Sharing with a deep freezer.

[Chubber]

If you were 'obliged' to share your double garage workshop space with a deep freezer, would you choose an upright model or a chest model?

The upright has a smaller footprint, but I think a chest model, able to be covered semi permanently with a 6mm ply cover would occasionally provide a flat stable surface on which to rest things for assembly, varnishing etc..

This would be to supplement an integrated 'fridge-freezer in the kitchen, for stowing the occasional half of a pig, bargain buys et al, so wouldn't need to be opened every 10 minutes.

Quaeso mone me...

 

[Blackswanwood]

I’d go for the upright as it leaves more usable floorspace. Chest freezers are useful though if you need to store a body before getting rid of it

 

[niall Y]

My workshop was home to an overflow freezer for a while., It was the chest variety so stuff could easily be kept on top.
Thankfully, it is no longer there - though my grown-up daughter's piano still is. This is well covered and used as a couple of shelves.

 

[Inspector]

We have 2 uprights and recently bought a little chest type because the steer we bought cut and wrapped was too big for the uprights. I much prefer the upright because you can find what you need without having to empty everything to get the stuff at the bottom. I've run into people along the way that have stuff in the bottom of the chest that has been there for a couple years or more because they forgot about it. In a shop I would be afraid of the top of a chest ending up buried with stuff. Then you have to find somewhere to put it while you go digging in the freezer.

Pete

 

[duke]

Upright , will never go back to a chest freezer.

 

[Chris Puttick]

Also note if the space isn't heated, or not continuously heated, you need to select a freezer that uses tech that can keep working if the external temperature drops below 0C.

 

[Chubber]

Upright , will never go back to a chest freezer.

Until you access a big upright in bare feet you don't appreciate how much 'cold' drops straight out when you open the door!

 

[Chubber]

I’d go for the upright as it leaves more usable floorspace. Chest freezers are useful though if you need to store a body before getting rid of it

But one needs to plan space to open the door and look inside?

 

[Blackswanwood]

But one needs to plan space to open the door and look inside?

No - you don’t want anyone looking inside - they’ll find the body

 

[HamsterJam]

I shared a previous garage workshop with a chest freezer and did exactly as you propose. It was a useful additional work surface for light duties.
We tried not to overfill it so we could move stuff around to get to the bottom. Like ours, I guess most chest freezers have wire baskets in them that helped with this.

 

[RobNichols]

Upright. Stuff stored on top of it doesn't need to be removed each time it is accessed.

It's all well and good saying you won't put too much stuff on top of the chest freezer but it's guaranteed that it will be a pain in the arse to move everything off when you need to access the freezer.

We have a built in freezer in the kitchen, which is neat but the capacity is relatively small. So the freezer in the garage is used relatively often. It sits on top of an old fridge (rarely used) which means the top is the perfect height for my Record Air Filter.

 

[duke]

Chest freezers are bottomless pits unless you are storing large items that you know are in there.
Used to dread having to dig stuff out for the missus and they take less floor space. We must have had a bad chest freezer as it required yearly de-icing.

 

[duke]

Until you access a big upright in bare feet you don't appreciate how much 'cold' drops straight out when you open the door!

I always wear socks and footwear. I'll try it without.

 

[niall Y]

Of course, one of the downsides of a chest freezer, is that if you have to do a lot of scrummaging, and you have to pull a lot of things out, you can inadvertently forget to put everything back.

 

[Stigmorgan]

I guess I'm lucky that the only time we ever need extra freezer space is usually around Christmas when the school is shut, cook doesn't mind me using spare space in the school freezers , only reason I'd put a chest freezer in the garage would be to make a kiln out of it
SWMBO did once try convincing me that she should be allowed to put a tumble dryer in the garage, I quickly squashed that idea, I only have 4 plug sockets out there and they're all at the back of garage where I have my makerspace, I'm not having anything out there running unsupervised.

 

[trvlr]

Beko (at least for Europe and UK) make a (standard/non chest) freezer which is perfect of garage/shed and similar locations where it (the actual location) will get colder than if in house. I have one and very happy with it. As other comment - chest freezes become bottomless pits...

Also look for a freezer that self defrosting (frost free); regardless of where it's to be located...

 

[windymiller]

I've got a chest freezer in the workshop part of the garage, and as you say, with a bit of ply on top it becomes a useful work surface.

Of course, it's a bit tricky when you can't access frozen vegetables due to the latest project setting/drying etc on top ......

 

[Chubber]

Well thanks for the interest and taking the time to reply, despite valid arguments for both I will go for a chest type. I haven't moved house yet and to date SWMBO has not raised the matter.
We currently have a small chest freezer which rarely gets very full but even so I take the precaution of asking if she wants anything from it before I set up anything on top for painting \ assembly.
I find a flat clean space away from the dusty bit of the garage very useful.