Now that we’ve covered the desire to build a well insulated refrigerator and freezer, as well as the advantages associated with living in a cold climate where ice can be produced passively, it’s time to move on to the detail…
Blog Archives
Homesteading Refrigerator to Die With –Part 4– The Scott Nielsen Ice Refrigerator
Article from “Rodale’s New Shelter”, July-August, 1981 Zoom your browser in to make it easier to read! Up Next We’ll be getting into the design considerations of two-phase thermosiphons, building a passive refrigerator, and other opportunities with having…
Tagged with: diy refrigerator, heat pipe, ice box, ice refrigerator, passive refrigeration, passive refrigerator, refrigeration, refrigerator, two-phase thermosiphon
Posted in The Squatch
Posted in The Squatch
Homesteading Refrigerator to Die With –Part 3– Passive Winter Ice
In the late 19th century, and first half of the 20th, ice refrigerators were a common feature in American households. Blocks of ice could be purchased every few days and placed in an insulated box to slow the decay of…
Homesteading Refrigerator to Die With –Part 2– Insulating to Decrease Load
In an effort to reduce the power consumption of a stand-alone domestic refrigerator an upright freezer, I will be adding additional insulation to standard units. A large amount of the heat gain (and thus heat to be pumped out), leaks…
Tagged with: collapse technology, dc refrigerator, diy refrigeration, low tech, off grid refrigerator, PCM, phase change material, refrigeration, refrigerator, two-phase thermosiphon
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Homesteading Refrigerator to Die With – Part 1 – Background and Selection
This is a proposal for a refrigeration system which is intended to eliminate the need for electricity as much as possible. What follows is my refrigerator and freezer; it is not for everyone, and it is not designed for commercial…
Tagged with: absorption, biomass, dc refrigerator, diy refrigeration, freezer, freezerator, ice box, ice refrigerator, low tech, lowtech, off grid, passive refrigerator, passive thermal, refrigeration, refrigerator, solar powered refrigerator, two-phase thermosiphon
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Technology, Autocracy, and Extinction
I’ve gone through something of a trauma recently. Nothing to get excited over, more of an existential thing, or a re-analysis of my own values and outlook on the world. I have spent so much of the last few years…
Tagged with: autocracy, civilization, collpase, ecology, extinction, neo-luddite, refrigeration, refrigerator, sustainability, technology
Posted in Personal, Philosophy
Posted in Personal, Philosophy
Fridge Powered by Farts and Rainbows
The most difficult part of designing a durable, robust, long lasting refrigerator is dealing with the the question of how to power it. Electricity is the answer most people would pop off before I get the last breath out. But,…
Tagged with: diy refrigeration, green tech, HVAC, off grid, peak energy, peak oil, refrigeration, refrigerator, renewables, solar power, sustainability, sustainable
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Bringing Materialism Back
It is a worthy undertaking to redefine what we know as “materialism” in today’s culture. The word is so often associated with excess, waste, and possessing more stuff than the neighbors have. Keeping up with the Jones, or what not. …
Tagged with: capitalism, collapse, materialism, refrigeration, refrigerator, sustainability, sustainable
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Designing a Refrigerator at 55mph
I have purpose. Purpose is good. I’m building a refrigerator. The question I get asked most often is, “Why don’t you just go buy a refrigerator?”. They just don’t get it. I understand that it is an unusual hobby, but…
Tagged with: design, diy refrigerator, homemade refrigerator, HVAC, refrigeration, refrigerator
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Modular Refrigerator Project Update- Part 2
See Part 1 Continuing with my project update. This is over several months of work beginning in the summer of 2016, and concluding at the present. For a while, I ran the machine with a glycol freezing evaporator and the…
Tagged with: diy refrigeration, glycol, HVAC, PCM, phase change material, propane refrigerant, R-290, r290, refrigeration, refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Modular Refrigerator Project Update- Part 1
Long overdue for an update, I have these backlogged photos of my journey towards building a better refrigerator, and I feel I need to get these published so I can pursue further writing. See Part 2 The last nine months…
Tagged with: appropriate technology, diy refrigeration, homemade refrigerator, HVAC, propane refrigerant, R-290, r290, refrigerator, vapor compression
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Designed For The Unborn
Let it be known that I do not want to sell refrigerators, own patents, market products, or operate anything which could be construed as a business. That being said, a guy has to make a living, so that if I…
Tagged with: appropriate technology, capitalism, collapse, conservation, extinction, living small, minimalism, modular design, overshoot, refrigeration, refrigerator, resource depletion, tiny living
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
A Refrigerator For The Ages
Over the course of the next several years I will be illustrating a plan for a long lasting, modular refrigeration system which encompasses my values in the realm of design and simplicity. Here I will begin that process by trying…
Tagged with: diy refrigeration, modular design, planned obsolesence, refrigeration, refrigerator
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Personal, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Design With Planned Integrity
It has taken me some years to find my path. I believe that were I born in a previous era, I would have found my way to the field of engineering, as that seems to be the my core interest: …
Who’d Build a Refrigerator?
In the previous post, I proposed some design principles for the construction of a better refrigerator, and suggested that an “open source design” model could be used to improve it continually through collaborative effort, and an iterative process. Being that…
Tagged with: collaborative consumption, modular design, open design, open source, refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Free Fridge -or- The Collaborative Cooler
“Think free as in free speech, not free beer.” -Richard Stallman Refrigerators are not software, but they could be designed and shared freely like software. Granted, I’m talking about hardware: steel, glass, copper, insulation, etc., but why not have an…
Tagged with: butane refrigerant, natural refrigerant, open desing, open source, propane refrigerant, r290, refrigerator
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Disposable Refrigerator and Something Better
The modern domestic refrigerator doesn’t use much more electricity than refrigerators from the 1940s. Admittedly, modern models have greater volume, and no need to manually defrost, but it remains to be seen just how long they will remain functional. What…
Disposable Refrigerators
I hardly know where to start, but that is why I am writing about this – to get my thoughts somewhat in line. What happened to technology? I know that is a broad question, probably too broad so I’ll narrow…
The Power Plant -or- The Wood Fired Refrigerator
I don’t like heat pumps. Wait, let me rephrase that: I don’t like grid tied heat pumps. It’s the electricity! Heat pumps are an amazing technology which I am currently obsessed with, and I am in fact in the process…
Tagged with: biochar, diy refrigeration, gasification, gasifier, homesteading, HVAC, off grid, refrigeration, refrigerator, steam engine, thermal mass
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator, Tiny House, Water
Posted in Dehumidifiers, Dwelling, Hot Water, Philosophy, Refrigeration, Refrigerator, Tiny House, Water
Amateurish Refrigeration Research
I have a High School Diploma, and that is about the extent of my formal education. My real education comes from years of mechanic jobs, fiddling with and fixing things around the house, building things I need rather than buying…
Tagged with: dehumidifier, diy refrigeration, hc refrigerants, heat pump, organic rankine, propane refrigerant, r290, refrigeration, refrigerator
Posted in Hot Water, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
Posted in Hot Water, Refrigeration, Refrigerator
musings on entropy 