Chest Freezer vs Upright Freezer

Why I bought a Frost-Free Freezer

Background

In 2006, I made the leap from Chest Freezer to Upright......for my  household it was an easy decision....WonderBread use to have an extra shift on just because of the number of hotdog bun packages that I lost in the bottom of my Chest Freezer. So even though a chest freezer is more energy efficient than an upright it was all about organization and

floor space in my “pantry room” in the basement.   The only thing I miss about my chest

freezer is the surface to wrap Christmas presents on.  And for those people that still

prefer a chest freezer Frigidaire does have a couple of models that have an

organization system in them.

But when I upgraded to upright I went with a Manual defrost, the less expensive model,

which needs to be defrosted when there is approximately 1/2” of ice on shelves for it to run

most efficient.     Manual defrost freezers are less  expensive to purchase than frost free

and food is supposed to last longer in a manual than a frost  free so I chose Manual Defrost.

Where I am today.

In the past defrosting my manual defrost freezer has not been that big of a deal.....takes a
couple of hours and gives me a chance to clean out some old forgotten contents at the same time.  It is a bit of a messy job, but
in my basement the mess  is not an issue.   These days it is finding a couple of hours that is harder to do.  Just like many working people the list of things to do
just never ends.   So here I am, overdue getting it done.
 
So  I am ordering a larger model and  in Frost Free.   Why?  If interested in the pros and cons have a look at the post Wayne did on that topic.....Frost Free vs Manual

Here is some of the thought processes I went through making my decision:

•A larger model because my 12 cube is always over full and for a freezer to operate most efficiently
it should be 75% full.  They need some space for air movement.
•Frost Free freezer make it so I have to protect from freezer burn?.....for me not an issue as I like to buy larger quantities and meticulously wrap in meal size.
•But Frost Free models use more energy.......how much more ????
The Freezer I am upgrading to  uses 682 kilowatts per year.  This neat “Refrigerator Calculator” on the Energy Star Website tells me my old freezer (2006) uses approx 662 kWh.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=refrig.calculator
So new Freezer uses 20 kWh of hydro per year more than my present cost......  that is $2.13 in hydro cost more per year.  I can handle that.
•I did check a new manual defrost 17 cube is only 480 kWh per year. Which is tempting but for $20 per year.....this girl is still done with manual defrosting.

Conclusion

So for me it will be worth the expense.  It will not save me any money on hydro but it will
take one job off my to do list and make me a little more organized.  And will give me that little extra
space so can take a little more advantage of the Grocery Store Sales, which may reduce my grocery costs.

So if you are thinking of purchasing a freezer......there are certainly lots of options.... I suggest determining what  Freezer makes the most sense for you.
  
  First consider the following:

• Location of the freezer (size and convenience)
• manual defrost requires defrosting which is not hard just time consuming and wet.
• consider  Your Life Style
•  what you store in your freezer and for how long
• weigh all costs including your hydro bill

by :Laurel Hooper




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