Is it possible to... (Anchorage: buy, school, cost)

[megensmom]

I read some reviews on these and from what I read it wasn't very good. They tend to not keep the temps but maybe a degree or 2 than the place they are in,they don't last very long before going out. I also can't find out just how much power they do pull,IF you could do like you said then that would be great but I don't want to be charging an extra battery everyday.

[aurorawatcher]

You could also just use a cooler to keep things cold. Ice shouldn't be a problem there.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by megensmom

I read some reviews on these and from what I read it wasn't very good. They tend to not keep the temps but maybe a degree or 2 than the place they are in,they don't last very long before going out. I also can't find out just how much power they do pull,IF you could do like you said then that would be great but I don't want to be charging an extra battery everyday.

Then just get a big plain cooler, put snow in the bottom and close the lid. When the snow melts, they have a drain on the bottom. Drain the water and refill with snow. It will stay at about 35 degrees if kept inside the cabin/house and only need to be refilled once a day or every other day with snow.... The snow is free and if the melting water is an issue, make a small rack to keep the food up off the bottom or put everything is ziploc baggies...

[megensmom]

I was thinking that but I was hoping for a little less messy solution. For now I guess I'm gonna give it a whirl. I will say though that I have been putting cokes in my unused cabinet and they have been quit cool. The little them.in there says its around 40ish so not bad for cokes but I don't think it will work for milk or eggs.

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by megensmom

I was thinking that but I was hoping for a little less messy solution. For now I guess I'm gonna give it a whirl. I will say though that I have been putting cokes in my unused cabinet and they have been quit cool. The little them.in there says its around 40ish so not bad for cokes but I don't think it will work for milk or eggs.

At Sportsmans Warehouse, they have a large one with a drain on it, You can put it accross a couple of chairs, blocks or something to elevate it a bit so draining into a bucket isn't much of a big deal. They have some plastic shelves that one can use to keep the food above the snow level.

Or you could put a couple of gallon milk jugs outside with water in them to allow them to freeze and just rotate them in the cooler for keeping stuff cool instead of the snow route... No water, no mess....

[JamesM]

How about freezing water in milk jugs outside then keeping them in a cooler. Keep several and just keep swaping them as them thaw out. Just my thought.

Side note I read your complete "journal" about moving to AK. Very nice!!

[megensmom]

I like the milk jug idea. gonna give it a whirl.

[aurorawatcher]

or use gallon size ziploc bags just double them

[Grannysroost]

Originally Posted by aurorawatcher

or use gallon size ziploc bags just double them

or freezer icees, it will work, been there done that in SD in the winter with no fridge....put it in the house in a cold spot and just swap out, might get a little cold, but will work...if the eggs start to freeze, let warm up, crack and put in bowl to thaw...they will be fine in long run, but don't let freeze solid, finding the sweet spot in cold is key....

[rotorhead]

One old sailors trick is to dip the eggs in molten pariffin wax. Supposedly after they're treated that way they'll stay edible for weeks, even at room temp. Of course if it happens to be one with salmonella already inside it, you're in trouble.

I'd second the idea of finding the coldest part of the coldest room, and then keep a cooler there with a frozen milk jug of water inside with your food. If you leave an inch or two of airspace and let it freeze with the cap off it shouldn't pop the jugs.

In any case, even if stuff does get too cold and freezes up the cooler should contain any mess. If you keep the eggs loose in a gallon ziplock, you can just thaw what you need and strain out any shells. In fact, if you just need em for baking or omlettes you might as well just scramble them ahead of time in twos or threes and freeze em that way in sandwich bags or washed-out yogurt cups and don't worry about the shells. As for cheese I've never had any problem freezing it, though its a bit weird to use until it's thawed all the way.

And as far as milk goes, you could either go with the UHT milk boxes that you can safely store at room temp, or use powdered. The first option is more expensive than jug milk, and the latter less convienent but maybe even cheaper. Yes, I know that powdered milk tastes weird, but I use it for baking all the time since we use soy milk for cereal and such. If you start talking with the Alaska old-timers, they'll almost always tell you that when they were kids it was nothing but powdered milk unless they kept a cow themselves. In fact, most folks that grew up here even as recently as the 50's can probably remember when they finally got to taste "store-bought milk", and they'll always tell you that it tasted weird to them. : )