Been off the forum a while-busy with funerals and weddings! While researching energy storage methods for surplus off-grid PV electricity, I thought of using a commercial icemaker drawing "patented 32degF phase change material" from an insulated storage tank to fill the tank with ice, then use a heat exchanger coil in the bottom to obtain chilled fluid for air conditioning as needed.
It turns out this isn't an efficient idea, as even the best Energy Star rated commercial machines take around 4kwh to make 100lb of ice! However, I learned that some machines are water cooled (sending potable water down the drain to dispose of the waste heat-what a waste!). These contain excellent counterflow cupro-nickel tube-within-a-tube heat exchangers, as well as the refrigeration components needed for a GSHP. Icemakers come as complete units or modular icemaker heads to fit on a separate bin.
If anyone can score a good deal on a used one from a restaurant equipment supply pulled out of service because of the water waste, it would be interesting to see one hacked. Plus, you would still have a perfectly good motorized auger for who-knows-what! Anyone have any experience with these units?
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"I‘d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don‘t have to
wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." Thomas Edison, 1847 — 1931
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