IT IS... ALIVE

[filkertom]

Sorry I haven't updated here for, jeez, almost two weeks. I'm fine, just spending most of my social time on Facebook. I'll post more often here, I promise.

Meantime, how is everybody? Get through the storms yesterday okay? Everything on track for a decent Thanksgiving?

This entry was originally posted at http://filkertom.dreamwidth.org/1642871.

Comments

[maiac]

My neighborhood lost power last night, but it's back on now. The refrigerator/freezer stayed cold enough that I don't have to throw away any food, hurrah!

I'm surprised that there are no fallen branches along my street. Maybe the derecho that blew through here a few years ago took out anything that could be blown down.

[filkertom]

Oh, I've never had to toss food because of a power outage. Nope nope nope. Actually, I have to seriously defrost my "new" fridge, as it's not a frost-free model, and it stays INTENSELY cold. I've got three inches of glacier at the top right now.

[maiac]

I have an irrational dislike of defrosting freezers. 95% of the work is basically waiting for the ice to melt, but it seems like So.Much.Work.

[alverant]

My parents have an upright freezer that I wish they'd defrost. Myself, I have a chest freezer in the garage that's been unused so long I have to wonder if it's still working.

[alverant]

One thing I've learned is that if you keep your freezer packed with cold stuff, it will lose heat at a slower rate. I've filled up plastic 2-liter soda bottles with water (after drinking the soda of course) and put them in the freezer. The added mass not only keeps the cold in but during those humid summer nights, you put one in your bedroom in a bowl and let it be a dehumidifier.

I haven't tried the same idea with the fridge though, I'm not sure how much weight the shelves can handle.

ETA when I lost power last year for 48 hours, the freezer did thaw, but it was still cold enough to keep me from having to throw anything out.

[maiac]

I've heard that keeping the freezer and the fridge full makes it more efficient to keep things cool. It makes sense: the cold stuff will cool more slowly than empty air, so the unit doesn't have to run as often.

[alverant]

Yep, I live in Chicagoland so we know about the lake affect. A huge body of water is slow to heat and cool so at parts of the year it's a degree or two more or less than the burbs directly west of it.