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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 t
by todd8 6y ago
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).
- jsilence 6y agoExcellent trick! Thanks!
- ryanianian 6y agoI keep a bag of ice cubes in the freezer for this purpose. If it’s a single cube the freezer went out.
- mumblemumble 6y agoIt's a good trick, although there's a caveat: it only works with freezers that aren't self-defrosting.
- rambojazz 6y agoIf freezers self-defrost by lowering the internal temperature, won't that spoil the food inside by lowering and raising the temp multiple times?
- mumblemumble 6y agoIn my experience, food in self-defrosting freezers doesn't outright spoil quickly enough to be a practical concern, though I'm sure it does technically allow for stuff to grow faster. What it does do, though, is get freezer burned very quickly.
- kyteland 6y agoThey don't lower the internal temperature of the freezer. The frost generally forms first on the evaporator unit and that is the part that is heated periodically to remove the ice buildup. It's possible for ice to build up elsewhere in the freezer but the air is circulated and the remaining ice generally sublimates away. This wouldn't cause your food or a bag of ice to melt, but it will cause your ice cubes to shrink over time and will freezer burn your frozen food.
- syshum 6y agoIt 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
- Retric 6y agoTrue, but easily solved by adding salt to the cup. At -20c salt is completely ineffective, but the cup will melt long before reaching 0c.
- KMnO4 6y agoI usually just put the cup upside down in a small container. If there's any melting the water will collect in the container. Another poster said use an upside down water bottle, which sounds like an even better option.
- woobar 6y agoYou are correct. I've shared my personal experience above[1]. Coin will stay on top of the floating piece of ice even if 90% of water has melted. [1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24111666 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24111666
- segmondy 6y agoOr get a freezer alarm. Besides going off after a preset high temperature, it stores lows & high temp. I bought one for about $20 from amazon.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- bnycum 6y agoAnother idea I’ve used while on vacation. Get a plastic bottle, fill it maybe 1/4 to 1/2 with water, freeze it, then before leaving turn it upside down. If the ice stays at the bottom of the bottle when you get back you should be all good.