We need a new upright freezer for our garage. I have heard that frost free freezers are more likely to cause freezer burn than manual defrost ones (and that manual are cheaper to operate). I don't mind defrosting once a year as long as it isn't building up 4 inches of ice on the shelves if it means my food will be less damaged.
We buy a year's worth of beef at a time and I freezer a lot of summer produce for use throughout the year so food quality is a big priority. Do you notice more freezer burn with a frost free freezer?
I suggest you look this up on Consumer Reports. They have a web site as well as a magazine.
Frost free freezers keep frost free because it has a warm air cycle. Air is blown throughoutt the freezer. It doesn't consistently stay as cold as a manual defrost one which doesn't have an air blowing cycle. It also dries out food that is not tightly double wrapped.
I would look for a scientific study for answers before buying a freezer.
Mine did, especially breast milk, because of the heat up/cool down cycles needed to keep it frost free. In essence, what was happening was any food (or breast milk) that was touching the sides would start to thaw and then refreeze with the cycles. The breast milk was always sour (it took a LONG time for me to figure out what the heck was going on!) and the food (unless it was in a air free freezer food saver bag) ALWAYS had crazy ice crystals on it and tasted funny. Bleech!
I should note, though, that my freezer is now 8 years old. A newer model may have improvements to prevent this issue.
Frost free freezers suck the moisture out everytime you close it to keep frost from forming. If you package things right it wont change the quality of foods. If it isnt wrapped and sealed right, the freezer can suck the moisture out of the food and make it dry, which is just as bad as freezer burn. Straight from a butcher might not really be wrapped the right way. Certainly things from the grocery store arent. If you get a high quality vacuumn packaging system and do them yourself you might see the difference. Im not talking about the $25 seal-a-meal. My son has a really nice vacuumn system he bought thru Cabelas. It cost him over $200 and he is thrilled with it. He buys a side of beef at a time and after 8 months you cant tell the difference in a fresh steak and a frozen one. We have a frost free freezer in the garage and our only problem with it, is when someone (young irresponsibile, in a hurry) shuts the door with something in the way and it doesnt let the seal close all the way. A towel from the laundry, or a box on top can stop it from closing right and it starts running the motor all the time sucking air from the garage into it, and creating frost. We have to empty it out, and defrost to clear up the problem. But if we are careful about not leaving the door open too long, or blocking a good seal, it runs and works great. I wouldnt go back to a regular freezer for anything.
