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A simple way to detect power failure induced thawing in a freezer is to store a paper cup about half full of frozen water in the freezer. By keeping a coin on top of the ice it’s easy to see with a quick glance if the temperature has risen for an extended period of time (possibly due to a temporary power failure or the door not being fully closed).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Freshly downed live trees aren't great for firewood. The moisture content tends to make the wood difficult to light (if you can't spare lighter fluid, diesel, gasoline, candles, etc.) and it tends to produce a lot of smoke once lit. I've done enough camping that I can get wet wood burning if I have enough dry twigs, dry pine needles, birch bark, etc., but if your only experience with starting fires is pouring lighter…
And anything used in construction has been heavily treated to resist water damage, so I wouldn't want to be near those fumes, let alone eat something cooked from them.
A simple way to detect power failure induced thawing in a freezer is to store a paper cup about half full of frozen water in the freezer. By keeping a coin on top of the ice it’s easy to see with a quick glance if the temperature has risen for an extended period of time (possibly due to a temporary power failure or the door not being fully closed).
The location of the freezer or refrigerator is critical. If you live in a house that has a typical unfinished basement, don't overlook the advantage it offers. With one simple change, you can noticeably lower your electric bill, reduce your carbon footprint, gain extra kitchen space and improve your health. Just move your refrigerator to the basement. Since the basement is normally cooler than the upstairs, the refri…
From what i'v read, freezers are designed to be placed in ambient temperature greater than +10C. There are specificially designed freezers that can withstand up to -15C ambient temp: https://home.liebherr.com/en/lva/products/household-applianc... A guy on the phone that sells used freezers told me that compressor has some liquid that gets thicker when temperature drops below X and compressor has to work harder. The o…
Hi. Actualexperience here... it depends on the ambient temperature and how much stuff is in said freezer. So heres a data point: Freezer: normal upper level refrigerator freezer chock full of frozen fish caught on holiday in Alaska. Place, Time: Houston, TX, Late Summer, Hurricane Igor just hit and knocked our power out for 14 days. Findings: We kept the freezer shut and at about 4-5 days the fish was noticeably thaw…
It's not worth it. You will never make the fridge use-able again.
If you have to leave ahead of a disaster, consider emptying your fridges/freezer and propping the doors open.
Obviously this advice is strongest in warm areas.
A simple way to detect power failure induced thawing in a freezer is to store a paper cup about half full of frozen water in the freezer. By keeping a coin on top of the ice it’s easy to see with a quick glance if the temperature has risen for an extended period of time (possibly due to a temporary power failure or the door not being fully closed).
It is possible for the Ice to partially melt and the coin to not sink, the ice would need to COMPLETELY melt before this test would work, given the nature of ice it is possible for food to raise to an unsafe temperature while the ice is still melting This "trick" should not be used in place of proper temperature monitoring
Another poster said use an upside down water bottle, which sounds like an even better option.
Related but tangential anecdote: When we went on our honeymoon my mother in law came around and left our freezer full of delicious meat, fish all sorts. But then inexplicably turned off the freezer electricity switch on her way out. 2 weeks later my little sister cane around to leave us some milk in the fridge for our return. Only to find the entire kitchen wreaking of rotting meat and water and other crap all over t…
-18C/0F is the point at which most pathogens are forced to hibernate and bacterial cultures stop growing. But they don't die, and they'll start to revive at higher temperatures - which means they'll begin to spread if there's a regular thaw/freeze cycle, even in a freezer that spends some of its time at -18C/0F.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yea so a few things he pointed out in this write up were readily observable. For example, the air falling out of the freezer is actually quite visible when hitting a hot humid ambient air. Also you could see the rate of defrosting accelerate everytime you opened the door. By the time we were able to find a gas station with dry ice we were out looking for open wal marts at a 73 mile radius from the house (Columbus Tex…
Interesting point I'd never considered until this thread... Why not tip the freezer / fridge onto its back? So that doors open "up"? Aware they're typically not perfectly flat on the rear face, but close enough you could support it with minimal work. And if it's unpowered, there's no need for clearance back there.
I get not wanting to spoil food -- but why didn't he try with, say, jugs of water? Easy way to fill the freezer, great thermal mass, and probably a decent approximation of freezable goods.