How long did YOUR freezer last?

[JDgreen227]

Back in '92 I paid $365 with tax for a new GE 15 cubic foot chest freezer, it died from compressor failure three days ago. I went and purchased a new Kenmore, same size and type, $394 with tax, and switched them in a timely enough manner I only lost about $30 worth of food.

I really thought the GE would give me more than 19 years of service, and the salesguy told me the new models today have smaller compressors so the makers can claim they make the "Energy Star" rating, and he further said I'd be lucky to get 14 years out of the new one.

A lady I know tells me the chest freezer in her garage is at least 50 years old and it's still running okay, probably a real energy gobbler but the purchase price was long amortized.

If it hadn't been such a rush deal to save $400 worth of meat and if getting a replacement for my compressor was a DIY job I would have preferred to salvage my old model.

Any comments? Thanks.

 

[techman]

20 years is a reasonable life. I would not complain. Over that time period improvements in overall efficiency make the purchase of a new unit worth it as well.

paul

 

[flyingcow]

Almost 20 out of ours. Still going. Just keep 'em clean of cat hair/dust bunnies,etc helps. Same with a frig. Just took ownership of a 5yr old frig because previous owners said it would quit in the humid heat. Brought it home and cleaned all the debris out of coils. Runs fine. Got as nice garage frig for nothing.

But I am expecting our chest freezer to quit in the next few yrs.

It would be nice if they located the coils on top of frig, not on bottom where the dust is.

 

[JDgreen227]

20 years is a reasonable life. I would not complain. Over that time period improvements in overall efficiency make the purchase of a new unit worth it as well.

paul

Energy cost of the older one, stated at 6 cents per kwh, adjusted for current cost of kwh on the label of the new one, was $59. New one is $38. A savings of $21 a year...WOW, over the projected service life of 14 years I will save a total of $294. But if you say a service life of 20 years is reasonable, thanks for confirmation.

 

[JDgreen227]

Almost 20 out of ours. Still going. Just keep 'em clean of cat hair/dust bunnies,etc helps. Same with a frig. Just took ownership of a 5yr old frig because previous owners said it would quit in the humid heat. Brought it home and cleaned all the debris out of coils. Runs fine. Got as nice garage frig for nothing.

But I am expecting our chest freezer to quit in the next few yrs.

It would be nice if they located the coils on top of frig, not on bottom where the dust is.

We have four cats and you wouldn't believe the c--- that ends up under the appliances in the kitchen, last time I used a polyduster under the range it pulled out a dozen milk rings among other debris. Agree with you about placement of coils, seems to me if they were on top they would stay cleaner and heat would not radiate up into the bottom of the fridge which would make it run cooler. But then how would people store stuff atop the box?

 

[KB9UDE]

AC power surges and low voltage can cause harm to any electrical device especially a compressor or motor. We lost a fridge, furnace blower motor, and a well pump due to these problems.

 

[polo1665]

Probably jinxing myself, but we've got a 22 cubic foot Sears Coldspot. Think it was made in '86 or '87. Thing is an absolute beast. Been moved twice, don't want to have to move it again.
If it does die one day, I'll be one meat movin' son of a gun. Thing holds a lot of food.

 

[JeremyL]

At the risk of being called an "old fogey" I have to say, they don't make 'em like they used to.
All my major kitchen appliances are name-brand, well regarded by Consumer Reports and yet have peeling finish, cracked and discolored plastic parts, and generally show accelerated falling-apartness, even though they still heat and cool.

I had occasion recently to move a neighbor's vintage clothes dryer and was amazed at how heavy it is compared to newer ones. Steel vs. plastic. At some point cheapness will make most things useless.

Thanks for the rant; I feel better now.

 

[thatguy]

my parents chest freezer died just a few months ago after +30 yrs of service .. It was bought in the mid - 70's and the last time i looked in it there was 4" ice frost build up on it.. Id love to know how much stuff got 'lost' in the bottom of that beast... lol

Brian

 

[JDgreen227]

AC power surges and low voltage can cause harm to any electrical device especially a compressor or motor. We lost a fridge, furnace blower motor, and a well pump due to these problems.

Man, maybe you pinpointed the early (IMO) demise of my freezer. The first ten years of it's life it was in a basement with 60 amp fused service, next to an electric water heater, and a well pump running on 230 volts. Then in '02 we upgraded to underground service and 200 amps, and after rewiring the basement I put in a dedicated circuit for the freezer, the only other thing running on the circuit is a 19 cubic foot top freezer fridge down there...hmm, makes me wonder how often both fridge and freezer compressors kick on at the same time?

Good point, thanks for your input !! :thumbsup:

 

[JDgreen227]

At the risk of being called an "old fogey" I have to say, they don't make 'em like they used to.
All my major kitchen appliances are name-brand, well regarded by Consumer Reports and yet have peeling finish, cracked and discolored plastic parts, and generally show accelerated falling-apartness, even though they still heat and cool.

I had occasion recently to move a neighbor's vintage clothes dryer and was amazed at how heavy it is compared to newer ones. Steel vs. plastic. At some point cheapness will make most things useless.

Thanks for the rant; I feel better now.

You are not ranting, it's very true. The difference in heft between my two freezers was very apparent when I was moving them up and down the stairs. Pretty much all consumer goods today are the same way, "build them cheaper and lighter, then raise the price to make up for that".

 

[flyingcow]

recommended that freezers or frigs have their own single circuit.

Also, brown outs is very hard on compressors.

 

[Argosy]

35 years for a Sears chest freezer and the only problem is the light on the lid burned out; I didn't bother to replace it. Doubtless it is an energy hog but it's in an unheated detached garage so it probably goes for weeks during the winter only running once or twice a day.

 

[clemsonfor]

My fridge (second one that is) has been holding a deer head untill i euro mount it. It has been in there with thanksgiving and christmas food when the times were right as well as another head i did for a guy. I was supprised at how often it comes on in the closed off florida like porch that it is in. Room may be 35 degrees when its 30F outside. I think the heat is just what ratdiates from the house and the freezer and this fridge that is on. Anyway i would catch that fridge more than i thought it should in those temps, i dunno, it still keeps stuff frozen. It usually stays off for 10 months a year to save power this yr its been more like 6, and will stay on till i decide to do that skull mount.

 

[clemsonfor]

Almost 20 out of ours. Still going. Just keep 'em clean of cat hair/dust bunnies,etc helps. Same with a frig. Just took ownership of a 5yr old frig because previous owners said it would quit in the humid heat. Brought it home and cleaned all the debris out of coils. Runs fine. Got as nice garage frig for nothing.

But I am expecting our chest freezer to quit in the next few yrs.

It would be nice if they located the coils on top of frig, not on bottom where the dust is.

I try and clean my fridge coils once or twice a yr. That reminds me i got to do that. We have 4 full time indoors cats.

We have four cats and you wouldn't believe the c--- that ends up under the appliances in the kitchen, last time I used a polyduster under the range it pulled out a dozen milk rings among other debris. Agree with you about placement of coils, seems to me if they were on top they would stay cleaner and heat would not radiate up into the bottom of the fridge which would make it run cooler. But then how would people store stuff atop the box?

Mine too love to push those milk rings and bottle caps around. Our newest loves dumdum suckers. He has gotten more of them out of the bowl than we gave away at halloween. Of coure we dont care as we dont eat them and there now like 6 months old. We jsut pick um up and toss um when we see them on the floor. It seems like every other night there at the stove on their side with their arms under reaching for some unforgotton toy that went under there who knows how long ago or one they just pushed under there. They push them under things like the stove and closed doors just to try and reach/fish them back??

 

[jinman]

My dad bought a Coldspot chest freezer in 1957. I remember it had spring mounted baskets that automatically raised the food as the basket emptied. It was the cat's meow. I went into the US Navy in 1968, and I sold my mobile home to my mom and dad. Their old house was starting to be pretty badly deteriorated and my mobile home was on their property. There wasn't enough room in the mobile home for the freezer, so they left it in that old house with a deteriorating roof. After living in the mobile home for 8 years, they sold it and moved into a rent house that had become vacant. At that point, they moved the old freezer into the garage storage room and plugged it in. Despite the top being rusty, that old Coldspot came to life and worked perfectly. In 1983, my mom passed away, and my father passed in 1995. It took me awhile to get the estate settled. In 1997, I gave the freezer to my nephew who was recently divorced and rearing two children by himself. As awful as that freezer looked on the outside, inside it was just fine. . . worked like the day we bought it. That was at 40 years. I don't know for sure, but the next time I talk to my my nephew, I will ask him if he still has the freezer. I suspect it may still be working despite being over 50 years old.:thumbsup:

 

[tulenutn2o]

Yep! Everything is built with planned obsolescence in mind. Worked for Maytag for many years before whirlpool bought them. Used to be built like tanks. Then outside blood was brought in, and it was all downhill after that. I still have a washer/dryer pair that my dad gave me years ago, 300 series I believe. Things are tanks. Never quite understood how manufacturers come up with "better" ways to move water through clothes and vice-versa. Seems pretty simple to me. Maytag used to do consumer reports tests on their garbage disposals where they would have all the competitors tested with different foods and such, then maytag rep would throw a hand-full of nails in theirs, needless to say, it ground up the nails and test over. Others were speechless. Basically, nothing today is built as good as yesteryear. Personally, I fix my old appliances. Old ones are repairable, usually last much longer with lower cost to repair than new ones with all the electronic crap. Most of the new appliance that I bought when I built new house are going on 14 years now. I do have an Amana bottom mount in basement that is 25+ years old-looks and runs as new. My freezer is a TRUE TF-72 3 dr commercial, that I was given because compressor was out. I repaired(7-8 yrs ago). I am HVAC-R guy so that's my business. Appliances today, just are not built as well, use less energy, yes-but what's the diff. if you replace more often? Oh yea, I have an old Maytag freezer,r-22 unit, still going strong at a rental. Early 1960's.I believe.

 

[tallyho8]

Coils are under the freezer or refrig with a fan to help attract the dust to them on most frost free models but most self-defrost models have them on back where they don't get dirty as fast and are easier to clean. The self-defrost models only use about half as much electricity too.

Owning a refrigeration business for 38 years, I learned that the expected life of a freezer was:
50 years in the 1950s
40 years in the 1960s
30 years in the 70s & 80s
20 years in the 1990s
10 years in the 2000s

 

[tulenutn2o]

Coils are under the freezer or refrig with a fan to help attract the dust to them on most frost free models but most self-defrost models have them on back where they don't get dirty as fast and are easier to clean. The self-defrost models only use about half as much electricity too.

Owning a refrigeration business for 38 years, I learned that the expected life of a freezer was:
50 years in the 1950s
40 years in the 1960s
30 years in the 70s & 80s
20 years in the 1990s
10 years in the 2000s

I think you meant to say manual defrost. My father was in the bus, for 40+ years and got me involved before he passed. I have been involved myself for about 35 years so far. I am glad others, like yourself, know the truth about appliances built today.

 

[JDgreen227]

Coils are under the freezer or refrig with a fan to help attract the dust to them on most frost free models but most self-defrost models have them on back where they don't get dirty as fast and are easier to clean. The self-defrost models only use about half as much electricity too.

Owning a refrigeration business for 38 years, I learned that the expected life of a freezer was:
50 years in the 1950s
40 years in the 1960s
30 years in the 70s & 80s
20 years in the 1990s
10 years in the 2000s

Thanks for the input from a REALLY informed guy, guess my 1992 purchase gave me a long enough service life after all...will budget for replacing my new one in 2021 !!!!