Exterior of new Kenmore freezer is very hot

I just bought a Kenmore upright self-defrosting freezer. This is a replacement for an Amana manual defrosting chest freezer that I had for more than 20 years. I realize that an upright (and self-defrosting) freezer may not be as practical as a chest freezer, but I live in East Texas and have now had to throw away the contents of my refrigerator and freezer for the second time in 2 years (Hurricane Rita). The upright will not eliminate that problem, but it was very difficult for me to clean the chest freezer. This one should be easier for me to locate items and to clean.

I have noticed that the outside of this freezer gets *very* hot. The instruction manual says that it is normal for it to be as much as 30 degrees hotter than room temperature. Neither the older chest freezer nor my current Maytag refrigerator/freezer (bottom freezer drawer) are anything like this. The chest freezer would have slight warmth, and the Maytage does not show any heat at all.

I am concerned that this amount of heat may mean that I will end up paying more in air condition bills, in addition to the normal "energy use" of the freezer itself? Is this a legitimate concern? Does anyone know if there are better-insulated freezers, and should I consider returning this one?

Secondly, I could move the freezer out of the house and into the attached garage. However, it gets *very* hot here in the summers (East Texas), so I wonder if that would simply make my situation worse.

I would appreciate any comments and advice any of you have. (I posted this same message to one other newsgroup. I hope it is acceptable to post in this way rather than cross-posting.)

Thanks, MaryL

Reply to
MaryL
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I have the same model I believe and has been working well for the last

5 years even if the outside stays very hot.

Good luck with getting your home back together. I am from SE Texas too and can't wait to go back home when the power will be back.

Reply to
Carpenter

Thanks! This is very useful information and helps me a lot. I knew that heat was being extracted from the freezer, but I didn't think about other models simply dispersing it in different ways. I was giving insulation credit for that, but what you wrote makes very good sense.

MaryL

Reply to
MaryL

I don't know why is it that hot, but I can tell you that your should expect that all else being equal an upright will cost you more in direct and indirect operating cost than a chest type.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

The heat has to be removed from the freezer to keep it cold. Insulations is to keep the heat out, not in. What you are seeing is just the way the heat is extracted from the freezer and is normal. Other designs remove the same amount of heat, they just disperse it differently. Operating cost of the freezer or your AC will be no different.

Yes, it would and it will increase operating cost. If too hot, it will not be able to keep the food as cold as it should.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Yes, we had a similar freezer. The condenser coils (the "hot side") of these units run through the sides of the unit rather than underneath or in back. This design may be a little less efficient (the heat is against the insulation), but eliminates any problems with dust collecting under or behind the unit. It also eliminates any possibility of condensation in a humid environment.

Reply to
keith

Hi, Mary.

I think you should be concerned if the outside temp of the unit is 30F above the room temp of say, 70F. This would make your freezer exterior temp around 100F. My Kenmore gets so hot on the exterior that I cannot touch it. It gets hot mainly on the end where the mechanism is, left as you face the front of the freezer. I'm planning to find out if this is a fire hazard and may return my unit. However, the meat on the inside seems to be frozen solid. Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

The freezer does not really cool, but moves the heat out of the freezer to the outside of it. If it is set for very cold, it will have to be hotter on the outside. If you open the door alot to the freezer, it will have to do more work to cool off the inside. It is doubtful, but air could be leaking in around the door. You may want to check this out.

It will be hottest where the tube comes out of the compressor and as you move away from the compressor the tube will be cooler, but still hot.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Do you guys realize you're responding to a post that is 8 years old?

Reply to
trader4

Hi, My Fridgedaire upright is pretty hot too depending on outside temp. Located inside insulated garage. Been like that since new and works well.

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Beter late than never.....

I never look at the date or where it comes from,so it be very old and not even looked at any more by the origional poster..

Sometimes the internet seems to do a time wrap.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Please research usenet, and post here the regular way. Not through a webpage that tries to make you think it's a web based forum. . Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

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"Jeff" wrote in message news:7f5b9$51ec01c1$cf3aab60$ snipped-for-privacy@news.flashnewsgroups.com... .

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

Yes it is a definite fire hazard. The instruction manual is just covering for disaster waiting to happen. The OP's house burned down 7 years ago. Return the unit before it is too late!!!!

I hadn't noticed until your post.

Another idiot post from the homeowners hub.

Reply to
bud--

replying to Jeff, Senora wrote: We too have this problem. Purchased a Fridgedaire Frost Free Freezer in March,

2017. On vacation for three weeks to return home to find a freezer completely off. A full freezer of meat totally lost. Freezer was four months old.

Repairman sent out and replaced the compressor. Have restocked the freezer. Outside walls of the freezer (left side) are hot to the touch. Top of freezer and right wall sides also get much warmer. I too am afraid to leave home to find freezer meats ruined or worse, have the freezer start the house on fire.

Reply to
Senora

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