Anyone tried putting a freezer in a cellar?

[Geoff Flegg]

Well, after 7 very painful months (I really **really** hate solicitors now....) we can finally move out of our rented "Barrett Box" 1980's house and into our nice "new" late Victorian house!

Which, has a small cellar - no surprise there - which is damp - no surprise there either. No visible dampness, just that damp smell present, and the lovely plasticky modern cellar paint on the walls is bubbling up in places.

Has anyone tried keeping a freezer in a cellar like this? I'm concerned that the damp odour may taint the food.

And, any tips on removing the cellar paint in order to limewash? The areas that are bubbling up are obviously not a problem, as it'll just scrape off, but some areas are stuck quite well. Do you need to be especially thorough with getting the cellar paint off, or is it a case of it's OK so long as most is off and the wall can breathe through the limewash?

I'm under no illusions with the cellar - It will always be a bit damp down there - it would just be a really handy place to stick a freezer out of the way!

Ventilation could be improved - it's got a small window that goes out at ground level to the driveway, and 3 small grilles that go into the sub-floor area under an adjoining room. Anyone ever tried fitting a humidistat controlled extractor fan, did it make much difference? Strikes me as being cheaper and less hassle in the long term that putting a de-humidifier down there.

Geoff

 

[middi]

I always thought that the purpose of of our ancestors having a nice cool damp cellar was beacause they did not have fridge freezers.

I would have thougt that putting one down there would be ideal for our spoiled lot.

 

[NT]

Fans will chuck heat out, dehumidifiers wont, I think the dh ends up the cheaper option. Easier too. Important to use a humidistatic one. We had a discussion on this just recently.

NT

 

[Moo]

We have an ancient washing-machine in our cellar. It was a bit rusty when we moved in (a long story, about a boundary dispute with a lunatic neighbour....) and is now very rusty indeed, although it still works well. I suspect that living in the same space as the drying rails hasn't helped.

 

[Carol]

Congrats on your 'new' house! If scraping of the whole cellar walls is just too much, (and I expect there will be much more pressing things to do in a new house) you can do a short-term improvement by scraping off the blisters/bubbles in the old paint and then limewashing over. This was suggested for our cellar as a good interim measure 7 years ago and each year more of the old coating, in our case plasticky paint and a gypsum skim bubble up and then pop off! I then recoat the patches in a casein distemper which breathes where it can and improves the overall finish. In about 10 years time when the rest of the house is perfection (!) I hope all the nasty stuff will have gone. We use our cellar for storage of all kinds of necessities, including veg, wine and catfood and have never had a smell issue, the freezer outside may rust a little, but inside should be fine.

 

[mark_j_k]

I know somebody who had a fridge-freezer in their cellar. It wasn't new when it was put down there but it did survive another 6 years. It eventually started to leak water onto the floor and froze itselt to the floor. Removing it was difficult - there isn't much clearance up the steps etc.

 

[Penners]

I would have thought that the gentle heat given off by a freezer might be quite beneficial in helping to reduce the dampness of the atmosphere - particularly if you can help it by providing some ventilation. And I don't believe that the damp smell will taint frozen food inside a closed freezer.

The only thing you might have to be careful about is rust attacking the bodywork of the freezer - particularly if the powder coating is chipped or scratched anywhere. Just keep an eye on it, and treat any that appears.

 

[bournonite]

We do a lot of cellars and always put a timer controlled fan to pull damp air out - you need to make sure dry air from inside the house can be drawn in though - no use sucking air out when it can't be replaced. Agree with other posters -re paint - dont limewash over old cellar paint - scrub with wire brush to get as much off as possible otherwise limewash will peel off after a while - but it does allow the walls to breathe and stay quite dry - aided by gentle air circulation from the fan..
Pete

 

[worms]

I'm sure it doesn't need saying on a learned forum such as this, but remember to let the freezer stand for a few hours before switching it on. Especially after all the movement it is going to get going down the cellar stairs! It is so easy to be tempted to flick the switch just to see that everything is OK.

 

[Penners]

I'm sure it doesn't need saying on a learned forum such as this, but remember to let the freezer stand for a few hours before switching it on.

There are one or two less learned members, Worms (ie: me!). Could you explain why you must let it stand for a while, please?

 

[middi]

I am No 2, I just let it stand because thats what it says on the tin.

 

[Geoff Flegg]

Thanks for the replies. We've already got a dehumidifer, so I've tried putting it down in the cellar - the water tank fills up in about 12 hours, which is pretty quick as in the last house (not in the cellar) it would take 2-3 days to fill up in the middle of winter! We'll see what it's like after a couple of weeks.

Fortuneately access to the cellar is good, so getting the freezer down there is quite easy. I think I'll give it a go - I'll try putting it on a pallet or similar, so it's kept off the damp floor and a bit of air can get underneath it. There's a old treadle-powered sewing machine table down there, which appears to have a cast iron frame, and that's not rusty - which bodes well.

Ventilation is due to be further improved! As already mentioned, the cellar has vents into adjoining sub-floor areas - and having been into those today, crawling round under the floorboards, I can see that all the airbricks to the outside are well and truly clogged up with vegetation. Luckily the floor timbers haven't suffered. Tackling the (very) overgrown gardens and getting vegetation away from the house walls is high up on the list.

So many jobs to do! There's enough to keep me busy for a good few years!

Geoff

 

[worms]

As far as I am aware, the shaking can cause bubbles to form in the pressurised gas which can lead to an air lock when the compressor pump is switched back on and the coolant starts to pump through the tubes. Presumably leaving it to stand allows the bubbles of gas to go back into solution. But as ever there is bound to be a refrigeration engineer on here who will give a more accurate answer - all I know is that it can be a costly mistake!

 

[usuk2004]

We've got a chest freezer in our cellar and all seems to be OK.
Ours was quite damp when we first moved in, but my husband gave everything a really good clean - it's amazing how much moisture dust and dirt can trap - and laid some rubber matting. It was all brilliant for a while, but it's been several months now and starting to get damp again - it could probably do with another clean.

 

[MattJ]

Most freezers are built to work in heated environments. In an unheated environment, the compressor doesn't need to cut in as much. So the oil in the compressor can cool, thicken and prematurely wear the compressor.

There are freezers that are designed to cope with being in unheated environments. However your cellar might not ever become too cold for the freezer. Most freezers have a climate rating with minimum and maximum temperatures. Frost-free freezers are particularly unefficient in unheated environments (dunno why), chest freezers are much better as I believe they have more insulation.

If the cellar is damp, make sure the freezer has a way to remove condensation. Some of them have drains and internal gutters that allow the collected condensation to run out. Some have, bizarrely, anti-condensation heaters for when the ambient temperature is low.

If you're after after more detailed advice, have a scan of whitegoods.co.uk. This post was particularly informative when I looked putting a freezer in my log store.
http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=11392

Matt

 

[Geoff Flegg]

Well, the freezer has been down there for a few weeks now, and all appears to be well - no tainting of food.

It's also very noticeable that the strong damp smell in the cellar has all but gone. The cellar has vents into an adjoining sub-floor area under the lounge - and I've recently cleared the air bricks of vegetation at the other end of that sub-floor area - but, as Penners correctly thought, the gentle heat from the freezer does seem to be helping as well, as the freezer was running for a few weeks before I cleared the air bricks and there was definitely less damp smell down there.

Geoff

 

[Lime]

Clearing the outside vents was the best thing you could have done.
Most of the musty smell in cellars is caused by poor air circulation and opening up the vents (and window) will make things much better.

The freezer should work well in the cellar. Usually the temperature is more stable than at ground level and rarely gets very cold.
Personally I'd stand it on a waterproof plinth as I once suffered from a leaking mains water pipe which caused minor flooding.

With regard to the dehumidifier I wouldn't bother.
The cellar has been perfectly alright with the vents blocked and shut up and things should only get better from now on.

I don't think tainting of the food will occur as it is enclosed.
I'd be more concerned about any food getting left about the cellar to rot or worse because it is not in public view and easily forgotten.
I think frosting-up might be a problem if the freezer is opened regularly and the humidity high. Don't let the frost/ice build up too much.

I have found that chest freezers suffer a problem of the insulation becoming waterlogged at the bottom caused by defrosting and the melt leaking into it. Some freezers are worse than others.
The result is that the bottom part never freezes as well and often ice accumulates on the underside outside out of sight.
I never use chest freezers for that reason.
As has been pointed out by other posters you do need to ensure the freezer is maintained properly and regularly inspected.

 

[mark_j_k]

We used to have a huge chest freezer, about 8 foot long standing on a concrete floor in the dining room. When we came to move it the thing was iced to the floor, had to wait for it to defrost to move it.