A hole in the freezer!

[Mung]

DH just put a hole in our freezer whilst defrosting it. It is now hissing and is obviously spitting out all the chemicals that make it work. It is in the garage which is joined ot the house.

Does anyone know what is in it, how long it will hiss for and whether we are safe to turn the light switch off? The garage door is open, so we are hopefully letting as much outside as possible.

Oh...and can you recommend a good tall upright freezer that I can buy quickly?

The gas in a freezer is an unexplosive gas known as R22. The gas is heavy and will sink to the bottom of your garage airspace. You can turn the light off but keep venitlating as much as possible and keep out of the garage as much as possible.

You can get them delivered same day at most major retailers but your food should stay frozen 24 hours if you keep the door shut so just go for next day delivery.

Don't breathe the gas and keep pets away.

So do you want to tell us what your DH did exactly? We need a laugh!

The freezer was quite frosty and he was just trying to get the ice off...no funny stories, sorry. The most annoying thing is that I love that freezer, it is massive and has 2 seperate doors. Its really old though. Looking at the prices, we wont be able to get anything as big.

Fortunately I have been planning to defrost it, so I have been running it down. DH has just popped to his parents to give them a drawer full (mainly EBM) and we will be eating all the rest over the next few days.

Okay I'm sure you mean you have deposited all the EBM elsewhere and will be eating the rest of the food for the next few days

Blimey, most of us just turn the thing off and wait to get it to defrost!

BTW you have to pay for disposal of old freezers now, the council will collect it for about £20 though - cheaper than a lot of the retailers in my experience.

I made a hole in my freezer defrosting it tonight, but no fizzing nd hissing thnk goodness.

I think the way whomovedmychocolate suggested is the best way to defrost a freezer. I always remember my Mum doing ours with a hairdryer...surely that isn't very safe either! Using a paint scraper (like DH) is probably the most expensive way!