I bought a house with a Imperial Commercial Freezer, 21 CF, manual defrost. It was large and I did not like the manual defrost so i rolled it to the curb w/ a sign that said free. It lasted 30 minutes. Purchased a smaller upright by Kenmore with frost free. I now need more space so started looking at larger units, back to the 21 vs. my current 14 CF. I have been told the manual is by far the best for storing foods over 90 days to avoid freezer burn that goes along w/ the frost free. Is this true, does it really matter? I hate the thought of pulling mountains of venision, poultry and other foods from the freezer to defrost it. Any input is appreciated. Also, need upright, not a chest.
Freezer recommendation for storing smoked meat?
- Thread starter DavidD
- Start date
Steve Abrams
TVWBB Pro
Manual over frost free.
I've been told that a frost free has a heater in it to help keep your freezer free of frost. I'm sure a freezer guy can explain how it works but food seems to last longer in a manual defrost freezer.
I've been told that a frost free has a heater in it to help keep your freezer free of frost. I'm sure a freezer guy can explain how it works but food seems to last longer in a manual defrost freezer.
Bill Hays
TVWBB Platinum Member
I agree with manual defrost. I’ve had an older sm/med sized chest freezer for more than 10 years and only defrosted it once after 6 years and that was only because we moved. There was some small ice build-up in a couple places but we could have easily gone another 4 years before defrosting. We’ve had an older upright manual defrost freezer running now for 1-½ years and there’s only a slight ice build up on the edge of the metal shelves. Both are in the basement (slightly higher humidity) and we’re in the freezers 4 or 5 times a week. I don’t think we’re going to need to defrost for several years. We’ve not noticed any odor or taste issues since much of what we freeze is vac sealed. If you fear you’ll have to defrost once or twice a year…
I’m looking forward to additional input from the board.
I’m looking forward to additional input from the board.
K Kruger
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Manual over frost-free.
Freezer burn occurs when the food in question dries out, usually as a result of poor packaging. If, however, you were to package two identical items in separate packaging of the same type and were to package both equally poorly, it is likely that, over time, the one stored in the frost-free model would appear more freezer burned than the one stored in the mamual model. This is due to the way frost-frees work and the way they work is why I suggest a manual.
Frost forms when water vapor present in air hits the cold coils, condenses and freezes. Every so many hours, a timer turns on a heating coil that is wrapped among the freezer coils. The heater coil melts the ice off the freezer coils. When all of the ice is gone, a temp sensor senses the temp rising above 32F and turns off the heater.
This cycling quite obviously causes swings in temps. Frozen foods well buried among other frozen foods might be little affected, but foods more exposed can suffer as, over time, repeated slight surface thawing can take a toll on quality, particularly of texture.
This cycling also uses more energy (they are more expensive to run than manuals) and cost more to maintain (they have more parts).
Freezer burn occurs when the food in question dries out, usually as a result of poor packaging. If, however, you were to package two identical items in separate packaging of the same type and were to package both equally poorly, it is likely that, over time, the one stored in the frost-free model would appear more freezer burned than the one stored in the mamual model. This is due to the way frost-frees work and the way they work is why I suggest a manual.
Frost forms when water vapor present in air hits the cold coils, condenses and freezes. Every so many hours, a timer turns on a heating coil that is wrapped among the freezer coils. The heater coil melts the ice off the freezer coils. When all of the ice is gone, a temp sensor senses the temp rising above 32F and turns off the heater.
This cycling quite obviously causes swings in temps. Frozen foods well buried among other frozen foods might be little affected, but foods more exposed can suffer as, over time, repeated slight surface thawing can take a toll on quality, particularly of texture.
This cycling also uses more energy (they are more expensive to run than manuals) and cost more to maintain (they have more parts).