Upright Freezer

[deltaenterprizes]

My upright freezer is almost 20 years old and I think that it is time to replace it before it goes out and I loose the contents unexpectedly.
Any brand to stay away from?
I have a Frigidaire now.

[elmacgyver0]

Upright freezers are easy to organize but inefficient as they dump all the cold air when you open the door.
Just be bare footed the next time you open it, you will see what I mean.
Chest freezers are more efficient as the cold air stays in them better when opened.
With todays greenie wienie rolling blackouts that may be something to consider.

[MT Gianni]

Our old Montgomery Wards from 1977 is still going strong. I highly recommend that one.

[Dekota56]

My Frigidaire upright is 8 years old, and all I did last week is move it down and plug it in another outlet. Then the compressor stop working, I tried to reset it, no luck. Moved it back, no luck my large chest freezer works fine in that outlet. Well time to get a new one for the price for the compressor.
I don’t recommend that brand.

[Minerat]

My monkey wards chest freezer is still going strong from 1975. Knock on wood.

[GregLaROCHE]

Upright freezers are more convenient but you end up with a lot of waisted space. I don’t agree that you loose all the cold when you open them. Maybe if it was empty and only filled with air, but with a well stocked one, the cold stays in the food. Like blocks of ice.
I bought an upright a few years ago to replace our chest type. We ended up using both. The new upright died two weeks after its warranty was up. The chest type that was twenty years old fifteen years ago, when given to us is still going strong. However, I’m sure it using a lot of electricity. I’m not sure what type I will get to replace it.

[pworley1]

We have three and they are all different brands and ages. I don't think that there is a lot of difference in brands anymore. I would suggest getting a frost free one.

[NyFirefighter357]

My Frigidaire upright is 8 years old, and all I did last week is move it down and plug it in another outlet. Then the compressor stop working, I tried to reset it, no luck. Moved it back, no luck my large chest freezer works fine in that outlet. Well time to get a new one for the price for the compressor.
I don’t recommend that brand.

Today's freezers have a lifespan of up to 20 years, but they average about 11 years, according to the NAHB. Look for the defrost timer see if you can advance the dial it may have stuck.

[NyFirefighter357]

My upright freezer is almost 20 years old and I think that it is time to replace it before it goes out and I loose the contents unexpectedly.
Any brand to stay away from?
I have a Frigidaire now.

Clean off the coils & vacuum out the dust/dog hair and hope it lasts another 20yrs.

[winelover]

Stay away from Whirlpool. The upright I purchased ten years ago, lasted less than five years. Replaced it with a Frigidaire. Appliances are like TV's anymore. Engineered to last just past warranty.

Winelover

[Frosty Boolit]

My experience with all refrigeration related appliances are that they all have the same stuff with anyone who wants their name on it. As far as I'm concerned it's a crap shoot how long it will last but from what I've seen if it goes last ten it'll probably go alot longer. 90% of problems in refrigeration are electrical, not the charge or the compressor.

[MrWolf]

I have both an upright and chest freezer. With the shortages a few years ago (September 2020) I decided to cry once and buy a commercial chest freezer and got the Galaxy CF20HC Commercial Chest Freezer - 19.4 cu. ft. Cost me about $1,100 with shipping and so far I am very happy with it. Good luck.
Ron

[gwpercle]

Don't throw in the towel on your old upright just yet .
Freezers are some of the most long lived appliances in creation and they don't use a lot of electricity .
My Dad had a Fridgidaire that ran for 45 years , after he passed ( 2017) my Office Manager wanted it.
It's still running and has never been worked on or recharged with freon ... that's 53 years .
Our upright is a Montgomery Wards model and at least 25 years old and still freezes solid .
It has a lot of life left ... the way you can tell when they are wearing out is the food doesn't freeze as hard ... On our first freezer (Sears) , the tip off was ice cream ... it started staying not as hard as it normally did and lowering the temperature did not increase the hardness of the ice cream or other frozen foods .
It never just "stopped working " ... it gave signs it was slowly going out ... I didn't see about getting it repaired because we wanted a smaller freezer for a smaller space in our Laundry room , so we got the smaller Montgomery Wards model on sale .
20 years may not be end of times for your unit ... unless you just want a smaller / newer model !
Gary

[Baltimoreed]

Had a chest freezer until it died, ripped the compressor and other stuff off the bottom, put it on a custom made dolly and now it’s used for ammo storage in my shop. Stopped deer hunting so it never got replaced.

[Rapier]

Built a new house, third iteration of this house, appliance manager of the store where we bought told me not to count on the new appliances of any kind lasting like the old ones, now only about 8 years. We had two new appliances that never worked at all, right out of the box. So, new is not necessarily better, anymore.
The makers have done away with the quality control staff, too expensive with the payroll and benefits, cheaper to replace the junk on site when dealing with new. It took me six months to get replacements for brand new.
There was a time when band name meant something…., now they have sold the name to….And there all now use the same shoddy and cheap, shiny junk. Be careful. Might see better off getting a good X brand fixed.

[Baltimoreed]

Pretty much a pig in a poke but look at Consumer Reports. They do test and fairly rate new stuff.

[Alstep]

We got a Frigidaire upright about 10 years ago, OK so far.
Also have a GE fridge made in 1943. It's relegated to the barn now, still runs good. Never had a service call in 79 years!

[Mal Paso]

Pretty much a pig in a poke but look at Consumer Reports. They do test and fairly rate new stuff.

I have never found the exact Consumer Reports tested item in stock anywhere. I'm guessing the their testing cycle is slower than the changeover in models plus I am reading the report sometime after that.

[MaryB]

Most consumer freezer compressors are all made in China in the same factory so good luck!

[waksupi]

My old chest freezer is around 70 years old, and still works fine.