Puester > wrote in news:3FF895A5.D704C410
@worldnet.att.net:

> Michael Horowitz wrote:
>>
>> Folks - I'd like to partition my chest freezer into two spaces:
>> One partition would hold items I would use in the short term and would
>> contain prepared/sealed meals and produce that, should the power go
>> off for an extended period of time, we'd eat until the stuff starts to
>> thaw.
>> The other partition would hold things I won't need to get to, but
>> would like to protect them in hopes the power would be restored in a
>> reasonable period of time.
>>
>> Can anyone suggest how I can insulate the second partition in hopes
>> of extending the life of its contents? - Mike

A cheap and easy material would be styrofoam sheets. There are also
other insulating board materials available. You could make both
partitions and "lids" for the compartmentalized area(s).

> 1. Intuition tells me that partitioning the freezer
> would block air-and-cold circulation and might
> be a Bad Thing.

Unlike frost-free upright freezers, most chest freezers generally do not
have "air circulation". Adding partitions and "lids" of insulating
material should pose no problem.

> 2. Unless you have a gas stove, you can't cook during
> a power outage anyway.

Gas stoves, gas grills, camp stoves, propane burners, etc., all offer
alternative ways to cook without power. I have even baked cakes and
breads in our gas grill with great success. (No power outage, just too
hot in the kitchen.

Wayne

> That said, my elderly father-in-law swears by laying
> a sheet of styrofoam (about 2 inches thick) across
> the top of the food in his chest frreezer. He says
> it provides "extra insulation". YMMV
>
> gloria p