How Long Will Meat Last in a Powerless Freezer?

Hi,

I live in FL and we often have power outtages.  How long will meat last in a freezer that has no power? My wife tells me meat will last 12 hours in an unopened freezer.

Is there any way to tell when meat has gone bad?

Thanks for this forum.

Mike

[Michael]

That was a rapid reply to my question and I really appreciate your answer, in spite of the fact that my wife is running around saying "I told you it would last a day"! (g)

This is a great forum and I'll be checking back quite often to see what's going on.

Michael

[caregiver222]

I might add we have back-up diesel generators for refrigeration. Always buy a DIESEL generator and not a gasoline generator. A gasoline generator produced deadly carbon monoxide. A diesel generator, for the most part, does not. And get a couple of dozen dozen "cyolume" chemical lightsticks.

[caregiver222]

We have 12 months of survival food, plus other supplies. We make it a practice to have six plastic gallon jugs filled with water frozen and keep them in the refrigerator. During short power shortages (frequent in the area where we have our rural "second home", the frozen jugs keep the interior of the refrigerator cold. And they provide an emergency supply of water.

[Forum-M.D.-EC]

That's a great idea.  I buy bottled water and fill up the freezer with it, since the freezer is more efficient and costs less to operate when it's full.  When the power goes out, you're right, it stays colder longer.  We keep many lightsticks as well, but more for the kid's fun than for emergency needs.  For emergency lighting, I keep powerflares in my trunk since regular flares can explode:
http://www.powerflare.com/
I use powerflares on my segway to keep me well lit at night as well.