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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?

#301

Post by pedrocr »

pfdietz wrote: post #239
supernova87a wrote: post #132

I was just looking at getting a NG generator installed for my parents on the east coast, after watching these recent storms come through. I'd dawdled on this for years, because it was just infrequent enough. Anyway, I also looked at battery backup systems (Tesla, Enphase, etc). Unfortunately, it seems they haven't reached cost competitiveness with the plain old gas generator yet. Not a lot of power density (time), an…

An inverter that runs off the 12V battery in your car is very cheap. Get one, and an extension cord, and you have an emergency power source to cool down your freezer every few days.

That's one thing that's annoying in the current crop of EVs. Almost none of them support drawing power from the cars even though they have those huge batteries just standing there. I understand not wanting to add the cost of the inverter to every car but it seems it should be relatively straightforward to support external inverters that plug into the DC part of the CCS connector.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#302

Post by at_a_remove »

bjoli wrote: post #217
at_a_remove wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've done it tons of times. Part of having the stuff wrapped up and insulated is that it isn't sublimating like mad.

You don't really notice 1000ppm, and unless you have some ventilation going you can probably reach that quite quickly in your car. I am not saying that it didn't work out or that it was reckless. Just make sure you have adequate ventilation.

Just as an indicator, you can get up to 5,000 ppm with two passengers in a car after an hour's worth of driving.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#303

Post by matt-attack »

toxik wrote: post #167
an-allen wrote: post #154

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…

You missed the perhaps most important datapoint: how often and many times did you open the freezer? Side loaded freezer and fridges are extremely inefficient because all the cold air is let out when you open the door.

I always imagined that the air and its thermal mass was insignificant compared to the ice cubes and frozen steaks and frozen pizzas. The mass of the air must be less than 1% of all those things, no?

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#304

Post by kokey »

ethbro wrote: post #263
jsilence wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'Teach a man to eat fish and he will be cold for one day...' no, wait... But seriously, why not eat BBQ fish every day?

Opening the freezer would have substantially decreased the frozen time, with each opening. Specifically as OP seemed to specify an upright freezer. Chest freezer would have had less of an impact, but still noticeable.

I guess having a good stock of malt vinegar and plenty of jars around would be helpful so you can make a lot of pickled fish.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#305

Post by koheripbal »

toxik wrote: post #167
an-allen wrote: post #154

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…

You missed the perhaps most important datapoint: how often and many times did you open the freezer? Side loaded freezer and fridges are extremely inefficient because all the cold air is let out when you open the door.

This is also why it's important to FILL the freezer as much as possible if you know you might lose power.

We lost power for 4 days, but I packed in every water bottle I could find before hand, and everything remained frozen for the entire period. Literally almost no space left for air.

We also did not open it, of course.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#306

Post by dangerboysteve »

an-allen wrote: post #154

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…

Oh god, I remember this as well. We had a small chest freezer in the basement. It had this one "feature" that if the power went out it would not startup again until you flicked the power switch. For extended power outages lasting days this makes some sense but for a limited outage of a few hours this was bat shit crazy. Similar experience from the article, rotting meat, had to carry the freezer up the garage to clean it. Water + soap, bleach, lemon juice and many other combinations. Nothing would get rid of the smell even cleaning the rubber gaskets and seals. I even tried spraying the entire inner surfaces with Fabreeze odor killer and leaving it closed for a few days.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#307

Post by 0xBA5ED »

KMag wrote: post #220
0xBA5ED wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then again, hurricanes provide a lot of readily available wood debris.

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…

My point is, you don't suddenly lose the ability to cook things when you don't have electricity, propane, or charcoal.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#308

Post by jacknews »

banach_d wrote: post #235
msandford wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the point! The brine is frozen at -19c and liquid at - 17c which is well below the freezing point of everything else in the freezer. Or you can have normal water which is frozen at -1c and liquid at 1c. Your pick. The handy thing about the brine is that its absorbs heat at a temperature below that which everything else thaws. So as the brine thaws it keeps your freezer at -18c which means everything in it is s…

But if the brine is not frozen at the working temperature of your freezer, it's completely ineffective compared to water.

Of course, you need to choose a salt % that gives a melting point just above the temperature you want to keep everything else, so that the salt water is normally frozen.

I mentioned -18C because that is the recommended minimum temperature for freezers such that some foods can last almost indefinitely; certain chemical reactions are completely shut down.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#309

Post by kps »

MereInterest wrote: post #228
KMag wrote: post #220

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.

Regular construction SPF isn't treated, and doesn't resist anything; that costs extra.

Re: How long does a freezer stay frozen when the power goes out?

#310

Post by jve »

ants_a wrote: post #284
jve wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I have a Beko upright freezer that the documentation states is fine until -10C. Probably around half the price of a similar Liebherr.

Thanks. Looks like Beko makes -15 freezers too. https://www.beko.co.uk/appliances/refrigerators/freezers/out...

Pity that they are nowhere to be found where I live.

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