Check... I was told by a seller this week that a half cow is approx 9 cubic feet in the boxes it's packaged in. Space can be made if unboxed and packed out.
Make sure it can connect to your generator, If you dont have one, get one big enough to power the freezer youd want, and im guessing your kitchen fridge too, just a thought
Personally, I have a EU2200i, ran 2 fridges and full size standing freezer, and throttles down when they arent "running" cause they arent pulling power to cool. Its small though, I would recommend/ I regret not getting the next size up in a similar line. Like eu3000 or similar... What about you?
I'm not even sure to be honest with you. I got it from Costco, which was best value at the time and it's sat in the box since then. It's a dual fuel generator and can handle my freezers. I figure I'd only need to run on each freezer a couple hours per day and I've got enough fuel on hand for a couple weeks. The next step for me would be investing in more propane so that I have enough fuel to match the amount of time it would take me to eat the meat.
Yes they usually have standard plugs, and can also have "RV" style high watt plugs.
You need to figure out where you're going to run the generator (exhaust fumes) and make sure you have a long enough set of cords and that the cords can handle the draw.
I buy 4 full cows per year and keep them in 2x 25cuft chest freezers. You can easily fit a quarter cow into a 5cuft, but get bigger. You get incrementally more freezer space for less money. I'd say for sure to get 10cuft, but would say even 14-15 is good..if you are organized in how you put stuff in there you will know where things are and won't be digging for it. Don't get an upright freezer like some are suggesting..more money and less space. I'd use an upright freezer if I was storing "normal" stuff like chicken fingers and ice cream.
I hope this helps.
Due to pricing and other possible uses I suggest an 8-9 cuft. You can get half a cow in there and you can get other stuff as well. If you only want to store a quarter I would look for a 5cuft.
It depends on the size of the beef, and if it's grass fed, the cuts will be smaller, but you will have better quality of meat. Ask them how big the animal is. Is it 1300 lbs on the hoof?, or 800 lbs? I'd go with a 12 ft or larger. If you are putting meat in the freezer, then you may want to add other foods also. A half of a hog would be a good addition also. Then you would get some nice real bacon, and hams.
I don't know the answer to your question but I would give a few pieces of advice:
Go bigger than you think you need...and then go bigger than that.
Get a "Commercial" rated freezer - they only cost a relatively small amount more but will use less electricity because of better insulation. I also believe they will have a longer service life based on my personal experience so they'll save money in the long run.
Put a thin layer of Vaseline on the rubber door seal - this makes a better seal than "dry" and will help prevent frost build up.
Pay a little extra for a model with casters on it if you can fit that in your budget.
My father recently purchased a quarter cow and it fits well inside his new 7 cuft freezer. Granted, there isn't a lot of room for other things right now, but it fits.
We have a standing huge deep freeze in the garage, but then we bought multiple small (probably 5 cu.ft). We fit half a cow in the basement (pretty sure it’s 5c but could be 7) and a whole pig with chicken and other meats upstairs. We keep a small one for frozen prepared foods in the mud room. If one goes out we won’t lose all food in the freezer we have backups. About a decade ago our deep freeze went out and we didn’t realize, lost so much money to food going bad. We do have 8 people in our family so store a lot of food, we currently have 4 dedicated freezers, a fridge and couple combo/a couple mini fridges between basemen garage, main floor and teens room. We also have a generator in case of power outages, but it failing from default is more concerning to me.
A chest freezer will last longer if the power goes out. An upright loses it's cool right away. I had the repair man explain that unopened. the upright would last about a day, the chest freezer unopened could last about 3. It took Sears too long to come out to repair my freezer, so I replaced it with a new chest freezer.
It was the defroster timer in my upright that went out. I didn't realize it was malfunctioning and heating up the freezer until I saw the blood from the meat on my floor. A self defrosting freezer might save a little work, but it is the part that lost me all of my frozen food that year.
Chest is fine. Get some cheap square metal baskets and separate the meat by cuts/type or whatever suits you. Then you can find stuff without having to dig. Just move a basket.
go big.... if you go small...you'll regret it quickly. you'll not only have a cow in there, but will be needing to store other food items as well.
I know, right? I got one big enough for a quarterhorse but still had to cut it into four parts to get it to fit.
A quarter cow will easily fit in 5 cubic feet of freezer space, depending on the packaging.
Check... I was told by a seller this week that a half cow is approx 9 cubic feet in the boxes it's packaged in. Space can be made if unboxed and packed out.
Make sure it can connect to your generator, If you dont have one, get one big enough to power the freezer youd want, and im guessing your kitchen fridge too, just a thought
Good point. I got a generator specifically for my freezers and recommend you do as well if you're going to store any large amount of meat.
Personally, I have a EU2200i, ran 2 fridges and full size standing freezer, and throttles down when they arent "running" cause they arent pulling power to cool. Its small though, I would recommend/ I regret not getting the next size up in a similar line. Like eu3000 or similar... What about you?
I'm not even sure to be honest with you. I got it from Costco, which was best value at the time and it's sat in the box since then. It's a dual fuel generator and can handle my freezers. I figure I'd only need to run on each freezer a couple hours per day and I've got enough fuel on hand for a couple weeks. The next step for me would be investing in more propane so that I have enough fuel to match the amount of time it would take me to eat the meat.
Oh its propane generator??? pretty cool
Yea, runs on gas or propane. You get more power out of the gas than propane, but propane stores better than gas. I think this is it: https://www.costco.ca/champion-9375-watt-dual-fuel-portable-generator-with-electric-start.product.4000137663.html
Don't most generators have as standard electrical plug to power anything? I guess it depends how much watts are needed?
Yes they usually have standard plugs, and can also have "RV" style high watt plugs. You need to figure out where you're going to run the generator (exhaust fumes) and make sure you have a long enough set of cords and that the cords can handle the draw.
Generators have sockets. I've never seen one with a plug. That would be dangerous.
Yeah mine only has 2 rego plug spots, my large home one isnt starting
I buy 4 full cows per year and keep them in 2x 25cuft chest freezers. You can easily fit a quarter cow into a 5cuft, but get bigger. You get incrementally more freezer space for less money. I'd say for sure to get 10cuft, but would say even 14-15 is good..if you are organized in how you put stuff in there you will know where things are and won't be digging for it. Don't get an upright freezer like some are suggesting..more money and less space. I'd use an upright freezer if I was storing "normal" stuff like chicken fingers and ice cream. I hope this helps.
Chest freezers also stop the cold temps better. Heat rises, and when you open up an upright freezer all that cold air 'falls out' of the freezer.
Due to pricing and other possible uses I suggest an 8-9 cuft. You can get half a cow in there and you can get other stuff as well. If you only want to store a quarter I would look for a 5cuft.
I'd like to know too. We may invest in another freezer for meat storage.
It depends on the size of the beef, and if it's grass fed, the cuts will be smaller, but you will have better quality of meat. Ask them how big the animal is. Is it 1300 lbs on the hoof?, or 800 lbs? I'd go with a 12 ft or larger. If you are putting meat in the freezer, then you may want to add other foods also. A half of a hog would be a good addition also. Then you would get some nice real bacon, and hams.
I don't know the answer to your question but I would give a few pieces of advice:
Go bigger than you think you need...and then go bigger than that.
Get a "Commercial" rated freezer - they only cost a relatively small amount more but will use less electricity because of better insulation. I also believe they will have a longer service life based on my personal experience so they'll save money in the long run.
Put a thin layer of Vaseline on the rubber door seal - this makes a better seal than "dry" and will help prevent frost build up.
Pay a little extra for a model with casters on it if you can fit that in your budget.
My father recently purchased a quarter cow and it fits well inside his new 7 cuft freezer. Granted, there isn't a lot of room for other things right now, but it fits.
You could ask Cuidillo Cattle company via IG. That's where I will be getting my humanely sourced grass fed beef.
Do they have a website?
We have a standing huge deep freeze in the garage, but then we bought multiple small (probably 5 cu.ft). We fit half a cow in the basement (pretty sure it’s 5c but could be 7) and a whole pig with chicken and other meats upstairs. We keep a small one for frozen prepared foods in the mud room. If one goes out we won’t lose all food in the freezer we have backups. About a decade ago our deep freeze went out and we didn’t realize, lost so much money to food going bad. We do have 8 people in our family so store a lot of food, we currently have 4 dedicated freezers, a fridge and couple combo/a couple mini fridges between basemen garage, main floor and teens room. We also have a generator in case of power outages, but it failing from default is more concerning to me.
Chest freezers require defrosting, uprights don’t. I bought an upright and it is great.
A chest freezer will last longer if the power goes out. An upright loses it's cool right away. I had the repair man explain that unopened. the upright would last about a day, the chest freezer unopened could last about 3. It took Sears too long to come out to repair my freezer, so I replaced it with a new chest freezer.
Interesting, didn’t know that! Still, ya hafta defrost the chest freezer and the upright is self defrosting.
It was the defroster timer in my upright that went out. I didn't realize it was malfunctioning and heating up the freezer until I saw the blood from the meat on my floor. A self defrosting freezer might save a little work, but it is the part that lost me all of my frozen food that year.
Ok, sorry for your loss, hopefully insurance covered it.
no.
Digging for meat gets old in a chest freezer. I agree stand up is a better option.
From what i read standup uses more electricity due to opening and the cold air coming out
Chest is fine. Get some cheap square metal baskets and separate the meat by cuts/type or whatever suits you. Then you can find stuff without having to dig. Just move a basket.
Exactly!