Fecking freezer door left ajar ...

[OG]

I've got a wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer. When we had a problem with our 'frost free' freezer not really getting cold enough*, putting the outdoor unit in the freezer meant we could monitor the temp from another room.

Works fine and you can tell if the battery has gone flat because the reading disappears altogether.

*This is a common problem caused when overpacking blocks the airflow that is necessary for the frost free to work. We were on the verge of buying a replacement, but as we were away for a weekend we decided as a last go to use up as much of the contents as possible then left it switched off for 48 hours (with a towel on the floor).

It's been as good as new since then.

[S Viemeister]

Both of Heathkit the reel-to-reel tape recorders I built, were that colour, but some of the test equipment was a pale grey.

[jgharston]

My granny's great-aunt started off doing home food deliveries:

to the 19th Century ;)

JGH

[The Natural Philosopher]

why? food doesn't instantly tirn into bacteria if the temp goes over 0C...

Re freeze it.

[The Natural Philosopher]

So re freeze them.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

Or, just a weight on a pulley. No electrics at all.

[Owain]

I can see the resemblance.

It's a shame that lemon buns didn't have quite the same appeal as home delivery pizza.

Owain

[dennis]

Just tilt the thing back with a couple of wedges under the front feet and have self closing doors.

[MM]

Oh, THAT was a pretty long time, deffo.

MM

[MM]

I wouldn't risk it. I think if the recommended temperature of -18 deg is not maintained, some foods are going to make you ill, especially if they get a little warmer, and are then frozen again when the fault (open door/lid) is detected. That way food poisoning lies.

MM

[MM]

No! No! No! You'll get food poisoning, practically guaranteed. And possibly a VERY severe kind, too. DON'T DO IT! NEVER refreeze food that's partially defrosted. You're just asking for trouble, especially if the food is fed to children whose immune systems are not fully developed (especially nowadays when they are not allowed to play outside and thus do not get their usual intake of worms, soil etc).

MM

[MM]

Oh! Oh! The drugs manufacturers are really going to like you! A walking wallet -- with botulism, gorgeous! (Not walking for very long, though.)

MM

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

A spring-loaded boxing glove mounted in a cannon barrel on the far side of the room.

[PeterC]

No use for this OP's problem then.

[Dave Liquorice]

Bacteria really don't reproduce very fast at all at fridge temperatures (+4C or there abouts) that's why fridges keep stuff fresh for days. The food in a working freezer with the door left ajar for a few hours is going to get relatively "warm", say -5 to -10C but not very likely to get above 0C.

Of course stuff will also be cooked properly. Most cases of food poisioning are down to a failing in the cooking not killing off the bacteria. A few cases of food poisioning are down to toxins created by bacteria that proper cooking won't do much about but those are few and far between compared to ingesting live bacteria.

[Matty F]

That won't work with my fridge/freezer. The freezer has a drawer, and too much friction to close it by tilting. The fridge has a handle on both sides and can be opened either side. The mechanical device to lock the hinges on the side that is not being opened has too much friction to close by tilting. So, I propose having a couple of reed switches connected to a 12 volt light that can't be missed. Another light will show if the front and back doors and garage are not locked.

[Mike Barnes]

Grimly Curmudgeon :

How big would that weight need to be to close a door against a full drawer that hadn't quite been pushed fully home?

[Mike Barnes]

Don't do that. Cook what you can use and give the rest away to the neighbours, with instructions that it should be cooked and eaten promptly.

[Kevin Poole]

How many cases of botulism are there each year in the UK caused by refreezing food that had been allowed to thaw (but had not even been at room temperature for long - my caveat that you snipped)?

Order of magnitude will suffice.

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

Our freezer has an "annoyance beep" built in when the door is open for more than about 20 seconds. Actually rather good as it increases the "load speed" of getting fresh stuff in and the door shut again.