Planned Power Outage

[poppypiesdad]

So stuck in the mail box yesterday was a letter from Power Networks advising that on 20th and 27th we will be without power all day due to pole and a transformer change
Bliss, the wife was all "what about the freezer's"
Got that covered .
So do flick the main incomers and pretend it lasts a wee bit longer ............

I've got the 7.5kva genny to get run up ,and maybe get the wee 800w one out to play too.
Could be interesting.

J

[unsure]

we have just gone 21 hours with out mains elec , as you say , run the genny to keep the freezers going and make do for anything else , like kettle on the gas cooker , wash in cold water ,that kind of thing . serves me right , the 6.5 kva genny is on site and we had to make do with the 2,7 kva little one

[grenfell]

Just out of interest if the power is knowingly cut off like that is it possible to put in a claim for food damaged through defrosting of inoperative freezers? Far be it for me to suggest you keep your freezer working and still put in a claim for a couple of sides of pork

[poppypiesdad]

Planned 14 days notice , very much doubt a claim would even be looked at .
Wouldn't want to get a criminal record over £50 for a bit of meat
.

[sniper 55]

Planned 14 days notice , very much doubt a claim would even be looked at .
Wouldn't want to get a criminal record over £50 for a bit of meat
.

You could still have a huge freezer full of food and nowhere to put it, and you could be away and not know the power was going out.

[grenfell]

Planned 14 days notice , very much doubt a claim would even be looked at .
Wouldn't want to get a criminal record over £50 for a bit of meat
.

Yes I see your point but keeping things legal I would think that there is probably some recourse for compensation knowing the culture of our society nowadays.
Looking at this another way , having two weeks notice I'd be inclined to eat out of the freezer for that period , not worry about using the genny and use it as an opertunaty to restock with fresh supplies.
I think I've said this before but I remember back in the '70's when we had power cuts my father worked at the tip and on several,occasions came home with a bootful of defrosting food from the local co op when they had a power cut . So for a couple of days it was chips , fish fingers and Black Forest gateaux for every meal

[sniper 55]

I wasn't suggesting anything illegal, just that it could be difficult to empty a large freezer even with notice. In the OP's position I think I'd be looking at scrounging a genny for the day.

[grenfell]

Just re read this . The power would appear to be out for the day which probably means a working day so probably no more than 12 hours. If you have a genny then it wouldn't hurt to run it but I would think there wouldn't be any great problem leaving a freezer without power for that amount of time. Just ensure all the space is full even if it's just frozen water , don't open the freezer and perhaps do as my parents did during the 70's cuts and cover it with blankets . They actually had an old eiderdown that was kept next to the freezer for just such an incident.

[Catweazle]

My freezers are OK for 24 hours with no power, and also work down to -20C. I checked before I bought as they live outside of the main house.

Re: genny, you don't need a huge one, 1.5Kw will keep the essentials running - freezer, lighting, gas central heating boiler, phone charger etc., I have a SDMO inverter type "suitcase", with Honda 4 stroke engine. It's easily portable, quiet, and economical. It runs for up to 7 hours on a fill of petrol - not sure how much it holds. It produces a nice clean mains output that is safe for electronic devices. Most importantly, it always starts.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SDMO-Booster-2 ... B003WE9SAY

[Yorkshire Andy]

Few days before top up the freezer with ice packs and pop bottles 3/4 full of water stick it on fast freeze.. Then back to normal once chilled down ...

Then few hours before power goes off whack it on fast freeze again to chill it right down.

Once power is off unplug it and pile old blankets / duvets / sleeping bags all round slide corrugated cardboard under it

This additional insulation will help retain the cold and the bottles of water will act as ice packs like you would do with a cool bag/ box