Economics of a standalone freezer?

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Batman

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Topic # 216683 7-Jul-2017 18:19

Hi I've always resisted the missus on getting her a dedicated freezer - apparently we can bulk buy on discount and freeze stuff ... but -

It costs money to run.

They are not cheap.

There are heaps to choose from (though mainly top load vs front load).

Have people had any experience or regrets buying or not buying one?

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Reply # 1815623 7-Jul-2017 18:37

We have a vertical one, with replaced a chest one that was about 30years old. However it has already been replaced once after about 3 years of use, because something on it failed, and they couldn't get parts. The chest one we had had the disadvantage that it froze up, and needed defrosting once in a while, which is a huge job. The vertical one doesn't need this. Worth getting if you grow a lot of your own vegetables and fruit, which is potentailly healthier than supermarket stuff, as you don't know what chemicals have been used on them. .

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Reply # 1815632 7-Jul-2017 18:51

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We have a 300L chest freezer and we didn't notice any significant increase in our bill.

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Reply # 1815649 7-Jul-2017 19:13

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Just replaced our 30 year old chest freezer (210 litre) with a 300 litre vertical one. Chest freezers should be more energy efficient because the cold air doesn't 'fall out' when the lid is opened like it does from a vertical one. However vertical freezers, by virtue of their bins tend to be easier to organise. No need to dive into the bottom to get that one bag of frozen peas like you do in a chest.
Our main reason for changing was to free up floor space in our laundry as well as the utility of the vertical storage.
Our family of 4 could not operate with just the freezer part of our fridge freezer. We would be going to the supermarket every day. So the extra we spend on electricity is saved in petrol.

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Reply # 1815652 7-Jul-2017 19:29

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Life is much easier with a chest freezer.

They are cheap to buy and cheap to run (compared with upright freezers).

They have a useful capacity (unlike upright freezers).

They come in a wide range of sizes.

They need defrosting once or twice a year. This takes 15 minutes.

Our chest freezer is 10 years old and runs perfectly (in the garage).

I rest my case, Your Honour.

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Reply # 1815670 7-Jul-2017 20:17

We have a chest freezer, and even though we pay the highest electricity prices in the world, we would be lost without it.

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Reply # 1815704 7-Jul-2017 22:41

Sideface:

Life is much easier with a chest freezer.

They are cheap to buy and cheap to run (compared with upright freezers).

They have a useful capacity (unlike upright freezers).

They come in a wide range of sizes.

They need defrosting once or twice a year. This takes 15 minutes.

Our chest freezer is 10 years old and runs perfectly (in the garage).

I rest my case, Your Honour.

Chest freezers are actually really hard for people to defrost and clean, espeically the elderly and people with back problems. You have to get right into the bottom of them to clan out the water when defrosting. The old f&p ones also didn't have a drain in them, so you have to use towels to mop up the defrosted ice. As long as the upright one has covers on all the drawers, you shouldn't lose much cold when opening it. Infact it has never been a problem at all, and the temperature gauge on teh front shown no drop in temperature after opening the door. The other thing is they have a good light in them, which my chest one didn't have. Not having to defrost it, is worth the extra price IMO The chest ones though are cheaper to buy, and are good if you want to put very large things meaty things in them.

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Reply # 1815706 7-Jul-2017 22:46

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Haven't defrosted ours in 5 years... It's still fine.

IcI

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Reply # 1815728 8-Jul-2017 00:02

Sideface: They are cheap to buy and cheap to run (compared with upright freezers).

Show me the evidence.

mattwnz

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Reply # 1815742 8-Jul-2017 00:35

blakamin:

Haven't defrosted ours in 5 years... It's still fine.

Depends on how often they are opened, and also how good condition the seals are. Due to the lid being quite heavy, and people slamming the lid closed, we found ours seals got compressed and cracked over time, which no doubt, let in air, and causing the frost to get worse. But going frost free, I never want to go back again. Also reaching down to the bottom of a chest freezer just to find stuff, is a PITA, whereas verticals have drawers, so it is only going to be a couple of layers deep of food.

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Reply # 1815761 8-Jul-2017 08:46

I recently moved so I gave away my 30 year old chest to a friend as I had no room for it.

I always organised the contents in cardboard boxes, usually wine or spirit boxes from the wholesaler. This made it easier to 'get down to the bottom' quickly to get something out. It was just me, so no one else messing up my system, and I sort of remembered where everything was. Always thought chests were more efficient. Mine was a free gift from a deceased estate, so no purchase required, and I put a Power Co meter on it at one stage and it came out quite cheap to run. Always full, not opened a lot, but in the tin garage which got hot in summer.

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Reply # 1815763 8-Jul-2017 08:56

We have a smaller size chest freezer. I didn't think we needed it but I lost that argument as expected. Would be lost without it now. Haven't defrosted it ever, probably 6 years now. No noticeable increase in power costs. Buying in bulk when things are on special has saved us a fortune and easily recovered the initial cost. Also less trips to the supermarket, and now we can get butchered meat in bulk. It's a no-brainer as far as I am concerned.

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Reply # 1815778 8-Jul-2017 10:15

recently went through the same process (to buy or not to buy/upright vs chest). The existing fridge/freezer space we had useless and due to the layout couldn't be used efficiently.
At one point even thought about a separate fridge/freezer as the fridge part would be useful at Christmas etc but it still meant ending up with a small freezer space and running it all year round.

Eventually we settled on a cheap ($550) upright 172L freezer from Mitre 10.
So far the benefits have outweighed the costs of buying/running it.

having space for supermarket deals. frozen veg, bulk/large bags of chicken portions, 2 for x price (bread etc)
I normally cook one large meal (casserole, curry, etc) a week that leaves about 4-5 portions that can be frozen for lunches or lazy dinners instead of getting takeaways.

Comparison wise the 5 year old fancy 415L fridge-freezer supposedly uses 620 kHw per year and the freezer above uses 237 kWh.

In the past I have had large chest freezers when I was growing my own veges.
Generally speaking they are cheaper to buy - more volume for less.
When opened less cold escapes (warm air gets in?) which in theory makes them more efficient but most of the upright ones now have bins or divider doors to minimise this.

As mentioned the main draw back with the chest freezers are having to defrost it.
The other problem is having to shuffle around boxes/crates to get at the stuff in the bottom. Depending on how tall you or the missus is then this could be the main reason for not getting a chest freezer.

The only other thing to be mindful of is if you have kids about (your own, niece/nephew, etc). Depending on the size of the chest freezer and their motivation for going into it (ice cream etc) it can be easy to fall in trying to reach for stuff. In the past I've had to fit a safety latch or combo padlock to keep them out.

cadman

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Reply # 1815785 8-Jul-2017 11:06

Sideface:

Life is much easier with a chest freezer.

They are cheap to buy and cheap to run (compared with upright freezers).

They have a useful capacity (unlike upright freezers).

They come in a wide range of sizes.

They need defrosting once or twice a year. This takes 15 minutes.

Our chest freezer is 10 years old and runs perfectly (in the garage).

I rest my case, Your Honour.

Plus they come complete with a nice flat work area installed that is completely resistant to women's junk cluttering it up because she doesn't want to move it to open the chest freezer!

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Reply # 1815839 8-Jul-2017 12:49

Missus wants a vertical one. I guess I'll look out for one when HN has a sale.

Fred99

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Reply # 1817201 9-Jul-2017 12:52

Batman:

Missus wants a vertical one. I guess I'll look out for one when HN has a sale.

From my experience, don't worry too much about whiteware or other relatively high-value items - TV sets etc - being "on sale" at HN.

They seem very happy to haggle and discount non-sale items to below sale price. For example, we bought a $4k ticket price fridge for <$3,000 (other retailers had it on sale for IIRC about $3,200 - which is what HN offer it for when they're having a "sale").

Do your homework and haggle. Sometimes I even wonder if the "sales" are just a bit of a trick to discourage haggling - "oh it's already on sale - so I won't bother".

I'd be interested to know how many people actually pay "sticker price". Even if just expressing that you're not sure if you want to buy the thing, they're pretty forward with suggesting discounts - "if you wanted it now - I'll see what I can do on price".

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