I’m looking for something that will go fairly quickly, because I don’t really have anything else to do with my food other than put it in a cooler with ice.
Open the door and blow a hair dryer into the freezer compartment. That should do it in a short time.
One problem with that… I don’t have a hair dryer.
I’m also doing the boiling pot of water in the freezer trick, but I’m just wondering if there’s anything faster.
Don’t use a hair dryer. Not as effective.
My patented way (if I had bothered to apply for a patent), involve a two pronged approach.
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But a big pot of boiling water (be careful that you don’t burn yourself). Just let it sit there for about 15 minutes. The area immediately above and below the pot will be fine. Even better is filling up something like a lasagna pan because it has more surface area.
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Get a spray bottle. Fill it up with tap water (temp doesn’t matter). Find what looks to be the thinnest part of the ice and spray that area. You want to be able to make a crack in the ice.
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Take a plastic spatula (NOT METAL) and start going at the ice where there’s a crack. Once you pry one section out, the others will come out more easily.
I can usually defrost my freezer in about 30 minutes.
What about just using hot water to melt the ice? Like, putting it in a water bottle, and then spraying it on the ice?
Napalm
I put in a candle once, but I think the hot water pans are faster.
I use one of those big square window fans to blow lots of air into the freezer. It thaws the ice very quickly, and I remove the ice as soon as it’s loose. Mop up any excess water with a towel and it’s usually bone dry in an hour.