Here we will explore some of the frequently asked questions that we receive from our first time gas refrigerator buyers. It’s important to note that the gas refrigerator designation includes both natural gas as well as propane refrigerators. As we explore further you will want to consider how you will be using the refrigerator, where it will be located within your hunting cabin, homestead, tiny home, ski lodge or other off-grid home. With gas fueled refrigerators air flow is an important consideration in the planning and placement of your gas powered refrigerator.

Most of our customers  live off the grid, so it is important to them to have a well performing, durable and efficient propane refrigerator for their cold food storage.  The propane refrigerator is a superb appliance; it is long-lasting and runs efficiently with low fuel consumption. Our smallest propane refrigerator, the EZ-10W uses less than 2 gallons a week on average.  This means you’d only have to replace a 5 gallon propane tank every 2-3 weeks.  It’s important to note that a full gas refrigerator performs better and uses less energy than an empty propane refrigerator. It takes less energy to stay cool since the food acts as an insulator.

For optimal performance you also want to ensure that anyone in your household using the gas powered refrigerator doesn’t hold the door open unnecessarily long while making food selections, especially in the summer months. Keeping an inventory sheet can also help with knowing what you have in your off-grid gas powered refrigerator without having to open it. When living off the grid your every action is typically well thought out and planned for utmost economy and efficiency. This is why the gas refrigerator lends itself well to this lifestyle as it requires very little maintenance, and its requirements for fuel consumption are minimal.

In our previous write up we discuss the benefits of propane refrigerator efficiencies versus solar. The key take away was that the propane refrigerator was much more efficient and cost effective. The cooling efficiency of the propane refrigerator costs approximately 60 cents a day in warmer climates and in cooler regions can operate on as little as 45 cents a day. Please note that these estimates are based on the average propane cost of $2 per gallon.

When you are living off grid you are often in remote areas. You do not want to hassle with high consumption appliances that require electricity, or the high expense of installing a solar array. Most often, due to the remoteness of your cabin, hunting lodge or ski lodge, tapping into the power grid is geographically impossible. So gas powered refrigeration then becomes a nice option where you need reliability, convenience and flexibility. Off-grid gas powered refrigeration gives you much more freedom and control, easily running efficiently on a small tank of fuel that you can replace/refill with a bit of planning on your next supply run. You can easily plan to ensure you have enough fuel to power your off-grid refrigerator by using our estimates as a guide then tracking your use.

Below we cover more questions in an FAQ that we often get from our first time buyers. If you should have any propane refrigerator questions that are not addressed here please contact us. Our friendly and helpful team is happy to answer all of your questions.  We also live the off grid lifestyle and utilize the propane refrigerator in our daily lives.

Propane Refrigerators and their various sizes

We offer an extensive inventory of natural gas and propane refrigerators so we are sure to have what you need. In planning on buying your first gas refrigerator you want to consider how much food, the number of people and seasonal meat or garden harvests you will want to account for. That way you can get a good idea on what size of gas refrigerator will work best for your daily, weekly and monthly food storage needs. Also, take into account your supply runs, if you buy food in bulk  and how frequently you purchase supplemental groceries.

Storing enough groceries for a family of four will most likely require a  19 cubic foot refrigerator for enough storage space. If you bulk shop you will definitely need more room.

Our recommendation: 19 CU. Ft. Propane Refrigerators

Consider the average of 4-6 cubic feet per person per week. While most off-grid homesteaders cook at home they also supplement their groceries with garden harvests and wild game meat. So take this into consideration as well especially when contending with a large game meat surplus or large garden harvest. But if you already know that you will be dealing with large amounts of fresh meat and garden harvest, consider canning, freezing or dehydrating food for later use.

 

For more reading, we recommend reading our commonly asked questions.

Feel free to call our friendly team for any specific questions, you can reach us at 928-636-1955 or send us an email.

Many of our homesteading client’s know that being able to store their most prized produce and meat with one or more of our off grid propane refrigerators or freezers is key to successful off-grid living. Ensuring their family has enough food stores on hand will get them through any season or nearly any situation. When the weather turns unfavorable you don’t want to have to be out in the thick of it to cull livestock, especially once they start to lose weight during the lean winter months. With a full fridge and freezer you can coast through the winter months easily, utilizing that time to handle chores or repairs that you can do indoors.

Homesteading is more than just living off grid. Homesteading is all in full focused living, ensuring full self sufficiency when it comes to food for not only yourself and your family but also your livestock and their feed crops. Homesteading is all about ensuring you are self-sufficient in all of the ways that matter most. Being able to effectively store your prime food stores in one of our off grid refrigerators or freezers allows you to take control of your food reserves and be comfortable for months.

Being in control of your own food stores, gardens, orchards, food crops, livestock and livestock feed crops provides a deep sense of accomplishment and self sufficiency. When there are natural disasters or unforeseen local disruptions to the daily food supply you will be better able to withstand nearly anything with little impact on your day to day life. As part of this self-sufficient lifestyle Warehouse Appliance is happy to assist with your off grid appliances. We love to help our customers effectively store and protect their meat stock and produce in our American made propane refrigerators and freezers.

Homesteading Off-Grid Cold Food Storage

Homesteading off-grid? Here are a some options for your cold food storage units:

• propane freezer
• propane or natural gas refrigerator
• solar refrigerator
• solar freezer

Homesteading is about working with nature to plan the best time of year to plant and harvest; when to start your spring planting indoors to get a jump start on the growing season and more. If you are new to homesteading we put together a working guide to make set up easier. There is no end to what you can expand your homesteading operation into. However, the majority of our clients are able to homestead on as little as ¼ an acre.  Even if you don’t have that much space you can make great strides towards a self sufficient and self sustaining lifestyle no matter what you have to work with.

Featured Refrigerators:

EZ Freeze – Propane Powered Refrigerator Freezer Combo

Sun Star – Solar Powered DC Refrigerator Freezer Combination

Sundanzer – Solar powered Refrigerators 

 

The benefits of homesteading

Land management and enhancement

Self sufficiency

Food stability

Food security

Potential for surplus for storing or selling

Knowing what goes into the land, soil and plants you grow and the livestock you raise

Soil improvement; composting and adding soil amendments such as animal manure

Crop rotation for added benefit and optimal soil recovery greatly enhances nutrient density of the produce or livestock grain grown.

What degree of Homesteading is right for you?

Decide if you have the time and space to include these into your working homestead:

Will you be keeping animals for sale or as food sources for you and your family? If so, what are you considering? Chickens, ducks, and goats are usually the easiest to begin with and typically do not require much space. If you are planning on livestock be sure to plan for their food and water needs, as well as any seasonal veterinary care or interventions with birthing etc.

Orchard – fruit trees, nut trees, berry bushes, grape vines etc.

Garden – produce for food for you and your family, or if you want to plant produce for your chickens or ducks

A bit larger scale homestead might consider adding:

Barn – to tend to livestock care, bulk feed storage, milking, birthing and more

Smokehouse – for smoking your own meats

Ice house – keeping ice well past winter

Water management – for livestock or irrigation and having a year round viable water source for the homestead

Rain collection system – A great way to water the plants and animals – this is also a great water source especially if you are dealing with conventional farming nearby that might expose your homestead to contamination from fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides etc. Collecting rain water typically lessens the exposure to harmful contaminants that might make it into the groundwater.

If you’re adventurous you can also keep a bee yard for sweet rewards or as a profitable honey crop.

Do you have enough land to plant crops for sale or to use for your livestock feed?

A good garden benefits from having a ready supply of compost on hand. Plan a compost heap in your garden. Composting provides soil improvement, which in turn offers enhanced nutrient density. This means great benefits for your plants and in turn, your family!

Composting Tips for your Homestead

You should set up your compost bin away from the homestead but still conveniently accessible since you will be dropping off your kitchen scapes daily. Fortify the space so that it doesn’t become a nesting site for rodents or insects. Maintain moisture and turn the compost frequently to facilitate decomposition and prevent rodents from nesting. Your compost is a great way to build up the soil of your gardens or fields by utilizing yard waste and plant matter, weeds, leaves, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, fruit peels and fruit cores, tea leaves, tea bags, coffee grounds, coffee filters, eggshells, livestock manure, chicken coop droppings, hay or straw – never add dairy, meat or oils to your compost.

You may also consider keeping a worm bin since their castings make for an amazing soil amendment and you can use the ‘tea’ as a liquid fertilizer for your plants. A happy worm bin thrives on your kitchen produce scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, coffee filters, non acidic fruit, coconut fiber, paper, cardboard and they quickly break down this organic matter into a wonderful soil amendment. Further, if you enjoy fishing, you have a ready supply of live bait.

Homesteading and Keeping Livestock

Chickens are a great source of pest control and a steady supply of eggs, poultry meat, compost and more.  Chickens are essential if you want to keep pests under control in your garden without pesticides.

Goats provide great weed control for your land (just be sure to fence them out of your garden),  as well as being a source of milk, meat. Some goat breeds produce a fine hair you can harvest. This hair can be sold and used for crafts, wig making and more. And last but not least, goat droppings provide a great soil amendment.

Larger livestock might be right for your homestead if you have the time and room to manage them. If this is the case for you – you will want to look into growing feed crops and having a ready supply of water and grazing land. Livestock for your homestead can include anything from pigs, cattle, buffalo, deer, and more. We are big on self sufficiency but it’s not everyone’s ideal. Slaughtering animals you’ve raised by hand every year is tedious and not for everyone.  If you do not want to butcher your livestock yourself, you can often outsource this step to a local butcher shop or meat processing company.

Seasonal Homestead Planning and Preparation

Taking into consideration the planting season for your particular area ensures your homestead runs in tip top shape. Our quick overview of how you want to plan your seasons:

• Spring – planting, seeding, livestock husbandry
• Summer – Growing, maintaining, nurturing
• Fall – harvesting, culling, canning, storing, building, selling, projects
• Winter – repairs, crafting, making, storing, planning, indoor or green house seed starting. These will be transplanted later, allowing you to get your crops growing quickly once spring begins. This extends the growing season.

Going Off-Grid and Being Self Sufficient for the long term

Homesteaders have known for years that being self-sufficient, providing enough food and supplies to live comfortably year round, is one of the best ways to know and enjoy true freedom.

We recommend a propane freezer for long term off grid homesteading freezer storage.  The reliability of our propane freezers cannot be beat.  Also, propane freezers keep your frozen food at zero degrees which extends the use by date of your home grown livestock meat supply and produce.

We also recommend a propane refrigerator over a solar refrigerator for cold food storage. This is due to a variety of reasons that can be read about in the articles

comparing and contrasting propane refrigerators and solar fridges.

The two main reasons are longevity and reliability.  There is no question that gas refrigerators last longer than solar electric fridges.  Also, propane fridges are extremely reliable due to the fact that they have no moving parts.

Our clients that choose the homesteading lifestyle are in it for the long haul. We too live the offgrid lifestyle and we understand that our appliances must be built to last. If you have any questions about what appliances are right for your off-grid homestead just give us a call and our expert team will be happy to help.

Our propane freezers are upright freezers with multiple shelves allowing easy access and separation between your different cuts of meat. Please note that a 22 cubic foot propane freezer will store a full steer, elk or multiple deer.

Experts in Off Grid Appliances for your Off-Grid Homestead

We offer the best off-grid refrigerator or freezer for your everyday use in your off-grid homestead, adding peace of mind with our highly durable and energy efficient cold food storage.

With Warehouse Appliance you not only get great off grid appliances you also benefit from the longest warranty in the industry on our propane refrigerators and freezers. We feature a 7 year warranty. Our off-grid propane gas fridges and freezers are made in the USA.

We offer both styles of off-grid freezers to suit your homesteading lifestyle: propane or solar, in choices of chest freezer or upright freezer.

Featured Off-grid Homestead Freezers:

Blizzard- propane freezer

SunStar – Solar powered DC chest freezer

Sundanzer – Solar powered chest freezer

Featured Off-grid Homestead Refrigerators:

EZ Freeze – Propane Powered Refrigerator Freezer Combo

Sun Star – Solar Powered DC Refrigerator Freezer Combination

Sundanzer – Solar powered Refrigerators

Featured Refrigerators:

EZ Freeze – Propane Powered Refrigerator Freezer Combo

Sun Star – Solar Powered DC Refrigerator Freezer Combination

Sundanzer – Solar powered Refrigerators 

Contact Us

Contact us if you have any questions on propane (LP) gas freezers or other off-grid appliances. Warehouse Appliance is here to support you in your off-grid homesteading lifestyle. We are happy to help you with figuring out what off-grid homestead appliances will best serve you.

With Warehouse Appliance you benefit from our over 30 years experience in the industry. We are an industry leader with unparalleled knowledge, skill, technical know-how and our inventory of exceptionally superior off-grid appliances speak for themselves with unrivaled quality, durability and performance.

Many of our clients are adopting the freedoms that a tiny home brings them, and at Warehouse Appliance we further compliment their chosen lifestyle by helping them outfit their tiny home with off-grid propane refrigerators and other key appliances. We too live the off-grid lifestyle and know that you don’t have to do without key modern day conveniences to have a remarkable off-grid life.

A tiny home is more than just minimalism, it’s a whole lifestyle and way of being. When moving to a tiny home lifestyle you really scale back to the essentials but this frees you from the 30 year mortgage and the trappings of a traditional home. With a tiny home you don’t have to sacrifice – you still have the option of installing top of the line off-grid appliances in your tiny home. A tiny house is all about living your off-grid lifestyle, getting back to basics, being close to nature while having everything you need in small spaces. Battery spark gas ranges and ovens and propane refrigerators and  freezers fit well into tiny homes; allowing you to design around them, making unique and clever use of space; while maintaining off-grid conveniences. 

One of the many bonuses of owning a tiny home is that it forces you to make the outdoors part of your daily living space. Regardless if you are traveling with your tiny home or you put down roots, the outdoors is your entertainment, your view, and your playground. But you don’t have to rough it, and with our extensive inventory of tiny home propane appliances — or if you prefer solar appliances –you can have your freedom and still bake your cake and eat it too. 

Off-grid tiny home appliances

Tiny home living can be for the year-round tiny home homesteaders, the nomads that take their home with them, or those that make only occasional use out of their tiny retreat. Regardless of the amount of time you spend in your tiny home you want to be able to store cold food easily and cook since tiny homes are generally located remotely, out of the way and are not at all close to ice for a cooler, a grocery store or restaurant . Most often having a tiny home forces you to live off the grid. By outfitting your tiny home with off-grid appliances from Warehouse Appliance you don’t have to go without your modern conveniences, no matter where your tiny home is located.

• Gas Lamps
• Solar Freezers
• Solar Refrigerators
• Solar Air Conditioners
• DC Powered Electric Ceiling Fans
• Gas Ranges
• Gas Ovens
• Propane Gas Freezers
• Propane Refrigerators

Tiny living in a big way

Tiny homes offer a daily sense of awe and wonder. Getting you back to the core of what life is really about – a combination of family, fun, food and life experiences. Off-grid living is about  going all in, living your life with freedom.  With getting close to nature and having the outdoors part of your life experience, we want to maximize your enjoyment with modern conveniences out in the woods. We help you to stay true to your off-grid lifestyle goals, with our inventory of tiny home off-grid appliances for either solar or propane set ups, or a combination of both depending on your specific needs:

Off-grid appliances a modern look 

Featuring an assortment of sizes and offering stainless steel or other popular color options that pop. These hard working appliances can easily be a beautiful interior focal point for your tiny home.

Warehouse Appliances are well planned modern day comforts, fully thought out, and most of all they still grant you the off-grid freedom you crave. Check out our recent articles Are propane refrigerators efficient? What about solar? and Propane vs Solar Refrigeration to help you decide if propane or solar is right for your tiny home.

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  Propane Refrigerator

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  Propane Gas Freezers

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  Premier Gas Ranges / Ovens

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  Solar Powered Electric Freezers

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  Solar Powered Electric Refrigerators

Contact us

Warehouse Appliance provides you with appliances that provide off-grid efficiency that are affordable and most of all durable. These appliances are key essentials to a tiny home and make a smart, functional use of space. Our off-grid appliances are well suited for tiny living and allow you to get intentional with your tiny home layout and design. 

To live your best off-grid life and establish your tiny home with the best off-grid appliances that are ideally suited to your specific needs, contact our team of experts. With our selection of off-grid appliances, we can help you make your chosen lifestyle just a bit more wonderful. We have been in business for 30+ years and no other team has more knowledge or skill than Warehouse Appliance. 

When individuals decide to pursue living in a tiny home, they quickly realize that it provides them with a deep sense of satisfaction and purpose. Let us help you pursue your vision with smart off-grid appliances that will last. 

When you are actively hunting game with the intention of obtaining enough meat to feed your family and yourself throughout the year, you need effective cold food storage to stock up your hunting cabin. So what should you do with your prized food source? We will explore the most popular off grid cold food storage options for hunting cabins.

Protect your investment

Hunting game is a rewarding pursuit but there is a lot of work that goes into hunting elusive protein sources. And once you have a successful hunt you want to protect it and take care of it quickly and efficiently. There are still many threats to contend with in remote areas, prey animals want to raid your supply, dirt, bacteria and warm temperatures want to spoil the meat. So having a way to mitigate these issues puts you at the advantage of keeping your food source protected. With that in mind, hunters that enjoy the off-grid lifestyle and have a hunting cabin, do well to store their wild game meat in an off-grid cold food storage unit such as a: 

• propane freezer 
• propane or natural gas refrigerator
• solar refrigerator
• solar freezer

No matter what size of game you bring home, you need a processing and storage plan to make it last until you are ready to cook it. Having an effective way of storing many pounds of meat you bring home makes all of the difference. Ideally, when storing your meat in a freezer, you want to use up your wild game meat within the same year for the best flavor. However, freezers preserve the wild game meat from spoiling for years if well wrapped with freezer paper. Or if you are only storing it for one year – a propane freezer still allows you plenty of time to use up the meat. 

If you have a love for hunting, especially for large game such as moose, elk or deer, and you want to build up a store of meat; then you will want to consider a stand alone off-grid freezer (preferably a propane freezer) in addition to your off grid refrigerator (preferably a propane refrigerator). This combination of appliances allows you to safely accommodate the larger quantities of meat. 

Hunting cabin fridge & freezer for meat storage

Processing your own kill goes a long way towards building your self sufficiency and confidence but for convenience sake it might make more sense to have the local butcher process it for you. Regardless of which route you take, you want to maximize your ability to store the meat in smaller packages for ease of utilizing the freezer space to your advantage. 

Specifications on processed meat entirely depends on what size of an animal you are working with. The majority of hunters agree that your kill will yield approximately less than half of the field dressed weight. Cutting away non-edible bulk results in the premium boneless cuts of meat you want to store in your off-grid refrigerator or off-grid freezer. By removing the head, hide and bones from a 120 lb animal you will end up with approximately 55-57 pounds of meat. This ratio seems to hold true for all large game animals. 

Your typical cuts for big game will supply you with plenty of roasts, steaks, chops with the the remaining meat turned into ground meat. From there you can turn that ground meat into sausage, smoked sausage, linked sausage or jerky snacks. For a better grade of jerky you can slice the roasts into slab jerky. On average and for convenience, most cuts are processed into standard sizes 1 lbs for ground meat, steaks are typically under 1 lb in size for cuts. With roasts ending up a little larger averaging between 1-2 lbs in size. Further, if your hunting cabin has the room to allow you to, you may want to render the fat for later use or to make candles and soaps.

From a whitetail deer you will roughly end up with a little under 60 packages of 1 lbs and 2 lbs of meat that you now need to store. If you plan on making shelf stable jerky or canning some of the meat then this will save you a bit of room in your preferred cold storage unit but you will need to have enough room for the rest. The bigger the beast you bag, the more meat you will enjoy but you need to ensure you are able to store it. A hunting cabin off-grid refrigerator or off-grid freezer to store the hunted meat is optimal for remote properties that adhere to the off grid lifestyle out of choice or necessity.  Most hunters with an off grid cabin will prefer a propane freezer or fridge.  Propane is easily accessible and propane fridges and freezers are very reliable. 

What do we at recommend for long term off grid game meat storage at a hunting cabin?

Without hesitation we recommend a propane freezer for long term small or large game in an off grid hunting cabin.  Not only are propane freezers extremely reliable, they also keep all frozen food at zero degrees extending the shelf life of your prized game meat.  Propane freezers are upright freezers with multiple shelves allowing easy access and separation between different cuts of meat.  This allows maximum efficiency when looking for meat.  No digging in a freezing cold chest freezer to find your meat.  Also, a 22 cubic foot propane freezer will store an entire elk or multiple deer!

Experts in off grid appliances for your hunting cabin 

For your wild game meat and other hunted meats, get the best off-grid refrigerator or freezer from Warehouse Appliance. We are an industry leader and we are proud to offer the longest warranty in the industry on propane refrigerators and freezers with our 7 year warranty. Our off-grid propane gas fridges and freezers are made in the USA. 

We offer both styles of off-grid freezers to suit your lifestyle: propane or solar, chest freezer or upright freezer. 

Featured Freezers:

Blizzard- propane freezer

SunStar – Solar powered DC chest freezer

Sundanzer – Solar powered chest freezer 

Featured Refrigerators:

EZ Freeze – Propane Powered Refrigerator Freezer Combo

Sun Star – Solar Powered DC Refrigerator Freezer Combination

Sundanzer – Solar powered Refrigerators 

Contact Warehouse Appliance

Contact us if you have any questions on propane (LP) gas freezers or other off-grid appliances. Warehouse Appliance is here to support you in your off-grid lifestyle and to help you equip your hunting cabin to maximize your convenience and enjoyment. 

With Warehouse Appliance you benefit from our over 30 years experience in the industry. We stand apart with our knowledge, skill, technical know-how and superior off-grid appliances.