GE Freezers: Upright and Chest Models

A standalone freezer is a different animal

A freezer in a Bay Area garage works harder than one in a kitchen. San Francisco garages stay cool and damp most of the year, while a freezer in a San Jose or Concord garage can sit in warm air through the summer. Either way, a standalone freezer is a single-purpose box, and GE sells it in three forms: upright frost-free, upright manual defrost and chest.

The three types

Uprights take less floor space and are easier to organize. A chest holds more food per square foot of floor and holds its cold better when the lid is opened, which is why it suits a garage or a basement.

How to read the number

Take FUF22DZRWW. The prefix FUF marks an upright frost-free freezer, as in the table above. The 22 is the size class, a rounded cubic-foot figure, and this unit is listed at 21.6 cu ft. The letters between the digits and the end hold revision and feature details, and the final two letters name the finish: WW is white. The chest freezer FCM22DLWW follows the same pattern, with FCM marking the chest and 22 the size class, in this case 21.7 cu ft.

The units on this site include:

• FUF22DZRWW, 21.6 cu ft
• FUF17DLRWW, 17.3 cu ft
• FUF14DZRWW, 14.3 cu ft
• FCM22DLWW, 21.7 cu ft chest
• FCM11SRWW, 10.7 cu ft chest

The size class tells you roughly what you have before you read the finish. If you ever need to confirm which of these you own, finding your GE model number covers where the rating label usually sits. On an upright it is generally inside the cabinet, and on a chest it is often on a wall just under the lid or along the rim, so a flashlight helps.

Problems by type

Upright frost-free

The common complaint is frost where there should be none, or a freezer that feels cool rather than hard-frozen. A frost-free unit depends on a regular defrost cycle and on air moving freely behind its panels. Frost on the back wall is the usual sign that the cycle is not clearing it. Our post on frost building up inside a GE freezer separates the cases you can fix by closing a door properly from the ones that need diagnosis.

Manual defrost

Frost is normal here, so judge by thickness. When it builds up enough to touch the food or push against the door, the freezer loses efficiency. Plan defrosting for a day when the freezer is nearly empty, and keep a towel handy for the meltwater.

Chest

Because the cold air sinks in a chest, the lid gasket matters most. Check that it sits flat all the way round and that nothing sticks out over the rim. Condensation or frost along the lid edge points to a gasket that is not meeting the cabinet.

Electronic upright codes

Many electronic upright controls display an E and a digit. We have pages for these:

• E7 appears when a keypad button has been held down for over half a minute. Unplugging the freezer for about half a minute and plugging it back in is the owner step.
• E8 points to a shorted thermistor, the temperature sensor.
• E9 points to an open thermistor.

For E8 and E9 the same brief power disconnect is the only owner step. If the code returns, do not try to reach the sensor yourself, because that means opening panels. Book a diagnosis instead.

Care habits for a garage freezer

• Give it room. A cabinet pushed against a wall or boxed in by storage cannot shed heat, and the compressor runs longer.
• Keep it on a dedicated, protected outlet, and avoid a long extension cord. A tripped GFCI in a garage circuit is a common cause of a freezer that quietly warms up. Check the breaker and GFCI before assuming anything has failed.
• Do not overload. A packed upright blocks the air path, while a half-empty chest warms faster after a lid opening. Fill gaps with containers of water if you need to.
• Wipe the gasket with warm water and dry it. A film of old food keeps the door from sealing evenly.
• After any outage, look at the contents. If ice crystals have melted and refrozen into a block, quality has suffered, and when you are unsure about safety, discard the food.
• Level the unit so the door closes by itself.

Warning signs worth acting on

A freezer that is running without pause, a sudden pool of water under an upright, frozen food that softens at the edges, or a lid that no longer stays shut all deserve attention. A freezer that runs constantly with frost on the walls is trying to compensate for something, usually a seal or airflow problem.

Getting it looked at

Our visit is a diagnosis first, a written estimate second and a repair only if you approve it. Read about it on the GE freezer repair page. If the freezer is built into a refrigerator, start with the GE refrigerators guide instead. Questions about repairing versus replacing an older unit are covered in repair or replace a GE appliance.