Need a new freezer. A salesman at one of the local stores who was also a big sportsman was pushing me towards manual vs frost free. Says the defrost cycle can melt the edges of some things close to the side causing freezer burn. Made sense and the manual ones are cheaper. Only issue is I have to manually defrost it just like my old one which is one of the main reason I hate it!!!!!
What’s the hive say on this topic??? Thank you.
If you plan on storing anything for longer than a couple weeks, stay away from a frost free. What the salesman told you is spot on. Frost free freezers work by periodically warming to a temperature above freezing so the frost melts. Everything in the freezer will warm up a bit and start to thaw. It will ruin a lot of your food if you tend to store it for a long period of time. When the freezer kicks back in, all the moisture that has formed on the food will freeze as well, which is why you get all that ice on food in a frost free freezer and why your popsicles get gooey after a while.
Unless they have drastically changed the way a frost free freezer works in the last few years, I would never buy one as my main freezer.
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If you plan on storing anything for longer than a couple weeks, stay away from a frost free. What the salesman told you is spot on. Frost free freezers work by periodically warming to a temperature above freezing so the frost melts. Everything in the freezer will warm up a bit and start to thaw. It will ruin a lot of your food if you tend to store it for a long period of time. When the freezer kicks back in, all the moisture that has formed on the food will freeze as well, which is why you get all that ice on food in a frost free freezer and why your popsicles get gooey after a while.
Unless they have drastically changed the way a frost free freezer works in the last few years, I would never buy one as my main freezer.
X2 
Here is some good reading from a Mn appliance store. Warners Stellian
big G 
I disagree. A good frost free freezer should be able to hold beef for over a year. Pork for about 6-9 months. Items with sugar or salt(bacon,ham,popcicles,ect)should be used in 90-120 days. Going back to the old frosty freezers ya lose alot of its power saving features.The defrost cycles on modern freezers are so short and often that it doesn’t require the interior temp to rise even to noticable levels.Frost itself is what is a major contributor of freezer burn.The new freezers now days have ozone friendly freon that is very effient. Don’t go back to the stone age when ya need to empty your freezer often, warm it up to melt ice balls. Go modern!
Even if things do stay frozen as well in a frost-free freezer, if you don’t clean it out about once a year things are going to get that NASTY plastic-freezer-taste to them. Might as well get a manual defrost chest freezer for better tasting food, and also to save some money on your electric bill.
Defrosting the freezer once a year is no big deal, and it’s better than icefishing! 
I wait until December or January and set stuff in the car on cold day. Use a couple of pans of hot water to melt the frost faster, and wipe it out with baking soda and water and you’re good for another year.
Dan
I thought it costs more & more as frost builds up, to keep a freezer at temp, as opposed to the frost free being much more efficient ??? Aybody ???
big G
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I disagree. A good frost free freezer should be able to hold beef for over a year. Pork for about 6-9 months. Items with sugar or salt(bacon,ham,popcicles,ect)should be used in 90-120 days. Going back to the old frosty freezers ya lose alot of its power saving features.The defrost cycles on modern freezers are so short and often that it doesn’t require the interior temp to rise even to noticable levels.Frost itself is what is a major contributor of freezer burn.The new freezers now days have ozone friendly freon that is very effient. Don’t go back to the stone age when ya need to empty your freezer often, warm it up to melt ice balls. Go modern!
x2
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I thought it costs more & more as frost builds up, to keep a freezer at temp, as opposed to the frost free being much more efficient ??? Aybody ???
big G
Not according to the 10-05 issue of Consumer Reports, though I would guess that wouldn’t be true if you only defrost it every five years! 
Dan
alot depends on where you are puting your freezer. I have a refridgerator freezer in my garage that is frost free and due to the cold temps in the winter it will actually go into a continuous defrost mode in the winter and ruin all that is in it. if it is in your basement or a controled climate then frost free is the way to go.
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I have a refridgerator freezer in my garage that is frost free and due to the cold temps in the winter it will actually go into a continuous defrost mode in the winter and ruin all that is in it.
I am not an expert so I may be wrong but…I think the problem you have is that once the ambient temp is ~38 degrees or lower the compressor/freeze cycle simply does not run. I have the same situation. About the end of November I have to empty the freezer portion of the frost free fridge in the garage. Then as it gets really cold I have to empty the fridge part so items don’t freeze…pain the rear…I will be going back to the stone ages when this one dies.
I believe they make a fridge/freezer specifically for out of doors. I do know if you put the newer appliances outside it voids the warranty.
I may be wrong but I think that every frost free we have owned had a switch to turn the frost free option off.
I also found some useful tips regarding both fridges and freezers here:
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