Chest freezer on the way out?

[siwelwerd]

I bought a chest freezer off of Craigslist last summer. I'm finally getting around to getting the pieces to put together a collar and mount some taps, so I decided to give it a good cleaning again, and a fresh coat of paint. I left it off for a couple days to let the paint dry, and after I plugged it back in, it has had trouble maintaining temperature below 50. In fact, after it warmed up this weekend, it's now sitting at 56. Is there any hope of effecting a repair, or am I better off with a new freezer? Has keeping this in an unheated/uncooled garage had any effect on its lifespan (SWMBO said it's too ugly to bring in the house)? Did cleaning/painting have anything to do with it, or is that just coincidence?

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[bcmaui]

What you spend on a new refrigerator, you may end up saving in electricity costs.

I picked up a slightly dented (bottom corner) new Energy Star chest freezer from my local Lowes' a few years ago for a discount due to the dent.

[hotrod38]

I'm a firm believer in buying new. Check the scratch and dent dealers, or box stores. I picked up a 9.0cf for 175.00 I also qualified for the cash for appliances deal. I will be getting 50 bucks!!! I still get all of the warranties too. You get none of that on Craigslist etc.

[ajdelange]

Did cleaning/painting have anything to do with it, or is that just coincidence?

Most probably coincidence or moving the thing around to clean it loosened something up. It is theoretiacally conceivable, but not, IMO, very likely that the paint job insulated the condenser such that it is less able to shed the heat of the compression/load. IOW the liquid entering the evaporator coils could be warmer than normal.

[siwelwerd]

Well, I went for it today. Found a 15 cu ft for $299 at a local scratch & dent place (the dent was over on the side, hardly noticeable, and SWMBO approved). They're delivering it in the morning. The flier on it claimed I'll spend <$40/yr in electricity, and that's assuming I'm maintaining freezer temps. Now I just need to pick up some shanks and various tubing and get my collar built