Best freezers according to redditors
We found 28 Reddit comments discussing the best freezers. We ranked the 19 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 28 Reddit comments discussing the best freezers. We ranked the 19 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Freezer. We bought a small freezer like this and it can fit roughly 40 meals in it.
We don't even need survivorship bias for this one!
Take a look at the chest freezer halfway down. $409 in 1955, per the BLS calculator, is $3,688 today. How much chest freezer does that buy you? A whole lot. The comparison to modern household appliances is simply not fair.
Oh hey! I got mine for boobmilk, too.
We got this one: but we actually bought it on Craigslist (new) for $100 instead. As far as freezers go, I definitely suggest checking your local CL for something more economical.
We originally bought it because my boob juice was taking up too much room in the freezer, so I liked that this had a little basket where I could keep the oldest organized & accessible at the top by date. We bought the small one because we live in an apartment.
Overall, it's been a good investment because we can stock up when stuff is on sale. We can also buy in bulk, and because we run to the grocery store less, we buy less "extra" items that we don't need.
Can someone ELI5 how to turn my chest freezer into a fermentation vessel? I have a STC-1000.
This model
Edit: Darn you autocorrect
I should have taken a pic, you're right it isn't online. I don't know if this is the exact model. But it is a Hisense and it is 7.2 cu", that much I know for sure. Looking at the amazon questions, it might be the same.
Is there a keezer build guide that stands above the rest? On average how many corny kegs will fit in a 7.1 cubic ft freezer such as this one?
> I'm not saying your wrong (you probably are not if it's reasonable), but there would be some point where you bought too much, even at a discount. The money tied up in food is now idle. It could be working for you, earning interest or buying something you need more immediately. There's an optimal frequency and inventory level for every consumable item we buy and it's based on more than the bulk discount.
To function as you'd suggest, it would cost me more in time spent in stores than it would in the cash value of the food at the level of waste I have IRL. Just fyi.
I value my free time at $20/hr. Two trips a week instead of two trips a month is ~$80 in added time costs a month or ~$960/year.
I don't waste $960/year in food due to bulk buying. Most of my food waste comes from either:
A) Experimenting with food recipes and not liking the results. (aka learning)
B) The unexpected.
Similarly, $1000 for a freezer is o.O. A chest freezer with 7 cubic feet of capacity is like $250, new on Amazon, or like $50 on Craigslist (used).
https://www.amazon.com/Cubic-Foot-Chest-Freezer-Black/dp/B019ZGH26O/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1484073215&sr=1-1&keywords=chest+freezer&refinements=p_n_feature_keywords_two_browse-bin%3A7253983011
That thing can hold ~100 lbs of frozen meat / vegetables easily. A few bags of rice that last months. And that is all the bulk buying you really do that isn't like soda or beer or whatever.
I'm honestly not sure where you get your numbers from but the "discount" for bulk frozen purchases is frequently as high as 33-50% the smaller units and the electricity costs are negligible. (~$130 a year, including purchase/replacement cost every 5 years)
Not bulk buying would cost me ~$1-2k a year. Even if my food waste is 25%, $1k on a $4k food budget is $1k vs. ~$1-2k. That doesn't even factor in the fact the cost in my time is higher than the cost of food waste cost so I'd simply break even and save time.
The chest freezer takes up a corner of the garage that wouldn't be used except to store more crap anyway and has a negligible footprint.
Here’s an example of what a quarter cow looks like .
I’ve never bought a quarter cow (though it’s on my to-do list), but I have bought a quarter pig. It was about 80lbs of pork. A 13lb ham, 16lbs of ground pork, 5lbs of bacon ends, and a bunch of chops/ribs/a pork loin or two. And scrapple! We paid $180 for 80lbs of pork and it was 100% worth it.
We bought a 3.5 cubic foot chest freezer and were able to accommodate all the porky goodness with room to spare. 1/4 cow is obviously going to be bigger, so probably 4 cubic feet minimum would be ideal.
It's hard to pin it down, but if you look long enough, you'll see a whole bunch of machines with the exact same features - the molded handles will all be very similar but slightly different, but they will all fit the same template - they will mount in the exact same way and features will all be in the same place.
For example:
RCA (but also igloo?):
https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Cubic-Foot-Chest-Freezer/dp/B00ZPN3YNM/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=igloo+chest+freezer&qid=1573074716&s=appliances&sr=1-3
Kuppet ???:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YY1GCFX/ref=sspa_dk_detail_3?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07YY1GCFX&pd_rd_w=Be0L4&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=Qip8v&pf_rd_r=JJENA9GKCEQ49A2P84ND&pd_rd_r=fc1dbfa4-754c-4a1d-af2b-f0c875b1e07f&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyWUw4VjhIUDUxM0FTJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODA3Njk3MU9HTjhMUTg1RjgyViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDU1NzgxMjNXU1cwOVpaRUJSOCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Northair ?????:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8NLN9V/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07X8NLN9V&pd_rd_w=Be0L4&pf_rd_p=45a72588-80f7-4414-9851-786f6c16d42b&pd_rd_wg=Qip8v&pf_rd_r=JJENA9GKCEQ49A2P84ND&pd_rd_r=fc1dbfa4-754c-4a1d-af2b-f0c875b1e07f&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyWUw4VjhIUDUxM0FTJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODA3Njk3MU9HTjhMUTg1RjgyViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUExMDMzMDc4MThCTjA1WktNN1Y4OSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
RCA and igloo are both very old brands in the US, but have almost certainly fallen to the wayside and been bought out. I've never heard of Kuppet or NorthAir. Take a close look - there are some differences in the handles and the knobs, but all three of these products all have the same layout - sheetmetal grille on the right hand side, controls on the lower right - power light, run light, and a knob. The lights and knobs are shaped different, but they are all in the exact same place. It's just a slightly different skin over the exact same chassis. There may be some cosmetic differences, such as the racks or handles, but they are basically the same thing. Another giveaway is if the exterior dimensions are exactly the same in every direction. Some appliances have to fit standard gaps, like a kitchen fridge or a range, so the width will always be pretty close, but the backsplash doesn't have to be an exact height.
I actually have an Igloo branded version of the RCA-Igloo and it's pretty decent. Quiet, it cools quickly, it stays frozen for days if the power goes out, and it was pretty cheap. A relative of mine bought a much bigger, front opening freezer. They spent more on it thinking it will be a better machine. And to some extent, it is. It's a completely different type and class of freezer. It was also at the upper end of the price range for that type of appliance. It looks nicer, the interior lighting is better, etc. But within a year their thermostat went bad. It's really not the manufacturer's fault, they don't make the thermostats, and it would be stupid for them to reinvent the wheel. There are already a number of other companies that have specialized knowledge that make them. It just turned out that they happened to get a lemon that didn't show up for a year. I replaced it a few years ago and it's been fine ever since.
Funny thing is the cheap Igloo has the exact same thermostat. The reason I know that is about a year into it, the Igloo also failed, only my issue was the motor starter / overload, again, not made by Igloo. After replacing that, mine has been strong for years. I didn't look at the other one closely, but I vaguely remember it being a very similar looking starter. I'd be willing to bet that, other being sized slightly larger for the bigger compressor, it's the exact same part by the same manufacturer, and it's probably on a larger but otherwise identical compressor.
What I'm getting at is it is sort of a crapshoot; infant mortality is higher these days. You can spend a lot and have it die, you can get something cheap and have it die. But you can also spend $10 to fix either and have a great machine.
I'm not an expert, but what I'm getting at is if you see two very similar but cosmetically different machines at different prices, one is a name brand, the other is not, and both have fairly similar reviews, it's usually safe to go with the cheaper one. It's probably the same thing.
u/darthmilks idea is a good one. Any type of clear/glass freezer would be a few hundred bucks.
I just built myself a fementation chamber...I used this.
I put a collar around the top like people do for keezers to give it more height. I can fit 2 6 gallon carboys in it, one on the "floor" and one on the compressor "hump". I did have to build a little bench thingy to support the carboy on the hump.
Well... cannibalizing is really the way to go. Cheaper on craigslist, but you get everything you need in one of these, you just have to configure it to fit your own box if you need something different.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00YEMSMYQ
I use a Digital Temperature Controller with a small chest freezer. Shop around for the freezer, I just used this one 'cause I was on Amazon. Think I got mine at Sam's Club. This is inexpensive to set up and really frugal on electricity. All the cold stays in the compartment when you open it. Also - super insulated compared to a beverage cooler. It's not stainless, but you can get compact chest freezers in black. If you like DIY, you could buy a cheap chest freezer and cover it with [stainless steel laminate] (https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Appliance-BRUSHED-Nickel-Adhesive/dp/B00BAUPS9M/).
Got the 5.0, which by all appearances is a rebadged Midea which gets excellent reviews on Amazon ($162) and ALSO appears to be at least the same case as the GE sold by Lowes and Home Depot ($189) also with excellent reviews. The house-brand of Lowes (Idylis) and Best Buy (Insignia) don't appear to be Midea parts, and get lots of reports of infant mortality.
The 7 appears to be the same OEM (note the rounded triangle thermostat, the knurled threaded drain, and the inner door texture).
i agree completely to this, and i would generally buy used but in good condition (the one i have now in my room is a used $50 GE, works fine except for the frosting issues and is only a few years old, maybe 3 or 4) but nowadays i don't have the proper funds to go in person. most of the stuff i buy comes from a different way. i work online and pay with online currency.
plus i'm not looking for a large one, just a smaller energy efficent model. something enough to put dive food and maybe an occasional bag of ice on the bottom rack.
like this
This is the only small freezer I've been able to find on Amazon (or anywhere really) that is rated to biological storage temps and doesn't cost an absurd amount: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NO58JLK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wi16CbN6YQA5P
I put a little 1.1 cu freezer on my registry at Amazon. We don't have room for making up some freezer meals, and we definitely don't have room for breast milk, so this seemed like a good plan. If nothing else, we would then be able to buy the big packages of meat and break it up into meal portions.
So as a few other posters have put:
Personally I'm looking at this one. Fits 5 ball lock kegs if I add a collar and it's less than 160 with Prime.
It really depends on your stash and reasons for buying one. I bought this one since I had an oversupply and also wanted to be able to use it for other stuff like freezer meals and general freezer overflow.
I also bought these for storing the (Lansinoh) milk bags by date. They fit in the freezer perfectly, with I think about 14x flat 6oz bags per bin.
http://www.amazon.com/midea-WHS-258C1-Single-Chest-Freezer/dp/B00MVVITCC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450894884&sr=8-3&keywords=7.1+cubic+foot+chest+freezer
Ha! Came here to post this as well. $30 cheaper now than when I bought it. I think it's this one.
This is the one I got for him
https://www.amazon.com/WHS-52FW1-Compact-Reversible-Upright-Freezer/dp/B00MVVIMR4
He's been using it about 1.5 mo this and it keeps things frozen solid. It's really small so he'll put it on the floor or in the passenger seat if he needs the floor space.
Heres the fridge https://www.amazon.com/COSTWAY-Refrigerator-Compressor-Portable-Electric/dp/B07K3Y9STC/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?keywords=12+volt+fridge&qid=1563052181&s=gateway&sr=8-15
I'll be damned - just quick searching too.
You're a smart internet stranger!
I had considered dry ice, but unfortunately, while it doesn't have to be 100% precise, we'd need to hold at around a given temp for maybe an hour or 2 - the thing we're testing has to be fully brought to that temperature and has some mass so it would take a bit to bring the whole thing to that temp - i.e. we'd want to say the thing is nearly homogeneously at that temp, rather than just being able to say the ambient temp.
Actually think I might go with this one - doubles as fridge/freezer, down to -8F, built in temp display, $450. Thing of beauty!
Why not just keep it frozen all the way to the funeral? A casket can easily go for $2k. Just roll one of these right up to the stiff's house. Load 'em up in there. Leave the thing plugged in until the wake.
At the wake, just open the freezer lid for all to see. When burial comes, just lower the whole damn freezer into the ground.