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

woodgears.ca

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

#331

Post by bityard »

MatthiasWandel wrote: post #233

Maker of the video here. For a moment, I though this was about my video and article, but reading the comments, it's more about everyone sharing their stories. Few of the comments reflect having read the article. Fair enough, sometimes it just takes a link to give theme for a discussion.

Hi Matthias. I'm a long-time fan of your projects and website. Built myself a bandsaw thanks to your plans, played around with imgcomp just the other day, etc.

But one thing I've noticed about HN comments is that they are almost always _tangential_ to the content being linked rather than directly about the content itself. I saw this happen the one or two times my own blogging hit the front page. I suspect a large percentage of users simply head straight to the comments section to tell their own story. (Or, unfortunately, to find something to argue with someone else about.)

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

#332

Post by RandomBacon »

hutzlibu wrote: post #264
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…

" it depends on the ambient temperature and how much stuff is in said freezer." It also depends very much on the isolation of the freezer. And to what temperature it was set. And of course, how often you open it.

And the outside (of the freezer) air temp.

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

#333

Post by munk-a »

kokey wrote: post #304
ethbro wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You want to be very careful about pickling food of unknown freshness - if the meat had turned pickling will do nothing except provide a wonderful breeding ground for a lot of really fun bacteria.

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

#334

Post by devy »

Tropical Storm Isaias hit my area last week with tornados (which has been really rare.) and power went out for a few days.

Our local utility company actually has a FAQ / Tips page[1] to answer this question. It appears that the information was sourced from CDC[2] and American Red Cross[3].

[1]: https://nj.pseg.com/outageandgasleaks/duringanoutage/outager...

[2]: https://emergency.cdc.gov/poweroutage/pdf/poweroutage.pdf

[3]: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergen...

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

#335

Post by propogandist »

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #316
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…

This is why you will see freezers lining the street for trash collection after a major power outage during a hurricane. Freezers are not super-expensive, and you can usually get them covered by insurance or disaster relief, so it's easier to just duct tape the entire fish coffin and be done with it.

when the covid pandemic first hit and lockdown was looming it was impossible to find freezers, locally and online, even up to the $1K price point.

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

#336

Post by spcebar »

kps wrote: post #309
MereInterest wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I would say definitely better safe than sorry, especially if you're not sure how to identify pressure treated wood.

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

#337

Post by munificent »

csours wrote: post #285
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…

PSA: I've worked disaster relief/reconstruction in Houston, New Orleans, and a few other places. If you come across a fridge with the doors taped shut DO NOT OPEN IT. If you come home after power was lost for more than a day or so, TAPE THE DOORS OF YOUR FRIDGE SHUT AND DO NOT OPEN IT. 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 fr…

> If you come home after power was lost for more than a day or so, TAPE THE DOORS OF YOUR FRIDGE SHUT AND DO NOT OPEN IT.

I think your timing is off here. I lost power for about three days during Hurricane Charley. This was the middle of summer in Orlando, Florida so hot hot hot. As far as I remember, my roommate and I left the fridge closed and evacuated. When we returned, the contents of the fridge were spoiled, but I don't remember anything particularly horrendous about it.

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

#338

Post by munificent »

tonyarkles wrote: post #266
darkerside wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That does sound nice. Unfortunate that COVID is really going to make it harder for people to pool resources like that to handle an emergency situation.

I’m laughing a bit thinking of the absurdity going on in my brain. While reading the parent comment there were two parallel streams going on in my brain: “That is so awesome that the community rallied together like that” “What the duck are they doing having a large gathering in their yard?! Surely they could have figured out a safer way to do that! If someone got COVID during a hurricane with no power that could be r…

> If someone got COVID during a hurricane with no power that could be really bad!”

The 2020 hurricane season will be starting soon. With COVID, the emergency financial legislation running out, the election, schools, holidays, and hurricane season, I fear this fall will be something we'll remember for decades to come.

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

#339

Post by munificent »

MertsA wrote: post #324
jpindar wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plastic bags of water are even better because they leave no spaces between them.

Careful with that, it can be a massive headache when you want to try and get them back out again if you make the mistake of letting them freeze around something to where it's now stuck in place.

I too have had a freezer full of bags of delicious homemade chicken stock, each intertwined with and near-permanently bonded to the wire shelving.

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

#340

Post by woobar »

wtvanhest wrote: post #326
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…

There is a good trick to use if you leave on vacation (or for monitoring breast milk for those new parents). You can freeze a cup of water, and throw a coin on top. If your freezer melts at any point, the coin will be at the bottom, not the top of the water glass when it refreezes.

Ice floats. Even if the most of the ice in the cup has melted, but there was a little bit of it left, the coin will stay on top.

From my personal experience: while we were away on vacation, there was a power outrage for 24_ hours. Coin was on top, but all ice cream and frozen packaged food was ruined. Not sure about big chunks of beef.

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