# Help, I Am Locked In A Freezer: Will I Suffocate Before I Freeze? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437 "2009-01-28T21:06:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/1 "2009-01-28T21:06:37Z")
For the purposes of this thread I’ve accidentally shut myself inside a chest freezer with a volume of 1.5 cubic metres and chilled to -4 degrees centigrade. I’m a largish guy, 180cm and 90kg. Will I suffocate before I freeze, or vice versa? ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/2 "2009-01-28T21:08:48Z")
Need answer fast? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/3 "2009-01-28T21:13:39Z")
I should probably mention that I’m naked, so have no external insulation to retard any heat loss. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/4 "2009-01-28T21:29:21Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > For the purposes of this thread I’ve accidentally shut myself inside a chest freezer This is a logical contradiction, surely? If you did it for the purposes of this thread, then it wasn’t accidental. But, you know, I admire your commitment to the cause of fighting ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Nanoda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/5 "2009-01-28T21:31:12Z")
No answer, but first bad news is that (assuming you’re mostly water), there’s actually only ~1.4 m^3 of air in there, 'cause you’re taking up some space. Good wifi considering though. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/6 "2009-01-28T21:32:54Z")
From browsing the web it looks like the rest consumption of oxygen is around 20 ml/kg/min. The amount of oxygen in the air is around 21% so you have about 300l of oxygen in the freezer. At 90Kg you use about 1.8l a minute so it looks like you have about 166 minutes of air. That seems to me to be a pretty long time to be naked in freezing weather. Minus 4 C seems pretty hot for a freezer. Mine is at about -18C or 0F. [http://home.hia.no/~stephens/vo2max.htm](http://home.hia.no/~stephens/vo2max.htm) is where I extrapolated the 20 ml/kg/min from. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/7 "2009-01-28T21:50:28Z")
How’s the wifi in there? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/8 "2009-01-28T21:53:32Z")
My money is on suffocating before you freeze to death. I believe that people can live for days out in freezing weather with little clothing (no cite). However as you start to panic you will increase your consumption of oxygen. Meanwhile the level of CO2 will be rising. I can’t imagine you surviving long enough to freeze to death… let us know how it all turns out. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/9 "2009-01-28T21:59:50Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > From browsing the web it looks like the rest consumption of oxygen is around 20 ml/kg/min. The amount of oxygen in the air is around 21% so you have about 300l of oxygen in the freezer. At 90Kg you use about 1.8l a minute so it looks like you have about 166 minutes of air. I think CO2 buildup is going to be the big killer here, no? [QUOTE=Wikipedia] CO2 in concentrations of 7% to 10% cause dizziness, headache, visual and hearing dysfunction, and unconsciousness within a few minutes to an hour [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/10 "2009-01-28T22:05:00Z")
Either way, we won’t know if you’re alive or dead until we open the box. Generally speaking, -4C would be pretty darned uncomfortable to be lying around in naked, but there are [reports](http://salemnews.com/punews/local_story_022235526.html) of people surviving much colder temperatures for quite a while and then being [revived](http://www.pendletoday.co.uk/strange-but-true/Woman-survives-three-days-buried.4822823.jp). So I’d give my vote to suffocation. Note, though, that’s it’s a trade-off. The colder you get, the slower your respiration gets, so the oxygen lasts longer. But if you exercise or move about (which you could probably do in 1.5 cu meters), you stay warmer, but burn up oxygen. That means that there’s probably no hard and fast answer. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/11 "2009-01-28T22:06:56Z")
Wouldn’t you die of shock or hypothermia first? ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/12 "2009-01-28T22:06:57Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Either way, we won’t know if you’re alive or dead until we open the box. So he is both alive and dead, right? Now if you will excuse me I have this cat I have to let out. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/13 "2009-01-28T23:01:32Z")
Naked in a freezer and the whole board knows? I’d die of embarassment. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/14 "2009-01-28T23:35:07Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > For the purposes of this thread I’ve accidentally shut myself inside a chest freezer… Given that’s it’s common practice (and very possibly a requirement) that freezer doors be easily openably from the inside, you’re only in trouble if you fail to attempt to leave - or if a nefarious confederate has barricaded the door. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/15 "2009-01-29T08:01:56Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Given that’s it’s common practice (and very possibly a requirement) that freezer doors be easily openably from the inside, you’re only in trouble if you fail to attempt to leave - or if a nefarious confederate has barricaded the door. That’s in commercial type, walk-in freezers. The OP talks about a home chest freezer. Those don’t have inside door handles. (I don’t know why not, seems like it would be pretty easy to engineer.) ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/16 "2009-01-29T09:46:18Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Now if you will excuse me I have this cat I have to let out. _scratches the door_ ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/17 "2009-01-29T09:57:00Z")
If you accidentally end up locked in a freezer naked, you’ve got more important things to worry about than death. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/18 "2009-01-29T10:20:58Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > I think CO2 buildup is going to be the big killer here, no? Errr…if he goes unconscious after a few minutes, isn’t he going to start consuming much less oxygen and be much less bothered by the cold? Hostile Dialect, Hostile Dialect, Narcissist ---
**Author:** ![Mogle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mogle/32/12021_2.png) [@Mogle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mogle)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/19 "2009-01-29T11:31:02Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > That’s in commercial type, walk-in freezers. The OP talks about a home chest freezer. Those don’t have inside door handles. (I don’t know why not, seems like it would be pretty easy to engineer.) Personally I’ve never seen one with a lock, the only thing that’s keeping them closed is gravity and air pressure, so the only thing you’d need to do to open it from the inside is push. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437/20 "2009-01-29T13:33:41Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > The amount of oxygen in the air is around 21% so you have about 300l of oxygen in the freezer. **Scissorjack** ’s 90-kg body is going to displace about 90 L of what would otherwise be air in the freezer, so this number should be closer to about 280 L. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-am-locked-in-a-freezer-will-i-suffocate-before-i-freeze/483437.md?page=2)