frost free freezers

[oops!!!]

I have a frost freezer ,8 years old,that keeps playing up.
I have rung a couple of local refrigeration engineers who say they are always causing probs and are a pain in the posterior,and they don't fix frost free ones too much trouble anyway.
The manufacturer will charge me an arm and a leg.. I may as well get a new one...
But my dilemma is .. should I go frost free again.. or revert back to the to the old fashioned one I had before and defrost it myself when needed.
I had my other one before this , for 18 years ..no probs ever...and I gave it away when i got this one.
What comments do you have ABERS about frost free
Thanks and a happy new year to all.

[Pea Pod]

Given the choice I would go back to the old type. I feel as though the freezerhas a mind of its own. The squeeks and other noises that come from it. I only got mine last year and then read about the trouble you could have with them,so took out an insurance policy(rip off)I`d had my old one for years and only changed because it sounded noisy,nothing compared to this.

[WendyS]

I've read that frost free freezers are a particular pain if they are stored in cold places like garages. We have a combined frost free fridge/freezer in our kitchen and the fridge part always accumulates ice on parts of the back panels, especially behind the salad cabinets, and we often end up with frosted lettuce & other veg. . On the other hand, our 30+ year old upright freezer in our garage has never given a moment's problems and as it's usually kept full only needs defrosting every 3 years. If you can still get the old type I'd get one . Newer technology is not always necessarily better. I think the problem is when you combine fridge and freezer, usually for space reasons. If I had the space I'd have separate appliances and opt for the old fashioned defrostable ones as they're more reliable.

[Ethel]

I was told by Miele that it is because of the recent laws regarding the coolants in fridges and freezers that they are now noisier than the older models.

The now outlawed CFC gasses are much more efficient at the job than the stuff used now.

[buildersmate]

I agree with WendyS, having just researched to buy a new chest freezer. Normal freezers are incredibly reliable (as evidenced by the low cost of these insurance policies one can buy). So why manufacturers feel they have to make things more complicated by frost-free, I don't know. The pain of defrosting is slight compared to a bust freezer. I've bought an A+ efficiency 'normal' Miele.