h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Seems my freezer decided to quit on the grounds that it's too cold.

Yes, you read that right. It seems that the bulk of UK-sold fridge-freezer combos are designed to work indoors, and fail in cold weather. Chest freezers are designed for outbuildings, and as such work in colder environments.

I discovered this when I stumbled into the kitchen in a morning-after-the-night-before kind of way, and thought that the floor was unusually cold, compared to the extreme coldness of the kitchen itself. This, it transpired, was due to the puddle of water on the floor which had leaked out of the rapidly defrosting freezer.

One mop-up later, and I open the freezer door. MISTAKE!

Another mop-up later, and I open the freezer door again and inspect the somewhat softer than frozen contents. There's still plenty of ice in there, so nothing has gone off, but it's past the point where it will keep properly if refrozen.

I turn on four gas burners on the hob[1], and point a fan heater into the kitchen to try and warm the place up a bit. Ten minutes later there's a click, and the freezer springs back to life.

Six hours later and the freezer contents are solid again. Waste of time really, as I'm going to have to cook the whole lot of it now.

So, I've placed a remote thermometer in the kitchen, so I can tell from the bedroom whether it's too cold in there. Not that this will help much; I expect I'll be buying a new fridge, made to scandinavian specs, fairly soon.

[1]Not recommended, unless your kitchen is well ventilated. Mine is very well ventilated, which is the main reason it got so zarking cold.