Definitive Freezer Size Thread

[doc holiday13]

What I'm about to state is soley based on my personal experience and it is up for debate.

I currently have 2 dedicated freezers. A ~12cu.ft. chest freezer(not sure if garage ready) and a garage ready upright 21.3 cu.ft. freezer

Based on the math the upright is definitely bigger, but because everything has to fit without falling out, anything that is irregular in shape(ie 1 gallon vac sealed bags of beef bones or fat trimmings) limits what you can put in the upright and not have stuff falling out.

My chest freezer was PACKED.. Like filled to the brim with a whole pig, 1/4 cow, etc... We bought the upright and there is not enough room to put the last 5 packages of fat trimmings.. Which is why i say my smaller chest freezer holds more.
I think if I have to buy another freezer in the future, I'll stick with a chest freezer and cut some plywood sectional dividers so that it makes "bins" that allow me to get easy access to specific cuts or types of meat

*update 08/20/2025

So I think we've finally figured out our freezer situation. Our upright freezer and indoor freezer is where we put the foods we are most ready to start eating/making. The upright is great for organization. We use heavy duty cardboard boxes for different meat cuts/types. Basically a shelf or section of a shelf is dedicated for 1 product. If that shelf is full of that product, the rest goes into the chest freezer.

The 12 cuft. chest freezer referenced above was sold and replaced with a 22ish cu.ft freezer. This is the "overflow" freezer. The over flow freezer gets the extra ground meat, the vac sealed chicken carcasses from butcher day, meaty bones for the dog, extra frozen fruits.

Both freezers are garage rated. I still need to outfit these with temp sensors. The temp sensors can be found with a basic forum search here. An upright freezer and chest freezer of equal cu.ft will not hold the same amount. Full Stop. you can play tetris with a chest freezer to get everything to fit, but that does not work on an upright so you can't jam pack everything in without risking losing a toe every time you open the door

 

[87TT]

Sorry, couldn’t help it. First thing that came to mind.
I have three freezers. Two chest 7 and 5 and a 24 cf upright.

 

[Boarmaster]

I would use properly sized wire baskets on the shelves of an upright for odd shaped things that will fall out. I have always used chests but the next time I buy I am going upright. I bought my first chest freezer in 1986. The chest may hold more but I am tired of chest freezers. I may keep my chest freezer for boned out bags of meat I bring home or qrts and ice blocks. Like you say odd sized items. But for processed game and general use I am going with a upright. mostly personal preference on which way to go. Maybe I just getting old.

 

[doc holiday13]

I won't deny that a upright freezer is hands down the best at organizing stuff, but there is very clearly a loss in capacity despite increase in size

 

[Sccritterkiller]

I have a 24 cf chest freezer. It came with dividers in the bottom...6 compartments plus a not as deep compartment above the compressor. It also has 3 slidable trays that fit over the top...uprights are convenient but you give up capacity. With a little planning chest freezer gives you more storage.

 

[Brendan]

I won't say definitive, because this dead horse has been beaten before.

I have both a chest and an upright, definitely prefer the upright. Just build / buy the appropriate size slide out bins / boxes for your shelves, and then nothing's falling out and it's much easier to get to what you need. You "lose" a lot less space that way. And, it takes up much less floor space per unit volume - it's hard to use the space above a chest freezer for much. If I were to buy one with the same storage as my upright, I couldn't even fit it in my basement or garage right now.

Not to say the chest freezer doesn't have a place: Mine is relatively smaller and I use it for overflow storage, and stuff I don't need to get to nearly as often.

 

[Novashooter]

It's my opinion two small chest freezers are better than one big one. I don't know what size mine is, but I'd rather have two 6cf than one 12cf. Hauling one of those big boats in there is no fun. I could be wrong on size, I don't know if 12cf is big or not. If it ever dies, you better know someone with a lot of freezer space fast. I can't think of any good thing about an upright style. Put up on some blocks to keep them out of the water in the basement, and chest freezers are way easier to reach into than an upright which may as well be called avalanche freezers. They aren't even efficient. An upright uses twice the electricity, and only stays cool half as long in a power outage.

 

[NRA4LIFE]

OK, don't get on my case, but I hate uprights for numerous reasons. I prefer multiple smaller chest freezers because of space optimization inside (and nothing EVER falls out either) and if one goes TU I don't lose everything.

 

[MarkOrtiz]

We went to the store and found plastic tubs that fit in the freezer. Deep tubs down the bottom with shallow tubs on top. Everything is organized and easier to find.

 

[scrubolio]

don't most upright freezers have an auto-defrost function?

I believe its the auto-defrost function that contributes to freezer burn.

If you're cycling/consuming the food out pretty quickly, it shouldn't matter that much.

 

[PaHunter86]

don't most upright freezers have an auto-defrost function?

I believe its the auto-defrost function that contributes to freezer burn.

If you're cycling/consuming the food out pretty quickly, it shouldn't matter that much.

My upright never defrost. Every other year I do it manually by unplugging it. I'm not sure if you can find one that doesn't defrost anymore but atleast the one I got 10yrs ago doesn't which was what I was looking for.

 

[hillbillyfab]

I've had them both over the years. While I like the ability to just pile it in a chest freezer, that's what happens at my place. Food just gets piled in. Things migrate to the bottom and it seems like a quest trying to find something that you know you put in there. I prefer uprights, less floor space taken up. It takes just a little, more effort using, shelves, baskets etc., but you can keep similar items from falling out.

 

[Billdoe]

Chest freezer organizing use milk crates. I keep one at the top with a fee steaks, pounds of burger, prok chops etc keeps things easy for the Mrs to get to. I just restock that create when needed

 

[BBob]

Beware of the newer upright freezers with plastic shelves. The plastic won’t support anywhere near what the glass shelves will. I missed the plastic part when I bought my last freezer. I couldn’t return it because I was committed and needed it asap. Now I deal with saggy shelves and one has already cracked in a supporting corner.

 

[Marshfly]

I now have three of these in the garage. Two set as freezers and one as a fridge. Good metal shelves. Tons of space. Zero issues. And Lowes dollied them into place for free.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Midea-17-cu-ft-Frost-Free-Convertible-Upright-Freezer-Re/1001272580

 

[Muleyczy]

Freezers imo are a lot like garages….get a bigger one than you think you’ll need

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

don't most upright freezers have an auto-defrost function?

Just read the specs, you can absolutely but manual defrost ones still (IE don't get "frost free" models), run'm as cold as possible and manually defrost them once a year, no biggy. I've pulled vacuum sealed meat out that is 3-4yr old before that is just fine.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I much prefer upright freezers. A little planning with plastic or coated wire baskets and everything is easy access. Make sure you get the basket with the lower front. My friend has a chest freezer and he is forever digging through it to get what he is after. I will say he is not very organized in anything he does, and he's to cheap to by baskets to help with organizing freezer.