Appliance gurus needed! Outdoor freezer?

[Balog]

As you may have seen in this thread, I'm going hunting for the first time this year. One sticky wicket is where to store the meat. Our apartment has no real good place to put a deep freeze, except our little porch/balcony thingy. The problem with that is it would be somewhat exposed to the elements. Any covering would be somewhat flimsy in nature, as our lease frowns on building a shed on the back deck. :)

So is there a make/model of freezer designed for or capable of being placed into a relatively open air situation?

[mtnbkr]

Dunno about a purpose built one, but my grandparents kept their deep freezer outside under the back carport for years.  It finally succumbed to cancerous rust after more than 2 decades.  No special treatment, but it wasn't actually in the elements, but not inside either.

Chris

[Balog]

Dunno about a purpose built one, but my grandparents kept their deep freezer outside under the back carport for years.  It finally succumbed to cancerous rust after more than 2 decades.  No special treatment, but it wasn't actually in the elements, but not inside either.

Chris

Hmmm. We have a sort of half roof over the back deck. I suppose we could put the back side up against the wall so only the door was rained on....

[Stand_watie]

All over the great white north, chest freezers are left exposed to the elements, many lasting 30 to 50 years in them. I think you should be trying to find out which freezer is particularly vulnerable to the elements, so as not to buy it, rather than thinking you need an exceptionally good freezer to keep out in the elements.

Also, don't entirely discard the notion of of a small indoor freezer. An entire (average sized, white-tailed) deer, properly butchered, will fit into three common "office boxes" (maybe 16x18x20). You should be able to pick up a chest freezer that will fit that, with total size only equalling that of a small dresser, for less than 200 bucks.

[Balog]

Hmmm, interesting. So if the proposed freezer was used, how would one go about inspecting it?

[Monkeyleg]

Hmmm, interesting. So if the proposed freezer was used, how would one go about inspecting it?

Sit in it for about an hour. If you get hypothermia, it's in good shape.

[Mabs2]

Where do you live?  In a cooler climate it'll be fine, but in a warmer one (especially like the south) it'd have a real hard time during summer months. 

It'll have a much harder time getting rid of that heat if it's 90 degrees outside, so the compressor will work harder and die faster.
A lot different from working in a climate controlled home.

[Balog]

I live in WA state, so it's generally pretty mild.

[mtnbkr]

Where do you live?  In a cooler climate it'll be fine, but in a warmer one (especially like the south) it'd have a real hard time during summer months. 

It'll have a much harder time getting rid of that heat if it's 90 degrees outside, so the compressor will work harder and die faster.
A lot different from working in a climate controlled home.

Mabs, my grandparents live in NC (Goldsboro to be specific). The freezer will work harder, but it should still last longer than Balog on a tree stand. :D

Chris

[mtnbkr]

Oh, and btw, it doesn't take much freezer to store an average sized deer.  I have a small chest freezer (one step up from the smallest) and I could probably fit 4-5 butchered deer in it. 

Chris

[charby]

Invest in a pressure canner and store your meat in mason jars.

[Scout26]

Sit in it for about an hour. If you get hypothermia, it's in good shape.

WIN !!

[Tuco]

It's my understanding that a conventional freezer needs to be in an environment warmer than the set temperature inside the freezer.
There are units specifically engineered and sold to consumers as "Garage" freezers or "Outdoor" freezers.

DISCLAIMER – This is what my dad told me, and he's been keeping a fridge full of beer in the garage for decades.  He recently upgraded to a Garage model so he can operate year-round.  Again, this is hearsay.  Take it for what it is.


ALSO Hunting being what it is, may I suggest finding a freezer, killing the deer, THEN buying the freezer.   

[detritus]

as a former Appliance sales-, and more importantly repair-person, my suggestion Would be a chest freezer like this one.  that's just about the smallest, quality, chest freezer you can get. As others have said a properly butchered deer should fit just fine in a 5-7CuFt freezer.

Further more regardless of where you put it (in WA you should be fine with a covered outdoor installation) i advise you NOT to get an Upright freezer, or any chest frezer that is "Frost-free" (yes this strange, stupid creature exists), Defrost cycles are what causes most freezer burn. for this reason "frostfree" units are not recomended for longterm storage of food items Esp. meats.  Upright freezers are also less energy efficient, every time you open the door the cold dry air inside swaps places with the warmer moist air of it's surroundings (this is why most uprights have defrost cycles), this means the compressor has to bring the temp of the newly arrived air back down below freezing , their side swiging doors cause them to consume more space, and they hold less food/meat than a chest freezer of the same "cavity size".

Anyway, my full advice is to head to your local Lowes, Home Depot, or similar (wal-mart has a few that are good deals) and look at the 5 and 7 Cubic Foot CHEST freezers and copy down the dimensions and then see where you could fit one, either inside or out (inside IS preferred).  you might be surprised and find that a small chest unit fits nicely into an unused corner of your apartment.

[Jim147]

You've gotten some good info so far.
Unless you plan to get a few deer a 5-7 foot chest will be the cheapest and plenty of room. If that is really all you plan on using it for. I always seem to run out of room in my big commercial upright.
If your summer temps are fairly mild you shouldn't have to many problems with it. You can add a small 120 volt computer case fan to it to help remove heat from the compressor if needed.
It's refrigerators that give you problems in an unheated garage. When the temp drops around freezing, the cold control get satisfied. The fresh food compartment is ok but the unit doesn't run enough to keep the freezer frozen, there is a little heater that can be put in to help that also. Until temps drop more and everything freezes.

Hope that helps a little.

jim

[Tuco]

It's refrigerators that give you problems in an unheated garage. When the temp drops around freezing, the cold control get satisfied. The fresh food compartment is ok but the unit doesn't run enough to keep the freezer frozen...

So, to clarify, freezers will be okay in sub-zero temps, but refrigerators and refrigerator/freezers won't operate correctly?

[Balog]

Any thoughts on buying used? I hate paying retail.

Also, about how much space would be needed for a deer and an elk?

[Jamisjockey]

Any thoughts on buying used? I hate paying retail.

Also, about how much space would be needed for a deer and an elk?

Considering the rate of forclosures right now, people are probably selling anything they can when it comes time to move.  You can probably get a used one for cheap, just make sure they plug it in and run it before you come look at it. 

[mtnbkr]

If buying used, make sure it doesn't smell like dead hooker.

Chris

[Jim147]

So, to clarify, freezers will be okay in sub-zero temps, but refrigerators and refrigerator/freezers won't operate correctly?

None of them work okay in sub-zero temps. It's just that it doesn't matter if you have a freezer or refrigerator it will all be frozen.
They do make small compressor heaters, mainly seen on heat pumps but also used on some of the purpose built garage units. Think of the compressor like your car engine. That oil can get mighty thick in zub-zero temps.

jim

[Tuco]

Thanks

[Balog]

None of them work okay in sub-zero temps. It's just that it doesn't matter if you have a freezer or refrigerator it will all be frozen.
They do make small compressor heaters, mainly seen on heat pumps but also used on some of the purpose built garage units. Think of the compressor like your car engine. That oil can get mighty thick in zub-zero temps.

jim

If the temps are below zero for a consistent extended period, one could probably turn it off and let nature freeze your food for you.

[Jamisjockey]

Oh, and another option is to check any appliance places if they have scratch-n-dent or an outlet center nearby. 

[detritus]

Balog, this won’t apply in your case, since ones with this problem tend to be bigger units, but.  

 Beware of freezers that are being sold because “dad/granddad died and we don’t have room for/want it” there’s a high possibility that the deceased kept wild game/fish stored in it, or that at some point it was left unplugged and empty but with the lid closed (do this and Mold and mildew grow grown inside the walls of the freezer).  It's even worse if some absent minded/lazy relative unplugged it, had the power turned off, etc without unloading it!!

You’ve no idea of the stench those conditions can produce till you experience it first hand, and it’s usually impossible to remove the smell since it’s IN the insulation.

[Balog]

Wow, thanks for the tip Detritus. Would it not be noticeable at the time of purchase, but then come up later?