Since you guys know everything....
When we bought our house around 3 years ago, the previous owners left a really old Sears Coldspot deep chest freezer in the basement. The thing is HUGE, and after some cleaning, we discovered that it worked fine, so we put it to use. This morning, I went down to grab something to defrost for dinner, and noticed that there was a lot of frost build-up around the top near the gaskets and that some of the stuff in there was starting to thaw. 
Since some stuff was still frozen solid (and that I was running late for work), I left it for when I came home. I got home tonight and it was in the same condition.
After doing some reading, a website suggested that I check the evaporator coils for frost. This I will do. Another said to check the door seal. The door seal on this monstrosity is kinda crappy from being old. Since its been humid lately, I'm thinking that moisture is sneaking by the seals, hence the frost build-up.
So my question is, where an I get a new door gasket? If they are discontinued (which is likely), can I do a universal one? Where could I get that?
Thanks!
Your gonna need a model number. It is likely on the back or side of the box.
If you get the model number you can go to the Sears website and find out if they sell a replacement gasket. http://www.searspartsdirect.com/ If they don't list one, find a local appliance repair shop and ask them, they may be able to provide an aftermarket or universal fit seal.
Old chest freezers would need to be defrosted periodically, I remember having to do it on my parent's freezer when I was a kid. You have to empty out all the food (put it in coolers or in your neighbor's freezer), unplug it and leave the door open for a while so the frost will melt.
Oops.. forgot to post this:
Also, I just checked out the compressor and coils. Nothing was iced over.
I got most of the stuff out of there and in our fridge's freezer, so tomorrow I'll have to get some ice and load up a cooler to let the rest defrost.
On top of that, I just figured out the part number for the gasket from that Sears Parts Direct site! It's part # 586977. And it's no longer available and there's no substitutes. The only alternate part number I can find is 655811. And that's no longer available either.
Damn.
Warm water and a shop vac. We still do it because you can't kill those old freezers.
Throw some old blankets on it.insulate the old bag.
I'm surprised no one has posted this, but you'll be money ahead if you just replace this unit with a newer one, if it's that old. I've read that a new unit can pay for its self in a year or two from the energy savings.
Foam tape makes a fine replacement gasket.
petegossett wrote:
I'm surprised no one has posted this, but you'll be money ahead if you just replace this unit with a newer one, if it's that old. I've read that a new unit can pay for its self in a year or two from the energy savings.
I'd like to get a fancy new one, but this one has been working great up until now. Also, our town has the cheapest electrical rates in the Commonwealth of MA. We haven't really noticed a difference in our bill since we started using it.
I checked it this morning, and nothing froze. It's still frosting up. I'll be thawing it out and sourcing some foam weatherstripping to fix the gasket issues. We'll see what happens.
i just bought a GE 8cu for 180 bucks delivered from home depot, it not huge but.....
