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tehmightyengineer t1_j0jppqk wrote

Power systems in Maine are hard; I've seen raging storms that knocked all sorts of limbs off trees around my house; zero lost power. Tiny bit of wet snow; no power for 2 days.

Just takes one branch falling in the wrong place. I put off buying a generator for so long but it wasn't worth it; buy a generator one saved fridge load of food will pay for it.

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nattatalie t1_j0kwz4t wrote

I’d also just point out for folks who can’t afford a generator if it’s between 32 and 40 degree when it’s snowing (which is usually is) you can put your food outside in a box and keep it safe. This is what we are doing right now with our meat and dairy items. We are leaving our freezer closed and hoping for the best because we have multiple bags of ice in there anyways and it usually lasts pretty well if we don’t open it. If it’s in the twenties temp wise you can do this same thing with your frozen foods instead and any fridge items you don’t mind getting a little frozen.

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New_Sun6390 t1_j0nsco6 wrote

>if it’s between 32 and 40 degree when it’s snowing (which is usually is) you can put your food outside in a box and keep it safe.

I am amazed that so many people do not understand this. There is ZERO reason to lose a fridge full of food in winter because of a snowstorm.

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nattatalie t1_j0nv87p wrote

I had these two aunts once who worked at a grocery store and complained to me once about their home owners insurance going up because they claimed the food they lost in their fridge/freezer during power outages too many times. One of them was a store manager and the other the dairy manager, two folks who should understand food safety temps. It shocked me they didn’t understand what temps they needed to keep food safe and just…. put the food outside.

Even when it’s colder than 32 degrees you can put anything out you don’t mind freezing, or save everything in your freezer. My freezer stuff lasted 24 hours fine though just by never opening the door. If you have a lot of meat in the freezer it will act like a cooler and stay cold.

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