Perhaps you’re heard stories from friends or acquaintances who came home to find that a power failure — or careless child leaving the freezer door open — had caused the contents of their freezer to thaw completely, leaving a soggy, sad mess. You commiserated with their plight, but inwardly you were sighing, I’m so glad that’s not me.
Yeah, well, I thought that once, too. In fact I prided myself on the facts that ours was a chest freezer — and thus, could not appear to be shut when it had, indeed, been left open — and that our garage didn’t have electrical issues.
That is until the breaker went out one weekend during a home improvement project and we didn’t know that we had killed power to the freezer. Until three days later when I went to make lunch.
I called FishPapa at work, crying: mumble mumble died!
FP, alarmed: Who died?!
FM, wailing: The freezer!
FP, trying to maintain his composure: I’m so sorry that happened to you, honey.
Yes, so was I. I had recently scored some great grocery deals, and the freezer was stocked with a fortune of food for a fraction of the price. Sure, it wasn’t a lot of money that was lost, but it took a lot of work and time to coupon and shop and snag the deal. I vowed that a freezer fail would never again rob me blind.
So, the deep freeze sat dormant for a year, until I finally bought one of these babies: a freezer alarm.
A what?
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A freezer alarm. It’s this little doo-dad that sits in my freezer and screams its head off if things start to heat up in there.
Our freezer is in the garage, right next to the entry to the house. FishPapa placed the sensor in the freezer and mounted the alarm right inside the house, securing the wire to the wall. It is a wonderful bit of security that gives me peace of mind. It cost about $10 (or free if you use Swagbucks) and has worked really well in the three to four months since we got it.
Our particular model goes off whenever the freezer has been opened for more than a few minutes, like when we’re loading or unloading many things at once. It seems rather “sensitive” which I like. I feel better that it goes off in such a short amount of time because I know that it’s working for me.
That is particularly helpful when it comes time to prepare a lot of meals at one time and fill the freezer like a crazy woman. Stay tuned for that early next week!
Christa
I didn’t know these existed so I was glad to hear about it, ordered one the same day!
Arlene
In addition to the alarm I would suggest you keep a sealed baggie of ice cubes in a spot you can keep your eye on. If you notice that all the ice in your baggie becomes one big chunk of ice you know your food defrosted and refroze.
Great idea especially when you will be away on vacation.
Lawanna
Cool! I looked at the alarm and it sounds like it has a digital display so you can see the temp of the freezer/fridge. BUT the picture doesn’t show any display. Help, I’m confused…..does this just alarm when it’s too warm? Or how does it know it’s in the fridge instead of the freezer?
Jessica Fisher
@Lawanna, the particular model that I have just sounds the alarm when it gets too warm inside.
J Walt
Jessica
Thanks – you have been a great help.I will get this ordered today and hope there will be no more freezer loss. Have a wonderful day. Walt
J Walt
Jessica
Thanks for the reply,but additional information would be greatly appreciated.I am still in the dark as to what I am suppose to be looking for on Amazon. Item number, model number, or even the name of the item would be helpful in placing a order. Finally, do you think this device will be loud enought to hear while in a room in the house which is near the garage? Thanks, J Walt
Jessica Fisher
The link in the post will take you to the item. And the third to the last paragraph explains how my husband installed it so that we could hear it in the house. Hope that helps.
J Walt
Just read your comments – where can I purchase one of these devices?
Have had freezer loss twice now and have been searching for some type of alarm sinc our freezer is in the garage and we are not in there daily
Jessica Fisher
We bought ours through Amazon.
Leah
We actually have a fridge/freezer that has this device built in and you are right about it screaming its head off! I am glad to know that you can purchase them though, I really need one for an older freezer that keeps getting left open.
A side note and off topic, I want say Thank You and Money Saving Mom so much for hosting the Eat from the Pantry Challenge this month. I learned some really important things about managing our stockpile better and how my shopping habits don’t always work for our eating preferences…things I never really considered before but are making a big difference in what we do now. It was fun, so thanks again 🙂
Dana @ The Coupon Challenge
So sorry to hear about your loss!
I had never heard of a freezer alarm until our brand new refrigerator arrived Monday 🙂 The kids were admiring the inside of the freezer (I guess since they’d never seen 1 empty) when I hear this beeping sound. I finally realized it was the fridge! How great!
Also, we fortunately found out that our Verizon (cable TV, ect) backup that’s in the garage is also plugged into the same outlet as our extra fridge. I had no idea the outlet was tripping and causing my fridge to turn off (recently moved). I would have definitely lost ALOT of food as well if I hadn’t gone investigating the noise.
Gina S.
This is happened to us 3 times. 1. Power Failure 2. Stupidity. 3. Stupidity. Ha.
Now we check the freezers (yes, freezers 2 big uprigths and 2 attached to the fridges, ha, yes fridges.) every night before bed, when we check all the doors to house to make sure they are locked. Ha. Paranoid a little? YES! Ha.
Elaine H
That is a great product and at only about $10 certainly affordable!!
One question though, does the cord disrupt the seal very much?