Ideas for repurposing a huge chest freezer needed.

This thing is 12’ long and in remarkably good shape and there has to be something useful to do with it. We are far enough from civilization that there are no restrictions. We already have a freezer worm bed and an urban worm farm so we don’t need another one.

I'm looking for one to store my dog, cat, and chicken food in.  It seems the perfect solution to keeping pests from it.  It would also work well for storing grain or seeds I think.

I know a person that lays them down on the front, cuts holes in the lid, and uses them as dog houses.  You could partition one that big as needed.

So what's on your wish list that requires a box with a door?

1. Things like this are not designed to be buried, so an earth-bermed cold shed for crop storage would require using something else (compressed dirt blocks/rocks/wood) to support the dirt, and you'd want to choose the spot for it carefully. (I'm picturing it standing on a short side with the door now vertical.

2. The core for a solar dehydrator?

3. Standing up as in "1" but with shelves added for mouse resistant storage of seeds/pots/tools?

I'm sure we could think of a bunch more...

A plung pool/hot tub.
A wicking bed.
A compost tea brewer.
A azolla or duckweed pond.
An aquaponics pond.
A solar pond water heater: https://www.builditsolar.com/Experimental/DHWPond/Proto3/Construction/Construction.htm

Chest-type freezers are really good for storing animal feed or even just about anything that needs to be out of the weather.

I have 3 that are probably about to become raised beds. They're tall enough I won't have to bend, they'll hopefully help contain nursery stock of trees that I don't want running wild. A little wood in the bottom to make them hugelish, a bunch of old manure to help it break down and feed plants, I'll just need to scrape up some good soil to top them with.

I have used a converted chest freezer as a warming cabinet for honey - heating element and thermostatic controller. Works a treat. One that size would be nice for dealing with larger volumes at once.

Worm bin or storage as others have suggested.  Endless possibilities.

I kept an old refrigerator that stopped working.  Will use it for insulated storage.  Haven't decided yet, but possible uses are:
1.  Insulated storage box for bed base in my RV, (laid on back and gas struts added to assist lifting the door and mattress).
2.  Used upright for storage of heat sensitive foods, (in case of short or long-term grid failure).
3.  Used upright for storage of heat sensitive art and craft supplies, (for same reason as above.  Some items would be glues, solvents, paints, etc.).

I’m thinking about how I could use it for cold storage of vegetables. My below ground basement stays at 68 degrees year round with heat and air running upstairs so it seems too warm to store much beyond onions and garlic. I wouldn’t know where to start and I’d like to keep it in an unheated shed because it weighs far more than I want to imagine trying to take it down the stairs in my house. It would have to have a way to cool and heat because, in Alabama, if you don’t like the weather, simply wait a minute!

Lexie Smith wrote:I’m thinking about how I could use it for cold storage of vegetables.

you have to be a bit careful about controlling moisture.

You could use it as a cold frame for starting plants and cuttings. You could put led lights in the top and it will keep the humidity high, and use a clear sheet of plastic over the top when you want to start exposing them to sunlight.

you could use it as a chicken hatcher/brooder.

You could do a mushroom farm in it.

You could use it as an aerated tank for cloning aerobic bacteria for lawn and garden applications for soil health improvements. See Elaine ingham if you aren't sure what I am talking about.

It would be good for seed storage as well.

If it's in good working condition, I'd probably try to sell it first, as my philosophy on upcycling is that if someone else can use it for the purpose it was built for--that's a much better idea than repurposing it.
But if it's no longer functioning, I think storing animal feed in it would be a great idea- I struggled for a while to keep rodents out of the feed until I finally found something that worked.

Howdy,

Although this one(12 ft freezer), seems a bit large, I am looking at ice chest/freezer for battery storage for my off grid battery insulated/isolated, fireproof(?)  "box" for large sets of batteries(4, 6V. DP Rolls Batts.. oversized area 3ft long, 1.5 ft wide, 2 ft tall).  More batteries/bigger system mean large freezer...

randal cranor wrote:Howdy,

Although this one(12 ft freezer), seems a bit large, I am looking at ice chest/freezer for battery storage for my off grid battery insulated/isolated, fireproof(?)  "box" for large sets of batteries(4, 6V. DP Rolls Batts.. oversized area 3ft long, 1.5 ft wide, 2 ft tall).  More batteries/bigger system mean large freezer...

It needs to be well ventilated, lead acid batteries off-gas hydrogen and oxygen. It could go boom. You need a spark proof ventilation fan.

I used an old refrigerator lying on its back (basically the same thing) to choke coals from a  fire and make coke for a blacksmithing forge

Riley Hughes wrote:I used an old refrigerator lying on its back (basically the same thing) to choke coals from a  fire and make coke for a blacksmithing forge

Do you leave a few inches of ash in the bottom of the refrigerator to protect the inside material from melting? I'm guessing the coals would melt the plastic inside the refrigerator unless there is some thermal barrier there.

Lexie Smith wrote:I’m thinking about how I could use it for cold storage of vegetables.

I was thinking along the same lines as you were, although I'm in Ohio so maybe I would have a bit better odds? Other contenders for me are for dog and cat food storage, raised garden bed, smoker cabinet, or solar oven/dehydrator. I hadn't thought of cold frame as somebody had mentioned but I like that idea.

I'm in Fort Worth and have a huge deep freezer (it worked years ago when it was given to us, but was too big for our needs. It has been outside under an awning. It's been somewhat out in the elements: rain, snow, etc but still in good shape for the uses I see on here.) I just need it gone and it's too heavy for us to move. Anyway, if anyone is closeby and wants it. They can have it.
If interested, I can be reached at jeniferreeves1967@gmail.com

Thanks.

Use it to make a smokehouse.