Freezers, frost free or manual defrost?

Just defrosted my very old upright freezer - took a whole day. Looking back, I should have treated myself to a new frost-free one. I guess, I will now keep this, till it frosts up ,again, and then, I will get a new frost-free one,

We've got three and frost-free is definitely the way to go!

My freezer still needs defrosting. Any tips on how often to keep it from becoming too much of a chore?

Hi, Grannynanywanny

Will give this a try. I think your son did very well . . . to own up.

Vintagenonna it might be worthwhile trying a google search with the make and model number of your fridge. Hopefully it might lead to a spare parts source.

My son did this recently for a replacement part for their 20 year old oven. He removed the glass door panel for cleaning and dropped it in the sink! His wife was away for a few days and was very impressed that not only had he remembered to clean the oven as requested but he had the door gleaming when she returned home! He basked in the glory for 15 mins before owning up to his mishap 😂

Off at a bit of a tangent. I have an upright freezer which DOES need defrosting and I have managed (with DH's help) to crack one of the drawers and the flap at the bottom, so it is frosting up at the top.

I rang to order the two new parts and the price was high but (more worrying) the person I spoke to had no idea how long delivery would take.

Any ideas for spares other than the manufacturer?

I’m astonished when I read of GN’s who defrost freezers. It was my least favourite job and I’m happy to say I’ve not had to do it for years now. Only replaced when I had to so I’m amazed how many still have them.

stillstanding - I agree that frost free is great option but care when choosing and be aware that you will lose a little space due to the frost free motor. No one has mentioned this but I found whilst benefits to changing to frost free were good I found the actual freezer space to use was a lot less. This was also due to the curved drawers they do now as oppose to the solid rectangular shapes of old.

frost free every time. No contest!!

Can't recall how long but must be a good twenty years of frost free. Have two freezers, both FF.

Frost free every time. I have a LEC fridge freezer from AO. They also take the old one away for a small charge.

Surely frost free.

Who on earth needs to defrost a fridge nowadays.

I have an upright fridge,freezer.It's Daewoo and around 14 years old.I would hate to go back to defrosting.I always compared it to cleaning the oven.

I have had frost free for many years. My present fridge/freezer is a Blomberg as is my under the counter freezer. Both machines are so silent.

Apparently the fans sometimes catch on packets or chunks of ice in non frost free

Frost-free for me, I never need to empty it. I'd recommend you have a look at the Which report on which are "Best Buys" and choose one with drawers that suit you. If the drawers are too deep you either waste space or bury what is in there. Some of the cheaper ones have fewer, more flimsy drawers.

Oh dear I never thought to check out frost free. I replaced our old leaking one last week and picked a Liebherr one from the line up in the shop as it is a good brand and matches the frost free fridge we already have. Yes defrost is a pain to do and I miss a dear neighbour who would put some of my stuff in her freezer when the job needed to be done.

We had a frost free upright which kept on going wrong as the fan, which removes damp air, kept freezing up!
The repair man said some of them are prone to do that. Check on the reviews.

I didn't know there was such a thing as a frost free freezer, which just shows you how far behind the times I am!

Sounds a good thing for those who either can't get down on their hands and knees any longer, or dislike defrosting freezers.

I have made a mental note of the frost free freezer if the day comes when defrosting mine becomes a pain.

when we were looking at one for our garage was told that we could not have a frost free one by John Lewis

Frost free all the way here!

Frost free every time both ours are fridge freezer and upright freezer

Another vote for frost free . We have two fridge freezers, both Beko, one in the garage. ( Not all makes are suitable for garages. )

I’m going to replace my old frost freezer for new frost free one , this time I want a 50/50 fridge freezer , there’s Beko one that I like previously mentioned but not yet fully decided which one to have .

I second all of the above. Ours is an integrated under the counter one. Choice was limited but it’s a John Lewis one. No more crunching sounds pulling out the drawers, no more defrosting. Marvellous.