Water Water And Ice

[Rabbit]

I've been thinking and trying to figure out what I would do immediately with the meat in the freezer if the grid were to go down. I do have a generator it is new and has never been cranked.

I'm an old lady and some of the things I could do a few years ago I cannot do too well these days. For example, lifting a five-gallon gas can to fill said generator, and I think I'm not the only one here who may be in the same boat. So, I have a siphon thing a ma jig for filling kerosene heaters that I will use for the generator.

Back to Water and Ice. A block of ice will last longer in an ice chest than a bag of ice or ice cubes. In the old days, they had refrigerators that used blocks of ice and they worked.

I would try to stretch my limited resources, mainly the generator by packing the meat in ice chests and filling the freezer with manageable containers to make blocks of ice, in suitable sizes to fit the ice chests, which is also good drinking water.

All of the vegetables and some of the meat could be canned, I'm prepared for that.

Your opinions and suggestions are wanted, please.

P.S. I have been freezing Berkey water in meatloaf-sized pans. Two fills fit in a bread bag and all will fit into the ice chests or stay in the freezer as needed. I just feel the need to have ice on hand and as long as I have freezer space I'll do it.

 

[psychgirl]

Great topic, thank you!

 

[Kathy in FL]

This is what hubby got for me so I'm not so dependent in an emergency ... or not emergency ... fuel situation:



Mine is red and doesn't have the brand name on it and holds 35 gallons. He picked it up at a mechanic's estate sale but it is basically the same as mine. I went looking and found them for sale online. Metals ones hold more and are more expensive but on amazon they have a plastic version that holds 14 gallons that is much less expensive but does the same job ... wheels, pump, etc.

 

[hiwall]

This is what hubby got for me so I'm not so dependent in an emergency ... or not emergency ... fuel situation:

View attachment 469129

Mine is red and doesn't have the brand name on it and holds 35 gallons. He picked it up at a mechanic's estate sale but it is basically the same as mine. I went looking and found them for sale online. Metals ones hold more and are more expensive but on amazon they have a plastic version that holds 14 gallons that is much less expensive but does the same job ... wheels, pump, etc.

For those who do not know what is - - a fuel/pump and caddy

 

[kyrsyan]

I like the fuel caddy. And I will likely hunt those up.

I have a generator. The freezers are the main reason I have it. But if I had any suspicion that it was going to be longer than a day or two: 1) I'd pop up the canners and start canning.

2) I'd get dry ice and pack it in. I'd keep filling gaps and condensing the open space. So packing into smaller areas, and wrapping that area to hold the cold from the dry ice. I'd condense large freezer to smaller freezer.

3) We would start eating or giving away the items that cannot be canned. In our case, a lot of cheese dishes for a week or so. Etc, etc.

Did this in 2011. There were a lot of church food groups that were making meals. I delivered several bags of frozen to them. I shared some with friends. Etc. In the end, a small freezer full held out until power was restored.

 

[Toosh]

I am not certain what suggestion you are looking for. Having ice in the freezer is an excellent idea. It's also medicinal for possible burns/injuries and if you keep the water clean, it's potable. My concern for you is the physical endurance needed to execute your plan. That's a lot of work.

The best way to stretch the resources you mention AND reduce your stress is to can all that can now - why wait? By having less in the freezer now, you have less to deal with later. Speaking for myself, I get exhausted canning in a hurry and am more likely to take shortcuts. Also, during the emergency, I may have other issues that need attention. I probably can't concentrate all my attention on preserving freezer contents.

I went thru the same mental exercise a few years back. I chose to lean heavily on batteries. Having a battery on the freezer buys me about 72 hours in all but the hottest summer days. It gives me time to best prioritize tasks after a grid down event.

I am happy with the marine, deep cycle, 100amp AGM batteries. They are cheap ($100 at Rural King) and readily available, so I use them rather than the newer types. I have several setups with battery, inverter, powerstrip with AC & USB, etc. They are tidy setups, disguised as small-tables, on wheels - batteries are heavy. They are pretty enough to set out so I don't take up valuable storage space. One setup is devoted to the frig/freezer. Batteries are recharged with generator or solar.

Other ideas:

• Freezer and frig have a thermometer readout on the exterior so we don't have to open the door to check on things.
• Freezer has a 15lb turkey - this acts like a 15lb block of ice as it thaws slowly. I don't worry about adding additional ice.
• My freezer/frig stays colder longer when I place a thick quilt on top of it and allow ends to flow over the sides.

 

[Toosh]

My fuel transfer pump: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L5PFST5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Illini Warrior]

you freeze potable drinking water in containers that are food grade - you want any stored water drinkable ....

for that freezer or a frig you intend to keep going with periodic running of a generator - it needs to be uber insulated for the task - pre-cut panels of rigid foam boxing it in will extend the temps inside - the "door" panel is the only one isn't corner joined - the panel that covers the rear of the appliance needs to have the condenser/motor section left open for cooling purposes ....