Small Chest Freezers for a One- or Two-Deer Season
A 5 cu ft chest and a 7 cu ft chest look almost the same on a showroom floor. At the Ohio DNR average, one is full after two deer and the other still has room for the rest of the kitchen.
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For one or two deer, buy the Frigidaire 7 cu ft chest. At realistic packing it holds about 140-175 lb, and two average Ohio deer come to 104 lb, so both fit with room left for the bulk chicken and the ice. The 5 cu ft Frigidaire suits one deer plus groceries, or two deer in a freezer that holds nothing else. The TABU 5.0 is the budget 5 cu ft if you can live without a published energy figure.
We haven't tested these side by side. The capacity math uses the Ohio DNR's venison yield and the Good Meat Project's packing range; energy figures come off each maker's EnergyGuide label; and every spec on the cards links to its source.
The two-deer math
The Ohio Division of Wildlife's study of 115 deer found an average of 52.19 lb of venison per deer, with antlered deer at 62.51 lb and antlerless at 45.05 lb. The Good Meat Project says a cubic foot of freezer realistically holds 20-25 lb of meat. Put them together:
Two antlered deer at 62.51 lb each would need 5-6.3 cu ft, which fills a 5 cu ft chest even at tight packing. If your two deer are usually bucks, the 7 is the minimum. For the full deer-by-deer table, see how much freezer space a deer takes.
Does run the other way. Two antlerless deer at 45.05 lb each come to 90.1 lb, or 3.6-4.5 cu ft, which fits a 5 cu ft chest with a little room to spare. So the honest rule for a light season is: two does, a 5 will do; a buck and a doe, it's tight; two bucks, buy the 7.
How we ranked these (and why #4 outscores #1)
Our overall scores reward capacity, because most readers are sizing for a season. That is why the Frigidaire 9 cu ft class chest carries a higher overall score than the 7: it holds 3.3-4.1 average deer and has the best EnergyGuide figure in this group. But this page is for the one-or-two-deer household, so we ranked on fit for that season. The 9 is here as the step-up for the hunter who fills a second tag more often than not. If that is you, the full chest freezer ranking is the better page.
Small freezers freeze slowly
Storage capacity and freezing capacity are different numbers, and small chests feel the gap first. NDSU Extension says to add only as much unfrozen food as will freeze in 24 hours, usually 2 or 3 lb per cubic foot of storage space, because overloading slows freezing and costs quality.
In practice that means processing in batches rather than wrapping the whole deer in one night and stacking it in the chest. NDSU suggests turning the freezer down to -10°F about 24 hours before a big load. The USDA says to spread new packages in a single layer and stack them only once they are frozen solid; a 2-inch-thick package should freeze in about two hours under good conditions. Flat 1 lb packs of ground venison freeze far faster than a rolled roast.
Energy per cubic foot: the small-freezer tax
Freezer
Rated capacity
kWh per year
kWh per cu ft
Holds (average deer)
Frigidaire EFRF5003
5.0 cu ft
216
43.2
1.9-2.4
Frigidaire EFRF7003
7.0 cu ft
250
35.7
2.7-3.4
Frigidaire EFRF9003
8.6 cu ft
214
24.9
3.3-4.1
TABU 5.0
5.0 cu ft
Not published
—
1.9-2.4
The 7 cu ft Frigidaire's label says 34 kWh a year more than the 5 for 40% more space. Per cubic foot it is the cheaper box to run. Oddly, the 8.6 cu ft EFRF9003 is labeled lower than both at 214 kWh. Its label also places it below the range for similar models, while the 5 and the 7 sit near the top of theirs. TABU does not publish a figure, so we scored its energy line neutral.
Where a small chest fits
If floor space is why you are shopping small, measure before you order. Per the listings, the TABU 5.0 is 21.06 × 20.27 × 29.13 in, the Frigidaire 5 is about 28 in wide by 23 in deep, and the Frigidaire 7 is about 37 in wide by 26 in deep. We could not find a lid-open height for any of the three, so measure under shelves with the lid in mind, and check the manual's clearance figures before you commit to a nook.
Two install details from the paperwork are worth knowing before delivery day. The Frigidaire manual strongly recommends against plugging the freezer into an outlet with GFCI protection, so check the outlet at the spot you have in mind. And give it time before you load it: BLACK+DECKER's chest manual says to wait 24 hours before plugging in a freezer that has been on its side or tilted, and TABU's listing says to keep its freezer upright for at least 24 hours before use. Plan the purchase a few days ahead of opening day, not the night you get your deer home.
In detail
The picks, in full
1
Best for 1-2 deer
Frigidaire EFRF7003 7.0 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer
6.1 /10
The right size for a one-to-two-deer household: both deer at the Ohio average fit, with space left over for the rest of the kitchen.
+Energy use is on paper: 216 kWh a year on the EnergyGuide label
+Exterior defrost drain, so defrosting is a pan job rather than a towel job
+Small enough for a utility room or apartment corner
What it doesn't
−At a realistic 20-25 lb per cubic foot it holds about 100-125 lb, so two average Ohio deer (104 lb) fill it
−216 kWh sits near the top of the 137-221 kWh range the label gives for similar models
−The garage-ready claim is in the listing title only; Frigidaire's manual gives no ambient range
Skip this if…
…you take two deer a season and also want room for groceries. At realistic packing it tops out around 125 lb, and two average deer are 104 lb on their own. The 7 cu ft model is the better buy.
+214 kWh a year, below the 216-227 kWh range its label gives for similar models
+About 172-215 lb at realistic packing, or 3.3-4.1 average Ohio deer
+Interior and exterior drain plugs
What it doesn't
−Rated 8.6 cu ft, not 9, so do your math on 8.6
−No temperature range or garage rating in the maker materials we found
−One basket
Skip this if…
…the freezer is going in an unheated garage. Frigidaire publishes no garage rating or ambient range for it. The Hamilton Beach 14 is the one with a written 0°F-110°F rating.
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What to check on a small chest freezer
The size class on the box vs the rated capacity
"9 cu ft class" meant 8.6 cu ft on the Frigidaire's EnergyGuide label. The label is the number to trust. It is also the fastest way to compare energy use, because the EnergyGuide's yearly kWh figure uses the same federal test procedure for every model.
The temperature dial range
The Frigidaire manual gives 10.4°F to -11.2°F across its seven settings. TABU's listing gives -7.6°F to 6.8°F. USDA says to hold frozen food at 0°F or below, so the warmest settings on both are too warm for long storage. Set it cold and confirm with an appliance thermometer, which USDA recommends keeping in any freezer.
A drain, and a basket that doesn't eat the space
Both Frigidaires have an exterior defrost drain; TABU's listing does not mention one. All three ship with one removable basket. In a 5 cu ft chest the basket takes a real share of the room; you can pull it and use bins sized for small chests instead. Our chest freezer organization guide covers which bins fit a 5 or 7.
A garage claim you can verify
The Frigidaire 5's Amazon title says "Garage-Ready," but its manual gives no ambient range. If the freezer will spend deer season in an unheated garage, the only chest we list with a written rating is the 14 cu ft Hamilton Beach (0°F to 110°F surroundings), covered in the full chest freezer ranking. ENERGY STAR recommends keeping freezers indoors unless you live in a mild climate.
A full small freezer rides out an outage better than a half-empty big one
The USDA says a full freezer usually keeps food frozen about two days with the door shut, and a half-full one about a day. It also says that if a freezer isn't full, you should quickly group packages together so they hold the cold better. That is a point in favor of a small chest that is actually full, over a big one you are filling a few packages at a time. It is also a reason to keep the jugs of ice you'd use in the cooler anyway in the spare corner.
Know the moment you've outgrown it
Three average deer need 6.3-7.9 cu ft. That fills a 7 cu ft chest completely at the tight end and overflows it at the loose end, before you count a single bag of frozen vegetables. If you filled a third tag in two of the last three seasons, skip this page's picks and go straight to 10-12 cu ft. Every size we rank, with its capacity in deer, is in the full chest freezer ranking.
The rest of a light-season setup
A small freezer pairs naturally with a sealer that handles a deer in one sitting; see vacuum sealers for wild game. For everything a one-or-two-deer season needs, from knives to grinder, start with the setup for 1-2 deer.
How we picked
Units we claim to have bench-tested: none
Plenty of sites say they ground two hundred pounds through every grinder. We didn't, and we say so. What we do instead: read the maker's spec sheet, manual and warranty terms, record the figures that decide whether a machine keeps up with your season (size number, motor rating, rated pounds per minute, capacity, duty cycle, gearing), check parts availability, and score each pick on a published rubric. Then we show the season math — pounds per deer from the Ohio Division of Wildlife's yield study — so you can redo it with your own numbers.
For one deer, yes. An average Ohio deer (52.19 lb) needs about 2.1-2.6 cu ft at realistic packing, and a 5 cu ft chest holds 100-125 lb. Two deer (104 lb) fill it completely.
How much meat fits in a 5 cu ft chest freezer?+
About 100-125 lb at the Good Meat Project's realistic 20-25 lb per cubic foot. A perfect pack at 30 lb per cubic foot would be 150 lb, but mixed cuts rarely pack that tight.
5 or 7 cubic foot chest freezer for deer?+
The 7 if you take two deer, or one buck and the rest of your groceries. The 5 if you take one deer and floor space is tight. Two deer at the Ohio average need 4.2-5.2 cu ft on their own.
Do small chest freezers use a lot of electricity?+
Not in total, but more per cubic foot. The Frigidaire 5 cu ft is labeled 216 kWh a year (43.2 per cu ft) against 250 kWh for the 7 cu ft (35.7 per cu ft).
We haven't bench-tested this gear and we don't pretend to. Specs come from the maker's own pages, manuals and maker-supplied listing copy (labeled as such); food-safety figures from USDA and university extension publications; yield from the Ohio Division of Wildlife; prices live from Amazon. Where a figure isn't published, we say so. Read the full method.
