Don’t toss out your broken chest freezer

Ive keept 50# bags of dog and cat food in chest freezers to keep the mice and bugs out and it keeps the food fresher.

thanks for the marvelous idea…….this can help alot. how can i print this off?

I like the way you think, especially the old doorknob. Very , clever.

On the old fridg orfreezer before burying it spray all sides with tar or undercoating for cars. It is sold in all automotive stores. Or you can use the spray insulation on it. We use all our old five gallon buckets to make coolers out of with it. It will stop the rust also line your hole with a peice of old used construction plastic as well will help.

Made a chicken plucker out of an old dryer, also used the still perfectly good electric pump from an above ground pool that was tossed when it sprung a leak for moving rainwater in and out of cisterns, and also to pump water from a seasonal stream into the cistern. I scavenge old sliding glass doors from a window replacement company to use for my seedhouse and for cold frames. A word of caution on the freezer chest, it will likely rust out so check your food stores regularly, because it will rust on the bottom sides first, as there is likely condensation rust there before you plant it.

Don’t throw away your old laundry soap containers. They make great portable hand washing stations. I prefer the ones with the tap in the bottom. Just refill with water and you can take them out to the garden or throw one in the back of your truck and you have a way to wash your hands. The leftover soap helps clean off grime and you can reuse them over again. Mark them as unsafe for drinking so nobody tries to drink out of it.

When burying an old chest freezer for use as a root cellar, build a frame around it with a door that lifts. Use a padlock to keep children from opening the freezer door and getting inside. Back before the manufacturers learned to put doors on refridgerators that could be opened from the inside by just pushing on the door, there were a lot of tragedies with old refridgerators stored in sheds and garages. They made enticing hiding places.

If you don’t have butter or want to bake healthier, I use applesauce in place of butter or shortening. I use it in muffins, cookies and cakes. I love it when making spiced desserts. Also, when baking I will use mashed pumpkin instead of the fat the recipe calls for.

hay does anybody know how to make a heatblower fan with no power

frank my wife use the old dead freezer for home canned foods

What about turning an old Router into a range-boosting Wi-Fi repeater? Is there a link for this?

We plan on getting a free hot tub off the internet soon and use it in a hydroponics system or a fish tank

You can also use a old refrig for a Hot Box all you have to do is install a 100W bulb and an new bulb holder and you can you can heat a dinner or keep your welding rods supplies in one to keep moisture out.

It’s me Rick again!. Hope you don’t tire of me comment’s. I was reading one of your other comments and it reminded me. Nothing says you cant bury you fridge or freezer in the groundd with the lid up!
That way it wont be affected as much by either heat or cold. Then if you need more insulation you only have to do it to the lid! When you start thinking about it there tons of things you can do with old fridges etc. Gun vault / with ammo storage some freezers even have a keyed lock already on them!
Lite duty safe to keep the grandkids safe from your things! $6.00 hasp and padlock from the hardware…well use your inagation! Enjoy!

This doesn’t total relate to the main subject, but you may create a great family memories.
My daughter (about 8 at he time) and I were driving home, when we spotted a dryer drum dumped in an empty field. It looked terible. At first we stoped to haul it away so the field didn’t look so bad. As we hauled it home, I had an Idea! I thought we could turn it into a Yard decoration (A wishing well) We cleaned it off, and sprayed it all gray (like mortar) Then wraped around it with masking tape about every 3 inches( i used 1 in tape and we tore it in half lenght wise. Its OK to have ruff edges it gives it texture).Then we tore smalle stipes and ran them verticle about every 6 inches (to look like bricks) besure to of set each level. Then we painted over the whole drum again with a brick cloor.
Now you have a brick wishing well, use some imagination. we painted a couple 2x4s white, and cut one end with a tapered top. I used some left over siding, and cut it into a triangle(for the roof) Screwed these to the pointed 2x4s . (Measure the with of the drum for the right size) Insert the 2x4s inside the drum (with the whole up) screw through the side of the drum at the opening. Measure between the 2x4s and cut 2 the same size. screw one near the top where it wont show too much, and the other at the bottom to keep the boards spread apart(screw in the bottom of the drum.Now find some round stock (closet rod, wood or metal, wood broom handel almost anything) attach it about half way up paint it and wrap 8 or 10 wraps of some old rope around the pole. tie it to and old paint bucket and have it dangle visible.(paint everything and you can even make a fake turn handle out of pvc pipe and attach to one side of the 2x4s,It’s been 12 years sense that project, and it’s one of her favorite times we spent together. Simple and wonderful ENJOY!

A couple years ago, I too had a light bulb moment. After being rear ended (3 times now) my back is
in rough shape. My wife kept wanting me to build her a raised garden.Nice idea sure, but hard for me
to work in. Then one day as I was getting rid of an old fridge at work..it hit me. several goods things came all at one.Remove all the wireing,shelving, moter and compressor.copper tubing and recycle it. Step two! Remove the doors and hinges. Now with an empty box. Lay it on its back and drill some holes in it(For dainage) then move it where you think it will grow best.Add planting as you see fit for your area. you could start with med sized rocks, then cardboard aor old news papers, then top it off with your favorite soil. Wala! you have a raised garden. Now comes the creative part. I buoilt mine off the ground about a foot or so. (A) I don’t have to bend over as far. (B) It allows for drinage. (C) the weeds wont grow up the drainage holes in the bottom. (D) it easier to keep clean and trimed. Screw a 2×3 (there cheaper) around the top outside edge, even with the top surface. Then lay ceader fencing flat on top too cover the fridge edge and screw it to the 2×3.(45 your corners for a nicer look) Paint tyour desired color now it looks great and no one knows what it was.Collect as many as you want (Keep your eyes open on trash day) ENJOY!

I like the idea I think it would work well in most any climate but I also think in the northern areas you would have to add extra insulation to keep it from freezing, all in all good idea. It would be good to know what the R factor was of the insulation in existing freezer.

Read with interest your use of an old, non-operable chest freezer.
My comment; an old, non-operable Upright Freezer works the same as well. Just lay it on it’s back!

There are also the things one does not need to have. Holding a gathering and want to put out a tray of food? Cardboard, wrapping paper, and plastic wrap combine to make as many trays as you need.

how do you •Turning an old router into a range-boosting wi-fi repeater

I have raised rabbits off and on for about 40 years. Since you have to keep the area beneath the cages clean anyway , us it as one ingredient in making your composting soil. My soil recipe:
1/3 Peat (loosens soil and helps hold moisture)
2/3 blended composts (5) is recommended…cotton seed burr compost, manure and organic humus, mushroom compost, kitchen scraps, leaves and nut hulls. (6″ packed dry leaves in 15 gal container blocks soil loss through drain holes, 2 gal kitchen scraps atop the leaves begins to immediately make into compost under a blend of manure, peat, cottonseed burr compost and mushroom compost…or any other compost you can find, like rabbit, horse or cow , or sheep, or goat manure) Do not use manure from any meat-eating animal…or for that matter, humans.

Turning discarded window screens found on the roadside on trash day into garden shade for tender plants or protector boxes against birds and flying garden pests.

A word of caution regarding the re-use of old freezer chests: I am a former social worker, and while I never worked in Child Protective Services, I did have to take all the classes that pertain to that type of social work. I was shocked when I took the class to learn that the improper storage of old refrigerators and freezer chests pose a major hazard to young children. Apparently there have been several cases of children wanting to play “hide and seek” in the old freezers or chests. The danger is that children can not re-open the doors once they get in (since both were never designed to hold people). Several children have died doing this as they run out of air inside the chests (they are after all built to be air tight). So, for all of you who are planning on using this great idea for a root cellar, please exercise caution to ensure the safety of your own kids or neighbor kids that might like to play on your property.

We love reusing things around our house and sure enjoy the info we get from Frank. My mother was a master at retasking ordinary toilet paper rolls, ensure containters, coffee cans, practically anything. We use can lids and the cans themselves to make cute hanging fish to keep the big birds out of our trees. Mom used old toilet paper rolls long before it was popular to keep appliance cords intact. Of course now they work as well for rechargers and computer cords. We also use them to start plants as we have a very short growing season; just dip into potting soil and put them on a cookie sheet after they are filled. I lay them down snuggly, cut the top the long way and put seeds down the length. I water the pan after the initial planting and simply bury the cardboard rolls when the plants are ready to go outside. We retasked an old refrigerator into a great smoker, and buried one next to the barbque for a produce cooler—works great doubling as an ice chest/cold drink container during the summer. We also use it in the winter for extra freezer space if needed. We control the temperature by ventilation.
I use old screens in metal frames to dry fruit in the summer…the old trailer ones work best as they are mostly fabric screens. My plastic bags are tied together to make boot scrapers…they work great. I have a friend who recycles old LP’s and scraps this or that into really cool jewelry which of course has nothing to do with ‘surviving’ but does give many pleasure.

What about waste light bulbs? Any ideas?

I DIG THE TIPS IN EMAILS. KEEP THEM COMING.

Another good use for paper towel rolls or toilet paper rolls, use them to plant your seeds in, of course, one seed per roll. I was going to cut the bottom and fold it over but instead just set them on a tray that goes under a plant, fill them will potting soil and plant the seed. ( I also use a ketchup bottle with the pointed end to water the seeds, that way you can control the stream and get the water exactly where you want it instead of drowning the plants). They hold together long enough until you can transplant, they are longer than the little “hockey” puck things you have to soak in water, so the tap root has more room. You can get three out of a paper towel roll. We also grew veggies in a chest freezer. We put holes around the bottom, about 8, for drainage, but I would suggest either using empty aluminum cans or rocks about a third of the way up and then add the soil, water the soil and then add more soil if you need it so that it packs down around the cans and when you have enough, plant your seeds. Until they come up you can have the lid down so birds don’t eat the seed. It would be like a raised bed, but I think if I did it again I would bury it at least one or two feet, especially if you plant tomatoes.

Wife takes 20 to 50 pound plastic mesh type feed bags that are decorative and turns them/repurposes them into grocery store/farmers market totes. They are sturdy and will hold a good deal.

an old refrigerator with the inside gutted makes an excellent smoker.

I live in Alaska. I already have several small root cellars made from old ice chests. You have to bury them a little deeper to keep them from freezing but as long as you make them so you can get into them after freeze-up they work well here. We have a short growing season up here but by June 21, summer solstice we have 20 hours of daylight. Longer growing vegetables are a problem, even with a greenhouse so I use an old chest freezer as a starting nursery for tomatoes, corn and other veggies that need more grow time. A 4′ – 4 bulb fluorescent fixture mounted under the kid inside keeps it about 60-65 degrees inside at about 5-30 degrees outside. I start in February with the tomatoes and as they get too talk I simply tie them down and let them grow back up to the light and tie them down again. In late may or early July I move my now robust tomatoes vines to the sunniest location in my greenhouse and get a pretty good yield. For corn I use an upright freezer with the lights mounted vertically in the door so the corn is already about 4 ‘ talk when I move it to the greenhouse. Keep a thermometer in the freezer and use a heat lamp if the temp gets down to 50 degrees and a fan or open the door if the temp goes much over 80. A fan will give you stronger stems even when not used for temp control. Also have friends who use chest freezers as a discreet way to grow marijuana. They tie down when the plants get too tall and end up with a mat of buds at harvest.

I’m still skipping through your manual (Power4Patriots) and hadn’t read these ideas yet!
Really ingenious!!!! Love your articles ~ keep ‘em coming!

I think for colder climates an old deep freeze would be an excellent insulated outdoor battery box for solar pv systems with battery storage. A gas vent could be added without degrading the insulating qualities too much.

excellent tips for recycling old freezers. i think an old ref can also be used for storing big plasticware if they don’t fit in your cabinets.

Old freezers and refrigiraters also make good worm farms to raise worms for fishing or gardens. A good use in warmer climates, southern-states

Thank you. It has been my dream to live totally self sufficient Not have to rely on utility companies etc. this will be great anxious to get this

You have some really great ideas. I especially like the one about the chest freezers. I just happen to have five of them and I have used them for years to keep my grain in for my horses. Stays dry and no critters can get in it.

i used my old chest freezer for my water storage tank for my solar hot water sistem.works great

I ordered power4patriots, gave it to a friend to start working on for me (He claims he never got it–it disappeared…any possiblitiy of getting another one?

For All You Bird Lovers How About A Slinky Birdfeeder!

Alright here is one for all the bird lovers out there!

Materials:

Pliers

Slinky

Wire Hanger

Peanuts or Nesting Material

Directions:

Easy way – Take a wire hanger and stretch it out until it has a relatively round shape. This can be a little difficult but I used the pliers and did it fairly easily. A trick to this is to take a large pan like one used for pasta and put the hanger around it. Use the pliers to smooth it out.

Next you take a slinky and at one end put it around the hanger. You are basically going to spin the slinky around until it is over the hanger. Now take one end of the slinky and with the pliers make a U. Put the U over the top of the hanger. For a reference look at the picture above. Once around the hanger use the pliers and squeeze the U closed. Then take the other end of the slinky and stretch it around the hanger until it reaches the top on the other side. Again make a U and put it around the top of the hanger. Then with the pliers close the U.

Finally fill the slinky with peanuts. The best way is to pour them in from the top of one side of the hanger.

The harder way is to cut the hanger and put the slinky over it. Then take the end and again make a U and place over the top of the hanger. Squeeze the U closed and continue with the rest of the process as above.

Click The Image Above For More Great Do It Yourself Ideas!

Does anyone know if you can bury an upright freezer and use it the same way?

Empty Toilet paper or paper towel rolls: NO BOX TO PUT AN ODD SHAPED SMALL GIFT> Cut wrapping paper or fabric to size of roll- so it is same length & width to reach around the roll. Cover the roll with glue & then wrap with wrapping paper/fabric.
Pinch one end of the tube together & glue it. Clip it tightly until glue sets. Add your small gift. Pinch the remaining end & glue it as you did the first end.Clip it until it is dry. Voila! A wrapped present in a box!

I have a huge upright freezer in the kitchen. When Daddy remodeled the house, he didn’t think to measure the freezer; therefore it would not go thrugh the door to the next room when it was built onto the houdse. So I leave the door ajar and am using it for cabinet space. That saved me from having to buy new cabinets. Do you have any idea hw much a huge upright freezer will hold? I also have a deep freezer on the back porch and I have decided to put canned goods into it and root veggies. It still works, but it is awkward to get into as I also have an upright freezer next to it and a cabinet and a frig on the other side of it. Home dried apples and pecans are in it right now.
For a survival hint, use rhe home-dried apples as a snack to chew as they do not need to be cooked for eating and they are delicious.

Good afternoon Frank. I ordered your materials last night and have been reading the emails, watching videos and checking out websites… which led me here. I’m normally a creative guy, but I am drawing a blank on this one. I feel like I am about to walk into a creme pie in the face (my family loves practical jokes)… but could you drop a hint on how you turn a slinky into a bird feeder?

New email address.

Hello Frank I’m Angelo Picchi, (the other half of Cassie Richardson). We just bought your program and it came today. After brousing it over I had to check out your site. It just so happenes that when we bought our house a year ago there was an ENORMOUS old chest freezer in the basement. I haven’t gotten around to getting 6 of my friends over to help me get this thing out of the basement, and yes it would take 6 guys to move this thing out. GREAT IDEA using it as a root celler. While I build a wind machine, I will let Cassie work on the . . . root celler. THANKS