I've decided I need extra freezer space, so I'm going to get a used one from Craigslist. I just found one for $75 from 2003 that is an upright and not frost-free, meaning I will have to defrost it every so often.

I know absolutely nothing about freezers. Does the de-frosting bit matter? How much of a pain is it to defrost, and how often do they typically need defrosting? Is the age ok? It will go in the basement or garage, so I don't care about appearances.

Opinions? TIA.

De-frosting is just extra work.

Depending on how fast you get ice crystal build up, you'll want to keep your freezer free of it.

Nasty odors, dust and fluff will linger.

How to de-frost involves warm water, lots of towels and patience. Basically, you've got to melt the stuff, and then clean up all the water

My repair guy advised not to use a hair dryer (although I have )
I guess it could damage the insulation inside.
And chipping the ice can cause damage to the freezer as well.

I have a chest freezer, though...and defrosting an upright would have to be less back stress!!

For $75 and a garage freezer, I would be happy

HTH!!

I defrost mine once a year. It's in the garage so I turn it off, take verything out, place pots of boiling water on the metal shelves and wait for all the ice to melt off and run into the floor drain. Smartest thing we did when building the house was put a drain and hot/cold water in the garage.