Freezer Tips
If you have a large family you may want to consider purchasing
an extra freezer. An extra freezer can be helpful in many
different ways. You can use your extra freezer to store
pre cooked meals that you can prepare ahead of time for
your family. Also you can buy large quantities of food to
store when you run into really good sales. This can save
you from paying top dollar for your food items. A lot of
stores will reduce certain items at a time, and you can
take advantage of this. A lot of people store meats for
up to a year in their extra freezers. As with all appliances,
things may go wrong at any given time. Being prepared and
having the knowledge to react in this situation can make
the difference in saving all of the stored food from spoil.
For situations where you have advanced notice of a potential
problem, such as your power being shut off, or remodeling
your home, you can prepare in order to save your investment.
By setting your temperature control to minus fifteen degrees,
you can give the items a colder freeze. This can help by
prolonging the melting rate of the items. It is a good idea
not to use this setting for normal freezing, as this can
make the thawing time very long. Also you may want to avoid
exposing your freezer to the outside. If you are able to
store your freezer indoors it will help it stay cooler and
use less energy. You can add to the insulation and energy
reducing properties by covering the freezer with blankets
or old newspapers. When covering the unit be sure not to
block any ventilation system that may be present.
If for any reason you are unable to keep the temperature
down long enough before your power is regained you can use
dry ice to try and maintain a low temperature. On average
you can consider a 10-cubic freezer to require approximately
20-30 pounds of dry ice to maintain low temperatures. If
you have a larger freezer like a 20-cubic then you will
need around 50 pounds of dry ice to maintain a low temperature.
If you do decide to use the dry ice make sure to use gloves
and a mask. The extreme cold temperature can cause burning
to bare skin, and the vapors consist of Carbon Dioxide and
can be harmful. Some symptoms are shortness of breath, extreme
headaches, and
Another thing that can be helpful in maintaining low temperatures
is opening the door as least as possible. The more you open
the door, the more cold air will escape and the higher the
temperature will get. You can prevent this by making sure
that the door is always closed tightly. Some models of freezers
will even have a latch or locking mechanism attached so
you can insure a proper seal at all times. You can also
help maintain a low temperature by keeping a large volume
of food in the freezer. The more that you store in there,
the colder it will all be.
If you take good care of and maintain you freezer properly,
you will reap its benefits for years to come.