After the electricity goes out, how long do you have until you have to empty the refrigerator and freezer

Question

They are expecting a pretty big storm here and have warned us that more than likely we will be losing electricity for a long period of time. We bought ice, but how long should I wait before transferring things into the cooler?

Answer 1

well from my experience.. a lot of stuff milk.. orange juice etc take only a day to get nasty if not cold properly.. i suggest not open the refrig.. right away cause the temp in there is cold till  you open the door .. most of the time it last at least 1 hole day.. but what ever was in the freeze you need to make .. cause that will not be good once it has thawed out. and you try to make it 3 days later no good will get some kinda bacteria. but if you don't open it .. should take 2 days to thaw.. the women said don't let it get under 40 but before that does ...start the ice etc process.. hope you have a lot of ice chest and ice ..or my suggest by a generator.. and only plug in the refrig.  and a light that is what we do now.. i got tired of the ice chest thing.. they run on gas only have to keep it on so that everything will stay cooled threw the night and froozen.this way you wont lose anything...  

Answer 2

Providing everything is down to temperature (ie you haven't put anything in the fridge/freezer that is at "room temperature"), and providing that you don't open the door, food stuffs should remain in the "safe zone" for approximately two hours.

If you are at all concerned, you should invest in a thermometer... not ice.  Put the thermometers in the fridge and freezer.  If the fridge or freezer goes over 40*F/4*C then chuck everything out, as food stuffs will have now passed into the "danger zone" where bacteria can start to multiply.

PS:  DO NOT think about refreezing anything.

Answer 3

If you don't open your refrigerator the food in there will be good for 2 - 3 hours. However, the freezer items will be ok for closer to 10 - 12 hours depending on how full the freezer is. If everything is frozen solid and the freezer is a chest freezer that is full it will be ok for the 12 hours.