# Upright or Chest for second freezer?



## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

I can't decide between an upright or chest freezer. We currently have a 20 cu/ft chest freezer and an extra fridge in the garage. I just can't decide if the second freezer should be another chest or an upright. The upright has a smaller footprint and frankly I have way too much stuff in my garage as it is. Maybe I can get my husband to move some to the shed out back to make room? LOL. 

I know uprights are not the favored choice due to them almost always being frost free. I was thinking I could just store my baking stuff like flour, bread crumbs, butter, nuts, ice cream and the odd frozen pizza and loaf of bread and anything expected to be eaten within 3 months in there and save the chest freezer for meat, game and garden produce. But I'm not sure I want to be limited in where I can put what though. 

Anyone have any words of wisdom?


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## JillyG (Jan 6, 2014)

All I can say is every time I look for something in my chest freezer it is always on the bottom :grumble:


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## OHmama (Jun 3, 2013)

JillyG said:


> All I can say is every time I look for something in my chest freezer it is always on the bottom :grumble:


This. So we have a manual defrost upright on the way! Our chest freezer is too small and really old so we decided to upgrade. It's taken over a month to get here,but hopefully we'll see it soon.


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## MOSSYNUT (Aug 8, 2014)

We have had an upright for about 10 years that we use for meat. I will never have another chest freezer. this has been great to be able to open the door and have everything organized. We keep a shelf for beef, chicken, and deer. the others we split with gator, fish, and if I get a hog. Shelves on the door for veggies and Jim Beam.


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

LOL I can barely reach stuff in the bottom of the chest freezer. Ours is a Kenmore Elite with the dividers and sliding racks on top. On the plus side I don't have a problem finding things because I group items together in sections. On the other hand I'm sure I'm not getting the full storage capacity out if it as a result. 

I did notice last night that Sears does sell a 20 cu/ft upright that is manual defrost. I didn't see it before. 

OHmama, post back when you get yours and let us know how you like it.


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## OHmama (Jun 3, 2013)

I'll definitely let you know! This is the one we ordered. We only had so much space to fit it so we went with the 14.1 there are several upright manual defrosting ones though! Menards,lowes,hhgregg,Sears are where I found them. As small as our chest one is,I'd practically have to climb in to get anything out of the bottom and we don't have any baskets or organization bins for it.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

Especially if you are older and have mobility issues get an upright. But they are not as efficient in energy use as the chest. 

I would like to turn our upright off during the summer and eat everything and then turn back on in fall with stocking up. I find anything that heats, dehumidifies or cools really ups our electric bill. I know this was common knowledge amongst most folks, I guess I just chose the ostrich head in the sand attitude. :facepalm:

I have a Kiliwatz I've been meaning to plug in for awhile to see how many kw a day our upright uses at various times of the year.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I have had an upright manual defrost for about 35 years. Same one; an old Kenmore that has never given us a single problem EVAH. A few years back we bought a second freezer, a chest manual of the same square footage. I use the upright for stuff like veggies, fruits, breads, nuts, seeds, cheese, and butter. The other contains almost all meat. It works well for us. There's a lot more traffic in the upright; but the way I use the chest one is to put things in it in a mix so there's always an assortment of cuts at every level. Then, as I go to the freezer, I decide what to make based pretty much on what sort of meat is on top. That way I never get to the bottom and find out that even though it looks like I have a lot of meat, I only have the seldom used cuts left. Beef in the bottom, pork in the baskets on the left, chicken in the baskets on the right, and turkeys on the top. Easy peasy.

Each has their advantages and disadvantages. I'm thinking my old timer could use a new seal. But it's hard to tinker with something that isn't giving me fits, or it just might. 

I hope you enjoy whatever you pick out! Just make sure that, if you end up with a big one, that you can get it through the door and to the spot you want to keep it in. We nearly had our chest freezer stuck in the cellar door. Good thing we opted for the 16cu.ft. instead of the 20! Ever see a 5'3" lady at the bottom of the stairs squawking like a banty hen? My my my, the view of it from the porch must've been interesting....


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

This is the one I was looking at originally. I like that it has the temp read out on the door, like our chest freezer. Plus the temp alarm and door ajar alarm are really nice. It also locks. I've gotten used to monitoring the temp of the chest freezer we have. 

http://www.sears.com/kenmore-elite-...p-04628092000P?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5

But it's frost free and I'm concerned about freezer burn as a result. Plus it's going in the garage and I hear that can be an issue for frost free units.


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## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

We bought that 20 cuft manual defrost upright at sears a couple years ago, seems fine for us.


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## WildernesFamily (Mar 11, 2006)

I guess the big draw of a chest freezer if that it is more economical, since you don't lose cold air so easily each time the door is opened... that would be a big plus if you lost power for a while. We just recently got another freezer and opted for the chest freezer, we already have an upright manual defrost (got it for free on CL!) Our chest freezer is huge and has those dividers and sliding shelves.. so far so good.

If you get an upright, just don't get a frost free one and that won't limit you as to what you can put in there. :shrug:


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## Wendy (May 10, 2002)

I have 4 chest freezers. i would never have another upright. Stuff falling out when you open the door. Once had the door come open a bit & lost some food. Chest freezers are more economical. I have my stuff in baskets & crates & my freezers are all organized, just as well as an upright.

Everyone has their own preference though. With electric being as high as it is, I will pick the most economical appliance I can find. I plan to get the biggest chest freezer I can & sell a couple of the smaller ones.


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## Gretchen Ann (Aug 30, 2010)

I have a huge chest freezer which was purchased before they came with dividers. Mine is organized, I have vegetables in freezer boxes, half of which are stored in cardboard boxes, with the other half stored under the box. I know exactly where everything is and can lay my hands on it in a minute. 

Same way with meat, half on the bottom, rest on top.

We do have an old upright freezer given to us years ago. I use it when I am freezing fruit on trays which I then bag up and stick in the chest freezer. It isn't used in the winter.

When the chest freezers dies, I will get another chest freezer.


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## OHmama (Jun 3, 2013)

Our freezer was delivered today. Wasn't a Sears truck though and seemed very unprofessional to me. 1 guy dropped his end bringing it onto the porch and it kinda bounced and hit the other guy under the chin. We haven't opened it yet. I'm thinking of calling and complaining.


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

Oh now that isn't very promising. I hope it wasn't damaged.


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## light rain (Jan 14, 2013)

I would definitely check it out carefully for any dents or bumps and plug it in to see how it works. What kind of warranty does it have on it? A lot of the big stores contract out to freelance transporters. 

I hope other folks chime in on this if they've experienced it themselves.


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

I bought an upright freezer from Lowes in late 2011. They sent one guy out to deliver it, and I told him we just had this house built and have been in it for 4 days, I don't want any damage to the walls. He asked where it was going, I said to the basement. Well he left and came back with another guy, they had to take the door off my basement and the door off the freezer to get it through the doorway and into the basement. Needless to say he didn't damage the walls, but wherever their clothes rubbed against the walls, I had nice blue jean looking marks. Luckily they cleaned off with a damp cloth. The driver that delivered was crotchety to put it nicely.
Now when we bought our refrigerator from best buy, those delivery people were the friendliest, most professional delivery people I've ever encountered.

So as for whether to get an upright or chest freezer, our little chest freezer we bought in 98 or 99 is still going strong, and the upright is right next to it still working great too. I think a lot of what type of freezer to get is personal preference.


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

We had 2 very nice men deliver our current chest freezer from Sears a few years ago.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

What is it about frost free that people don't like?

I have two uprights, one is old, probably 30 years old, works great, also have a vewer one that struggles to stay under 15 degrees.


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## Melesine (Jan 17, 2012)

The problem with frost free is that is it's auto defrost feature is supposed to contribute to freezer burn.


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## Dixie Bee Acres (Jul 22, 2013)

Ah, ok. Thank you.


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## Miz Mary (Feb 15, 2003)

I didnt know about the frost free contributing to freezer burn .. thanks ! I am waiting for my new LITTLE freezer ....

http://www.sears.com/kenmore-5.8-cu...p-04620602000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

going to get rid of the extra fridge AND large upright in the garage .. for just the 2 of us , this is all we need ....


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## tinknocker66 (Jul 15, 2009)

It does. Thats why I stick with the older models.


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## Marilyn (Aug 2, 2006)

Our first freezer was a small chest style. There were no baskets or dividers of any kind so the only way I could maintain some sense of order was to make drawstring bags out of muslin, then cut circular tabs out of empty milk jugs and and mark them for beef, gr beef, pork, chicken, vegetables, cheeses. I try to keep the strings with the label tabs on top, just to give me a fighting chance.


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