

A fridge that is more tolerant of power interruptions - jmadsen
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3029658/this-fridge-doesnt-need-electricity-to-stay-cool

======
kens
The headline [This Fridge Doesn't Need Electricity To Stay Cool] seems like
linkbait. It's a fridge that uses ice to keep cool - my grandmother had that
technology and it was called an icebox.

One fridge that really does cool without electricity is the "absorption
refrigerator", which burns propane and uses the heat to cool. I find the
process pretty much incomprehensible, but it uses a mixture of ammonia, water,
and hydrogen gas. The heat separates the ammonia from the water, it is
condensed, and then when the ammonia evaporates it absorbs heat from the
fridge. They are useful for recreational vehicles without electricity.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator)

And on the topic of random refrigeration facts, if you've seen air
conditioners or chillers specified in units of tons, that doesn't refer to the
weight of the equipment. It refers to the number of tons of ice per day
required to provide the equivalent cooling. Measuring power in tons (1 ton =
3.5KW) strikes me as very strange.

------
orik
The title of the article lead me to expect a Fridge that doesn't use
electricity. Instead it should have been something more akin to "A Fridge that
can keep food cool for up to 35 days after a power outage".

I wonder how many days of cool you loose each time you open the fridge to pour
a glass of milk.

The design is rather novel though and I'd love to see it in my home one day if
they shrink it a bit.

~~~
ephemeralgomi
Says right in the article that you can recharge it with ice instead of
electricity.

~~~
ars
Which is so very stupid. Really? You're going to have someone deliver ice?

Instead use an
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigeration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigeration)
and deliver fuel - it will be much much lighter for the runtime.

Rural places still use commercial units based on this method - you heat part
of the fridge in the fire in the morning while cooking breakfast and it will
keep it cold the rest of the day.

~~~
chockablock
As the article states, ice can be delivered along with the vaccines that it is
meant to keep cool. So ice delivery is perhaps not so very stupid as it sounds
in this case.

It can also be recharged if the power comes on for a short while.

~~~
Terr_
1\. It's much easier to deliver a small quantity of stable and energy-dense
fuel, versus delivering a larger bulky mass thermally-below-equilibrium ice
that'll be gradually heating up the whole time.

2\. Enough ice for transport doesn't mean enough ice for longer-term storage.

------
ars
To clarify: This is a machine that is more tolerant of power interruptions by
storing cold, as ice.

~~~
dang
We changed the title (linkbait, as many have pointed out) to use your
suggestion. Thanks.

------
jmadsen
I'm not in anyway associated with the company, product or people. I simply
thought it would be interesting for the HN crowd to read about.

There are a couple of possibilities that I can see:

1) The inventor, the investors, and the Gates Foundation people who gave them
$100,000 are all too dumb to know about propane refrigerators

2) There's more to this than the quick fluff piece goes into.

If you're one of the people who wonders "Why don't they do X?" instead of,
"Those idiots - they should be doing X", I'd invite you to contact them with
your questions at their site
[http://www.surechill.com/](http://www.surechill.com/) or via Twitter
@Sure_Chill

They ARE a commercial company, so I won't say more than that.

------
tonyb
I wonder why they don't use propane powered refrigerators. They use very
little propane and a single 20 lb tank would last much longer than 35 days.
I'm guessing it would be smaller and lighter than these too.

~~~
jmadsen
propane will eventually run out. this is potentially "set it up once and never
fuss with it".

It doesn't seem like portability was a major concern. Hopefully if this
catches on, other improvements in size, weight and purposes will come about.
This one seems to be for a very specific purpose.

~~~
tonyb
How is this "set it up and never fuss" if the ice has to be replaced every 35
days? I would think delivering a small propane tank would be much easier than
delivering ice.

~~~
jmadsen
The ice will replenish itself if an electric source and can be found later.
(for example, the ones with solar panels, or once it reaches a remote field
hospital with a generator)

I think you are imagining it being used differently than what they have in
mind

~~~
ars
Ice replenishing by using electricity is a completely different topic than
_delivering_ ice.

------
mythealias
There is also pot in pot refrigerator ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-
pot_refrigerator](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot-in-pot_refrigerator)) based
on evaporative cooling, which does not use electricity. Although it will not
work well in humid places, it is still a much cheaper option.

------
specialist
I want a combo refrigerator and water heater. And maybe air conditioner too.

My local utility is strongly encouraging adoption of heat pump water heaters
like the Geospring.

[http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-
heater/](http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-heater/)

Neat. But why stop there?

~~~
maxerickson
Modern refrigerators are pretty cheap to operate. Getting your AC from a heat
pump would probably be a bigger win.

------
sawan
There are other products which don't require electricity at all: MittiCool -
[http://www.mitticool.in/product_detail.php?product_id=4](http://www.mitticool.in/product_detail.php?product_id=4)

------
ajarmst
As long as you keep putting ice in it, it stays cool? What will they think of
next? :-) Seriously, it's actually a fairly elegant way to keep vaccines
stable over a long period in an environment with no (or unstable) power.

------
ajarmst
In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics!

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vxHkAQRQUQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vxHkAQRQUQ)

