# Outdoor chest freezer?



## rfgreenwell (Feb 14, 2010)

Well one way is to get a box of large heavy duty contractor's trash bags and bag the box of frames, tying it tight to seal the bag. Then place the bagged box in the freezer at o degrees for 48 hours or more. Remove the bagged box from the freezer and don't open the bag until the frames are needed again. Careful not to perforate the bag in an way. This works fine for just a few frames including full honey frames as well, but a cardboard box or sleeve helps to protect the frames from damage when handling the bag. It is a way around lack of freezer space.


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

MBH, I'm looking to buy a chest freezer too, but mine will go in an out building that is protected. I don't know what your weather is like, but I'm sure your freezer's lifespan will be shortened sitting out in the weather.

My daughter lives in San Diego and she left her washer & drier sit outside there. However, their annual rainfall was very low (about 10"), but they still got rusty.

The main challenge would be to keep it from rusting from the bottom up. Good luck.


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## MsBeHaven (May 31, 2013)

The black bag is a good idea, but I still require a freezer that can hold a deep frame.


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## ABruce (Dec 27, 2013)

Hi, 
We have used a Sears chest freezer out doors for years. Its in an unheated shed. We get cold wet winters and hot dry summers. Lots of people I know do the same. Make sure you position it so you can sweep the condenser off as fluff and other outdoor debris plug them up and shorten the life. If your not going to use it year round unplug it and leave the lid propped up.
Regards
Bruce


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

For outdoor use I'd recommend a stainless steel model, plenty big enough for lots of frames, and good on energy stinginess. I'd also put a lock on it if it's outdoors.

Storing frames without a freezer is done by adding mothballs or para-dichlorobenzine and sealing it up in heavy duty trash bags. Air them out for 2 to 3 weeks before returning it to service. Don't forget to add lots of rat and mouse traps to the storage room - if the rodents get in, so will the wax moths. You have to check them every week for entries.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

You can pull the frames out of the box and use a refrigerator / freezer what ever. Both would be water tight on their own if there wasn't a perforation in the top. Exterior use is OK as long as it doesn't get too hot. I would use a GFI and an extension cord with an LED to make sure it hasn't tripped.


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Acebird said:


> I would use a GFI and an extension cord


If you follow this advice (especially with an older freezer or GFI circuit) make sure the freezer is on wheels and has a drain plug if will make the frequent cleaning out of rotten stuff easier.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Mbeck said:


> If you follow this advice (especially with an older freezer or GFI circuit) make sure the freezer is on wheels and has a drain plug it will make the frequent cleaning out of rotten stuff easier.


I agree with _Mbeck_. My shop building has a refrigerator plugged into a GFI circuit and I wish I had wired a non-GFI circuit to that point instead as the GFI sometimes trips off for reasons unrelated to the refrigerator.



And before a _certain someone_ make all kinds of allegations about getting shocked from a non-GFI freezer, keep in mind that while the National Electrical Code requires GFI circuits for _countertop _kitchen appliances, GFIs are not required for refrigerator/freezer outlets. Yes, an exposed porch is potentially wet, but so is a kitchen.

.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

This is a lesson I learned a long time ago. Another instance I don't use a GFCI is with sewage ejector pumps, even if they are within the 5' range of a sink/water. Nothing worse than having sewage all over the floor because the GF tripped.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Oh OK, I would rather have a GFI trip and not kill someone. The LED on the extension cord will tell you, especially at night, that the circuit is live. We use one on our winter bird bath. It is not a bother to check it every morning and evening.

Rader every exterior receptacle should be GFI. Typically, tripping is cause by moisture at the plug. It is not uncommon for houses to burn down because GFI were not used on Christmas lights. Your choice.

I should add to my other post that if the refrigerator/freezer is a frost free type the condensate will freeze in cold temperatures. This could be your biggest headache.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Acebird said:


> It is not uncommon for houses to burn down because GFI were not used on Christmas lights.


Would it be too much trouble for you to provide a _*reference*_ for this startling statistic? Or did you just make it up?



Allow me to point out that _*circuit breakers*_ - as every electrical circuit connected to the panel box in a house is _required _to have - function just fine in over-current situations that could potentially cause a fire.

:ws:


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Why do you insist on going off topic and then I am compelled to teach you something. Fires are started by arching. Arching can occur for ever until a fire burns down a house and never reach the current capacity of the circuit breaker. That is why some locations now require the new arc detect circuit breakers in panels which greatly increases the cost of install. These are a PITA because most drills use universal motors that arc and trip the circuit. I think GFI is enough protection for an exterior circuit but if you want arc trip go for it.


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

I guess I would be looking to tent it somehow. People make hoop greenhouses all the time. Maybe cover it like that using a 2x4 base and leave the sides open and room above to open it. You wouldn't want to use clear plastic though if it is in the sun.

We have a freezer we will use temporarily throughout the season as needed. Son-in-law got it from grocery store he worked at for free. We will use it for very short term freezing and even could use it unplugged with a light in to warm up a few buckets of crystallized honey if need be. It has the sliding glass top, but we can insulate it when it's in use. Maybe it would work as a solar melter.

Right now our whole garage is one big freezer. Doing a remodel of the kitchen and the extra fridge inside the garage has frozen apples, carrots, milk, etc. The only things that didn't freeze was stuff like catsup and salty soup. lol


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Ace, circuit breakers and GFIs are two different animals. 

A GFI does nothing to detect overcurrent, but current is where there is potential for a fire. The GFI is designed to trip with very small amounts current between 'hot' and 'ground'. A circuit breaker is designed to trip with excessive current {i.e., fire starting potential} in the 'hot' side, regardless of whether that current path is to ground or 'neutral'.


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## v45 (Apr 1, 2012)

Look for a used commercial up right freezer. I came across a up right freezer that displayed ice cream for free. I put a new digital temp controller on it and it worked for a couple of years before the compressor went out. 
Now I use it for my temp controlled hot box to store frames before I extract them, I made sugar blocks and dried them in the freezer or I store sugar in it.
I can put in at least 3 10 frame deeps from the front, I believe my back would prefer to load a upright vs a chest box.

If a store is going out of business you may be able to pick up a commercial Ice Cream freezer cheap and they are built solid- beware the cost of a new compressor on a commercial unit is more than the cost of a new freezer in a box store


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Rader: If you have the owner's manual for the frost free refrigerator, check it on the lowest temperature for operating. Many of Frigidaire's frost free models state in the owner's manual that operation is not guaranteed below 40 degrees F. Haven't seen the statement on non-frost free models (including freezers) or other manufacturers. Sold appliances for about 10 years at a big box store and customers were asking why their refrigerator quit working in a carport when the temperature was 20 degrees F.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Well, thanks for the advice  .... but I'm not sure why you are directing that to me. 

My shop building is insulated with a concrete slab floor and I've never seen the inside temperature below about 40 degrees, although I typically fire up the woodstove when its cold out.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Get an older outdoor ice keeper. The ones that they have outside stores. I see them on CL from time to time.


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## Barry Digman (May 21, 2003)

v45 said:


> Look for a used commercial up right freezer.


In addition, they often have stainless steel interiors rather than plastic. It makes them much easier to clean. Ice storage bins are the same.


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Rader: Sorry thought it was you asking about reference on refrigerators not working below certain temp. Sounds like you won't have any problems with your insulated shop staying warm enough.


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## gladiolus (Dec 12, 2014)

You need a Sears-Commercial freezer. There may be others but None that I know about other than ice bins etc. The Sears ones work up here where it gets cold. The biggest problem you will have as someone else said is keeping the fuzz and dust out of the coils and overheating it.
gladiolus


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Any cold wall freezer should work (non frost proof). Refrigerators are a problem because non frost proof are scarce.


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