Can a freezer hold this long?

**fixer** · 04-13-2009, 10:02 AM

My neighbor just returned from Florida for the winter. He was under the assumption our power was off less than a day. We were off for five days. He had put ice cubes in a zip top bag in his freezer. He said they were not hardly melted. We share the same transformer so I know he was out as long as we were. His house was cold without power but his pipes did not freeze. Can a freezer hold this long?

**YankeeMom** · 04-13-2009, 11:19 AM

Food in the freezer can stay frozen longer if the door is not opened. Since he wasn't home and didn't open the freezer door while the power was out, it was probably fine.

**itlw8** · 04-13-2009, 11:33 AM

If the icecube were still cubes then yes it happened

It depends on how full the freezer is and if it is left shut.

We were out 3 days and the deep freeze stayed frozen just fine. Everything in the fridge freezer melted or was moved to the deep freeze or eaten.

**Darlene** · 04-13-2009, 01:16 PM

If those cubes didn't melt there was no problem with things thawing and everything in the freezer is fine to eat. Lucky duck.

**Missy** · 04-13-2009, 01:32 PM

I don't see why not, I mean he wasn't home to open te freezer. The cubes were still unmelted, the cold of the house probably didn't hurt either...

**norcalmommy** · 04-13-2009, 01:58 PM

We have frequent power outages because we are so rural. I keep 2 liter bottles of water in our freezer so the freezer is always jam packed full. If I need room for food, I take out a few bottles and keep them next to the freezer for future use. When it is full, we have never lost anything. When it is not full, we have lost food. I also read that having a full freezer means the freezer isn't working as hard. That helps save a few bucks on electricity.

**mombottoo** · 04-13-2009, 02:32 PM

If his ice cubes were hardly melted, then I would say his freezer stayed cold enough. Me, I'm wondering why anyone would leave food in a freezer over the Winter...I'd have given it away or used it up before I left.

**Momto2Boyz** · 04-14-2009, 07:24 AM

Last summer, my parents were without power for 8 days. They had a freezer full of food and theirs was fine. You have to remember that in a deep freezer, the food is frozen solid, so all of the food itself acts as a cooling agent to the freezer, even when it isn't running. And if the door wasn't opened much to let the cool air out, the items in the freezer most likely kept everything in there frozen! It's the whole concept behind keeping a freezer full. When the freezer is full, it keeps itself cold and runs much less often becuase it doesn't need too, becuase the food itself is throwing off cold air to keep the freezer cold!