I own a small chest freezer (NOT frost free) and its half full with food.

I'm getting frost/ice on the inside walls of the freezer above the food
level.

I heard several years ago that crunched up newspaper can be placed in the
freezer to fill the remaining space, but as I had a frost free at the time I
didn't pay much attention to this advice.

Obviously I've got to do a proper defrost at some stage but can anyone
verify that newspaper can be used to fill a freezer and hopefully reduce the
frost buildup ?

Thanks.

Mike.

"Mike" [email protected] wrote in message
...
I own a small chest freezer (NOT frost free) and its half full with food.

I'm getting frost/ice on the inside walls of the freezer above the food
level.

I heard several years ago that crunched up newspaper can be placed in the
freezer to fill the remaining space, but as I had a frost free at the time
I
didn't pay much attention to this advice.

Obviously I've got to do a proper defrost at some stage but can anyone
verify that newspaper can be used to fill a freezer and hopefully reduce
the
frost buildup ?

Thanks.

Mike.

why would that reduce it? the frost comes from humid air that comes in when
you lift the top.

Never heard the newspaper thing. What we used to do is fill up gallon milk
jugs with water, and put them in. The frozen water acts as a
buffer/ballast, and I would think it would work a lot better than newspaper
(and not be nearly as messy).

As we filled up our freezer with real food over time, it was easy to pull
out a milk-jug or two and recycle it.

-Tim

I heard several years ago that crunched up newspaper can be placed in the
freezer to fill the remaining space, but as I had a frost free at the time I
didn't pay much attention to this advice.

Obviously I've got to do a proper defrost at some stage but can anyone
verify that newspaper can be used to fill a freezer and hopefully reduce the
frost buildup ?

Anything that displaces air will work. The less air volume, the
less water vapor their is to deposit as frost. I'd use 2 liter
bottles mostly filled with water. (Don't put them all in at once.)

"Goedjn" wrote in message
...


I heard several years ago that crunched up newspaper can be placed in the
freezer to fill the remaining space, but as I had a frost free at the time
I
didn't pay much attention to this advice.

Obviously I've got to do a proper defrost at some stage but can anyone
verify that newspaper can be used to fill a freezer and hopefully reduce
the
frost buildup ?

Anything that displaces air will work. The less air volume, the
less water vapor their is to deposit as frost. I'd use 2 liter
bottles mostly filled with water. (Don't put them all in at once.)



The newspaper should work but you will need to pretty much fill all open
space. It will act like insulation by trapping air (which is initially
dehumidified in the freezer) and held there by the folds preventing new
moist air from entering.

Bottles of water won't be able to fill the whole space as well as crumpled
paper but the thermal mass of the frozen water will help keep the freezer
cold causing it to run less after you open and close it. Also the reduced
air volume will leave less frost behind.

We use styrofoam; there always seems to be a good supply of it
around and it works well. We also keep a wide cup of calcium
chloride open in it to soak up the water; change it when it gets
soggy.

HTH,
Pop

"Mike" [email protected] wrote in message
...
:I own a small chest freezer (NOT frost free) and its half full
with food.
:
: I'm getting frost/ice on the inside walls of the freezer above
the food
: level.
:
: I heard several years ago that crunched up newspaper can be
placed in the
: freezer to fill the remaining space, but as I had a frost free
at the time I
: didn't pay much attention to this advice.
:
: Obviously I've got to do a proper defrost at some stage but can
anyone
: verify that newspaper can be used to fill a freezer and
hopefully reduce the
: frost buildup ?
:
: Thanks.
:
: Mike.
:
:

We use styrofoam; there always seems to be a good supply of it
around and it works well. We also keep a wide cup of calcium
chloride open in it to soak up the water; change it when it gets
soggy.


I considered that, but I'm always afraid that stuffing in too much
insulation will restrict air flow to the point where I I have
warm (well, less cold) spots. If you're doing successfully,
then that's apparently a non-issue, though.

"PipeDown" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Goedjn" wrote in message
...


I heard several years ago that crunched up newspaper can be placed in
the
freezer to fill the remaining space, but as I had a frost free at the
time
I
didn't pay much attention to this advice.

Obviously I've got to do a proper defrost at some stage but can anyone
verify that newspaper can be used to fill a freezer and hopefully reduce
the
frost buildup ?

Anything that displaces air will work. The less air volume, the
less water vapor their is to deposit as frost. I'd use 2 liter
bottles mostly filled with water. (Don't put them all in at once.)



The newspaper should work but you will need to pretty much fill all open
space. It will act like insulation by trapping air (which is initially
dehumidified in the freezer) and held there by the folds preventing new
moist air from entering.

Bottles of water won't be able to fill the whole space as well as crumpled
paper but the thermal mass of the frozen water will help keep the freezer
cold causing it to run less after you open and close it. Also the reduced
air volume will leave less frost behind.

You could save energy by using empty bottles.. Freezing water takes
significant energy.

Bob

cold causing it to run less after you open and close it. Also the reduced
air volume will leave less frost behind.

You could save energy by using empty bottles.. Freezing water takes
significant energy.

Bob


Yes, but KEEPING them frozen doesn't, so there's a small extra
investment in using water, yes. On the other hand, there's
several liters of ice in there that will help keep everything
else from thawing during the next long-term power failure,
and it's drinkable water-ice, in case you're somehow cut off
from normal methods of obtaining drinking water.
Also, depending on a number of other factors, more mass
means longer cycle times for the compressor, because it takes
longer to cool down and to warm up. This *SHOULD* result
in less wear on the moving parts, although that's just
my theory.