Extending a dead freezer
Disaster and outage: keeping frozen goods frozen
When the freezer loses power, the clock starts. Pre-frozen cells buy hours for a home, a clinic or a small shop. The limits are stated.
A full freezer left closed keeps food frozen for a day or two; a half-empty one for less. Every opening costs time. Ice is not available during an outage, because the machines are dead too.
What cells add
Cells frozen in advance and kept in the freezer are thermal mass at −10 °C. Moved into an insulated box with the most valuable product, they hold it frozen for hours after the freezer itself has warmed.
The limits
Cells hold; they do not freeze. Eight hours at −10 °C each, in an insulated box, with the lid shut. Plan the kit for the product that matters most, not the whole freezer.
Who should keep a set
Households with medication that must stay frozen, small food shops, clinics, and anywhere a power cut is a seasonal certainty.