Do Chest freezers have a defrost cycle?
#1
04-09-13, 09:03 AM
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 167
Received 0 Votes
on
0 Posts
Do Chest freezers have a defrost cycle?
Just wondering if chest freezers (basement type, no fridge section)have a defrost cycle like a refrigerator?
Do they use a timer/defrost switch & heating element to defrost the evaporator coils like a fridge?
Do they use a timer/defrost switch & heating element to defrost the evaporator coils like a fridge?
#2
04-09-13, 09:27 AM
Group Moderator
No.....most, if not all, chest freezers do not use a defrost system.
The reason they don't use a defrost system is because the constant unthawing will reduce the storage life of the food. A chest freezer is good for long term frozen storage.
I recommend that the unit be turned off, unthawed and cleaned once a year to keep running efficiently. Of course if it gets iced up it will need to be done sooner.
The reason they don't use a defrost system is because the constant unthawing will reduce the storage life of the food. A chest freezer is good for long term frozen storage.
I recommend that the unit be turned off, unthawed and cleaned once a year to keep running efficiently. Of course if it gets iced up it will need to be done sooner.
#3
04-09-13, 09:33 AM
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 167
Received 0 Votes
on
0 Posts
Thanks PJ,
Appreciate the quick reply
One more quick question, how do they keep the evaporator coils from icing up?
Do they not ice up because a deep freeze cycles far less than a fridge?
Appreciate the quick reply
One more quick question, how do they keep the evaporator coils from icing up?
Do they not ice up because a deep freeze cycles far less than a fridge?
#4
04-09-13, 09:44 AM
Group Moderator
They have a defrost system in a refrigerator/freezer combo because they expect the doors to be opened many times letting in warm humid air.
In a storage freezer the door most be opened as little as possible. If the door to an ice chest is left open.....you will get a giant block of ice in the bottom.
In a storage freezer the door most be opened as little as possible. If the door to an ice chest is left open.....you will get a giant block of ice in the bottom.
#6
04-09-13, 12:36 PM
Member
In most chest freezers I've seen, the evaporator tubing is bonded to the metal inner liner shell of the freezer, and indeed does frost/ice up. Chest freezers do not use a separate evaporator/fan assembly as do refrigerators and frost-free upright freezers.
#7
04-09-13, 09:03 PM
Group Moderator
Just a general side note here....don't buy a frost-free upright freezer if you want good, long term storage. The defrost cycle will partially unthaw food resulting in much shorter storage time.
