How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
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Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#2> about 36 hours
> while the power is out, for each time the door is opened for five seconds, subtract 7 minutes
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#3If you can restock the freezer with ice, you can keep it cold for several days easily. Spoken from experience, thanks PG&E.
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#4Does it not depend on what is in the freezer?
Like, if it is half-filled with icepacks versus frozen beef?
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#5It would be interesting to see the effect of adding insulation like blankets, or foam would have.
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#6Does it not depend on what is in the freezer? Like, if it is half-filled with icepacks versus frozen beef?
The article addresses thermal mass, although not into the level of detail of X% ice packs and Y% food.
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#7If you can restock the freezer with ice, you can keep it cold for several days easily. Spoken from experience, thanks PG&E.
You’re not wrong, but at that point it’s basically just an ice chest—a bunch of ice will keep perishables cold, whether it’s in a fridge or a portable cooler or whatever. Not as efficient, maybe, but a modern fridge is already quite efficient at retaining coolness, so I don’t see why this isn’t a permanent solution!
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#8Personally, I throw blocks of dry ice in there as soon as the power has been out a few hours, just in case. Beats regular ice all the way.
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#9Related ... the last time I was in the market for a chest freezer (a "deep freeze") I wanted one that showed a log of temperature over time ...
This, essentially, does not exist. It appears that there are laboratory freezers that support this (very simple) feature, but they are relatively small and very expensive.
A better way to go is an electricity monitor on the plug, where you track electrical power over time and assume (reasonably) that full electrical power implies full temperature control.
Still ... a simple log of temperature over time (without resorting to weird solutions with raspis dangling temp wires into the freezer ...) would be a very nice feature and I'm disappointed that it doesn't exist ...
Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?
#10Personally, I throw blocks of dry ice in there as soon as the power has been out a few hours, just in case. Beats regular ice all the way.
How do you safely handle dry ice? I'm legitimately asking, I know retailers sell it with big warning labels but I wouldn't know how to transport it, move it, and similar.