Thoughts/recommendations for a freezer?

[jmark]

Greetings Folks,

I need a freezer.  Should be big enough for a couple of deer (processed) and couple of turkeys.  I'm thinking 5-7 cubic feet should be plenty, probably a chest unit.  I've read that some (many?) freezers are not intended to be kept in a place that is, well, freezing.  As in possibly an unheated garage or something.  Not quite sure why.  

Also, I've read that the best freezers for storing meat are *not* frost-free (no automatic defrost feature).  

This would be kept in a "cabin" that is not heated unless I'm there, which would usually be at least (most) weekends, but less in the deep winter.  

I also read somewhere that the best way to freeze meat is "flash freeze", which means getting the freezer down to -15 f.  Most that I see don't go that low.  

Any thoughts on what I should be doing here?

Thanks!

jm

[ATbuckhunter]

I bought a regular freezer that looks like a fridge. I picked that over a chest because it was easier for me to organize the meat and pick it out with out moving around too many things. Its the frost free kind because I hate dealing with an ice build up and having to defrost it time to time. I dont think it reallt makes a differnce with well packed meat. I use a vaccum sealer so I havent seen a difference in the quality of the meat. I havent seen any go below 0 degrees, but I think the commercial freezers will get down that low. 

[Hock3y24]

i had a chest first and still do, i cant stand the thing. id get a stand up if i were you. I keep my freezers in an unheated garage with no issues. 

[crappyice]

I have a second fridge in the I heated but connected garage(I have 13 year old twins who eat a lot!). last winter it stopped working. Went to a local appliance shop hoping to find a beat up unit and explained it’s for the garage. He said you need a special fridge that has some temp control. When it drops below a certain temp the entire fridge turns off the mechanism for cooling because it senses its cold enough.
Not a very technical answer but yes there are fridges(and I assume freezers) made specific for cold places


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bionic]

I plan on an upright frost free, so that is my recommendation.   My grandparents had a chest style, and things get lost in it, or forgotten about.  We vacuum seal meats, and they last a few years this way, you can even get thicker "game" bags for the vacuum sealers.

[First-light]

Stand up is best for organization. Does the meat stay at the cabin year round? What do you do if the power goes out for a couple of days? 

[Moho81]

Stand up is the best way to go. Like others have said it’s hard to organize a chest freezer when it’s full.

Double check before you buy it but I think newer freezers are good for being in the cold. It’s the standard refrigerator/freezer that has a problem.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[52 farmer]

Manual defrost is a must for unheated garage, stand up is most convenient .When i bought one two years ago,Crosby was the only make that i could find that was manual defrosting.

[BowmanMike]

chest freezers are more energy efficient,and i find putting the different kinds of venison in labeled boxes helps me keep the freezer organized. I get ice build up in mine but never defrost it. I scrape the ice with a windshield scraper once a year onto a baking sheet,a five minute job.

[Five Seasons]

in 2014 we bought a 13.7 upright. frost free and door alarm. It spent 2 years in a mississippi garage in both hot as balls and cold as sh!t conditions and did well. I personally value the door/power alarm, but for an unattended cabin not sure it's needed. I also value the frost free and upright for convenience. At this size, it still gets pretty full even with 2 deer and some fish, turkey and occasional stuff the wife prepares and freezes. 

[jmark]

Thanks for all the replies, very helpful.  

Funny, as I'm checking stock at various places, it seems freezers are flying out the door.  Must be something about the time of year....