Freezer been switched off / door left open - will food be ok?

mlz1413

It will last longer if its not opened.

A friend goes fishing and they take an cool box filled with frozen stuff and it does them a couple of days but they only open it once a day.

If you have any doubts cook the items and refreeze them. I did this once due the freezer in garage having the door left open in mid summer and not found until 3 days later, quick thaw things like veg I threw away but the meat I cooked and then put into portions and put back in freezer.

downshifter

Friends of mine are into their 3rd day of powercuts and their freezer, in an outhouse, is fine. However it is full of Xmas leftovers, if it was emptier it would defrost far more quickly. As my heating isn't working at home I have now turned my fridge down to it's lowest number (I mean the least cold) as I found that everything even in the fridge was freezing as the kitchen was so cold. Some temperatures last night were as cold as a domestic freezer anyway. An idea might be to fill some carrier bags with snow and put that in if your freezer isn't full, that would help keep it cold for longer.

allydowd

The US Food Safety and Inspection service says 2 days.

Try to keep an eye on the temperature of the food. If it stays below 40°F, it should be OK.

gordikin

If it's as cold where you are as it is here it'll last until hell freezes over!

csarina

The freezer will be going full on a removal lorry and the move will take at least 2 days, last on first off.................what space is left will be filled with bags of newspaper to fill in the gaps. Should I turn the freezer up so the stuff in it is really hard frozen?????

beemuzed

In normal conditions at least 24 hours. Mine's in the garage and I reckon the garage is the same temperature as the freezer right now!
If it's being moved in the next few days I think it should be fine - the forcast doesn't look as if anywhere is going to be warm.

mikey72

Freezer should be at about -18, so it'll defrost somewhat. Fast freeze the day before, check if the van is garaged or not, buy a max min thermometer, and reset it before you go. Eat the food asap. Fill the freezer will freezer blocks if you have any.

babyshoes

I like the idea of adding bags of snow, or even freezing large bottles of water to take up any extra space - you want it as full of frozen stuff as you can get it.Yes, turn it up to make it all as cold as possible. Those cooler blocks are also a good idea if you can get a lot of those to pack in small spaces - perhaps beg, borrow or steal some from family, friends, colleagues etc. Some places sell little ones in flexible bags designed for lunch boxes, which would fit nicely in small gaps!

Also, you could try taping thick layers of newspaper all around it, especially around the seal to keep it insulated, place a newspaper on top of your frozen stuff under the lid, and stand it on a thick layer of newspaper too. Make sure the lid is closed properly - perhaps use masking tape to keep it down, as other tape would leave marks.

Once you arrive, plug it in for a little while (but let it sit for half an hour first so the coolant can settle before you turn it on), then check for anything that seems to be not quite frozen and take it out, cook it and re-freeze. In this weather, I am sure it will be fine! Good luck.

valk_scot

Will they be able to lift the freezer if it's full? I can't even shove my small chest freezer a few feet sideways without taking the food out first.

lil_me

My freezer was extremely heavy and the door flew open as it had stuff in so if it's side opening then make sure it's fastened shut with something.

24 hours minimum I think, 48 hours possible but iffy. I agree the min/max thermometer might be a good idea. It can also depend on how good the seals are on it. Freeze bottles of water for the gaps.