IMPORTANT! THIS MESSAGE IS TO ALL HUNTERS AND FISHERMEN.
Whether you have an upright or chest-like freezer — NOW is the time to protect its contents from melting and spoiling in the event you lose power or someone accidentally leaves the door open.
A Lesson Learned the Hard Way.
It’s was a very sad day — we just came home after a week vacation to an awful smell. We searched the house, sniffing the garbage can and refrigerator. We found some old moldy oranges. Thinking that was the odor…but as soon as I opened the door to the basement the stink grew more intense!
As I walked downstairs to the basement, I quickly found the source of the foul stench. I could see the freezer door open, as the light inside illuminated the adjacent wall. “Oh know!” I thought to myself. I opened the freezer door to find bloody venison and numerous fish fillets floating in their bags. Dripping on the floor and overflowing the drain — it was clear that the freezer door was left open for a whole week!
We had a lot of food packed into the freezer. There were days when it was hard to close the door. The door could have simply popped open allowing all the cold air to escape. Even with the freezer running constantly, it could not keep up with the warm air entering. If you find that your freezer is not working and the inside is above 40 degrees and you know it has been at that temperature more than two hours, then the food probably is not safe.
A Major Investment in Time and Money.
Here is what we lost:
- Last years venison I had cleaned and cut-up and packaged within a 2-hours of shooting it.
- Pheasants sought after in 2-feet of snow, hundreds of miles of driving and walking in -27º below temperatures.
- Grouse flushed over my dog Abby just before getting stuck by a porcupine.
- Walleye’s caught 12 miles out after traveling over a foot of water on top of the ice (scary).
- And early spring crappies after waiting months for the ice to go out.
ALL A COMPLETE WASTE! (more…)
FML Outdoors.com 