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Popice won't freeze for some reason

UglyCasanova

UglyCasanova

Lifer
It's the craziest thing, Friday evening I stuck a bag of Popice (I think was the brand) popsicles in the freezer and they won't freeze. I've made multiple trays of ice since then no problem, and they are all frozen solid. The popsicles for the most part just won't freeze.

The rubber seal on the door is old and there is a crack in it so some cold air is leaking through that and I'm sure the insulation in the wall panels aren't worth anything (it's really old and cheap) but why would the ice freeze and remain frozen but the popsicles won't freeze at all.

There are maybe 4 exceptions out of the pack of 50 that did freeze, and they aren't all in the same place in the stack of them nor the same color.
 
Your freezer isn't cold enough. Popsicles have lots of sugar in them so they need to be colder than 32F to freeze.
 
Ice cube trays are open and loose heat faster. Placed in a bunch pop-ice takes a long time to freeze solid. Spread them out and they will freeze quicker. Also some may be super cooled but in need of a "pinch" to turn solid. I have picked one (clear and liquid)out of the freezer and watched the ice crystals "bloom" from the point of contact.
 
Or if you'r feeling lazy, you can put a 120mm case fan in the freezer blowing cold air all over them and see how they fare.
 
Yep. Posicles are a good insulator.

If you had a big bucket of water in the freezer, convection would cause the water to swirl around and cool more evenly. Water in little baggies can't swirl.
 
mizzou said:
put a thermometer in your fridge
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Oh god no. That'll just make it even more difficult.


I mean, have you seen the math that has to be done to determine how long it takes for a measuring device (well, object really) to reasonably reach equilibrium? It's got like, calculus and a bunch of dead mathematician and scientist names attached to it.








(No, I haven't had to do that type of thermal calculation since college, thank you for asking.)
:colbert:


.
 
Leros said:
I've filled a freezer to maximum capacity with popsicles. They freeze just fine.
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So you're saying that the thermal "conveyor belt" was working properly, and that your freezer was therefore cold with solution of sugar? :hmm:
 
I've had the same problem and my freezer will freeze ice cubes in about 1,5 hours, best thing to try is to spread them out.
 
The very first response, from Leros, has the right answer. It is a result of a phenomenon in Physical Chemistry called Freezing Point Depression. When you dissolve something in water, in the vast majority of cases the result is that the solution will freeze only at a LOWER temperature than pure water. Exactly how much lower depends on two things: the nature of the solute you added, and its concentration in the resulting solution. Every material has its own unique Molal Freezing Point Depression Constant. And, the more you dissolve in the solution, the more you reduce (depress) the Freezing Point. So, a very strong solution of sugar in water must be cooled to a much lower temperature than 32F to make it freeze, and apparently your old freezer is not cold enough for these products.

Most of the other replies are about the RATE at which you can cool the popice down. But unless you can get it really cold, the rate of cooling does not matter at all.

By the way, for this reason standard "pop" or carbonated beverages containing substantial sugar do not freeze just below 32 F, but diet beverages will. Why? Because the diet ones have no sugar and very little other stuff dissolved in them, so their Freezing Points are almost the same as plain water.
 
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UglyCasanova said:
The rubber seal on the door is old and there is a crack in it so some cold air is leaking through that and I'm sure the insulation in the wall panels aren't worth anything (it's really old and cheap) but why would the ice freeze and remain frozen but the popsicles won't freeze at all.
Click to expand...

Step #1; move out of the crack den you seem to be currently living in.
 
Wow. A discussion that interests me from 2014. I have same problem in a good freezer that measures 13.8 degrees Fahrenheit with an independent thermometer. There must tons of sugar in these popsicles if that ain’t cold enough to freeze them. I’d say 10% are frozen. The rest are not and handling them makes no difference. They have been in the freezer for 3 days.
 
I have since learned 13.8 degrees is actually too warm for a freezer. Should be 0 to 5 degrees F. So I am dealing with a larger problem.
 
Schneidm said:
I have since learned 13.8 degrees is actually too warm for a freezer. Should be 0 to 5 degrees F. So I am dealing with a larger problem.
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I'll assume you can't afford a new freezer. If so, you can try:

https://www.wikihow.com/Replace-a-Refrigerator-Door-Seal

(It says you can fix a seal with petroleum jelly - sometimes.)

If that's not enough, you could try:

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Materials-Insulation-Foam-Board-Insulation/N-5yc1vZbaxx

Probably on the outside. And well away from the coils.
 
Really old post, but I'm having the same problem with Wyler's Italian Ice. My freezer is fine and only a year old. Everything else in my freezer is frozen, but only about half of these are frozen, and some are at the liquid stage after being in the freezer for 6 days. The seal on my door is just fine, so I'm assuming something is wrong with the product. I bought 2 boxes, and the first box was just fine, and they're not expired either!
 
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