Remote Living > Housing

intermittent freezer power - would it harm food?

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vtpeaknik:
I'm seeking to make the most use of my PV power while keeping the batteries mostly full because it's primarily a backup power system and I do have grid power normally.  In that spirit I was wondering if it would be OK to run a chest freezer during the day only (surplus PV power) and not at all at night.  I left it unpowered overnight as an experiment, and it warmed up from 0F to 20F (-18C to -7C).  This was of course far from thawing.  But, would that much temperature swing on a nightly basis have an effect on the freezer contents? E.g., could it cause foods in the freezer to dry out faster or something?

wpowokal:
What you are proposing is quite common here where I live as many households only have electricity while their generator is running, however do be careful. The following is taken from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Food_safety_storage Mr Google showed me that.

Summary

Incorrect storage of food can cause spoilage and food poisoning. High-risk food should be kept at 5 °C or below, and above 60 °C to avoid the 'temperature danger zone', where bacteria multiply fastest. Do not refreeze food that has been frozen and thawed once. Store raw food separately from cooked food.

Here in the tropics food safety is so important that one can not thaw food by leaving it out, I thaw food in the fridge unless I intend to use or cook it immediately.

Storing food in the fridge

Your fridge temperature should be at 5 °C or below. The freezer temperature should be below -15 °C. Use a thermometer to check the temperature in your fridge.  also from the same site.

Grumpy Allan

ChrisOlson:
Consider putting your freezer in a place where it is cooler, like the basement, if you live in a hot climate.  It will reduce the power consumption of it.

I think I would consider adding more battery capacity to store the surplus PV power and keeping the freezer powered up 24/7.
--
Chris

OperaHouse:
Having a lot of thermal mass is the secret and starting with a lower temperature.  I run my6 chest fridge this way.  I have to believe this is hard on the compressor since a long run time each morning is not a design criteria.  Something like a UNO to limit on time and progressivly lower temperature through the day would be interesting.

WindriderNM:
Some gallon jugs of water could increase the thermal mass. You could put some insulation on the sides and top being careful not to block any ventilation.

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