[Category5]

I have been lucky enough to acquire an extra refrigerator. It is going in the garage. A thought came to mind.

Long term storage space always being at a premium, what if I store some rice, beans , sugar, flour, etc in cleaned and dried 2 litre bottles, with o2 absorbers, and permanently keep them in the extra fridge? I could pack quite a few in the fridge if I stack them like firewood.

This would keep them cool, in darkness and away from pests. Yes, I know that if the grid goes down it won't be cool anymore!

Thoughts and opinions? Seems like a no brainer to me. Good use of space and available resources.

 

[MattB4]

Garages are not always great places to keep refrigerators in. Most are not insulated so they get real hot in the Summer and freezing in the Winter. When hot they make the refrigerator struggle to maintain temperature. When cold, food will freeze inside them.

 

[MikeK]

Certainly won't hurt anything other than adding a few extra bucks to the electric bill that aren't really needed. Though spices would benefit from the cold storage. I think that's what I'd put in it. But then again, I keep a large variety of spices packed for long term storage.

 

[Category5]

Any thoughts about the humidity level?

 

[Lou77]

The extra frige is for more beer!!

 

[Category5]

The extra frige is for more beer!!

Beer is a prep, right?:thumb:

 

[goose3]

Unless you cannot find a cool dark place to store preps, the refrigerator is simply redundant.

Rice, Beans, whole grains can last for 30+ years in mylar w/ O2 absorbers stored in a cool, dark place.

If you put O2 absorbers in 2-liter bottles, you will probably collapse the bottles as the O2 is removed, creating a partial vacuum (depends on the voidspace).

Your refrigerator will work harder being in the garage (assuming it's hot in there in the summer). Not so much in the winter.

Unless you simply can't find another way to store things in a cool, dark environment (you're in the SE United States, so this may well be the case), I think this is overkill.

 

[ShellbackBill]

Thoughts and opinions? Seems like a no brainer to me. Good use of space and available resources.

Cooking oils and other oils are the hardest to store long term. Refrigerating them would make them last longer.

Oils are relatively expensive.

Rice, beans, etc are relatively cheap. Might be cheaper to rotate them every few years, than to pay for refrigeration.

Another thing to think of refrigerating is your vitamins and meds. I'm not sure how much shelf life would be added to them by refrigerating. I bet the info is not available because no-one ever tested it.

 

[packitnow]

The additional electricity cost would make those some very expensive preps. Not worth it IMHO.

 

[Odessa]

If there is a drop of moisture in the bottles, youll get condensation, then a ruined supply of food after its been chilled. Mormons practice having food for their household for an entire year at all times. Often times the way they store their food is by turning it into furniture, like a coffee table with a cloth draped over it in such a fashion where you cannot tell its a pile of canned goods or items in airtight bins, generally a sanded plank of wood is over top to hide it all. Being out in the open to the chill of ac and heat from the fireplace or general heat, the food is fine under these conditions. As long as everything is kept out of direct light and sun light I wouldnt worry so hard about storage in a fridge in the garage. A while back I posted this link to something I use which might help you in your storage struggle. http://www.organizeit.com/stor-n-slide-under-bed-container.asp
Tall enough to place your two liters in, goes under the bed, in the dark out of light, and no friends or family coming over will be the wiser that you have months of food hiding under your bed. They also stack neatly and these things are rather tough and can be manhandled with no fear of breaking or warping. Just be sure you can carry these loaded bins to your vehicle, as in, dont pack it to the brim with heavy food items or you wont be able to carry it.

 

[protector 6062]

If you can carefully pick the staples to pack inside it's an excellent idea IMHO.

I have used old frigs and chest freezers to store extra bags of "cattle cubes" at various locations for my cows. No power necessary makes it easier during bad weather times. Handy to have in an emergency. Also for horses with sweet feed but you need to rotate more often. Good storage boxes.

 

[Category5]

Thanks for the input. The humidity thing concerns me more than the extra electricity cost. If the rice, for example, is dry and the plastic bottle dry, no humidity could get in. It would be no different than a cool, but slightly damp basement up north. No?