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Old 07-17-13, 03:24 PM   #30
AC_Hacker
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ELGo View Post
...This means that my 20 c.f fridge/freezer would average 600 Wh a day if it was a 20 c.f. fridge only. If I had only the fridge space of ~ 13.3 c.f., the average daily consumption would be about 400 Wh a day.
All things being equal, a smaller frig will require smaller power. But the relationship is not linear, because area increases at roughly a square function, and volume increases at roughly a cubic function... and heat loss is proportional to area.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ELGo View Post
I asked my wife if she would be OK with not having a freezer in the house and got shot down. I had to laugh when she said "What about the ice cream ?!" Even she smiled after she thought about her answer, since we make efforts to not gain weight. I'll have to get her used to the idea over time...
The old fashioned ice & salt hand-crank ice cream freezers are even more effective than self discipline...

Quote:
Originally Posted by ELGo View Post
About those temperature swings:How about placing some water (in a container to avoid evaporation) in front of the air vent ? Seems to me that you want a solution that will provide buffer and heat capacity. Of course if the cooling device is efficient with short bursts you can just tighten your on and off limits.
I do know that there is a startup inefficiency, and that longer runtimes favor efficiency. When I get the time, I'm going to return to an Arduino controller, because I can build in finer tuning increments, and as I said before, I'd like to zero in on the most efficient cycle time/temp swing compromise.

There might also be some efficiency to be gained with a suitable Phase Change Material (olive oil?)... but I have too many projects demanding my attention, to pursue that right now.

But, I really like the Freezerator project because it's simple, the reward is easily measurable, and the pay-off comes quickly. Lastly, if you're not satisfied with your hack, no irreversible change has been made to the freezer.

If you're going to try the Freezerator, it's important to find the most efficient freezer you can, whether it is chest-type or upright, because your final energy use will be about fifty-ish percent of the freezer consumption.

BTW, if you get a hand-crank ice cream maker, I have some killer recipes... but don't expect them to be low calorie.

Best,

-AC
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Last edited by AC_Hacker; 07-17-13 at 03:30 PM..
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