So, I was rambling yesterday about living situations and 600 square feet being too damn big. Well, we’ve gone through a number of changes about how and where we want to live. The ‘where’ is anybodies guess, but that helps…
Yearly Archives: 2013
Living Small in a Big World
Tagged with: consumerism, downsizing, dwelling, living small, living tiny, personal growth
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy
Posted in Dwelling, Personal, Philosophy
600 sq. ft. Is Too Damn Big
So, I rent. We rent. I’ve always rented ever since I moved out of my parents home. FIrst, $300 a month, then $450, and now $895. That’s a lot of money I’ll never see again, but that’s the cost to…
A Slight Change Of Course
So, I haven’t been writing in a while. I miss writing on this blog; it helps me think and get my head in order. For months I was in a new city and unemployed, so I had a lot of…
Posted in Personal
An Analysis of a Construction Equipment Rental Company
I work for a construction tool rental company based out of Seattle, Washington. My time in the Portland, Oregon branch, although brief compared to the average employee, has led me to make a few small observations about the day to…
Tagged with: bourgeoisie, capitalism, class struggle, construction, Frederick Engels, Karl Marx, marxian, proletariat, rental, surplus value
Posted in Marxism, Uncategorized
Posted in Marxism, Uncategorized
On the Subject of Everything
What is humanity’s role in the universe? I don’t ask this question as though there is some sort of definite answer sought after for ages only needing decoded from some ancient religious scripture handed down from an omnipotent grand creator.…
Tagged with: consciousness, earth, entropy, evolution, garden, geology, memes, memetics
Posted in Philosophy
Posted in Philosophy
The KillCap Catalogue
I enjoy designing vapor compression machines. It all started with a refrigerator. I have thought long and hard on how these mainstays of modern living could be improved and someday I will make some of them a reality. In the…
Tagged with: air conditioner, appropriate technology, dehumidifier, flooded evaporator, heat pump, refrigeration, refrigerator
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
The Great Gravity Flooded Evaporator
I’ve grown quite fond of the gravity flooded evaporator in the last year or two. It has a number of advantages over a dry type evaporator. I’ve discussed some of these in previous posts (here and here) and I will no doubt…
1930s Household Refrigerators
The evolution of the household refrigerator is not a well known story. There seems to be few people interested in the subject. Perhaps it is not as romantic as the development of the automobile. Nonetheless, a concerted effort was put…
Tagged with: antique, capillary tube, expansion valve, float valve, refrigerant, refrigeration, refrigerator, thermostatic
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Modular Refrigerator Circa 1935
This curious little gem here is a modular refrigerator evaporator from a US patent granted 1935. Available here. The purpose of the invention being that it allows for the removal or replacement of a refrigerator’s evaporator coil (or at least…
Trying Not to Blow Myself Up
I advocate hydrocarbon refrigerants for vapor compression systems whether it’s refrigerators, dehumidifiers, split systems, whatever. There are a lot of advantages to them over proprietary cocktails like R-134a, R-22, 410a and so on. First of all, they are naturally found…
Tagged with: propane, R-134a, R-290, refrigerant, refrigeration, vapor compression
Posted in Refrigeration
Posted in Refrigeration
Future Plans
I’ve been thinking quite a lot about refrigerator designs and what steps I’m going to take in developing them. I tend to take on a lot more than I can chew and then when it all becomes too overwhelming, I…
Tagged with: heat pump, propane, refrigerator, vapor compression system
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Refrigerator Cabinet Design – Part 2
In Part 1 I complained a good bit about the design of conventional refrigerators. Since I was a little kid, I thought that surely their must be a better way make a refrigerator more convenient and at the same time consume…
Tagged with: brine, compressor, condenser, evaporator, killcap, PCM, phase change material, refrigeration, refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Refrigerator Cabinet Design – Part 1
I have some issues with the current state of domestic refrigerators. Anyone who has read my other posts is probably well aware of this fact. A Better Refrigerator, The Killcap Refrigerator and Hand Crafted Refrigerators. I have a great deal of…
Tagged with: chest freezer, COP, freezer, lazy susan, refrigeration, refrigerator, sliding door, turntable
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
“Free” as in “Freedom”
A part of technological design I think is important, is the distribution model chosen. In a dominantly capitalist economic system, marketability seams to be a deciding factor in the success of an idea or even whether anyone bothers building something…
A Philosophy Behind Technological Development.
I have a lot of technical designs I hope to apply to the real world, even if they only suit me personally because they are either too impractical or simply undesirable for most. Anyone who has read any of my…
Tagged with: appropriate technology, cradle to cradle, downcycling, modular design, recycle, social benefit, sustainability, sustainable, technical nutrients
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration
Discourse On Dehumidifiers
I’d like to talk about dehumidifiers; what they are, how they work, design failures and improvements I’d make. The dehumidifiers I write of are a specific kind, but probably the most common. They are the small white plastic towers people…
Tagged with: capillary tube, compressor, dehumidifier, dessicant, dew point, flash gas, humidity, pressure drop, propane, psychrometrics, R-12, R-134a, R-22, refrigerant, refrigerator, subcool, vapor pressure
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Refrigeration
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Refrigeration
Excerpts from “Elementary Mechanical Refrigeration” by Fred E Matthews, 1912
The following are several pages taken from the above mentioned book. A similar explanation is more or less copied in “Power’s Principles of Refrigeration” of which I have a 1921 copy. Take special note of the beautiful illustration below. Clicking…
Tagged with: back pressure, condenser, evaporator, heat engine, heat pump, refrigeration, steam engine, temperature pump, thermal potential
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration
On the Subject of Compressors
The refrigeration compressor is where all the ‘magic’ happens. To understand the process of compression is to understand the fundamental principles of mechanical refrigeration. A compressor is the mechanism that allows us to reuse that same refrigerant over and over.…
Tagged with: clearance volume, compressor, discharge valve, ice machine, refrigerant, refrigeration, refrigerator, suction pressure, suction valve, volumetric efficiency
Posted in Refrigeration
Posted in Refrigeration
Recycling Hot Water
There are a number of different ways to heat domestic water for bathing, washing clothes, dishes and whatever else people need. Electric Resistive, Natural Gas, Propane, Kerosene, BioMass, Solar, Heat Pumps and even Compost Heaps come to mind. Obviously, some…
Tagged with: appropriate technology, biochar, COP, heat pump, hot water, refrigeration, sustainable, water heater
Posted in Hot Water, Refrigeration
Posted in Hot Water, Refrigeration
Hand Crafted Refrigerators
I’ve been collecting antique refrigeration books for a little while now and so far, my favorites have been two editions of ‘Household Refrigeration’ by H.B. Hull. It is a beautifully laid out book covering both thermodynamic engineering principles relating to…
Tagged with: air space, cabinet, cork, insulation, refrigeration, refrigerator, sliding door, thermal mass
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Old Refrigeration Texts, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
musings on entropy 