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[Bevanron <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

VAN DELL JORDAN wrote:
> Bev, That sounds great?  Are we all invited over for supper??

Sure, come on over.  I had a surplus of Granny Smiths, so I added apple
bread to the list-it's in the oven now.

> This does remind me of a something I would like some feedback on.  I 
> am planning to buy a freezer soon. Any information to help that 
> selection is appreciated.

I have two freezers...One is a commercial sized upright sub-zero freezer
that we bought...gosh..21?? years ago when we signed on with a bulk
steak company (Colorado Prime, in case anyone is interested)  It's an
Imperial, Heavy Duty Commercial model that stands a bit over 6 feet
tall.  I use it as my meat freezer.  It is still going strong with no
problems other than rust on the front door from moving scratches.  It's
frost free, too.  I have no idea of how many square feet of space it
has-I looked but couldn't find anything.  We moved it multiple times
over 21 years, jostled it around, it's sat out in the weather, in
garages, and it is now on my screened porch.  It has never seen heat or
AC.  It's been a GREAT freezer.
The other one is a smaller, old 60's model yellow-gold upright, about 5
feet tall that I got from a friend of Lee Flier.  Lee and her friends
brought it up to us after we moved into this house.  I don't remember
why they were getting rid of it, but it has worked wonderfully for us
for the past 8 years.  Lee, I have forgotten your friends' names, please
forgive me, but do let them know that I am still getting use of the ugly
old thing!! I do have to defrost it, however.  Now, I use it for things
like my frozen casseroles, breads, fruits, and store-bought frozen
stuff.  Last year, I had to go back to work for a time, and I worked at
a Piggly Wiggly as a frozen foods manager.  I was able to get a crapload
of stuff that was out of date, like frozen OJ concentrate, french fries,
and Pillsbury Waffles for free, so I loaded up that freezer when I
could. :) :) :)  Originally, I used it mostly to store whole frozen
feeder rabbits in until they were picked up.  If you plan on raising a
lot of your own food, or even selling the excess like I do with my
rabbits, you might need more space than you think.  If I had another
freezer, I would fill it up, too!  I need to go pick blackberries, but
at the moment, I have to get last year's blueberries out to make room
for blackberries and this year's blueberries.  It looks like I'll be
making jam and cobblers soon!



> For now we are living in town, 2 families, wife & I, and son & 
> daughterlaw.  Now the primary use would be overflow from grocery 
> store and room to store home cooked.  The freezer in fridge holds so 
> little.

I don't see how you manage.  I can't even comprehend having so little
space for frozen.

> Lots of questions: Chest or upright, I believe chest is more 
> efficient, but I like things where I can see them.  We have space to 
> place whatever size we need.

Yes, they say chest freezers are better, but I am like you and I love my
uprights.  My neighbors have chest freezers and they have to dig through
stuff to find what they are looking for.  I got some 2 year old elk meat
not too long ago because my neighbor "found" it underneath some other
stuff and was afraid it would go bad before she could eat it all.  I
cooked it-made a huge batch of elk chili, and of course, froze the
leftovers.
I would check the energy star ratings on anything you would buy and get
the biggest and most efficient freezer possible.  Keeping a freezer full
is the biggest key to efficiency, as far as I am concerned.  You can buy
in bulk and save money, because you will have a place to store it, and
later, when you move to the country and start raising your own food, you
won't have to worry about what you are going to do with that deer your
neighbor gave you. :)  Just fill up some empty milk jugs with water and
keep that in the freezer until you need the space for food.  Having a
lot of ice on hand is always a plus when you want to make ice cream or
when company drops by unexpectedly, or when you want to load up the
cooler with drinks, etc.

> When (if ever...sigh) we get on the farm, we will be needing long 
> term storage.  Any limits and how big box should be, can be.  I 
> imagine that homesteaders could use an indefinite amount of storage. 
> It is possible we might want a larger, additional unit down the line.
Well, you know my thoughts on that one!

> Might the possibility of power outages affect the selection of what 
> to buy?  Our two year old pulled the plug on son's freezer, no one 
> noticed until older sister noticed smell.  hopefully that won't 
> happen to us.

It happens.  We had a cat that unplugged one of ours once.
You do need to think about power outages.  I would not have a freezer
without a generator.  We have a large generator big enough for both the
well pump and the freezers/fridge.  During most little outages, 6 hours
or less, I don't worry about it and we just don't open the doors.  If
the outage lasts 6 hours or more(that's my personal arbitrary cut off
point in the summer heat)then we crank up the generator and alternate
running the freezers for a while every few hours.  I protect my freezer
contents more than most people protect their bank accounts.  In the
winter, you could go longer.


> Does anyone know anything about gas powered freezers?

Sorry, I don't, but I am sure someone will!

Bev



--
erthnsky AT bellsouth.net  BevanRon of EarthNSky Farm      NW Georgia USDA Zone 7
34.498N 85.076W