Should I get a freezer?

[Thurston Garden]

Right, here's my dilemma!

I have worked very hard to get my leccy consumption in the straw hoose down as low as possible. Last month's average was 1.6kWh/day. As the days lengthen, this will come down slightly more.

The only permanently running item is my fridge which is new and an A+ model.

I have previously always had a freezer and my brother has offered to buy me one to return a favour. I was looking out for one off freecycle but a. have not seen one yet, and b. thought it unlikely I would get one that was efficient (how selfish!).

I used to batch cook an freeze meals and also buy reduced/out of date stuff and freeze it. I can't sort out in my head whether to take up the offer of a new freezer and probably double my leccy consumption or stick with the way I am (and have been for 14 months now) without one.

What would you do?

[Odsox]

Can't really help I'm afraid as I am sort of in the same boat.
I have three freezers at the moment including one that is very inefficient, and I can't seem to empty that one.
The reason I kept an inefficient one was to store apples in, but it got filled up with chicken and cooked fruit and doesn't seem to be capable of being emptied ... a sort of electric cornucopia in a white box.

What I was going to point out and the purpose of this rambling post is, don't forget to factor in how far it is to the shops.
If you shop every other day without a freezer and maybe only once a fortnight WITH a freezer, that could be quite a saving in petrol/diesel.

[Thurston Garden]

Good point Tony. Shopping is a very mild detour on the way home from work but even then I tend to go once a week. I would very much like to cycle there on a Saturday but the straw hoose is still demanding lots of my time. I will get back to it later this year I hope.

Once I get a veg garden established (another dilema for a different post!) I would like to reduce these trips, but then again, I might have more surplus to freeze/batch cook and freeze.

I am confused!

[chickenchargrill]

I went 4 years without one. The only reason we got one was because having some frozen meals with having a baby. Personally, if you can find one second hand, go for it, ours paid for itself within a month of getting it because I was able to cook/store when I had the time, rather than waste food because I was too busy with baby, cut our food bills right down and travel costs involved in getting in fresh food so often.

If you don't *need* one right now, maybe it's still worth accepting the offer and just have it there for when you do? We are getting to the point where fridge is enough a lot of the time, so the freezer just gets turned off til things get hectic again.

[Thomzo]

Personally, I can't live without mine. I freeze a lot of fruit from the garden as well as home-made meals and special value offers from the supermarket. It's your choice though. What else could your brother get you instead?

Zoe

[Thurston Garden]

Zoe, it's for those reasons I would use one but... I have managed fine for 14 months whilst in the caravan (no oven in there either) but now the house is done, I wonder if I will get one. There's just me so I am not sure it's necessary.

I am a tight Scottish person remember: I am thinking about my leccy and how I have cut it right down. Having looked today a freezer (sort of £150/200 one) would be 204kWh/year. My annual consumption could be 584. A freezer would be great but I am sure I could live without one too.

Hmmm....

[Green Aura]

In regard to excess veg, if you have the space you can lacto-ferment just about anything. But it does take up an awful lot of room. I currently have a fridge solely devoted to all mine. Irrespective of whether they need to be in a fridge, they're still taking up space and you need room for the empty kilner jars too! I'm guessing the stuff in the freezer takes up less room.

[boboff]

I went from 3 down to 1 this last year.
With regard to shopping, I do tend to have to go shopping for fresh veg to match stuff in the freezer, so I don't think you will actually save that much on travel.
Personally I would not be without one, but thinking about it, you could probably do very well without one, just tailor your shopping and preserving techniques to suit life without one.

[British Red]

Once I get a veg garden established (another dilema for a different post!) I would like to reduce these trips, but then again, I might have more surplus to freeze/batch cook and freeze.

I am confused!

Thats the clincher for me. Storing garden produce. We try every way we can think of to keep veg fresh - we are still using carrots from our sand clamps for example, we pressure can, dry, brine, lacto ferment, pickle, jam etc.

But, to be honest, blanching and freezing when in full spate in a large veg and fruit garden is really very useful. If we were in the US, I would suggest pressure canning veg in bulk, but here, the jar cost would be prohibitive for that

[greenorelse]

Think about a 12- or 24-volt freezer or one that comes complete with battery and solar panel, here:
http://www.mysolarshop.co.uk/solar-frid ... -p-47.html

[clare]

I couldn't live without my freezer and if you are getting it in return for a favour I'd go for it and switch it on when you are ready.I just produced a chicken and vegetable soup on the wood burner with veg from the freezer that we grew last season,I shop once a week for milk etc but I have loads of veg,fruit and some meat left from our pig in the freezer and when some things are really reduced in the supermarket I snap them up and freeze them.so I am sure the cash you save on food will more than cover the electricty.
Clare

[Thurston Garden]

I think I have chosen a Beko one via the Co-op. It will increase my daily electricity consumption from 1.6 to 2.1kWh on paper, but having thought about it, this should actually be much lower as I have a 2.35kW array on the roof so during generation times the freezer leccy will come from the solar on the roof.

This, given some Heath Robinson calculations, could reduce the grid leccy required to something like 130 down from 204kWh which makes things more palatable!

[greenorelse]

I think I have chosen a Beko one via the Co-op.

FYI, Beko's parent company (Koc) is involved in arms manufacture.

Good luck with it!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14025550

[Thurston Garden]

FYI, Beko's parent company (Koc) is involved in arms manufacture.

Good luck with it!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14025550

Thanks for the heads up - the fire element is disturbing, but possibly now their appliances are improved as a result.

On the arms manufacture, whilst this will alarm a lot of people here, as a RN Warfare Director in a previous life, I am less bothered about this aspect. This could of course open a can of worms!

Are there any electrical appliance manufacturers who are not involved in arms production in some fashion? Worth investigating. Beko appliances appear to get good reviews from consumers across the board.

[British Red]

F
On the arms manufacture, whilst this will alarm a lot of people here, as a RN Warfare Director in a previous life, I am less bothered about this aspect. This could of course open a can of worms!

Are there any electrical appliance manufacturers who are not involved in arms production in some fashion? Worth investigating. Beko appliances appear to get good reviews from consumers across the board.

I see firearms as a good thing - so yes, I agree, why not support a company that builds a necessary and useful tool?