Freezer alarm recommendations

[Fixr]

So, sometime in the last day or so, the door on the upright freezer didn't get closed properly and most of the food thawed too much to safely refreeze and is going to the landfill today. Some of the meats still had some frost and felt solid, so they will be getting cooked. I hate to think how many hundred of dollars we're throwing away, but I have zero interest in food poisoning. I'm looking for recommendations for freezer alarms for the upright freezer, the chest freezer, and the refrigerator freezer. We currently have no Alexa-type devices and we're not familiar with home automation technology. What saith the hive mind?

 

[wyliesdiesels]

I use "temp sticks" for my freezer in the garage. (Amazon link below)

These have saved me many times when the freezer door didnt get shut all the way and we had left the house...

They work great, you can customize temp alert levels, there's several types of alert options- email, text, and app push notifications.

due to the metal in the freezer, you will need a wifi access point close by to get good signal. I recommend using lithium batteries due to the extreme temps. alkalines dont last as long. I use 2 in one freezer in case one dies, I have a backup.

Amazon.com

 

[drboom]

I'm using the yosmart lora temp sensors in all of our freezers and fridges. They alert using the app/email when the temp is out of the defined range for a defined period of time and it's all connected to my homeassistant server so I have data.

 

[mike93lx]

I recently put an arka on my freezer.

It has a set point for the alarm, then another where it will send me a text message

Freezer Door Alarm with Text alerts, WiFi, Adjustable time delay and Loud Sound Alarm, Door Left Open Alert, Chime, Close Door Reminder | no hub | no Subscription https://a.co/d/8Hxhexf

 

[Fixr]

I think our first attempt will be a simple door alarm. Turns out that the food got spoiled because a bin containing work gloves tilted off the top of the freezer and jammed the door open. A reed switch and an audible alarm with a 60 second delay would very likely have provided sufficient notice to save the food. Plus, the glove bin has been relocated...

 

[Milton Shaw]

Aaas a retired appliance repair man, I can make a couple of recommendations. Get an empty pill bottle, fill with water and then freeze standing up. Put a coin on the top of the frozen water, put in freezer and then watch and see if the coin goes down in the water, then the freezer has thawed out and everything inside has thawed out. Don't take a chance on food poisoning , throw it away. The thing that makes most freezer doors open is food hanging over the shelves. when the door is closed there is not enough room for even a finger to fit between the door shelves and the freezer body shelves. You close the freezer with stuff hanging over the shelves and the suction of the air cooling holds the door closed for a minute or two and then the pressure from the hangover packages, push the door back open. Then the thawed food. Nothing should ever hang over the shelve or hand over the door shelves. Seen probably 100 freezer or more that have randomly thawed contents. Also makes sure the freezer is not level is should be leaning back so the door will automatically close all the way when left open. This mostly applies to upright freezers as it rarely happens to chest freezers.

 

[mike93lx]

Aaas a retired appliance repair man, I can make a couple of recommendations. Get an empty pill bottle, fill with water and then freeze standing up. Put a coin on the top of the frozen water, put in freezer and then watch and see if the coin goes down in the water, then the freezer has thawed out and everything inside has thawed out. Don't take a chance on food poisoning , throw it away. The thing that makes most freezer doors open is food hanging over the shelves. when the door is closed there is not enough room for even a finger to fit between the door shelves and the freezer body shelves. You close the freezer with stuff hanging over the shelves and the suction of the air cooling holds the door closed for a minute or two and then the pressure from the hangover packages, push the door back open. Then the thawed food. Nothing should ever hang over the shelve or hand over the door shelves. Seen probably 100 freezer or more that have randomly thawed contents. Also makes sure the freezer is not level is should be leaning back so the door will automatically close all the way when left open. This mostly applies to upright freezers as it rarely happens to chest freezers.

All good things. None of which ensure the door is closed all the way when my kids sneak an ice cream bar.

I've been very happy with the one I linked earlier.

 

[dcg9381]

None of which ensure the door is closed all the way when my kids sneak an ice cream bar.

When my parents take all the grandkids, 100% chance that one of the little mongrels will leave the door open.
They installed a "simple timer alarm" (not wi-fi):
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=refrigerator+door+sensor+alarm&hvadid=739019044549

The audible alarm has worked every time. It's simple, cheap, and doesn't depend on wifi.




Strangely, in my home it's dad that is most likely to steal ice cream...

 

[mike93lx]

When my parents take all the grandkids, 100% chance that one of the little mongrels will leave the door open.
They installed a "simple timer alarm" (not wi-fi):
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=refrigerator+door+sensor+alarm&hvadid=739019044549

The audible alarm has worked every time. It's simple, cheap, and doesn't depend on wifi.




Strangely, in my home it's dad that is most likely to steal ice cream...

Mine doesn't need wifi to function, but you use it for setup.

If I am buying it, I can't steal it.

 

[niget2002]

I have one of these on all our refrigerator/freezers. It's saved us more than once.

Amazon.com

 

[dcg9381]

If I am buying it, I can't steal it.

If dad was allowed to buy his own ice cream, he wouldn't have to steal it from my fridge.

 

[kj_mustang]

I have two Temp Sticks and they work well.