4 ms·

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 be

by toxik 6y ago

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.

jhrmnn 6y ago
But the heat capacity of the air inside is negligible compared to that of the solid stuff inside. So it shouldn’t matter if you do it just a few times in two weeks.
an-allen 6y ago
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 Texas). The dry ice was not significant enough to do much more than get the fish cool. It was too late.
- ethbro 6y ago
  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.
  - wmoser 6y ago
    On the one hand that would assist with the immediate problem but might cause another problem down the line. Most small refrigerated appliances use hermetically sealed compressors and you’re actually supposed to wait a bit 24hrs ish before starting them to allow the oil in the system to drain back to where it belongs. So theoretically after the power came back on and you flip it back upright you should wait to turn it back on. In reality, lots of people move freezers and fridges and window a/c units and plug them back in and use them right away with no problem. But it is possible that you might severely shorten the life of your equipment too.
sampo 6y ago
> Side loaded freezer and fridges are extremely inefficient because all the cold air is let out when you open the door. Unless they have drawers https://pc.vertaa.fi/250x250/102776708.jpg https://pc.vertaa.fi/250x250/102776708.jpg
matt-attack 6y ago
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?
koheripbal 6y ago
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.
- jpindar 6y ago
  Plastic bags of water are even better because they leave no spaces between them.
  - MertsA 6y ago
    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.
    - munificent 6y ago
      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.

by toxik 6y ago

jhrmnn 6y ago

But the heat capacity of the air inside is negligible compared to that of the solid stuff inside. So it shouldn’t matter if you do it just a few times in two weeks.

an-allen 6y ago

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 Texas). The dry ice was not significant enough to do much more than get the fish cool. It was too late.

ethbro 6y ago
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.
- wmoser 6y ago
  On the one hand that would assist with the immediate problem but might cause another problem down the line. Most small refrigerated appliances use hermetically sealed compressors and you’re actually supposed to wait a bit 24hrs ish before starting them to allow the oil in the system to drain back to where it belongs. So theoretically after the power came back on and you flip it back upright you should wait to turn it back on. In reality, lots of people move freezers and fridges and window a/c units and plug them back in and use them right away with no problem. But it is possible that you might severely shorten the life of your equipment too.

sampo 6y ago

> Side loaded freezer and fridges are extremely inefficient because all the cold air is let out when you open the door. Unless they have drawers https://pc.vertaa.fi/250x250/102776708.jpg https://pc.vertaa.fi/250x250/102776708.jpg

matt-attack 6y ago

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?

koheripbal 6y ago

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.

jpindar 6y ago
Plastic bags of water are even better because they leave no spaces between them.
- MertsA 6y ago
  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.
  - munificent 6y ago
    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.