What size chest freezer for big bull

[E-Town Hunter]

Looking to buy a chest freezer. What size should I get for a large mature bull? Was thinking 9 cubic feet???

[jpharcher]

to small.
I would recommend a 15CF if you don't want to have to take everything out to find a particular cut.

[E-Town Hunter]

15 is huge. I can park a small car in that. 

[Bob33]

I think 8 to 10 cubic feet would be sufficient if all you want to do is put an elk in it.

[Twispriver]

Go with an upright - what goes on the bottom of a chest freezer is hidden on the bottom - I have both and am much happier with the upright 

[Bean Counter]

We've had an upright for five years and I believe its 13 feet. Bought it used on Craigslist for $100 and its still going strong. If you're a decent hunter and killing a few animals a year is a regular thing for you, I would buy when there's a good deal, not wait until you need it. You'll quickly get used to having the extra space if you've got kids. Its nice buying in bulk and saving when there's deals on groceries.

[TheHunt]

9 - 10 is big enough.  I agree with others that the stand up model allows you to find stuff faster than a chest. 

[Stein]

Honestly, you can fit a processed elk in pretty much any full size freezer.  The goal should be to have so many other critters you need something much larger.

[Ccortez]

I have a 7 cubic foot one and it will only fit the burger and breakfast sausage so I would look at something on the bigger side just my 

[jpharcher]

last years bull pretty much filled a 21cf standup with the top 3 shelves being 1.5# burger packages the rest steak and stew meat

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Go with an upright - what goes on the bottom of a chest freezer is hidden on the bottom - I have both and am much happier with the upright 

 

[Big6bull]

They both have their moments. I have both. And need both. 

[lastmk8]

I would opt for a small floor model, that should work just fine for you.  In case you run out of room, I'll let you put the residual in one of my upright freezers, I'm good for that.....

[Bean Counter]

last years bull pretty much filled a 21cf standup with the top 3 shelves being 1.5# burger packages the rest steak and stew meat

Now that's a trophy wall!

[NRA4LIFE]

It's my experience that you can get at least 40 lbs of frozen meat in a 48 qt cooler.  That translates to about 26 lbs per cubic foot or so.  A humungous bull might need a bit more that 10 cubic feet I would think.  I've owned both, but I can get more meat per cubic feet in a chest freezer than an upright. 

[kentrek]

It's my experience that you can get at least 40 lbs of frozen meat in a 48 qt cooler.  That translates to about 26 lbs per cubic foot or so.  A humungous bull might need a bit more that 10 cubic feet I would think.  I've owned both, but I can get more meat per cubic feet in a chest freezer than an upright.

Alot of my bigger bulls are around 300 pounds boned out...but between the chest freezer, the freezer beneath the fridge Id think youd be good to go

Unless you got the money and space...then go with one big stand up..or three 

[BigTines]

I have a 14 cubic foot and an elk fills it up. I wouldn't go any smaller.

[Bob33]

A general rule of thumb is that one cubic foot will hold about 30 pounds of meat, depending on how you store the meat in the freezer. That means 300 pounds of meat should fit in a 10 cubic foot freezer.

Getting a larger freezer allows for more food to be stored, but having dead space in a freezer will increase your electricity costs.

One other point: for long term storage you are better getting a manual defrost freezer. They're harder to find, but will keep your food fresh longer because the auto defrost models go through a warm-up cycle to remove frost. I've kept meat in manual defrost freezer for more than two years with virtually no degradation.

Put one of the wireless thermometer sensors in the freezer, and put the remote readout unit where you can easily see it. Keep the meat at or below zero for best storage.

[Stein]

A general rule of thumb is that one cubic foot will hold about 30 pounds of meat, depending on how you store the meat in the freezer. That means 300 pounds of meat should fit in a 10 cubic foot freezer.

Getting a larger freezer allows for more food to be stored, but having dead space in a freezer will increase your electricity costs.

One other point: for long term storage you are better getting a manual defrost freezer. They're harder to find, but will keep your food fresh longer because the auto defrost models go through a warm-up cycle to remove frost. I've kept meat in manual defrost freezer for more than two years with virtually no degradation.

Put one of the wireless thermometer sensors in the freezer, and put the remote readout unit where you can easily see it. Keep the meat at or below zero for best storage.

  Good advice, I have a manual defrost and set it way cold.  Every year or two I clean it out defrost and load the stuff back in.  If you do it in the summer it only takes a couple hours to unload, hose the ice out, dry in the sun and get back running.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Upright freezer with manual defrost!

[King Krok]

I just this year purchased a 21 cf upright, I had a 21cf chest and hated it. It takes up way to much room, much happier with my manual upright. It holds the big bull I got perfectly.

[jrebel]

20 cubic feet min.....Upright or Chest whatever you like.  I have a 21 cf chest and will be buying a 21 cf upright this year.  I will use both for different applications.  I like having two in case one fails.