Use a remote termometer (with cable) to monitor the freezer's temperature. I can't telly exactly at what temperature things start to spoil, but you should know that the water in the food will start to thaw well before the temperature reaches 0c/32f. It's not an immediate concern, but if the food is allowed to reach 0c/32f it really should be eaten as fast as you can, not stored for months and months after the ordeal is over. Ideally, it should be thawed and eaten right away. In a less perfect world you accept a degradation of quality and refreeze what you can't eat.


Friend of mine had a tiny deep freezer in the bedroom his bachelor condo (-30c/-22f). That freezer disturbed him in his sleep. If he switched it off for 8 hours the temperature inside would be somewhere warmer than -10c/5f. It is not good for precious high quality meat to have that kind of temperature cycle every night. He used his knowledge of chemistry to mix denaturated alcohol and water to a freezing point of -20c/-4f. About half a gallon was plenty to make sure the freezer never got colder than that during his sleep. Add a timer to switch the freezer off between 11pm and 9am and you also have a bachelor's backup wake-up alarm...