Need input --- '94 chest freezer worth it?

[Schecter]

Alright.
I'm looking for a chest freezer to designate as a fermentation chamber and have stumbled upon a 22cu ft Kenmore chest freezer on craigs for $200. It sounds awesome (I could fit what, 6-7 fermentors in it?) and for $200 who could complain. Its model number says it's from 1994 but the owner claims it works flawlessly. Assuming it will be used mostly for ales from temps 60-70 I'm not too worried about the stress on it. I also think the amount it kicks on will be very minimal so I'm not too worried about the energy cost of an older model either. I come back to hbt for a bit more insight and different outside opinions. Does this seem worth it to everyone else? I like to age apfelwein/sours/ris and the like, so the space is most welcome. Any thoughts or opinions are very welcome and appreciated.

Cheers!

Kyle

 

[iijakii]

It looks like anything nearing that size is at least $700 new. I bet after having the new one for a couple years it'd pay off elec-wise, but obviously having it amortized is easier explaining to the ol SWMBO...

My question is do you really need that large of a freezer? Hell - I'd rather get two brand new ones for $400 that'd fit two carboys each and be energy efficient. One for primary ales and one for lagers/coldcrashing/keezer if you wanted.

 

[Ike]

I recently walked away from one that was made in 2000. BUT, the reason I did this was that it was a smaller one and I was more worried about the effort required to build the necessary collar, to have it crap out once I had it modified as I needed it.

A freezer that big probably won't need a collar, so you SHOULD be able to plug it into the STC and rock it out. I guess that'd be my suggestion: plug and play, A-OK. But if you're going to put your heart and soul into customizing it with bells and whistles, you might want to go with something younger.

This thread will give you an idea what it should hold...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=377518