I have just defrosted two freezers in readiness for the coming veg and other jobs for me to do over the summer. :P
In one the meat and fish are kept, in the other the veg and other produce have a place.
Top shelf is for bread,
Second shelf is for the fruit,
Third shelf is for the fats and some veg,
Fourth is for veg,
and finally the Fifth is for yet more veg.
If there is room in the other freezer, I shall fit more veg in that too. ;)
Most foods are prepared fresh and that way we do not waste or throw away any food which cannot be used up as a snack for a following days lunch.
I do however freeze left overs to add to another meal later on in the month.
If it cannot be re frozen then the fat dog will get a feast. ;D
;D ;D ;D
I have two freezers too...one is empty and switched off..other has meaty things..plenty of ice cream and few veg and odd berry.. ::)
I stopped freezing produce as running the freezer cost too much..
and with a bit of planning I can grow enough fresh stuff for us to use all year round...now we eat by the season..and most of the berries are turned into jam..
There is enough de-frosting in one freezer..not one of my favourite jobs.. ::)
..oh year..there is 'fat' dog in our household too..seem to be eating better than most of us... ::)
I stopped freezing produce as running the freezer cost too much..
Do they ??? :o :o :o
Oh yes..when I unplugged my second one..(well it is old too.. ::)) I notice such a difference in electric bill that I haven't given a second thought anymore for switching it back on..not for veg..when it is not necessary..but if I would have supply of meat that would not fit in one freezer..yes..meat is not cheap for start with...
I'm lucky to have few greenhouses and tunnel so growing some bit more tender stuff is not normally problem..even this winter with all the snow and frost I never did go without fresh veg...
Have we got any clever ones who would do some running cost calculations..?
I would quess just normal undercounter freezer would cost at least £30 to run for a year...there is just 2 of us in this household and that would buy quite lot frozen veg over winter for us..but I don't need..I grow them..and that money will be better spent by buying something else... ;)..couple of apple trees.. ;D ;D ;D..much better.. ;D ;D
I'd love to know how much a freezer costs to run, too.
I store quite a lot of homegrown fruit, plus blackberries from the hedge, in my two freezers, but try to empty and switch off one of them in late winter/early spring. Whether or not I manage to do so depends on how much free or cheap game I lay hands on as the season comes to an end, and whether my grown-up sons are around to chomp it!
I certainly love the flexibility of having plenty of freezer space so that I can take advantage of price reductions in supermarkets, as well as getting the max out of homegrown produce. For instance, at the moment, I have bread, cheese and meat all bought as irresistible bargains that I would otherwise have had to leave on the shelf. As the bargains go in, the homegrown stuff comes out! ;D
I tend to work on the assumption that taking food from the freezer saves me a shopping trip to town and therefore reduces petrol costs, but I would really appreciate knowing how much my freezers are costing me to run. And it has to be said that I often have to go shopping for other things, anyway!
:)
How much your freezer costs to run depends on:
1 - Wattage - can be found out from manufacturers website.
2 - Cost per unit of electizity - can be found from your supplier..
3 - Minor factors will include where it is located and ambient temps..
Some manufaturers will give you an estimated kWh Per Year.. http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.204-1533.aspx gives that freezer 248 kWh Per Year
If your rate is 12 p per kWh thats 29.76
Useful site here to calculate costs but you have to know Watts and costs...
http://www.ukpower.co.uk/tools/running_costs_electricity/
Ohhhh this is too much for me to think about :( . I have three freezers :-[ one in the kitchen two in the garage!!
I have plenty of room though and defrosting the freezers is a breeze because I usually have room to juggle things around.
Please dont tell me how expensive it is :P I dont want to know !!!
Duke
BarriedaleNick, thank you for supplying the formula.
I've just remembered that somewhere I have a gadget for measuring the electricity that an appliance uses. Strange that I haven't seen it since my OH bought himself a huge telly! ;D
;D ;D...I knew it...some one would know about calculations ;D ;D..cheers... ;)
I agree with Duke, I have two large ones int he garage. When we can we transfer all the stuff from one to the other to defrost. I don't count the cost, but we live 2 miles from the bread shop so we bulk buy bread and buy our meat, fish and some veg twice a month at the farmers market, so they are always well stocked. An awful lot is saved on petrol on not making those "little" trips to the shop for a loaf or whatever.
Much cheaper to run a freezer in a garage than it is in a heated house, especially in winter!
FWIW, I don't really like that calculator for this... it overcomplicates the (pre-gcse maths) sum & also, who knows how long their freezer is actually doing work for?
I have 2, they cost around £20 a year each to run and theyre frost free.
Quote from: weequinie on May 20, 2010, 14:27:17
I have 2, they cost around £20 a year each to run and theyre frost free.
Oh Frost Free :P :P :P :P :P
My mother said it was cheaper to run one that is full than empty, so she used to fill it with old newspapers etc as it ran down. Might be something in it, then again she was a nutty old bird!.
Frost free is definitely the answer. Always remember that fridges/freezers don't like working in less than 5'C ambient! Garage dwelling machines beware!
Its worth spending a little more to know that what you are eating has not been sprayed. We have 2 freezers and they are both in use all the year round. We do not eat lot of meat so they are full of fruit, veg and soups.