Meat freezer recommendations?

[DavePwns]

Looking for some solid advice on a meat freezer that can hold a boned out elk and a mule deer. I know very little about different companies and models. I'm looking for a freezer that will last 15+ years. I'm all about the buy once cry once mentality with anything I buy. Do you guys recommend upright freezers with shelves? Are certain features worth considering that you appreciate with your freezer?

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I have a 14cuft upright and a 7ish cuft chest. I prefer the upright for organizational reasons as it holds meat and other household frozen food. I cut boxes to fit on the shelves so I can stack them full of cuts w/o packages falling when the door opens. Chest freezer is overflow capacity that I pile meat into and reload the boxes in the upright with. An elk and a deer would fit into a 7cuft chest but realistically most folks end up with other stuff in their freezer so a larger (or multiple) freezers are nicer.

Bang for the buck though chest freezers are cheapest.

 

[DavePwns]

I have a 14cuft upright and a 7ish cuft chest. I prefer the upright for organizational reasons as it holds meat and other household frozen food. I cut boxes to fit on the shelves so I can stack them full of cuts w/o packages falling when the door opens. Chest freezer is overflow capacity that I pile meat into and reload the boxes in the upright with. An elk and a deer would fit into a 7cuft chest but realistically most folks end up with other stuff in their freezer so a larger (or multiple) freezers are nicer.

Bang for the buck though chest freezers are cheapest.

Any particular brands/models you recommend for a chest freezer?

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Mine happen to be GE units but I'd just read the reviews on some of the brands/models at wherever you are shopping, folks are quick to speak up if there is a notable flaw on a brand.

If going the chest freezer route only still not a bad idea to consider a pair of them over a single larger one, the price point would be similar (7cuf units are around $200 and 14cuft tend to be around $400) and you can shut one down later in the year after running through meat. Also handy to use one to freeze fresh meat without warming the contents of the other when first loading it after a harvest. Just a thought.

 

[BRTreedogs]

I've been doing some research on this as well.
I prefer an upright frost free. I have a small one about 13 cu now. And it stores what we need once its wrapped.
I cant find any solid reviews on any affordable brands from lowes or depot.
But I've been looking at the 21.3 cu from Costco for $800 and it has solid reviews.

 

[DavePwns]

I've been doing some research on this as well.
I prefer an upright frost free. I have a small one about 13 cu now. And it stores what we need once its wrapped.
I cant find any solid reviews on any affordable brands from lowes or depot.
But I've been looking at the 21.3 cu from Costco for $800 and it has solid reviews.

Have you seen this one? I've never heard of insignia for freezers, this one looks similar to the Costco one but cheaper

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insign...er-refrigerator-white/5560300.p?skuId=5560300

 

[Jsunkler]

I have a 16.6 cu ft Upright from Frigidaire that I picked up on sale at Home Depot (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Frigida...zer-in-White-ENERGY-STAR-FFFH17F2QW/205555909) and a 5 cu ft Chest from GE that I also picked up on sale at Home Depot.

I started with the Chest Freezer, but will never get another. They are great for filling it up with one item, where you do not have to search or look around at your options. The upright is so much easier to organize, see what you have, and keep a plethora of different cuts, type of game, etc. I use the Chest Freezer as a overflow, but with almost 17 cu ft. available in the Upright I have only used it to keep capes frozen in the last year.

Fourth of July and Black Friday seem to be the best deals for appliances at most of the big box stores. I paid under $500 for my upright and around $100 for my chest.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

For best meat longevity you don't want a frost free unit you want a manual defrost. Frost free units heat up the cooling elements periodically to melt the frost off them, that in turn temporarily raises the temperature in the freezer. I prefer manual defrost and I just defrost it each fall just prior to season when its less full.

 

[PNWGATOR]

I’ve been researching freezers as well as mine sustain d some damage in a move and is on its last legs. So far, I’m leaning towards a chest freezer, manual defrost and foam insulation with milk crates for product organization. I think I’ll also buy an upright to use for Costco and grocery sale items as it is a bit of a pita to organize a chest freezer.

 

[Murdy]

I have an chest-style, manual-defrost for long term storage. I want to buy an upright frost free for short term use, like frozen pizzas, vegetables and such. An upright also keeps you from digging around in the chest as much and raising the temperature.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I have a freezer that was given to us by our neighbors about 25 years ago and it still works great. It was already used when they got it. Most freezers will last a very long time regardless of brand.
We have a Kenmoore fridge in the pantry that is 32 years old and still works great as well.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Keep in mind the old units can often draw quite a bit more power so sometimes newer ones pay offset the purchase price in lower power consumption. This is more to do with the really old stuff, when my grandmother's OLD freezer died and got replaced the electrical bill dropped in a meaningful amount that she noticed it.

 

[UtahJimmy]

Question for those using the chest and upright combo:

What have you find to work the best for organization?

I usually package up larger boxes when I am finished processing and put them in the bottom of the chest. But then it ends up turning into a mess once I start opening up the boxes. Do you run labeled bins in the upright that you replenish?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I typically have meat on 2 shelves in my upright (sometimes some in the lower bin as well) with household stuff taking up the rest of the space. Both shelves has a box cut to size, the upper box I keep loaded up with ground meat. The lower box I put backstraps/loans in either a bag or another box in the box to quickly denote they aren't roast type meat and then load roast type meat into the rest of the box. In our home that covers the bases of our cooking: Ground meat, whole muscles good for the instapot and other roast activities, and BS/loin meat for the grill, etc.

The rest is loaded into the chest freezer and is a bit more jumbled up but when I go digging in there occasionally to restock its not a big deal to shuffle stuff around a bit to find what I need. Wear some thin gloves, -20F meat packages are cold! Haha

 

[harperwhite]

https://mcdonaldpaper.com/freezers has the most wide range of ones that you’ve asked for. I consider the TURBO AIR MUF-28-N 1 the most useful for any kind of bushmeat - I bought that one for my father in Kentucky for his household. He says everything is fine - no leakages, no troubles.

 

[elkstabber]

Pods8 hit all of the most important points. I have two chest freezers and like him I also cycle through them in order to defrost them. I do a lot of saltwater fishing also so my freezers don't typically get empty. When the deer/elk is getting low is when the tuna/dolphin/wahoo is filling up. This means that I need to pay a lot of attention to rotate through the meats. My family very rarely buys meat from the store. Except for bacon .

Two things I haven't seen mentioned:
1. Chest freezers are a hassle to organize, but they can also double as a light duty workbench.
2. You never want your freezer to quit, which will ruin all of the meat and your hard work. Buy a battery operated freezer alarm for about $20. It alarms when the temperature goes up.

 

[OneRingTrTa]

Chest freezers are cheaper to run and I think you can fit more stuff in them. A few years ago my grandmother moved in a nursing home. We sold her house and included the chest freezer. It was made by International Harvestor...in 1945, and was still working great. My grandmother said she bought it brand new. Too bad they don't make them like they used to.

 

[Trial153]

Chest freezers are great except for knowing what the hell is in them. I have one full with moose, caribou, lope, deer and elk and it's a mess keeping track. I am going to buy an upright this winter to supplement it.

 

[Boarmaster]

Dont go crazy on your box sizes in your chest. Use smaller boxes that are the same size and fit efficiently in the chest. That way they easily slide around on top of each other to make it easy to access items. I might have three boxes of ground , one of loins and other stuff in four other boxes like sausage. put one or two the boxes that you have two or three of on the bottom. Move them up as you need them. Organize your chest like you would your pack. Main thing is smaller same size boxes and label the tops.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Chest freezers are cheaper to run and I think you can fit more stuff in them. A few years ago my grandmother moved in a nursing home. We sold her house and included the chest freezer. It was made by International Harvestor...in 1945, and was still working great. My grandmother said she bought it brand new. Too bad they don't make them like they used to.

Better that they don't those old units suck ALOT more energy than the new ones, cheaper to buy a new one when you factor in the electricity.