3 ms·

That seems obvious once you point it out, but yeah, I never really considered how tough it would be if a natural disaster knocked out the fridge for a few days

That seems obvious once you point it out, but yeah, I never really considered how tough it would be if a natural disaster knocked out the fridge for a few days for temperature-sensitive medicine. Like in Texas earlier this year. (Though I suppose it was cold enough you could stash stuff outside…). I wonder if there any teeny little thermoelectric coolers that you could keep for an emergency and run off a bunch of batteries…

steveklabnik 5y ago
As it so happens, I live in Austin... Yeah, in theory you can stash stuff outside, but that also isn't as simple as it sounds. While I take some issue with the milk analogy below, in this case, I think it fits. Imagine you have a gallon of milk. You lose power. You go stash it in the snow. Okay, it's kept "cold" for some value of cold. That "some value" matters, because with this gallon of milk, you can't smell it to see if it's spoiled, and if something goes horribly wrong, you die. It's not a binary thing as it sounds immediately. "Cold in the snow" is not the same as "kept at the same value I can control exactly in my fridge."
- perardi 5y ago
  Ha, yes, I do suppose medical-grade peptides need a bit more rigorous temperature control than that frozen yogurt I buried in the snow during a brief power outage…
  - steveklabnik 5y ago
    Yep. And this whole thing is a microcosm of the entire situation: the details really, really, really matter. It's quite easy from the outside to not realize how much they really, really matter. (It is also true that it is not the case that if it is not continuously absolutely refrigerated, it immediately goes bad, which is one reason why the milk analogy gets strained. Milk expires far, far faster, and in a more binary way than insulin goes bad... but freezing it is extremely bad, so... analogies are hard.)
- mckeed 5y ago
  I live in the North and I've been thinking about building an ice box in the basement that stores cold from outside during the winter – mostly for energy-saving purposes, but it would be interesting to try making a system with precise temperature controls.
- cwkoss 5y ago
  You can buy 'cold chain' stickers that indicate whether they have exceeded certain temperatures. Could be useful for prepper diabetics. (And for practicing and testing different ways to maintain cold chain in emergency-like conditions)
cperciva 5y ago
Though I suppose it was cold enough you could stash stuff outside… That may work for some things, but freezing insulin destroys it.
cstejerean 5y ago
That’s easier to protect against though. You can install a standby generator, or run a small portable generator to keep the fridge going (or any other medical equipment). Or install solar + battery system. But if you can’t buy more insulin then that’s a real problem.
techrat 5y ago
You mean something like this? https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cooluli-classic-0-1-cu-ft-mini-fridge-black/6401249.p?skuId=6401249 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cooluli-classic-0-1-cu-ft-mini-... Runs in 120v, 12v and even 5v (Eco) mode. In a pinch I would say a 12v based battery setup should keep something like this running for a while. A few of my emergency power lithium battery packs had cigarette/car ports on them.

steveklabnik 5y ago

As it so happens, I live in Austin... Yeah, in theory you can stash stuff outside, but that also isn't as simple as it sounds. While I take some issue with the milk analogy below, in this case, I think it fits. Imagine you have a gallon of milk. You lose power. You go stash it in the snow. Okay, it's kept "cold" for some value of cold. That "some value" matters, because with this gallon of milk, you can't smell it to see if it's spoiled, and if something goes horribly wrong, you die. It's not a binary thing as it sounds immediately. "Cold in the snow" is not the same as "kept at the same value I can control exactly in my fridge."

perardi 5y ago
Ha, yes, I do suppose medical-grade peptides need a bit more rigorous temperature control than that frozen yogurt I buried in the snow during a brief power outage…
- steveklabnik 5y ago
  Yep. And this whole thing is a microcosm of the entire situation: the details really, really, really matter. It's quite easy from the outside to not realize how much they really, really matter. (It is also true that it is not the case that if it is not continuously absolutely refrigerated, it immediately goes bad, which is one reason why the milk analogy gets strained. Milk expires far, far faster, and in a more binary way than insulin goes bad... but freezing it is extremely bad, so... analogies are hard.)
mckeed 5y ago
I live in the North and I've been thinking about building an ice box in the basement that stores cold from outside during the winter – mostly for energy-saving purposes, but it would be interesting to try making a system with precise temperature controls.
cwkoss 5y ago
You can buy 'cold chain' stickers that indicate whether they have exceeded certain temperatures. Could be useful for prepper diabetics. (And for practicing and testing different ways to maintain cold chain in emergency-like conditions)

cperciva 5y ago

Though I suppose it was cold enough you could stash stuff outside… That may work for some things, but freezing insulin destroys it.

cstejerean 5y ago

That’s easier to protect against though. You can install a standby generator, or run a small portable generator to keep the fridge going (or any other medical equipment). Or install solar + battery system. But if you can’t buy more insulin then that’s a real problem.

techrat 5y ago

You mean something like this? https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cooluli-classic-0-1-cu-ft-mini-fridge-black/6401249.p?skuId=6401249 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cooluli-classic-0-1-cu-ft-mini-... Runs in 120v, 12v and even 5v (Eco) mode. In a pinch I would say a 12v based battery setup should keep something like this running for a while. A few of my emergency power lithium battery packs had cigarette/car ports on them.