50 for 3 half gallons, at my local store it is 4.59 for one.

OT, but we're nearer a Sam's and save on organic milk too! at least $1.25 savings per half gallon, even verses a "usual" sale at the regular grocery store! I'm glad the grass isn't greener at Costco, because Sam's is .5 miles and Contco is ~20 miles!

[Aufilia]

We have a small chest freezer (maybe 5 or7 cubic feet? I can't remember) that we bought when I ran out of space for my breastmilk in the fridge freezer.

Chest freezers are more efficient, but yeah, you can lose stuff even in a small one. However if you hunt around, you can sometimes find chest freezers that have 2 compartments -- the one that opens from the top at the top, and a freezer drawer on the bottom. So then you can access your food more easily, and you only will probably keep the temperature more even because you only have to open 1/2 of it at a time.

Also, if you're really patient, try cruising appliance stores for bump-and-dent deals. We got our chest freezer for $40 off (I paid about $110 for a brand new small freezer, instead of $150) because it has a big scratch on one side. That sides goes against the wall in our house anyhow, and it doesn't affect how it works. (But be careful, when I went back to pick it up they tried to bring me a different one, that had a big dent by the motor INSTEAD of the one with the harmless scratch!!)

[vanauken]

Originally Posted by Aufilia

Chest freezers are more efficient, but yeah, you can lose stuff even in a small one.

What works for me is having paper taped to the top; I list whatever I put in when I put something into it, and cross stuff off the list when I take stuff out. That way I can just look at the list and see if I have bread or pizza dough or whatever in there. It works really well!

[Audra]

Good info! We are planning on buying a freezer. I really want an upright for the ease of use & I feel like it would fit better. But wasn't sure it was the way to go. Now I know!

[IntuitiveJamie]

Originally Posted by vanauken

What works for me is having paper taped to the top; I list whatever I put in when I put something into it, and cross stuff off the list when I take stuff out. That way I can just look at the list and see if I have bread or pizza dough or whatever in there. It works really well!

Well now that is just super smart! Thanks for the tip, I will be using that one when we buy a chest freezer in the next few weeks!

[momma,mia]

I like the list idea too. I have a chest type and don't have trouble with it, but that would make it convenient. I am about 5'1 and haven't fell in yet!!

[Vanessa]

I hated getting things out of the chest freezer as a kid, so I bought an upright when I bought. I have things arranged on shelves and in bins (plastic, they've been fine for 3 years now), and it makes it so easy to find things.

[Norasmomma]

I have another great idea for freezer inventory. I printed out a freezer inventory from this http://organizedhome.com/printable-freezer-inventory-1

I used card stock and then took it to my local printing place and laminated it and bought some stick on magnets for the back, now I have all my things organized by what they are and in categories. I use a dry erase marker and keep up on the info when I put things in and take out. It has been super helpful for me.

[retro.mama]

I read somewhere on the boards that someone used a dry erase marker to list the contents right on their freezer. I thought that was pretty cool, but I like norasmomma's inventory list. That way you could take it with you to meal plan or inventory.

Another thought: If you live in an area with blackouts, the chest freezer is supposed to keep colder longer without power. This is based on research and not actual experience.