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Need Help With Buying A New Chest Freezer

Northern Brewer General
#1

I’m thinking about retiring my old upright freezer that I converted years ago for a new chest freezer. I was looking at them at Lowe’s. I told the sales people that I was thinking about replacing my converted freezer I have in my garage for my brewing, with a newer efficient chest freezer. They told me that if I put a new freezer in my garage that there is a good chance it won’t run right. They said that it my run non stop in the summer and not run at all in the winter. I ask them about putting a temp. controller on it to over ride the compressor, they told me that it is not the compressor that causes the problem it is the freon they use now that causes the problem.

Has anyone run in to this problem of putting a new freezer in their garage that isn’t heated or cooled? Looking for help on this subject.

Thanks,
jazzman

#2

Very timely…I’m considering a similar purchase. Looking forward to the answers.

#3

I am going on my second year with my 7.1 cu.in. Haier in my garage in the spirit and morale crushing heat of south FL. I also bought the 2 year warranty for full replacement and nobody needs to know there’s a thermostat triggering the on/off. I paid sub $300.

Hgregg was the store.

#4

I had one crap out this past spring and the new one hardly runs at all - The one that died was over 20 years old and always was in the garage, so it didn’t die from being in the garage. The new one has been great all summer, but if necessary, I can heat the garage during the coldest weeks of winter (have always just put a light bulb in the freezer on a thermostat). I’ll have to look into the issue further…

#5

Interesting… I’ve been running a chest freezer in my garage as a fermentation chamber for a few years now with no issues. Also almost everyone I know who has a chest freezer, even for normal freezer duty, keeps it in the garage. Most people don’t have room in their house for chest freezer. LOL

I’ll be curious to see if anyone backs up the salesman’s claim and/or has any insight to where it’s coming from.

#6

Absolutely baseless claims are incredibly meaningless. What I would do is look at the manual for the freezer or better yet if it has a large blaze orange sticker on the front that says ‘do not place in garage.’ Wait… those are only sold at Home Depot, never mind.

Got my 7 cu ft. model at Lowes. It was “damaged” so they gave it to me for $160. When they delivered it, they actually delivered a new freezer. So, I basically got a new freezer for $160. Been going strong for 3 years.

#7

I bought one last year and it has been in my closed up hot garage every since. It works great! It cycles on and off just as it should. …more off than on as a matter of fact. Buy one and enjoy!

#8

I think my heat pump that heats/cools my whole house probably uses the new replacement to freon too. In PA, we get 90+ soul-crushing summer heat waves, and 0-ish windy winter weather too. My house has never failed.

I call bull, on the new freon claims.

#9

I hate to have to admit that my garage is completely insulated and I have a window A/C unit and a heat source so the garage stays between 50-60 degrees in the winter and around 72 in the summer. Anyway, I looked up a new 14.5 cf whirlpool freezer and have a link to the owners manual below. All I can see is that they “recommend” the optimum temp range for most “efficient” operation is between 32-110 degrees. You would think there would be a warning if the unit would not opreate outside of that temperature range.

http://www.whirlpool.com/digitalassets/ ... 326796.pdf
#10

It has nothing to do with the type of refrigerant, the problem is the freezer running when the ambient air temperature is very low in the winter. Freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. are designed to operate within a certain ambient temperature, when the temperature gets too low the refrigerant doesn’t completely evaporate in the evaporator section of the refrigerant circuit and liquid refrigerant gets pulled in to the suction side of the compressor, which are only designed to compress gas. Commercial freezers/coolers with outdoor condensing units are designed for low temperatures with low ambient controls and receivers that hold the liquid refrigerant allowing it to evaporate before going to the compressor.

The summer time isn’t a big deal, if it gets really hot it just going to cause it to run longer.

#11

Glug Master, That all sounds completely reasonable. I might even allow that an appliance sales person might blame the freon replacement if it has a narrower efficient range.

Using a chest freezer as a freezer may have issues if the ambient is 32 and the freezer wants to pull the internal temp down to 0.

Conditioning beer in that same freezer, you’d not be running the compressor at all. You’d probably be running heat to keep the temps up to the desired range. In other words using the freezer as a beer conditioner is an easier job, right?

#12

[quote=“JMcK”]Conditioning beer in that same freezer, you’d not be running the compressor at all. You’d probably be running heat to keep the temps up to the desired range. In other words using the freezer as a beer conditioner is an easier job, right?[/quote]Exactly, I meant to add that in my first post. What we’re using them for they wouldn’t likely be running when the temps are that low so the chances of slugging the compressor would be nil.

#13

I’m actually in the market too. I currently have a ~15yo chest freezer that we use for frozen food. I hate the thing because it is NOT frost-free and has about 3" of ice packed in it. We can’t defrost the thing because every time it gets low enough to consider unloading it, someone buys a crapton of frozen food.

My idea is to buy a shiny new frost-free freezer for the food, then turn the chest into a conditioning chamber. The fact that the current chest is not frost-free would be a non-issue. -Solves two problems.

However I’ve noticed that frost-free freezers tends to be uprights which doesn’t bother me for food, but for some reason the uprights get pretty honkin’ expensive. :x

#14

I had an old upright freezer but it wouldn’t work for beer things, the shelves were fixed and had refrigeration lines built into them, so I gave it away. You’ll get condensation in your chest freezer but one of those Damp Rid things from the dollar store will take care of that.

#15

Getting ready to buy a chest freezer for a temp controlled fermentation setup and looking for input. Best deal I can find is a Hisense 7.2 cu ft at Costco for $139. They don’t show it online but I have found them in stores in San Diego and Washington state. Anyone have one by this brand? Anything negative about them? Has a 3 year warranty I think and planning on eventually getting a second for kegs. Thanks.

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