There’s a lot of Money in Your Chest Freezer
Chest freezers are great ways to save money. Whether you hunt, fish, or just like to buy economy-sized foods in bulk from Costco, chest freezers let you save money by planning ahead.
In Myrtle Beach and Horry and Georgetown counties, it’s common to have a chest freezer filled with venison, various waterfowl, and fish from our coastal waters. This stockpile of protein provides a variety of meals throughout the year.
But what happens when the power goes out?
Losing a full chest freezer easily equates to hundreds of dollars in loss of food, either from the cost of the items or from costs to replace them. There’s also a feeling a wastefulness, especially for hunters and fishermen who take from land and sea in order to eat sustainably, with a strong connection to their food.
A Backup Generator Saves Your Chest Freezer and More
In a power outage, a standby residential generator automatically detects the disruption and transfers to generated power immediately. The transfer is immediate and automatic, and so quick, you may not even notice that utility power went out.
The residential generator connects directly to the main electrical panel in your home, restoring power to all rooms, appliances, and outlets, including your chest freezer containing months of food for you and your family.
Since residential generators connect to a large fuel supply, they can power your whole home easily and quietly for weeks. So if we do encounter another devastating hurricane and lines are down for a while, you can live in relative comfort (lights, kitchen appliances, heat and air-conditioning, etc) until utilities are restored.
How to Keep Food Cold in a Chest Freezer Without Power (for up to a couple days)
If you don’t have a backup generator to power your chest freezer, there are some steps you can take to preserve the cold temperature in the freezer for up to a couple days. It’s always best to err on the side of caution when it comes to perishable food, but here are some things you can do to make the food last as long as possible (and hopefully until power comes back).
- Set the temp as low as it will go. If a big hurricane is coming, be proactive and get your chest freezer to the coldest setting possible. The colder the inside becomes, the longer it will take for that temperature to rise.
- Keep meats on the bottom. Place meat as low as possible to extend the amount of time it will take to reach an unsafe temperature.
- Fill your freezer fully with ice. If your freezer is not completely full, fill the remaining space with ice.
- Consider installing a freezer alarm for a notification if your freezer goes above 40 degrees.
- Insulate your chest freezer with heavy blankets and do not open it. Opening your freezer will allow cold air to escape and quickly change the internal temperature.
- After the outage, check the temperature of your freezer immediately after power returns. You can use a freezer thermometer to gauge the temperature. Keep in mind that foods near the top will likely be warmer than those on the bottom.
Again, this is not an ideal situation, but it may help you keep food cold enough for 24-48 hours. Unfortunately, consuming food that wasn’t kept at a proper holding temperature is a health risk.
You can avoid this risk by investing in a residential generator, having peace of mind that your freezer of food is safe and cold.
Cooper Electrical Services is Your South Carolina Generator Specialist
To learn more about residential generators as well as our maintenance and repair services, contact us today.
