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04-13-2009, 10:01 PM
Re: (...)
Erin was speaking of freezing stuff and I was thinking about my intense desire to freeze up a lot of stuff this summer. Here's my problems.
I will probably replace my vacuum sealer...suggestions? Are the newer, fancier models worth the bucks? I have one of the early ones and the seal is slipping as well as the heat element going out.
Also, regarding a freezer...William has the bright idea to buy a used freezer truck for the farm. Any comment? There's one for sale locally for 1500 bucks. It's the freezer bed of a decommissioned ice truck or one that someone went out of the biz.
Daphne
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Only my opinion, Daphne, but I would find out how much it was going to cost me to run the freezer truck before buying it. It might be better to purchase a less expensive and energy efficient freezer.
I'm finding that the older we get, the less I want to keep on hand. Don't get me wrong, I love my new food saver and use it all the time. But, there is nothing like buying fresh every few days. We don't seem to waste as much. But then, if I had a garden the size of yours, I would probably want to be storing up for the whole winter.
Maryann
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I have a commercial upright left over from our old restaurant that I use for the odds and ends like turkeys, whole chickens, the 1/2 of a hog I got the other day from a supplier as a thank you for all of the positive attention I have brought them and their family farms in the past 8 months and some larger cuts of meats. Other than that I don't freeze much...heck I don't even have any ice cube trays in my house!
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Guilty of having 4 full freezers. What can I say . . . we eat well!  But LJ is right, something that big, if not full, will cost a lot to run. Plus every time you walk into it you introduce more warm air, it condenses, ice builds up. We happened to fall into our last freezer just because somebody wanted to get rid of it and gave it to us. But if I were ever to buy another one, I would look at the frost frees. Freezers are a pain to empty and defrost. The frost free that I have in my basement is what I use for my everyday grab stuff - some of my veggies and an assortment of my meats. The rest hold the rest of the meats, vegs and fruits, and my special coupon buys that I stock up on.
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Just a personal opinion also, but I've never been fond of frost-free freezers. The other can be a pain to defrost, but they don't dehydrate items like a frost-free does.
I'm with whoever said you may be buying more expense in the long run with an old unit, Daphne.
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Daphne, I've had my curent vaccuum sealer for about 5 years. It's the one that folds up so it lays flat up against the splash. I love it but it had lately been having trouble sealing properly so things didn't get that tight vacuum seal. (I use the thing a lot.) Anyway, I called Tilia and they sent me new gaskets. Those are the foam things that run around the vacuum channels. I put them in and now the machine runs as well as it ever did. Just something for you to look into.
Shannon
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We just bought a new upright freezer by Whirlpool. It's 20 cubic feet. The top half opens like a refridgerator, the bottom half pulls out like a chest. We love it! It only costs us $10 year to operate according to the Energy Star label. What causes frost build up is when the warm air outside mixes with the cold air inside. And if the warm air is humid you get more ice build up. The foodsaver is just the BOMB! I still must thank Jean everytime I use mine  Costco has the top of the line available pretty reasonable. I get bags at Target.
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Daphne, We have an ancient monster chest feezer, it is a pain in the you know what. It is too big for our needs, and stuff gets lost in the bottom. And it uses a lot of energy to run. It will just be a bigger pain in the you know what to empty and try and get rid of...
Erin
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Absolutely, Erin. You never find the stuff on the bottom, cause you can't reach it anyway. But given that the cold air stays down, they are supposed to be more efficient. It wasn't worth the aggravation for me.
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Dismc, thanks for the tip. I'm pretty sure I still have my manual, but if not, I may PM you for the address.
Regarding the freezer, you aren't quite getting the right idea about what I'm talking about. This thing is literally a truck bed still on the wheels. But I will mention your comments to William. It looks like it may not be worth the expense to run the thing. Thanks for the info!
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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