frost free or manual defrost freezer

[remington 300]

hey all, im looking at getting a new upright freezer and am wondering the pros and cons of a frost free freezer,ive been told that food in a frost free wont last as long because of the fan inside blowing air will cause food to get freezer burn sooner than a manual defrost freezer, is this a big issue? i wouldnt be keeping food in it for extended periods, 6 months i guess. Would the ease or a frost free be worth the extra $? i curretly have a real old upright that i need to defrost about once a year and am looking for advise on a new one. any and all comments welcomed.

thanks in advance,

mike

[311Hemi]

We just purchased a frost free a couple months ago. I personally would not do a manual.

[fivebucks]

The frost free will eat away ice cubes and that's about the only downside I've noticed. As long as your freezer food is packaged and sealed air tight, the frost free will not make any difference on the food.

[Tom7227]

i think the issue with frost free models is that they actually have a heater that turns on every X amount of time and it warms the inside up enough to melt the frost. The liquid then runs down to a tray under the unit where it evaporates. I think that's what may cause the freezer burn to show up faster but I am not sure of that. If it's just a freezer that you only open a few times a month I would think a manual defrost would be fine and probably less expensive to run. I also think a chest freezer is even cheaper to run but that may not be your major consideration.

[spearchucker]

Food won't last as long or freeze quite as hard in a frost free freezer because of what Tom7227 pointed out. For stuff that you use in a few months you will be fine, but if you are going to store a 1/2 beef or something for an extended period, I would be the manual defrost (deep freeze).

[harvey lee]

My freezer in the garage is a manual and our fridge in the house is frost free,

Very happy with both.

[JohnMickish]

I've been told at an apliance store that a frost free unit actually warms up the inside enough to melt the frost, thus leading to the food not lasting as long and the freezer burnt taste on stuff.

A manual defrost will cost less to purchase and to run in the long run if that is an issue.

[marine_man]

We've had a manual defrost upright freezer for about 7 years... I think I've defrosted it maybe 2 or 3 times in that time span.. and had no issues.

I know I don't like what the frost free version does to ice cream over time... melts a little & re-freezes, over time it ends up being a big ice crystal in the pale... guess I need to eat it faster!

marine_man