Freezer preference

[Nofi's Nest]

Now that we've taken the plunge and ordered these cornish x we need to buy a freezer. Does anyone have a preference on chest or upright? Brands?

 

[NevadaRon]

Upright is a lot easier to deal with - cleaning, loading and unloading.

 

[Olive Hill]

Chest freezers are more energy efficient and can tend to stay colder longer during power outages, but I too prefer an upright. Easier to rotate stock, access everything that's stored in there, clean, etc. That said, some of the newer chest freezers come with a lot of baskets for organization.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

agreed times 2! chest is great if you have a ton of one or two things and your going to use it all up before you fill it again; but hands down upright allows for sorting and rotating.

 

[Nofi's Nest]

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering, on the upright is the automatic defrost a problem? I thought it might cause more freezer burn?

 

[suzettex5]

I have an upright, and it does semm to freezer burn some stuff, it loses its 'cool' quickly when the power goes out and GOD FORBID anyone not shut the door tightly- we've lost alot of food due to improper door shutting. Or the food its self doesnt let the door close all the way and I have to re-arrange. Buuuuut, it is easier to clean and organise. I think i will try a big chest freezer next and just use the baskets and try to keep things in their own areas.

Sorry, guess that wasnt much help!

 

[Nofi's Nest]

I'm leaning toward a chest. They are cheaper.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

I have both, and it really depends on how much you are going to use it. Like I have the chest for our pigs and it's easiest to keep the baskets full with cuts you use frequently.... however the upright is nice for the business because I can move stuff around efficiently and have a sense of what's what.

If your doing a bunch of chickens, I would just get a chest because there will only be one need for it. The baskets will allow you to use odd ball stuff that will not fit into your fridge/freezer and it should stay decently organized.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I personally like the chest type for efficiency and because it stays cold longer in a power outage. We do have those here.

A trick to keeping either type cold longer in an outage is to keep it full. Fill up any empty space with plastic milk jugs filled with water. Once that water freezes, it will stay cold much longer in an outage. With the freezer filled, not as much air is lost when you open the door during regular operations either. Just take out the frozen milk jugs when you need the space.

 

[GrandmaAnn]

I had both, but gave the chest freezer away. It was way too hard to be finding things. I found I wasted so much because food would be at the bottom and I would never get to it. Yes, the automatic defrost can cause freezer burn. Manual is cheaper and the food, in my opinion, stays "fresh" longer. If you keep the key in the lock and lock it everytime you shut it, the door always stays shut. I had one 12 cu ft just for veggies. Now that we are raising our own meat again, I have another ordered that is 14 cu ft to put the meat in. Halfway through the winter, I'll transfer everything to one freezer and turn the other off. Then, in the spring, before I start loading them up again, I can transfer all the leftovers to the freezer that is turned off and resort things, defrost the one freezer, and start all over again. No more finding things buried in the bottom that are a few years old!