Newbie Snowbird question

I think we've decided to turn it off and prop doors open while gone.

We'll transfer any freezer stuff to our small chest freezer and use up (or give away) any food in the refrigerator section.
It wouldn't be worth the cost to me to refrigerate condiments for three months.

We were gone from Jan thru March. I used up what we could or gave away. Stuff like catsup, mustard, BBQ sauce, jam, horseradish, mayo etc, was left in. The freezer above frig still had flours, cake mixes etc in it. I left it on, daughter came once a week to check on house. She checked on frig. 1 week the freezer made cubes, 1 week the handle went up=no cubes. Frig was ok when we got home. Will do it again this year. Look @ the expiration date on food. If it's good till you get back, keep it.

MichDoc wrote:
We have a friend check the house every week or so in case the fridge quits. However, we've always been concerned about those localized short-term power outages, where the fridge goes out for a day or two, and then comes back on and cools back down. The food might be frozen, but it had thawed and then re-froze, and we wouldn't know it. So I take a plastic soda bottle and fill it about 1/4 full of water. I lay it on its side in the freezer until the water has frozen, then stand it up on a shelf. When we get home, we check the bottle, and if the water is not still frozen "up the side" of the bottle, we know that it thawed, and then re-froze while we were gone. We do this even if we're just going on a short 3 or 4 day trip too.

When we are gone for the winter, we leave things like condiments etc. in the frig. I always freeze a small container (like the Nyquil cup) and then place a penny on top of the ice. If we come home and the penny is no longer on top, everything has thawed and refrozen. Penny on top..no problem. A hint I learned a long time ago on this forum.

Fridge gets cleaned out, turned off, and doors wide open. Its a good time to go through and throw away stuff thats been in there too long.

I also winterize the plumbing, I installed a pump, valves, hot water heater crossover, just like whats in the trailer. I pump RV antifreeze, open one faucet at a time and let some run into the traps. Not to forget the washing machine, and undo and drain the ice maker line.

Then for an extra measure, I throw a handfull of rock salt in all the drains. Heat is turned off completly.

I used to leave the heat on around 50, but every year I lost power while I was away, and had numerous broken pipes when I got back. That wont happen any more, and I don't have to pay for the heat.

We've been away for 6 mos at a time but the neighbor has a key and checks the house regularly and uses the fridge freezer for his own stuff, works for us.

My fridge that had a problem & had shut itself off 2 years. there was a salmon in the freezer. Fortunately we have someone check out house each week, but gettign rid of the odor was no fun. We do have a large upright freezer and we try to make sure we have used as much of the stuff in it as possible before we leave.

We are in a condo development with power is included in our fees so we just leave them on. Our power consumption while gone is minimal anyway.

I like the bottle tip, The ice cube in a glass would be even easier.

If you shut the fridge down, place a paper plate full of charcoal briquets or baking soda inside the fridge, even if you leave the door cracked. There won't be much air circulation in there, and it can get pretty stale smelling, in three months.

crimmps49 wrote:
Love that idea MichDoc--makes perfect sense. Great tip--TY

We do the same but with an ice cube in a shot glass.
If it doesn't have nice crisp edges we know the power was off for a day.

Love that idea MichDoc--makes perfect sense. Great tip--TY

We have a friend check the house every week or so in case the fridge quits. However, we've always been concerned about those localized short-term power outages, where the fridge goes out for a day or two, and then comes back on and cools back down. The food might be frozen, but it had thawed and then re-froze, and we wouldn't know it. So I take a plastic soda bottle and fill it about 1/4 full of water. I lay it on its side in the freezer until the water has frozen, then stand it up on a shelf. When we get home, we check the bottle, and if the water is not still frozen "up the side" of the bottle, we know that it thawed, and then re-froze while we were gone. We do this even if we're just going on a short 3 or 4 day trip too.