[prankster]

We're now using our garage to store some canned stuff. Desired temperature as I understand it should between32-85 degrees. Question: if the temp should fall lower than 32 would the food be likely to freeze in the can? And if so and the temperature got higher and the food "unfroze" would it still be edible? Thanks for any help on this question.

 

[thyme2bprepped]

Salt content will decrease the freezing point of canned goods. Much like salt will melt ice, but it only works to a certain low temperature. Pure water will freeze at 32F. Foods can be frozen and thawed, then cooked without too much damage or else we wouldn't have frozen foods. Freezing, thawing, and heating repeatedly over time (temperature fluctuations) will, in general, degrade the quality of foods.

Unless the food is somehow exposed to bacteria, and allowed to stay withing the range that they like to reproduce, then it should still be edible, but the texture, taste, and nutritional value of the food will suffer.

 

[Vasbyt]

The food itself freezing isn't a major concern. A thing to keep in mind with canned goods freezing and thawing is that it may cause the can to swell, become misshapen or weaken, leading to the possibly of it becoming compromised. Also, food (non-canned) is normally fine to freeze, thaw and use. However, the amount of times you should thaw and refreeze is limited. The rule of thumb with most commercial kitchens is that after the third thaw it cannot be frozen again.

Hope this helped.

 

[prankster]

Thank you both. This is such a great website! You ask a prepping question and bam,you have answers in minutes! Fantastic!

 

[ReadyMom]

Here's some info on storing food in a garage:

Source: Alan's Stuff: Prudent Food Storage
http://athagan.members.atlantic.net/PFS ... FAQ-2.html


Within reason, the key to prolonging the shelf life of your chow lies in lowering the temperature of the area in which it's stored. The storage lives of most foods are cut in half by every increase of 18º F (10º C). For example, if you've stored your food in a garage that has a temperature of 90º F (32º C) you should expect a shelf life of about half what could be obtained at a lower temperature, perhaps in your pantry at 70º F (21º C), which in turn is half the storage life that you could get if you kept it in your basement or refrigerator at 50º F (10º C). Your storage area should be located where the temperature can be kept above freezing and, if possible, below 72º F (22º C). Avoid major temperature fluctuations in this area if you can.

 

[Vasbyt]

Glad to help a fellow prepper anytime.

 

[goose3]

Fluctuating temperature is an enemy of food. It's simply not the best thing to do to store it in such conditions.

That doesn't mean it won't be inedible--MikeK tells of his experience eating food that was in an outside storage locker years after it was put away--just that if you can avoid doing so, avoid doing so.

If your garage is attached to your house, a way that could dampen the temperature swings is to install a cabinet to the wall on the heated side of the garage, make it tight and sealed to the wall, then make the cabinet seal as well. It will pull some heat from the house (and cool too, in the summer), which will dampen the temp swings. It'll work even better if you can insulate it somewhat, perhaps with foilboard.

And FWIW: When we built my house, I insulated the garage, much to the amazement of people who saw me do it. Well, I live in Wisconsin where the temps can reach the high 90s in summer, and -20s in winter, and that garage virtually never drops below freezing in the winter. Not only does it "borrow" heat from the house (it's an attached garage), but the heat from the cars in the winter warms the garage!

I test the warmth by leaving a small glass of water on my workbench to see if it will freeze, and it doesn't.

 

[Einrich]

Im in Florida so freezing wasn't a problem in the garage but the heat is. After I realized it gets 90 degrees and higher on a normal day to day basis in there I got all my food out and cleared out a large closet in the hallway. I've also taken to putting it under our bed as well since that was just empty space. Too much effort on my part to risk my preps to extreme temps fluxes.

 

[MikeK]

I actually installed a small wall mounted evaporative cooler on my garage, just to tame the summer heat. Evaporative works well in our dry climate so it uses almost no power. In florida, you'd need A/C to achieve the same thing. But it may be worth it. I never have to worry about my preps in the heat anymore.

It's kind of odd to have a nice cool garage, when I don't use any climate control in the rest of the house! :

 

[prankster]

Mike-
What is an evaporative cooler? And where do I get one? Thanks!

 

[MikeK]

Mike-
What is an evaporative cooler? And where do I get one? Thanks!

They're what a lot of us down here in the hot dry southwest use to cool our homes. Also called "swamp coolers". They work by pumping water over pads, then drawing air through those pads to cool it, and pushing it indoors. They won't work in humid places, but they're very efficient in dry ones.

They come in all sizes from full house units to smaller single room wall or window mounted units. They're far less expensive than refrigeration because all they are is a simple sump pump, motor and squirrel cage type blower. They also take a lot less electricity to operate than refrigeration.

I have a faucet outside about 15 feet away that I tied into to supply the water. It took about an hour to cut a hole and make a frame for the cooler. I paid $150 for the cooler and about $25 for the hardware.

If you're in a dry climate, most home improvement centers would have them in all sizes. Even Sam's Club sometimes has them. If you look off season, you can find them used really cheap.

I moved here in summer though, so I felt the need to install one right away. The garage was already insulated, so that was a big help. Otherwise I suggest insulating it too. Which isn't very expensive or complicated really.