Cold Storage in Upright Freezers
Things To Look For In Buying A Freezer
Presentation Transcript:
After you have calculated the volume of your film-based materials, the next step is to determine how much freezer space you will need.
This is an example of an upright household freezer.
On the average, the largest size this comes in in terms of interior capacity is about 20 cubic feet. However, we've found from packing freezers that because of the shelving configurations or maybe because of the door bins you only average about 15 cubic feet of collection materials that can fit inside each freezer.
You can house these freezers in your museum collection area because they give off very little heat, which is very important in maintaining the proper temperature and RH within your storage environment. They also run pretty quiet. There are some preferred specifications on these freezers that we try to look for.
It's real important to think about the energy consumption of your freezer, and you want to try to find an energy star model to save on cost. You also want to make sure the freezer is frost free. A couple nice features of this freezer are that this one has a digital display up top. This shows you what the temperature is inside. It also has an audible alarm, so if you leave the door ajar or maybe if the power goes off for a little while, the alarm will audibly sound, and you'll know your freezer is too warm inside. There's also a lock on the outside of this freezer, so if this happens to be stored in a non-collection area where people could be tempted to open and close the freezer, you can lock it to prevent that from happening.
Upright household freezers come with a variety of arrangements in terms of how the interior is designed. Some things to look for are what type of shelving they have. Now this freezer here has glass shelving, which is OK, but we've found that if you can find a freezer with wire shelves, those shelves tend to be a little bit more sturdy and can hold a little bit more weight without bowing in the center because of the weight of the collections. We also found that having adjustability in terms of shelving can be really important in order to fit different sizes on different shelves and really maximize your interior space. You'll notice this freezer has some adjustability, but it's better or preferred that all the shelving be fully adjustable. Household upright freezers are relatively easy to maintain.
Aside from routine surface cleaning and monitoring the interior storage environment, minimal maintenance will be required. Be sure to refer to the product manual for specific information regarding warranty coverage and maintenance of your freezer.
Preferred Freezer Specifications
- Upright model
- Energy Star model
- Frost-free
- Capacity approximately 20CF
- Quiet operation
- Adjustable shelving
- Adjustable door bins
- Wire shelves (high-strength, industrial or heavy-duty)
- Security lock on door
- Adjustable temperature
- Audible temperature alarm
- LED display on door with temperature adjustment