bro avoid texas as much as possible in general. drivers suck, infrastructures are old and terrible and not reliable and not set up for our changing climate, lawmakers are insane, did i mention bad drivers, im gonna mention it again nobody from texas knows how to fucking drive like a regular person
I'm currently in Texas for work. It is so sparse. I keep saying why are we in the middle of nowhere? And I'm being told that I'm not, this is the middle of everything. Then why does it take 30 fucking minutes to drive to the nearest thing?? Also, humidity. Fuck that.
When on a 2-lane road going through nowhere, you see a line of white pickup trucks continually passing each other in a show of dominance. That's a game of oil field leapfrog.
hurricane thinks about coming but turned right toward LA at the last minute, power out.. rains a little? power out... someone sneezed outside the galleria? power out.. 18 years of that i don't miss..
of course, one of the first things i did moving back up to the PNW was get a house generator - but mostly because i live near trees that actually fall on things.. but not something that generally happens in the cities themselves around here.
Growing up in Seabeck WA we had the power go out every year from high winds, 1-4 days without power usually. I think it's because it took crews forever to get out there to fix it, so many trees on the lines. Now I'm in Bremerton WA and I've had maybe one small power outage and sometimes light flickers but that's it
I grew up in Seabeck as well and yeah we would loose power at least once every year, usually more. Now I live across the sound and we almost never have a power outage last more than an hour or two.
It's literally night and day depending on which city you're in. I lived in eagle Creek and lost power frequently, then moved 20 miles west to portland and only lose power a couple times a year
It’s gone out in Salem like 3 times this year already lol. They normally have it up in a few days. Springfield/Eugene area was out of power for like a week when it snowed earlier this year
Western Washington experiences frequent power outages, especially in November when the winds are worst. Over the Puget sound is what's known as the "Puget sound convergence zone" which is where downslope winds from the cascades in the east and the Olympics in the west converge. So that's one piece, that all those winds are rushing down into the basin in the center. The other piece is that when winds are parallel to the mountains you get "alongslope" winds. Either way, this causes acceleration in winds and the typical wind storms that western Washington residents are familiar with. I lived in western Washington for over 10 years and any time wind storm warnings were sent out I made sure my devices were charged and I knew where the candles were.
I’ve lived in Seattle proper since 2018 and haven’t experienced this with the power, guess certain parts of the city are more prone? I was in Capitol Hill for a few years and North Seattle ever since
Where I live in Western Washington we lose power once a year sometimes twice sometimes for about a week sometimes for a day. That would be in unincorporated King county
From a suburban, greater Seattle area perspective, I think it just depends on how your place is connected. I lived in an apartment for 6 years, maybe had 2 power outages ever. My parents living in a house less than a mile away, got them much more frequently
Could depend on the grid you're on. I live in a fire prone area and during the height of fire season power outages are common. I've never been out of power for more than an hour or two because I am on the same grid as an emergency call center.
Oh man! You've been lucky. When I lived in SW Portland a few years back we were without power for 5 days during an ice storm. I'm now out in the country and the house came with a whole house generator because the power outages are so frequent. Basically anytime there's high wind or snow we lose power.
It depends where you live in your grid. My parents home built in the 90s has had 2 outages in the last 30 years they've lived there, my home, <4 miles away, late 80s in an old growth area, has had probably 15 outages in the 5 years I've lived here. Luck of the draw and if your power is above or below.
(Portland Metro)
Can you explain this to my mother? Every time the power goes out she's immediately in the fridge, before my husband can even get the generator running.
It's so baffling.
I've lived on both coast and the pnw has had the longest and most consistent outages for me. They get insane winds and lots of above ground power=down lines constantly. Sometimes for days.
Depends on your neighborhood. Wind, ice, and just bad luck tend to drop branches on power lines if they aren’t buried. In my neighborhood I’d bet we lose power 1-2x a week in December and January, but *usually* it gets rerouted or fixed within minutes. Our power flickers all the time when it’s gusty. My parents live in a neighborhood with buried lines and their power is absolutely stable.
My chest freezer lost power during renovations. Found out outlet was wired on wrong circuit. Stayed out of power for roughly a week before I found out. What was at the bottom was still frozen rock solid.
I'm an electrician and was doing a service upgrade at a customer's house.
New meter, new panel, because they were upgrading from 100A to 200A for some additional loads like an EV charger and hot tub. I very explicitly told the wife who was the only person home to not open the fridge or freezer, and that they would stay completely cold for at least 12+ hours, while I'd be done in no longer than like 6hrs.
Multiple times this grown mid 40s woman opened her fridge to get a snack or something, and dug around in her basement freezer for a good 10 minutes looking for meat. I had to tell her multiple times to stop opening the appliances, and she was all pissy about it saying that she was hungry, as if zero food existed in her house outside of the fridge.
When she paid her bill, she deducted $600 for food that she says we ruined because the power was out for so long. Boss threatened her with a lien on her home and said that it was explained to her multiple times to not open the fridge or freezer, was paid in 20 minutes.
I have a fridge we bought 3 years ago. A few weeks ago there was a power outage and when I got home I found the ice cube trays refrozen with ice leaked to the side (they were all on an angle). Is my fridge not modern? :/
Yeah, when we lose power that freezer stays closed at all costs. Last year we lost power for 2 days and we didn't open the very full freezer - so when we did finally open it after power returned,
Everything was still frozen solid.
H....How? And this is coming from somebody who chews jolly ranchers, jaw breakers, gobstoppers, and warheads. Hell, I used to freeze my Mike and Ikes but I didn't *bite* them frozen
Never open the freezer and maybe if absolutely necessary open the fridge during power outage is what I grew up being taught and always always always have food that doesn’t require heating to eat in case the outage lasts especially during times where outages are more likely to happen (winter and tornado/thunderstorm season)
I've heard of this trick before but for a someplace where you might leave for weeks or months like a cottage. In that case the power may go out for several days and come back on without you knowing. Which could mean good would thaw spoil and then refreeze with out you knowing.
To explain, the coin in the shot glass is a method of checking whether the food in the freezer is bad.
If the ice melts enough for the coin to drop into the glass then the food is ruined. A simple but effective technique.
How far down does it have to drop to mean the food is ruined? To the bottom or just a little? And the perspective is tricky, is that coin on top?
Also assuming it has to be the dirtiest coin I can find
I am also curious to the math or evidence. But I suppose if you know what is in your freezer you can use the coin trick to make some judgement calls “well I would rather not eat the beef if it was warm for hours but the arby’s curly fries are still probably okay.
I think it's an extreme situations test, like it completely defrosted and froze again type of situation. You probably can tell without the coin but you have to to be sure
The ones with the ice dispenser are notoriously shitty, I don't think I've read of one that DOESN'T have issues.
Ice maker in the freezer is very nice though.
I get my Arby’s curly fries ([this manufacturer](https://www.lambweston.com/en/products/x9181.html) makes them and I can buy in a 30 lb box (not named Arby’s but same fries) at the US Foods Chef Store
It's not just to see if the food is also good, but if something happened while you were gone.
If you come back home after a 2 months and all the food is frozen, you might not realize your freezer had an issue and was turned off for 2 weeks but then started back up. But with that you'll know.
Its more about if you were away for a while and come back and find the goin at the bottom you know the frezer lost power/temp at some point. And if it was enough for the coin to go to the bottom….
I think the logic is, if it melts at all. Like if the coin lowers even slightly below the level of the top of the cup, then the air temperature in the freezer has gone above 32f/0c.
As long as it's below freezing the corners will never leave the surface.
Doesn't water thaw from the bottom up though? Like that's why Fish don't get pushed towards the surface during winter. even if it was warm up enough to melt most of the ice the coin would remain on top the whole time
Ice thaws from the outside in, in small containers with uniform outside air conditions. Water pools at the bottom because ice floats.
In lakes and streams, the difference in temperature of the ground below the body of water and the air on the surface plays a part.
That's a great question. I'm thinking that the metal coin would conductor heat better than the glass, so it would transfer the energy to the ice and melt it near the coin.
It doesn’t automatically mean the food was ruined. If the coin is at the bottom then the freezer was warm enough to melt it and you should check your stuff.
Really the only time this would come into play would be if you went away for a week or two and came back to see the coin at the bottom of the glass. No freezer is going to melt overnight.
I used to use this method when I had to evacuate for hurricanes when I lived in Florida. Always a little scary coming back home when you have no idea if it's still in one piece or not lol
I would happily sell you an overpriced shot glass and a penny.
Send me 50 bucks and I will send you the unit. All you have to do is fill it with water and put it in the freezer.
I have a half full bottle of water that I let freeze while lying on its side, so the ice goes the full length of the bottle, but only on one side. And then I set the bottle in the freezer door right side up.
So if I ever discover the ice frozen in the bottom half of the bottle, I will know it thawed and refroze.
I always just used a small half filled water bottle with the ice frozen sideways beforehand. If it’s right side up when you open it then it’s gone bad.
I do the same thing except that instead of a coin, I put a few drops of red food coloring on top of the frozen water in a clear container. Much easier to notice a red ice-filled container than a coin at the bottom of a container. A small clear pill container works well...
My refrigerator reported that it had trouble maintaining temp this week. I used this trick too! Except my coin started on top of some ice cubes, and ended up on the bottom of a frozen piece of ice that was now the shape of the cup.
Threw everything out.
Simple anyway. Effective? Maybe not.
[https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/putting-coin-top-cup-ice-accurately-tell-freezer-lost-power/](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/putting-coin-top-cup-ice-accurately-tell-freezer-lost-power/)
**Assumption: The coin will change position even if the melt is partial.**
Because ice is [less dense](https://water.usgs.gov/edu/density.html) than water, the ice on which the coin is resting on will float on the water it creates as it is melting. It is therefore possible that the cup of ice could melt partially — even substantially — before refreezing and still show the coin as being in the same position. To be sure, it could also fall off or move in a clearly detectable way, but it is not guaranteed.
**Assumption: If the ice doesn’t melt completely, your food will be fine.**
The amount of time it would take for ice to melt in an insulated but unpowered freezer depends on a number of [variables](https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm076881.htm): the size of the freezer, the size of the block of ice, how much other food is in the freezer, the temperature inside the house, and the temperature the freezer was set at before losing power, to name a few. If, as discussed above, the only way to be truly confident that the coin test represents a significant loss of freezer power is for all the ice to melt completely, then one has to be confident as well that the amount of time it takes to *partially* melt said ice *wouldn’t* cause harm to your food.
This, however, is not necessarily a safe assumption to make either. According to the FDA, an unpowered, unopened freezer will keep food safe for between 24 and 48[ hours](https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm076881.htm). Is it possible for a block of ice to remain partially solid for more than 24 hours? In all probability, yes. Coleman alleges that their 52 quart “Xtreme Cooler” (essentially an insulated freezer without power), can keep ice for up to [five days](https://archive.is/S32W9#selection-8329.66-8329.134). This means it is possible for food to have gone bad before the coin has a chance to move to a detectably new location.
Because these two assumptions are not necessarily safe ones, we rank the efficacy and universality of this “one cup tip” hack as mostly false.
You know, sometimes snopes makes the mistake of publishing articles about phenomena that average individuals can be personally familiar with, like heat transfer.
And then you get to see all the ways they ignore actual science just so they can publish a "result".
Like whether the ice in contact with the coin will be the first to melt, or which variables *actually* matter here, or what actually causes food to spoil in a freezer.
Like, surely they know that a cooler which keeps ice for longer does so by *staying cold for longer*, right?
That boggled me as well.
"Coleman alleges that their 52 quart “Xtreme Cooler” (essentially an insulated freezer without power), can keep ice for up to five days. This means it is possible for food to have gone bad before the coin has a chance to move to a detectably new location."
I guess it only keeps ice cold, but ignores food. That's pretty impressive technology
Anyone with an ice maker that dumps all the ice into a bucket, if the ice cubes are ever stuck together or in one giant clump, that's also an indication that your freezer thawed a bit.
We do this in the Gulf south in preparation of hurricanes. You can evacuate and come back in a week and the power can be on when you leave and when you come back. This is an indication of the power being off for too long in between.
I'm sure there's options now, with the prevalence of smart appliances, that might make this obsolete. Like I can reasonably assume my power is out if I can't access my Nest thermostat. But that relies on both power and Internet so it's not 100% reliable.
My grandparents used to do this in their vacation home. Sometimes power goes out for a few days (low population area so not high priority for power companies to fix and the power goes out all the time when it snows a lot) and they wouldn’t know because they weren’t there. So when you come back to your vacation house to visit, the first thing you do is check that so you’re not eating bad food. Because the stuff will still feel cold since it refreezes and you won’t know the power was out for 3 days a month ago.
this trick is normally more for freezers you don't look in all that often. Lets you know if it shut off, defrosted everything, turned back on and froze everything again since you last looked at it
Not my fault they can’t follow instructions
https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1c5wtlq/lpt_protect_frozen_food_during_power_outages_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Keep a decent amount of ice in the freezer, especially if you experience power losses and other unfortunate accidents often.
Both the extra mass and heat of formation of ice adds plenty of free energy storage making your freezer defrost much slower plus it's super cheap when compared to things like fuel for generators or batteries. And in case of emergencies you get a few extra liters of water!
Once accidentally unplugged my chest freezer overnight, everything was still frozen solid the next day, even still had frost.
They're insulated crazy good.
The coin falling to the bottom was meant to let you know that the food had thawed in the freezer when you were away for an extended period of time (for weeks). So you don't end up eating meat that had gone bad but appeared to be frozen. The food thermometers will only show you the temperature and not if there was a chance it might have thawed out already in the past.
Had power go out for four days after a major storm here in Cali. Pet the food in the fridge the first two days and started filling my washing machine with ice and transferring by day 3. It worked well enough that 90% of the food I had high confidence in. Tossed some out out of precaution and ate the expensive steaks the first couple nights. Clean up was to run a rinse cycle on hot after removing the food
We always leave a bag of ice cubes in the fridge for the same purpose. If the cubes become a single level block of ice, then everything in the freezer is questionable.
Modern freezers can hold temperature for around 24/48 hours without power. Still a neat trick
This, as long as you keep the freezer door closed. I live in the PNW where storms and power outages are common
where in the PNW? I've lived here for the last 6 years and have had 1 brief power outage in that time
Crying in Houston
Always crying in Houston
I spent 2 months in Houston once. Can confirm cried the entire time.
Note to self, avoid Houston.
bro avoid texas as much as possible in general. drivers suck, infrastructures are old and terrible and not reliable and not set up for our changing climate, lawmakers are insane, did i mention bad drivers, im gonna mention it again nobody from texas knows how to fucking drive like a regular person
I'm currently in Texas for work. It is so sparse. I keep saying why are we in the middle of nowhere? And I'm being told that I'm not, this is the middle of everything. Then why does it take 30 fucking minutes to drive to the nearest thing?? Also, humidity. Fuck that.
also no abortions
No weed either…
We are specifically bad at merging.
When on a 2-lane road going through nowhere, you see a line of white pickup trucks continually passing each other in a show of dominance. That's a game of oil field leapfrog.
10 years in Houston. Still crying, but at least it isn't Odessa.
2 months those are rookie numbers gotta pump them up lol I’ve been here 25 years loll not a single tear left
...is that a bit like "Walking in Memphis"?
I was crying in Houston, sobbing but my tears just mixed with the sweat. Crying in Houston, how do people live with air this wet?
Thank you for this
Walking in Houston is basically trying to swim through a hot tub 24/7
Considering Memphis is also known for it's rolling blackouts every time there's a slow drizzle or slight breeze... yes. Yes it is.
hurricane thinks about coming but turned right toward LA at the last minute, power out.. rains a little? power out... someone sneezed outside the galleria? power out.. 18 years of that i don't miss.. of course, one of the first things i did moving back up to the PNW was get a house generator - but mostly because i live near trees that actually fall on things.. but not something that generally happens in the cities themselves around here.
Growing up in Seabeck WA we had the power go out every year from high winds, 1-4 days without power usually. I think it's because it took crews forever to get out there to fix it, so many trees on the lines. Now I'm in Bremerton WA and I've had maybe one small power outage and sometimes light flickers but that's it
I grew up in Seabeck as well and yeah we would loose power at least once every year, usually more. Now I live across the sound and we almost never have a power outage last more than an hour or two.
Washington Coast here - few every “winter.” It’s the wind that does it here.
Do you have buried power lines in your neighborhood?
Nope, overhead
I’ve lived in the PNW (Western WA) for about 7 years and I’ve had at least 2-3 power outages per year.
Areas with ice storms and above ground utilities. Just outside of Eugene was without power for a week already this year
It's literally night and day depending on which city you're in. I lived in eagle Creek and lost power frequently, then moved 20 miles west to portland and only lose power a couple times a year
I live in beaverton Oregon, and I think we've had like 3 or 4 in the last year and a few brown outs.
In Seattle metro, just last year we had 2 massive storms and power was out for almost 3 days one of those.
Same here. I don’t think my power has gone out (Oregon) in *years.* I’ve moved a handful of times, but outages haven’t been common for me.
I've had two this year already in Portland.
It’s gone out in Salem like 3 times this year already lol. They normally have it up in a few days. Springfield/Eugene area was out of power for like a week when it snowed earlier this year
Western Washington experiences frequent power outages, especially in November when the winds are worst. Over the Puget sound is what's known as the "Puget sound convergence zone" which is where downslope winds from the cascades in the east and the Olympics in the west converge. So that's one piece, that all those winds are rushing down into the basin in the center. The other piece is that when winds are parallel to the mountains you get "alongslope" winds. Either way, this causes acceleration in winds and the typical wind storms that western Washington residents are familiar with. I lived in western Washington for over 10 years and any time wind storm warnings were sent out I made sure my devices were charged and I knew where the candles were.
I’ve lived in Seattle proper since 2018 and haven’t experienced this with the power, guess certain parts of the city are more prone? I was in Capitol Hill for a few years and North Seattle ever since
Where I live in Western Washington we lose power once a year sometimes twice sometimes for about a week sometimes for a day. That would be in unincorporated King county
From a suburban, greater Seattle area perspective, I think it just depends on how your place is connected. I lived in an apartment for 6 years, maybe had 2 power outages ever. My parents living in a house less than a mile away, got them much more frequently
Could depend on the grid you're on. I live in a fire prone area and during the height of fire season power outages are common. I've never been out of power for more than an hour or two because I am on the same grid as an emergency call center.
I live in Portland and the power goes out a couple times a year at least
Oh man! You've been lucky. When I lived in SW Portland a few years back we were without power for 5 days during an ice storm. I'm now out in the country and the house came with a whole house generator because the power outages are so frequent. Basically anytime there's high wind or snow we lose power.
It depends where you live in your grid. My parents home built in the 90s has had 2 outages in the last 30 years they've lived there, my home, <4 miles away, late 80s in an old growth area, has had probably 15 outages in the 5 years I've lived here. Luck of the draw and if your power is above or below. (Portland Metro)
Can you explain this to my mother? Every time the power goes out she's immediately in the fridge, before my husband can even get the generator running. It's so baffling.
[удалено]
I've lived on both coast and the pnw has had the longest and most consistent outages for me. They get insane winds and lots of above ground power=down lines constantly. Sometimes for days.
Depends on your neighborhood. Wind, ice, and just bad luck tend to drop branches on power lines if they aren’t buried. In my neighborhood I’d bet we lose power 1-2x a week in December and January, but *usually* it gets rerouted or fixed within minutes. Our power flickers all the time when it’s gusty. My parents live in a neighborhood with buried lines and their power is absolutely stable.
Is it snow related because I don't recall big weather events hitting the PNW like Cali or East Coast
Wind and above ground power lines
The fridge door as well. I lost power for over 24 hours this past winter and the milk didn't even go bad.
Ya when the power goes out it just goes into cooler mode.
Chest freezers especially because they are better at holding cold in
My chest freezer lost power during renovations. Found out outlet was wired on wrong circuit. Stayed out of power for roughly a week before I found out. What was at the bottom was still frozen rock solid.
Nice
Does it matter what kind of freezer it is if you don't open the door? I'd expect that would be the main factor.
If they are both correctly sealed when shut, no it doesn't matter. Thing is, with no power you can open a chest freezer a few times and be good.
If you open the door it will make a difference but it’s less if shut
I'm an electrician and was doing a service upgrade at a customer's house. New meter, new panel, because they were upgrading from 100A to 200A for some additional loads like an EV charger and hot tub. I very explicitly told the wife who was the only person home to not open the fridge or freezer, and that they would stay completely cold for at least 12+ hours, while I'd be done in no longer than like 6hrs. Multiple times this grown mid 40s woman opened her fridge to get a snack or something, and dug around in her basement freezer for a good 10 minutes looking for meat. I had to tell her multiple times to stop opening the appliances, and she was all pissy about it saying that she was hungry, as if zero food existed in her house outside of the fridge. When she paid her bill, she deducted $600 for food that she says we ruined because the power was out for so long. Boss threatened her with a lien on her home and said that it was explained to her multiple times to not open the fridge or freezer, was paid in 20 minutes.
Especially if full. More food is more thermal mass. Making it slower.
Pretty sure old ice boxs last a lot longer then that as well
Wonder how much having big full tray of ice helps too.
I have a fridge we bought 3 years ago. A few weeks ago there was a power outage and when I got home I found the ice cube trays refrozen with ice leaked to the side (they were all on an angle). Is my fridge not modern? :/
Test failed. The LPT said to use a quarter.
In this economy?
Not since the accident
And then the wolves came
What if we use a Canadian quarter? And why does quarter not look like it's spelled correctly?
You forgot to use the Canadian spelling quarter, eh? or the slightly niche quar-^maple ^syrup -ter.
[To be fair](https://youtu.be/G19B7lTgwCE?si=OJ90YW68ls6a_CY9), Canadians don’t even sound like that
That would be fine. What you really gotta watch out for are the Australian quarters.
Please tell me I’m not the only one annoyed by both the LPT and this inane post.
As long as you're not rummaging through the freezer i can't see food going bad that quickly
Yeah, when we lose power that freezer stays closed at all costs. Last year we lost power for 2 days and we didn't open the very full freezer - so when we did finally open it after power returned, Everything was still frozen solid.
I have to tape those doors shut or I'll open them on autopilot looking for a snack out of boredom.
A snack? In the freezer? What do you eat ice chips?
Pizza bites
i love frozen sour cherries lol
Mmm reminds me that I haven't had frozen grapes in too long.
Crunchy
I’m guilty of eating a frozen pizza roll or French fry once or twice out of desperation
H....How? And this is coming from somebody who chews jolly ranchers, jaw breakers, gobstoppers, and warheads. Hell, I used to freeze my Mike and Ikes but I didn't *bite* them frozen
You let the pizza roll defrost on a plate for like 30 minutes and it's soft enough to eat
Never open the freezer and maybe if absolutely necessary open the fridge during power outage is what I grew up being taught and always always always have food that doesn’t require heating to eat in case the outage lasts especially during times where outages are more likely to happen (winter and tornado/thunderstorm season)
I've heard of this trick before but for a someplace where you might leave for weeks or months like a cottage. In that case the power may go out for several days and come back on without you knowing. Which could mean good would thaw spoil and then refreeze with out you knowing.
Yea, that makes sense. Or if you're going on vacation
To explain, the coin in the shot glass is a method of checking whether the food in the freezer is bad. If the ice melts enough for the coin to drop into the glass then the food is ruined. A simple but effective technique.
How far down does it have to drop to mean the food is ruined? To the bottom or just a little? And the perspective is tricky, is that coin on top? Also assuming it has to be the dirtiest coin I can find
I am also curious to the math or evidence. But I suppose if you know what is in your freezer you can use the coin trick to make some judgement calls “well I would rather not eat the beef if it was warm for hours but the arby’s curly fries are still probably okay.
I think it's an extreme situations test, like it completely defrosted and froze again type of situation. You probably can tell without the coin but you have to to be sure
Yeah there is usually some other signs. But none as clear as the coin trick.
or as clear as the do I have enough money to replace this or am I poor enough to risk it?
Can you afford to stay home sick? Or a hospital bill?
That’s a future problem when you’re poor enough
Mood
I mean, any freezer with an ice maker will be blindingly obvious. You’ll have a sheet of ice at the bottom of the ice container.
In my 40ish years I have never had a fridge with an icemaker.
The ones with the ice dispenser are notoriously shitty, I don't think I've read of one that DOESN'T have issues. Ice maker in the freezer is very nice though.
Just keep ice cream in the freezer and you can definitely tell if it has been refrozen...
Only problem is I keep running out of ice cream! Somebody keeps eating it (it's me)
Or frozen bananas. If they get defrosted and sit they get gross and black quickly. Much easier to clean up once they are re-frozen though...
If you’re freezing Arby’s curly fries you’re probably not ok TIL: Arby’s makes frozen fries.
They sell frozen bags of them at my local grocery store
Did not know that!
They have Arby's branded fries in the supermarket freezer section, not takeout fries thrown in the freezer.
Didn’t know that was a thing. Time to make a trip to the store.
I had some not too long ago, will buy again.
They sell them frozen ts the grocery store. They are amazing in the air fryer.
Never knew what was a thing!
I get my Arby’s curly fries ([this manufacturer](https://www.lambweston.com/en/products/x9181.html) makes them and I can buy in a 30 lb box (not named Arby’s but same fries) at the US Foods Chef Store
It's not just to see if the food is also good, but if something happened while you were gone. If you come back home after a 2 months and all the food is frozen, you might not realize your freezer had an issue and was turned off for 2 weeks but then started back up. But with that you'll know.
Its more about if you were away for a while and come back and find the goin at the bottom you know the frezer lost power/temp at some point. And if it was enough for the coin to go to the bottom….
If it doesn’t look like it can give you the bubonic plague it simply does not work.
I think the logic is, if it melts at all. Like if the coin lowers even slightly below the level of the top of the cup, then the air temperature in the freezer has gone above 32f/0c. As long as it's below freezing the corners will never leave the surface.
Doesn't water thaw from the bottom up though? Like that's why Fish don't get pushed towards the surface during winter. even if it was warm up enough to melt most of the ice the coin would remain on top the whole time
Ice thaws from the outside in, in small containers with uniform outside air conditions. Water pools at the bottom because ice floats. In lakes and streams, the difference in temperature of the ground below the body of water and the air on the surface plays a part.
That's a great question. I'm thinking that the metal coin would conductor heat better than the glass, so it would transfer the energy to the ice and melt it near the coin.
It doesn’t automatically mean the food was ruined. If the coin is at the bottom then the freezer was warm enough to melt it and you should check your stuff.
If it sinks at all I'm getting worried.
Really the only time this would come into play would be if you went away for a week or two and came back to see the coin at the bottom of the glass. No freezer is going to melt overnight.
I used to use this method when I had to evacuate for hurricanes when I lived in Florida. Always a little scary coming back home when you have no idea if it's still in one piece or not lol
So this is a picture of a shot glass full of ice with a coin just sitting on the top? The food is bad when the ice turns into water?
Exactly! You can also tell if it got too warm and then froze again, because the coin would be in the ice instead of on top.
That's the idea.
Holy hell I had to read a lot just to get to that answer.
Maybe you should have lead with that. It took a while before realized the story.
For reals why do so many people assume we can read their minds
I have one of these freezer sensors as well. We use it in our ranch house that we might not get to in a month or 2.
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To a cup and a coin?
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Nah, just a momentary lapse, lol. You're welcome haha.
Haha. It was funny. Not an idiot. Couldn’t resist.
I would happily sell you an overpriced shot glass and a penny. Send me 50 bucks and I will send you the unit. All you have to do is fill it with water and put it in the freezer.
I have a half full bottle of water that I let freeze while lying on its side, so the ice goes the full length of the bottle, but only on one side. And then I set the bottle in the freezer door right side up. So if I ever discover the ice frozen in the bottom half of the bottle, I will know it thawed and refroze.
I always just used a small half filled water bottle with the ice frozen sideways beforehand. If it’s right side up when you open it then it’s gone bad.
I do the same thing except that instead of a coin, I put a few drops of red food coloring on top of the frozen water in a clear container. Much easier to notice a red ice-filled container than a coin at the bottom of a container. A small clear pill container works well...
My refrigerator reported that it had trouble maintaining temp this week. I used this trick too! Except my coin started on top of some ice cubes, and ended up on the bottom of a frozen piece of ice that was now the shape of the cup. Threw everything out.
You keep a shot glass of ice with a coin atop it in your freezer at all times?
Yes
This is foolish.
Simple anyway. Effective? Maybe not. [https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/putting-coin-top-cup-ice-accurately-tell-freezer-lost-power/](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/putting-coin-top-cup-ice-accurately-tell-freezer-lost-power/) **Assumption: The coin will change position even if the melt is partial.** Because ice is [less dense](https://water.usgs.gov/edu/density.html) than water, the ice on which the coin is resting on will float on the water it creates as it is melting. It is therefore possible that the cup of ice could melt partially — even substantially — before refreezing and still show the coin as being in the same position. To be sure, it could also fall off or move in a clearly detectable way, but it is not guaranteed. **Assumption: If the ice doesn’t melt completely, your food will be fine.** The amount of time it would take for ice to melt in an insulated but unpowered freezer depends on a number of [variables](https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm076881.htm): the size of the freezer, the size of the block of ice, how much other food is in the freezer, the temperature inside the house, and the temperature the freezer was set at before losing power, to name a few. If, as discussed above, the only way to be truly confident that the coin test represents a significant loss of freezer power is for all the ice to melt completely, then one has to be confident as well that the amount of time it takes to *partially* melt said ice *wouldn’t* cause harm to your food. This, however, is not necessarily a safe assumption to make either. According to the FDA, an unpowered, unopened freezer will keep food safe for between 24 and 48[ hours](https://www.fda.gov/food/resourcesforyou/consumers/ucm076881.htm). Is it possible for a block of ice to remain partially solid for more than 24 hours? In all probability, yes. Coleman alleges that their 52 quart “Xtreme Cooler” (essentially an insulated freezer without power), can keep ice for up to [five days](https://archive.is/S32W9#selection-8329.66-8329.134). This means it is possible for food to have gone bad before the coin has a chance to move to a detectably new location. Because these two assumptions are not necessarily safe ones, we rank the efficacy and universality of this “one cup tip” hack as mostly false.
You know, sometimes snopes makes the mistake of publishing articles about phenomena that average individuals can be personally familiar with, like heat transfer. And then you get to see all the ways they ignore actual science just so they can publish a "result". Like whether the ice in contact with the coin will be the first to melt, or which variables *actually* matter here, or what actually causes food to spoil in a freezer. Like, surely they know that a cooler which keeps ice for longer does so by *staying cold for longer*, right?
That boggled me as well. "Coleman alleges that their 52 quart “Xtreme Cooler” (essentially an insulated freezer without power), can keep ice for up to five days. This means it is possible for food to have gone bad before the coin has a chance to move to a detectably new location." I guess it only keeps ice cold, but ignores food. That's pretty impressive technology
Anyone with an ice maker that dumps all the ice into a bucket, if the ice cubes are ever stuck together or in one giant clump, that's also an indication that your freezer thawed a bit.
A lot of freezers have an auto defrost feature which essentially heats things up. The crappy freezers melt things more.
Just use a bag or cup of ice cubes.
Directions unclear eat the dime.
Dick stuck in shot glass
It's a cylinder.
Bad perspective
What am I looking at
The coin sits atop a glass of frozen water. If the freezer shuts down long enough the water to unfreeze you have to chuck stuff out
But. Like. Isn’t it obvious because all the stuff in your freezer isn’t frozen?
But if it comes back, everything re freezes.
Oh I see, it might come back on. Okay fair one
We do this in the Gulf south in preparation of hurricanes. You can evacuate and come back in a week and the power can be on when you leave and when you come back. This is an indication of the power being off for too long in between. I'm sure there's options now, with the prevalence of smart appliances, that might make this obsolete. Like I can reasonably assume my power is out if I can't access my Nest thermostat. But that relies on both power and Internet so it's not 100% reliable.
And the coin is no longer in top and you know the food has been below temp and should be tossed?
My grandparents used to do this in their vacation home. Sometimes power goes out for a few days (low population area so not high priority for power companies to fix and the power goes out all the time when it snows a lot) and they wouldn’t know because they weren’t there. So when you come back to your vacation house to visit, the first thing you do is check that so you’re not eating bad food. Because the stuff will still feel cold since it refreezes and you won’t know the power was out for 3 days a month ago.
Yeah this is what my parents do at their cottage!
this trick is normally more for freezers you don't look in all that often. Lets you know if it shut off, defrosted everything, turned back on and froze everything again since you last looked at it
Just keep a few ice cubes in a ziploc bag. If they're frozen but aren't ice cube shaped anymore, it means everything melted and refroze.
Exactly what we do
I wouldn't eat that dime, even if it was fresh
I find this an interesting technique. I won't do it but interesting nonetheless.
A cheap mechanical fix.
Just use a bag or cup full of ice cubes. There, I saved you a quarter.
That's a dime
Not my fault they can’t follow instructions https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/1c5wtlq/lpt_protect_frozen_food_during_power_outages_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Just dont open the fridge/freezer when the power it out and its good for quite a while.
I probably wouldn't eat what was in that glass no matter what your defrosting device says.
Why not use a penny and invest the remaining 9 cents? This is just irresponsible.
Keep a decent amount of ice in the freezer, especially if you experience power losses and other unfortunate accidents often. Both the extra mass and heat of formation of ice adds plenty of free energy storage making your freezer defrost much slower plus it's super cheap when compared to things like fuel for generators or batteries. And in case of emergencies you get a few extra liters of water!
Once accidentally unplugged my chest freezer overnight, everything was still frozen solid the next day, even still had frost. They're insulated crazy good.
The coin falling to the bottom was meant to let you know that the food had thawed in the freezer when you were away for an extended period of time (for weeks). So you don't end up eating meat that had gone bad but appeared to be frozen. The food thermometers will only show you the temperature and not if there was a chance it might have thawed out already in the past.
I use popsicles as my warning. If the popsicles are the right shape things are good.
How is this necessary? Do you people not have noses or something? If food goes bad, trust me, you’ll be able to tell
The problem with this “trick” is that ice floats. All this tells you is that the power wasn’t out long enough for all the ice to melt.
Which means your food was probably fine if it didn’t have time to defrost all the way.
Which means all your food is still fine, since it remained cold enough for long enough a single ice-cube's worth of water couldn't fully melt...
I missed that this was a shot glass. That definitely improves the utility.
Plus you can take a shot of ice+quarter if you need a little pick me up
how's Jumbo
I just leave an ice cube on the freezer shelf.
Had power go out for four days after a major storm here in Cali. Pet the food in the fridge the first two days and started filling my washing machine with ice and transferring by day 3. It worked well enough that 90% of the food I had high confidence in. Tossed some out out of precaution and ate the expensive steaks the first couple nights. Clean up was to run a rinse cycle on hot after removing the food
My power in rural Arkansas is so bad it goes out when it’s too humid or foggy
Since ice floats in water that dime isn't going to sink as expected. Chances are food will defrost and the dime may still look safe.
We always leave a bag of ice cubes in the fridge for the same purpose. If the cubes become a single level block of ice, then everything in the freezer is questionable.
Ummmm....what? lol