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Old 19-01-2017, 07:56   #1
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Jugs of ice in the freezer?

As a normal practice, I've always kept my chest freezer full of 1-gallon jugs of ice, removing just enough to make space for whatever I'm keeping.

I have a small freezer, something like 5 cubic feet. When I bought half a pig, last year, I removed almost all the ice. We've eaten the pig down considerably, and I'm in the process of replacing the ice jugs to fill up the space, which is why I'm thinking about it. (It's a process, because I only put in one jug of water at a time, I don't want to add too much heat.)

The reason for the ice jugs is to increase the thermal mass. The more mass being held at a low temperature, the more stable the system. This reduces the load on the compressor, cycling less often.

It also holds the temperatures low during power outages.

I was wondering if anyone does the same on their boats.

On the one hand, power systems on most boats are less reliable than the electrical grid. Having all that ice might save you a fair chunk of food.

On the other hand, from what I can see a galley freezer is used much more like a kitchen fridge/freezer, opened and closed multiple times per day, with contents being swapped in and out with some frequency.

So I'm at a loss as to whether it would be a good idea.
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Old 19-01-2017, 08:59   #2
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

I used to but don't anymore.
Now I use foam blocks.

But really, I've never been able to notice any practical difference. If one sits there with a stopwatch for 24 hours...
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Old 19-01-2017, 09:07   #3
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

What your doing does work, I jokingly call it the beer flywheel for the fridge side.
However it's not a night and day difference just a small difference, Ideally you would find a liquid that would go through the thaw freeze cycle, the phase change will absorb an enormous amount of heat.
Only people that really get an advantage out of it are those that have excess Solar during the day and will run the compressor solid during the day and turn it off at night
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Old 19-01-2017, 09:27   #4
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

Truthfully, I'd be more concerned about how long I could go without power before losing my steaks than with a couple of percentages of efficiency.

With the power out, the temps in the freezer are going to stay at freezing until all the ice melts. With any kind of insulation, that should take a number of days.
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Old 19-01-2017, 09:34   #5
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

I used to do that. Seems to work well if you have more freezer volume than you need.
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Old 19-01-2017, 09:51   #6
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

I keep some spare bags of vacuum packed water in the fridge. It keeps temperatures a bit more stable and it is my emergency supply of drinking water as well.
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Old 19-01-2017, 09:55   #7
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

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Originally Posted by Jdege View Post
Truthfully, I'd be more concerned about how long I could go without power before losing my steaks than with a couple of percentages of efficiency.

With the power out, the temps in the freezer are going to stay at freezing until all the ice melts. With any kind of insulation, that should take a number of days.

Yes, pure water melts / freezes at 0C, however I'd bet the melting point of a steak is above that, if you want to ensure things stay frozen, go with that blue ice stuff or make you own with just a little antifreeze mixed with water, I bet it only takes a little bit. Maybe Rich at Cruise RO will share the ratio?
Just don't drink it

Look at the graph on this page, looks like a 10% to 25% mix ought to do it?
https://hellafunctional.com/?p=629
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Old 19-01-2017, 11:53   #8
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

Do a search of the Forum because this topic/idea has pretty much been beat to death about once a year.

Bottom line....it won't make a real difference for you unless you have extra power available during the times to freeze down the jugs. You would be better off to just add a sheet of PolyIso foam to the inside walls or even 1 or two of the walls.
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Old 19-01-2017, 12:43   #9
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

Our freezer is only opened a couple of times a week. We have a number of gel "ice" packs that are used to keep the freezer packed full as supplies diminish.. works for us.
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Old 19-01-2017, 15:15   #10
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY View Post
Do a search of the Forum because this topic/idea has pretty much been beat to death about once a year.

Bottom line....it won't make a real difference for you unless you have extra power available during the times to freeze down the jugs. You would be better off to just add a sheet of PolyIso foam to the inside walls or even 1 or two of the walls.
Three things that a layer of bottled water in the bottom does that foam doesn't.

1. Provides and emergency water reserve.

2. When I defrost the freezer, I move everything to a big esky. The bottles being at the bottom of the freezer end up on the top layer in the esky keeping everything nice and cold until I restock the freezer.

3. Allows the missus to get to the bottom items in the freezer (it's real deep and she has short arms)
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Old 19-01-2017, 17:25   #11
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

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3. Allows the missus to get to the bottom items in the freezer (it's real deep and she has short arms)
And if the Missus is Happy....everyone happy....
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Old 19-01-2017, 17:35   #12
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

We do the same with beer and soft drinks in the fridge and meat and ice cubes in the freezer.
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Old 20-01-2017, 09:56   #13
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

I've debated this in terms of thermal efficiency and the frequency of access. I'm leaning towards "both" in terms of ice blocks of potable water in the bottom of the reefer, and a "drinks/snacks" cooler of the Engel drop in type for more than (say) twice a day access. My wife may also sport less than NBA three-pointer arms...
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Old 20-01-2017, 09:59   #14
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

Quote:
Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY View Post
Do a search of the Forum because this topic/idea has pretty much been beat to death about once a year.

Bottom line....it won't make a real difference for you unless you have extra power available during the times to freeze down the jugs. You would be better off to just add a sheet of PolyIso foam to the inside walls or even 1 or two of the walls.
Thanks, Rich,

So, practically speaking, I should empty the 9 or 10 OJ 57oz jugs and forget about it? Or put them back empty?

They do (I put them in a cooler) accelerate recovery during defrosting, I think, but that may be the only benefit I can see for us.
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Old 20-01-2017, 10:03   #15
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Re: Jugs of ice in the freezer?

We have a little plastic folding step to get to the bottom of the thing.
Graduate level I guess would be a teak step that folded flat against the wall
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