As the Seasons roll round, and the deep freezers build up ice on the insides, eventually it reaches the time to shutdown and defrost. The younger crowd might not be aware of this Holiday since much of the newer more modern freezers (and almost all the refrigerators) have auto defrost. The problem with auto defrost from an off grid perspective is that it requires a heating coil in the freezer and that takes more power. An additional problem with auto defrost is it shortens the time you can store frozen food.
So the Holiday begins with digging through all the unused frozen goods from who knows when you put it in the freezer. You pick those items you really need to eat for the holiday meal to avoid having to throw away things of value. You also might toss the helplessly out of date heavily freezer burned items so to free up more space once the freezer is placed back into service. Once the freezer is bone empty the defrost begins!
The freezer thermostat is turned off or it is unplugged. Door is opened for more rapid ice removal (though some innovators place a hot kettle of water inside with the door closed to start a quicker thaw). As the ice melts and floods your floor below the freezer it is only a matter of hours until the holiday runs its course. Once all ice is gone the freezer can be turned back on and the frozen food restored to it.
Happy Defrost day everyone!
So the Holiday begins with digging through all the unused frozen goods from who knows when you put it in the freezer. You pick those items you really need to eat for the holiday meal to avoid having to throw away things of value. You also might toss the helplessly out of date heavily freezer burned items so to free up more space once the freezer is placed back into service. Once the freezer is bone empty the defrost begins!
The freezer thermostat is turned off or it is unplugged. Door is opened for more rapid ice removal (though some innovators place a hot kettle of water inside with the door closed to start a quicker thaw). As the ice melts and floods your floor below the freezer it is only a matter of hours until the holiday runs its course. Once all ice is gone the freezer can be turned back on and the frozen food restored to it.
Happy Defrost day everyone!