We are 25 gallons into the strawberry season and the freezer is full. How big of a freezer should we be shopping for? Does chest vs upright make a difference? Brands to stay away from? Age to stay away from on the used market?
lukem said:I'm shopping right now too, Solar. Glad you posted.
I'm considering two small/medium vs one large. I have a large one now (20 cu ft or so) but it cost about $30 a month in electricity(it's 25 years old) so I want to upgrade. We do a lot of cider in the fall the needs to be frozen, but usually empties out quickly. By spring it is maybe a quarter full. Not sure if a I would realize and energy savings by unplugging one for 2/3 of the year. From what I've heard they are more efficient when full, but that may be unsubstantiated info I've received.
lukem said:Sadly, there is no alcohol in my cider...just apples. That may be a project for this year though.
lukem said:Did some additional research today. Follow-up to the two small vs one large argument, chest vs upright efficiency:
Same manufacturer and product line:
24.9 ft3 chest freezer - $47 Yearly operating cost (per the energy tag, $0.0904 kWh)
19.7 ft3 chest freezer - $39
13.0 ft3 chest freezer - $30
20.6 ft3 upright freezer - $74 Yearly operating cost (per the energy tag, $0.1065 kWh)
16.7 ft3 upright freezer - $65
So to even things up in terms of size and electricity cost:
~20 ft3 @ $0.11 kWh
Chest = $47.46
Upright = $76.43
Monthly difference = $2.41
~25 cubic feet chest
1 big = $47
2 small = $60
Monthly difference = $1.08
Hope this helps somebody.
btuser said:I'd have to know if they took into account how many times you open and close them. How many times I got 1/2 way up the stairs and realized I forgot something.
SolarAndWood said:Thanks for all the input. Picked up this 5 yo 15 cu ft Frigidaire commercial chest unit I found on Craigslist. Just in time too, we picked 6 more gallons of strawberries last night and had no where to go with them.
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