8 replies to this topic

[Recon]

Slightly off topic I suppose but maybe someone has expertise.

I have a 9 year old "Frigidaire Commercial" (that's what it says on the front of the door) upright freezer. It's not frost free and appears to me to be a pretty simple system (not that I know anything). We keep it in the barn so it runs a lot in the summer. This past week, while it was so cool outside, I noticed it was running EVERYTIME I went to the barn, which is several times a day.

I decided I should defrost it, so Sunday I unloaded it and cleaned all the built up ice. The top shelf had substantial built up ice but none of the others had any. I dried it out and put it back together. And it's been running ever since. Everything is rock solid frozen. So I turned it down and it continues to run. Also the top shelf is building up a little ice but none of the others are.

I asked the family Chief Financial Officer if we have been having higher than normal electrical bills and she said we have, about $100 higher than she would expect, for a couple months.

Repair? Or replace?

Thanks

[ShooterJohn]

Replace it with a chest style of freezer. They are much more efficient and don't dump all of the cold air every time you open the door.

[Mutt]

Replace.
I also agree on the chest style.

[zippy1970]

replace . Sounds like my brothers old " brick " . We both used it for fish n bait .

I ended up getting a chest freezer after that . We lost power for a week during a wind storm . After 3 days of no power & not screwing with it , thicker items ( beef , chicken , pork ) was solid . I got a generator third day and ran it only during the day . night time was cold enough that I had chests outside with drinks , water & immediate eating / defrosting foods .

My GF got it from Costco , on a coupon . So it should be cheap .

And

[tawnoper]

I use my old freezer to store my reloading supplies in (un powered of course). Keeps all my powder/primers in a nice and dry environment. Orgazined too. You could probably replace it off craigslist cheaper than fixing it.

[Recon]

I've heard an old freezer can be converted to a great smoker too. Storing reloading supplies seems like a great idea though because my reloading bench is only about 10 steps away, and being as its all in the barn, there's a lot of dust so I have to keep the bench and supplies covered well... I could see carrying a couple really good beers out to the barn, putting them in the freezer and plugging the freezer in while I reload till they are COLD! :-D

Of course, the reloading process would cease when the beer is really cold!

[KNOCKED UP]

As a retired HVAC repair man with 45 years experence,
I say dump it.
You will save lots of money on electricty.
The other guy's have some good ideas also.
Storage, or smoker.
Tom

[Recon]

My wife already started shopping for a new one. This next one will be an inside freezer so hopefully it won't be fighting for it's life 6 months of the year.

Gonna be hard to get away from the upright though. I like having everything on its own shelf. I raise a lot of the meat we eat and it's nice to have the poultry shelves, the fish shelf, the beef shelf, the venison shelf... I'm not gonna dig havin' to dig :-)

[sxshooter]

I prefer an upright as well. Freezers around my house only get opened a few times a week anyway. Shelves and less floor footprint are a plus in my opinion.

For the handy guy, fixing a lot of refer or freezer problems is fairly easy. Seized compressors or leaky Freon is a more difficult issue. Defrost timers and heaters and thermostat problems are often easy fixes.