Hunters love going out and hunting deer during deer season. It can be very satisfying to use your skills to hunt your own meat.
Venison is very tasty and your family is going to be able to eat well if you’re a successful hunter. The problem is that some hunters wind up doing such a good job that they have more deer meat than they can use.
If your current freezer is getting full, then you might be considering getting a deer freezer to keep outside. This would give you a spot to store the rest of your deer meat until you get a chance to use it.
Is keeping a deer freezer outside safe, though? Or, is this going to be a bad idea?
Keep reading to learn more about deer freezers and whether keeping one outside is smart or not. Once you have all of the details, you’ll be able to decide what you want to do.
Whether Keeping a Deer Freezer Outside Is Safe or Not Depends
Keeping a deer freezer outside is going to be a practical way to free up space in your standard indoor freezer. If you’re running out of room to store frozen goods, then it makes sense to look into using a deer freezer.
During this first section, you’re going to learn about trying to use standard freezers outside. These freezers are more commonly used indoors, but some people will move them outside to use them as outdoor deer freezers.
The problem is that whether or not this is going to be practical will depend on your situation. You need to consider what the weather is like in your area before you decide to move forward with this or not.
If the weather in your area is particularly hot, then the performance of the deer freezer could be negatively impacted. For example, when temperatures reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit or higher it’s possible that the coolant systems in the freezer will stop working.
These coolant systems in deer freezers are not designed to handle extreme temperatures that might be seen in the hottest parts of North America. If you live in a very hot area, the practicality of using a deer freezer might not be there.
If you know that the temperatures in your area will regularly hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, you should avoid using the deer freezer. However, it should be noted that you could use the deer freezer during times of the year where it won’t be that hot.
It’s also true that many places in America and Canada will never reach temperatures higher than 110 degrees Fahrenheit under normal conditions. Even with climate change factors pushing temperatures higher, it’s still fairly rare to see certain places get hotter than 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.
Take your area into consideration and then determine whether or not a deer freezer makes sense for you. If you think that your area will be fine, then you’ll be able to move forward with confidence.
Environmental Hazards
Environmental hazards can prevent you from being able to use a freezer properly outside as well. Sometimes people forget to think about things like this before setting up deer freezers outside.
There are situations where leaves and other types of debris will clog the freezer and keep it from working normally. This can wind up causing the freezer to give out and your meat will wind up going bad.
It would be a shame to let the deer meat go to waste, and this might be a good reason not to use a standard indoor freezer as a deer freezer outside. They simply aren’t designed to handle the things that can happen outdoors.
There’s even a chance that an indoor freezer being used outdoors could pose a fire hazard. If something gets clogged badly, the freezer could malfunction and wind up catching something on fire with sparks.
To add to this, using an indoor freezer outside will cost more money. The freezer will likely need to work very hard just to keep working, and this will cause it to use more electricity than usual.
Outdoor Freezers Exist
Now that you know that using indoor freezers outside will be a mostly poor idea, it’s time to consider outdoor freezers. What makes outdoor freezers so different?
Well, outdoor freezers have been specifically designed to be used outdoors. They’re able to handle the problems that can occur outdoors and will wind up being substantially more reliable.
Temperature fluctuations won’t wind up being a big deal because outdoor freezers will be able to handle them. They have been designed to prevent overheating and they can even avoid issues such as having ice build-up and keep things from working.
That being said, outdoor freezers cannot be considered to be invincible. An outdoor freezer will be vulnerable to things such as rainfall, snowfall, and excessive sunlight.
To help the outdoor freezer thrive outdoors, it’s recommended to keep it in an area where it will be protected from the elements. Many people choose to keep outdoor freezers underneath awnings or in other similar spots.
Try your best to find a dry spot to put your outdoor freezer. This spot should also have adequate ventilation.
Even if you’ve put the outdoor freezer in a perfect spot, it’s going to be prudent to check on it from time to time. Inspecting the outdoor freezer ensures that you won’t get blindsided by problems.
You should clean the outdoor freezer off when you can as well. Prevent debris from building up on the freezer by paying attention and keeping it clean.
If it gets very cold outside, you can even unplug the freezer for a period of time. Just don’t forget to plug it back in when the temperature starts to rise above freezing again.
When you’re going shopping for a new outdoor freezer, it’ll be wise to try to find one that has an “auto shutoff point.” This is a handy feature, but if the freezer that you find doesn’t have one, it’ll be possible to install one on your own.
Final Thoughts
Knowing more about deer freezers makes it easy to see that they can be convenient. Being able to store the deer meat that is currently in your main freezer outside would be very helpful.
You could free up space in your main freezer while also ensuring that the deer meat is kept safe for when you want to use it. It’s a solid idea that makes sense for hunters who have more deer meat than they will be able to use right away.
If you’re going to keep a deer freezer outdoors, you won’t want to use a standard indoor freezer. Don’t simply buy a freezer that is meant to be used indoors because you might wind up encountering various issues.
Instead, you should buy an outdoor freezer that will be able to withstand temperature fluctuations. You’ll still need to put this outdoor freezer in a good spot that is dry enough and has good ventilation, though.
Checking on the freezer will be a must and you’ll want to try to keep it clean. So long as you’re being proactive and doing your part, this can work out nicely for you.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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