Running a freezer on a genertator?

[randymac]

Thinking about picking up a very small about 3.5 cu ft freezer for our end of September hunt. Just to keep our groceries frozen.
I've seen lots of other guys out in the bush with larger freezers but never thought to ask- and I know it depends a lot on when and where, but how many hours a day do you usually need to run the generator?

[Stone Sheep Steve]

3.5 cu ft?? Isn't that the average size of a moose heart??? :-D

[Kanook Senior]

R.Mac
Have used a small freezer for our trips ( 24" x 24" x 32" High )
I use a 2200 Honda to keep it cold. If pre freeze every thing before hand you only have to run the Genny every 2nd day depending on weather.
Cut a piece of 2" rigid blue styrofoam to place inside as freezer empties.
Leave room for a bag of ice cubes as it sure is nice for the cocktails.
Careful planning of your meals you can pack enough for 5 - 6 guys for a 8 to 10 day trip.

Good Luck
Robbie

[Steeleco]

I kept game cool in 20cu ft unit last fall. Run the genny (Honda 2000i) all day long in the heat and let it rest at night. No issues at all.

[Riverratz]

We have a 5 cu. ft. Danby, plenty of grub for a large crew for a couple of weeks.
Pre freeze everything before you leave home, including all your bread, buns, etc.
At camp, set the freezer in the shade, cover the top with a folded tarp or two to help keep it insulated/out of the sun.
Plugged in for 3-4 hours per evening is plenty, everything will stay frozen rock solid, bread/buns will be fresh as the day they were bought.
Don't forget to take out whatever is for dinner in the morning so it's thawed by dinner time.
Keep all the rest of the non freezable food in a large cooler.

[Daybreak]

Having a freezer in camp is hard to beat for convenience and managing game in warm weather. Make sure you allow the side walls and compressor vent room to breathe. The side walls dissipate heat and obviously the compressor needs good air flow. Put a really heavy blanket or Styrofoam panel over the lid as cooling is lost through it. Check you freezer right now, the sidewalls will be warm and the lid will be cool.

As mentioned previously, the less air in any cooler the more efficient it will be. We fill all gaps with an assortment of items including scrunched up newspaper, towels and finally a good blanket folded to fit the inside and act as a cap to all the frozen materials. The more frozen material within , the longer it will hold without plugging in to the genset.

[Ferenc]

Randy give Victor a call he just came back from Pink mt with 3 bull moose and did the freezer thing.

[Vladimir Poutine]

An Inverter type would be the safest. Built to supply clean voltage with no spikes. A Champion or Princess Auto cheapie might work in the short term, but over time your device, if it has any solid state components will ultimately fail.

[Salty]

As said make sure you leave with everything frozen big difference. Last week 'apartment size' ~7 cu foot freezer with about a third of a load of frozen water bottles in temps up to high 20s we did fine funning it once a day for a couple hours.

[randymac]

Randy give Victor a call he just came back from Pink mt with 3 bull moose and did the freezer thing.
will do. he must be happy after getting skunked on last years leh.

[randymac]

R.Mac
Have used a small freezer for our trips ( 24" x 24" x 32" High )
I use a 2200 Honda to keep it cold. If pre freeze every thing before hand you only have to run the Genny every 2nd day depending on weather.
Cut a piece of 2" rigid blue styrofoam to place inside as freezer empties.
Leave room for a bag of ice cubes as it sure is nice for the cocktails.
Careful planning of your meals you can pack enough for 5 - 6 guys for a 8 to 10 day trip.

Good Luck
Robbie
yep
thats the size I was thinking of. not much bigger than a cooler.
I always freeze all our meat ahead of time but by the end of 5 or 6 days everything seems to be thawed out in the cooler and its a matter of having whatever looks like it needs to be eaten first for dinner that nite. Small freezer would let us bring home some more of those grouse we seem to see the first few days to.
When we get a moose its off to the butcher within a day or two depending on weather so dont want to pack a bigger one.
Any body got a 3 cu ft one they want to get rid of?

[Tron]

You will need a 2000w geny minimum. The start up draw to get the freezer going can and will blow the breaker in anything smaller

[Smiz]

We have used a 5 cubic ft freezer for the last 10 years. We used to freeze everything and put in coolers and wrapped in paper and after five days everything is thawed. We put everything in the freezer, premake meals for the trip, works very well. Sandwich meat, bread and ice cubes even frozen vegatables. We run the 2000 watt inverter for an hour in the morning when getting ready to go and then a couple hours at night when get back and having dinner. Keeps things frozen and no issues. If you don't use everything it comes home and is still usable. No waste

[.330 Dakota]

We take a fridge and a freezer,,run both on a gen set for about 2 hours each evening,,no problems at all,,,except grizzlies,,we always put a large ratchet strap around both units to keep the doors shut,,,deters blacks but not grizz,,,

[BimmerBob]

I have an upright freezer that is about 12 cubic feet and it takes 204 watts (1.7A at 120V), my 500 watt generator runs it fine. The duty cycle on a freezer is about 1/3 given normal use so I can run my freezer off my battery bank and inverter for over 2 days before I need to recharge the batteries. My buddy has a 5.4 cubic foot chest type and his only needs 168 watts so I think in future I may switch but for now my upright works fine. All the advice about running a generator for a couple of hours or so per day is right on the money as far as I have seen, the freezer will keep things well frozen with that.

[wideopenthrottle]

we also keep a few pop bottles (various sizes from small water bottle to big juice jug) full of water and rotate them from the freezer to the coolers without the melted water mucking everything up