Organizing deep chest fridge & freezer

[Bene505]

Has anyone figured out a way to make good use of the space in the big chest-type fridges and freezers?

We are just starting to really use ours, and could use some suggestions. We have a little shelf, but things would roll off it when heeling. And the bottomof the fridge llooks like it will have a small puddle most of the time. (The drain pump doesn't get all the water.) Maybe that's the place to keep cans of beer.

I'm thinking about getting some baskets with cords attached, so we could pull up the baskets from below.

So how do you pack your fridge?

Regards,
Brad

[rotrax]

Hi-that is exactly what we have on the baskets on our IP350, long ice hockey laces.Work a treat too.

[wingNwing]

Yes, we have a set of plastic baskets from a dollar store and they're color coded - the orange one is dairy, the green one is vegetables, etc. They are an open mesh design so the cold air can circulate. They even stack so we gain storage space.

[GulfTriton]

Just fill the whole thing with beer and don't worry about it.

[jimrafford]

We have separate freezer and fridge compressors. One of the first things we do after getting the freezer to temp. is dump a couple of bags of ice in the bottom. Having a frozen mass of ice helps in the bottom reduce the cycles of the freezer compressor.
We use plastic baskets to keep things organized.
Jim

[SPC]

It is also important to keep it full. If necessary, use milk cartons, large zip bags, etc full of water. When you open a spill cold air, spill as little as possible and maintain the cold mass.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by wingNwing

Yes, we have a set of plastic baskets from a dollar store and they're color coded - the orange one is dairy, the green one is vegetables, etc. They are an open mesh design so the cold air can circulate. They even stack so we gain storage space.

Ditto. Exact program here.

[erps]

Just fill the whole thing with beer and don't worry about it.

That's one of two strategies that we use. The other is to put everything we need at the very bottom.

[Siamese]

Keeping a freezer full is a bit of a myth. If your ambient cabin temperature is 80 degrees, and your freezer is 28 degrees, it takes energy to maintain an item in your freezer at 28 degrees. There's no free ride. Without energy, each item will return to the ambient cabin temp of 80 degrees. As you increase the number of items (mass) to be kept at 28 degrees, you'll use more energy.

If you add ice initially to cool the other items and reduce energy costs, you will soon be paying to keep that ice from turning to water.

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by Siamese

Keeping a freezer full is a bit of a myth.......

From personal experience, ice will melt more slowly in a cooler that is full to the top than one that is mostly air. If the heat transfer must pass through the insulated walls, rather than into warmer air introduced into the vessel when you open it, that would makes sense.

I'll have to check with Bill Nye the Science Guy.