Ancient refrigerators

joeb · Post by **joeb** » 04 Nov 2009, 07:45

Since refrigerators are one of the biggest electric consumers in any household, i decided to surf the net for any way around this.

and interestingly i found this ancient Persian refrigerator.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakhchal

might be a good diy project for a weekend or two... or three.

hardworkinghippy · Post by **hardworkinghippy** » 04 Nov 2009, 07:54

...composed of sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair, and ash

Got all the ingredients, now we just need the time to build one !

Post by **adam2** » 04 Nov 2009, 09:02

Such techniques might be usefull in some circumstances, but they are not true refrigerators, they are are large highly insulated structures in which ice can be stored through the heat of the summer.
The ice being obtained in the winter, or from mountains.

Here in the UK many old country houses had "ICE HOUSES" in which winter ice or snow was stored for summer use.
Such storeage is only possible on a relatively large scale, if tried on a small scale the ice would soon melt.

Better options for UK conditions would be super insulated electric refrigerators, worked from PV, or possibly off peak grid power.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » 05 Nov 2009, 13:48

Our family didn't have a fridge in my childhood (~30 years ago), but nobody died as far as I can recall.
It really was grim 'oooop north'

What we did have was a 'safe', which was a wooden cabinet with metal mesh fixed to the outside it to keep the flies out.
This was located in the coolest part of the kitchen.

Milk was delivered daily by a milkman.
Other perishable foods were bought in small quantities from the local shop.
I can't remember anything much going to waste.

I'm not saying this is/was desireable, but it can be done if needs be.

Post by **clv101** » 05 Nov 2009, 13:55

adam2 wrote:Here in the UK many old country houses had "ICE HOUSES" in which winter ice or snow was stored for summer use.
Such storeage is only possible on a relatively large scale, if tried on a small scale the ice would soon melt.

It's also only possible when there is actually significant amounts of ice/snow to collect. Many years, for many parts of the country there just isn't enough sufficiently cold weather.

gug · Post by **gug** » 06 Nov 2009, 21:52

most will have seen this before, but its sort of on topic and i thought it might be worth a re-post.

http://www.mtbest.net/chest_fridge.html

100 watt/hrs / day fridge.

Post by **adam2** » 09 Nov 2009, 15:40

The ultra high effeciency fridge linked to above is certainly worth considering for off grid homes, or by those who wish to prepare for an uncertain future.

I cant see them catching on for the average household though whilst electricity is so cheap.
A top opening fridge or freezer is more efficient, especialy if frequently opened. It is however less convienient, and such models are not popular.

A more efficient fridge can be built by useing thicker insulation, but this is also unpopuler with the average houswife, since it results in less internal space for a given external size.

Ideas may change when grid power trebles in price !

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 09 Nov 2009, 21:56

When I were a lad

We had a box, about 18 inches cube, made of a porous ceramic material, with a door at the front. Water was added to a depression in the top. The water slowly soaked through the walls and evaporated from the outside surface keeping it cool. The inside was glazed so kept dry.

We called it an "oh-so-cool"

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 09 Nov 2009, 22:39

When I were a lad we just had a larder under the stairs, and relied on the milkman coming every day. We didn't get a fridge until someone needed some medicine that the doctor insisted needed to be kept in one.

greenin12 · Post by **greenin12** » 21 Aug 2011, 15:24

I have been looking into how much energy my appliances use. I do not have an accurate way to judge because we have not been able to leave our home for a month to be able to interpret the readings. Obviously off grid coolers like this will have no usage, but that isn't mainstream or even possible in many places. How does everyone feel about energy efficient appliances? Think they are helping?

Post by **kenneal - lagger** » 22 Aug 2011, 02:13

The British and US versions can be seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_house_%28building%29

SebastianWalker · Post by **SebastianWalker** » 03 Oct 2011, 13:30

Hello, all.

This sounds absolutely fascinating. Whilst I very much enjoy modern inventions, I do love the idea of recreating ancient appliances. (I would love to build a clay oven some day.)

Kind Regards,

Sebastian Walker