$161 5 cu. ft. chest freezer

I was just at Wal-Mart and saw a Haier 5 cu. ft. chest freezer for $161 looks like it'd make an excellent kegerator or fermentation chamber / Lagerator. That seemed like a reasonable deal, is it?

I've read recently in Consumer Reports that those small refridgerators are real energy hogs and thought this might be more effecient. Anyone tried one of these for either of the aboved mentioned uses?

 

I am not sure if it is a good deal (I bet it is though for a brand new freezer) but you will have to get one of those external temp controllers.

 

Sounds about right. I'm tempted to get a chest freezer to replace the dorm fridge I use for fermenting (already have the external controller), but if I do I'll probably go a little bit bigger. I'd take some measurements and make sure it'll fit your fermenters.

 

Keep looking around craigs list and such. I was able to get a used 27cu ft. chest deep freeze for $100.00.

It was in pretty good condition, if you keep looking more than likely you will find a great deal around.

 

If you have access to Sam's Club, this is the one I purchased (just to use as a freezer). It is a quite a bit larger (2.0 cubic feet more ) for only a few dollars more than the Haier.

Freezer

Honestly, though, I would look for one on craigslist first, like other people have said.

 

a 5cu freezer, you might only be able to stick 2 kegs in there, unless the compressor hump is only in the corner and not the full front/back width.

 

My concern for buying a used freezer is the fact that most older units use a ton more electricity than the newer models. With electric rates trending higher & perhaps much higher still, depending on the makeup of the gov't after the coming elections. That's a real concern to me. 10 - 15 years ago the calculus for a new fridge was to figure that over the life of the fridge you'd spend 3X's the amount you paid for the fridge on electricity to operate it. I don't know what the current rate is for a fridge and have never known what it was for a freezer.

That unit at Sam's looks good, probably worth $25 more for the extra footage.

Thanks to everyone for the input

tony

 

I purchased a 7.2CF Frigidare from Best Buy for $186.00. U sed a 12% discount cupon to do so.

 

I got a 14.5 CU ft Whirlpool at lowes on clearance for 298. It had a couple small dents from being the floor model. I had planned on buying a new 8.2cu ft for the same price. I am glad i got the bigger as now I can have at least 5 kegs for serving and still have room to ferment in it. Take a ride to the big box stores and see if they have any in the clearance section.

Mike

 

My 1949 Philco frig runs 1/10 the amount of time than the one year old Maytag frig with less than 1/4 the electrical demand in watt/hours. The newer frig with a smaller compressor has longer run times many times over.
New does not mean better. Just compare R12 vs 134a.

 

Wow a 1949 is better than a new frig? Good deal.

 

Using a freezer for fermentation or keezer with temp controller wont be running as much as using as a freezer. I have a new 7? CF I use as a collared keezer and an old 23 CF for fermentation(CL find) and really haven't noticed an increase in the electric bill. My computer uses more electricity( I notice the bill when the PC has been on for extended periods) It also helps that both freezers are inside instead of in a garage where they would have to work harder and have longer cycle times. If I went by heat produced as a measure of which works cheaper the small new one actually gets so hot on the condenser side I'm thinking of installing a PC fan under it. The condenser is mounted in the front wall so you can feel it every time you walk up to the taps.

 

I just picked up a 15 cu ft chest freezer off of Craigs list for $40. It's a 40 year old Kelvinator in perfect condition and will probly outlast me! Try craigs list if you live near a major city.

 

Keep in mind it won't be used as a freezer. Mine runs approx 10- 15min every hour, it doesn't use that much electricity. My kegerator is new, but my fermenting freezer is 28 years old, and my conditioning freezer is 10 years old. I hardly noticed an increase in my electric bills.

 

How much can you ferment w/ 5 kegs to serve? sounds interesting...

 

Now I just wish I could fit a fourth Fridge in my apartment as a conditioning freezer! Right now I can fit 4 kegs on tap in my kegerator, with one keg conditioning and 1 carboy crash cooling. With a C fridge I could add two more on tap. The pains of living in an apartment.