Leave the Coin on the Ice Cup Before Leaving Home to See If the Power Goes Out While You Were Away
Whether you are evacuating due to a hurricane or just going on vacation, you need to know if the power went out while you were away for a long time. Fill a cup with water, place it in the freezer until it hardens, then insert a coin on top. Leave it there and check it out when you get back.
You probably guessed it by now, but if the coin is at the bottom of an already frozen cup of ice, the electricity goes out – long enough for the ice to melt back into the water in the freezer and the coin to sink through. and then the electricity came back and the water froze again. If the coin is where you left it, then the power has remained or has only been cut off for a short time.
It’s a fun trick, but it’s also practical – if the power goes out long enough for a cup of ice to melt, which takes a ridiculously long time in an insulated fridge or freezer, and then comes back out, your food in the fridge and freezer might be the same. cold or frozen as you left them, even if they were kept at room temperature or higher for hours. If you find a coin at the bottom, it can be a good indicator that you should clean out the refrigerator and not risk eating contaminated food. However, keep in mind that ice floats in water, so if the electricity is turned off long enough for some of the ice to melt, but not all, there is no guarantee that you will not find a coin upstairs and think that everything is fine. … good – so when in doubt, throw it away. However, even with a brief power outage, refrigerators and freezers insulate well enough to keep most food fresh. But if this coin is at the bottom, you are in trouble. This is simple advice, but useful if you are planning to leave home.