Hunting & Fishing Chest freezer size?

[snorkygunner]

Up until now, I've been able to fit my deer in the kitchen freezer, but my other half is finishing up nursing school and will soon be moving in with me. Along with the meat we'll get from hunting, one of her good friends also regularly gives her half of a cow.

So with that being said, I'm looking to purchase a chest freezer capable of holding quite a bit of meat but I'm not sure what size would be sufficient. At the most, it needs to be able to hold the meat from 3-4 medium sized deer, a bull elk, and half of a cow.

 

[anhnguyen]

I use a stand up 17.3 cubic ft one and it works great. I have a deer in there with a ton of chicken and various other meats and I still have room. I like the stand up ones more because stuff don't get buried at the bottom.

 

[Oregonmuley]

Just went through the the same thing. We had a small chest freezer but with salmon/deer/antelope it wasn't big enough. We ended up getting a nice sized stand-up freezer and it sure is nicer than a chest. Not sure what size we have but it currently has about 10 salmon and about 50-60 packs of ling and rock fish in it plus a bunch of other stuff and still have room for more. With the chest I was always digging out stuff from the bottom which is pain. With a up-right you can see everything. I know chest freezers tend to be a bit cheaper but if you have the room I'd seriously consider the upright, sure makes taking stuff out easier.

 

[daylate]

Bet you can't forget to shut a chest freezer door ...Just about everybody with an upright freezer sometime in their life has had that door not get shut especially if there are little ones around...Hard to kill a good chest freezer..Dad's freezer at least 50 yrs old...mine 20 something just saying..

 

[sodakhunter]

+1 for the upright. I have 4-5 freezers going at all times. Unless you have the same stuff or identifiable packages the upright is the only way to fly. Chests are nice but WAY easier to locate a package of ribeyes in an upright if you get company and need to pull them out vs. digging through stuff and lifting the baskets out. Just my two cents

 

[Winchester59]

That's a lot of meat to get in one freezer! I raise locker beef, have 4-21' upright freezers, and 1/2 of a 1350# steer will pretty much fill a 21' freezer. (Granted the meat is in trays). You are going to need a whopper of a freezer plus healthy appetites to eat all that meat before it freezer burns.

 

[niteshooter]

I got the biggest upright freezer I could fit through the front door. Worth every dollar. Deer plus garden vegetables, pizzas and all the kids stuff. If it’s packed full we’re good for a long time.
The chest freezer I had was good for bulk ice storage or whole deer head capes until I could get them to the taxidermist.

One of each is ideal though, unless you need more. Just keep the electric bill in mind if you have to keep them in the garage in warm states.

 

[snorkygunner]

Thanks for all the input. I'm planning on putting these freezers in my basement and only in the garage if they won't fit down the stairs. Luckily, our summers don't get so hot that I'm too concerned about energy costs if the freezers do end up in the garage, and we both have quite healthy appetites so I don't think going through all that meat will be an issue.

 

[Billdoe708]

I put milk crates in my chest freezer. Good way to organize and keep things separated.

 

[snorkygunner]

Not a bad idea

 

[goosed]

For me freezers are much gun safes, always buy the biggest you can fit in the door. What you think will be sufficient today may not be ideal for the long term. With a good vacuum sealer(another necessity, imo) there isn't much concern of freezer burned meat and it will last for years. With energy usage being so close between freezers sizes I see very little reason not to go as big as possible. You will be amazed at how quickly all of the space is used up.

Upright vs chest is a personal preference thing with no right or wrong answer. I prefer chests and manual defrosting myself, but to each their own.

 

[j741]

Go with an upright freezer if you have the space. I had a chest freezer and what I wanted always seem to be at the bottom. So much easier with the upright and mine was a big step up from a 4cuft chest freezer.

 

[Bullfroggy]

I've owned several chest freezers, one of which died about 1.5 years after buying it new. I lost a bunch of salmon, halibut, venison, and other assorted goodies after the compressor failed and I didn't notice for several days. I expected better out of a new freezer (Idylis brand from Lowe's). They gave me a voucher for the purchase of a new one, so I took them up on it. Anyway, I agree with what others have said - whatever size you end up buying, you'll fill it up and want a bigger one eventually!