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