Using a Chest Freezer as a Refrigerator

[dutchdivco]

Another way of looking at it

Not sure I understand everything core is saying, and not sure I 'buy' everything I understand, but the post DID cause me to look at this whole issue in a different way! Since the MAIN advantage in using a chest freeser is that you don't loose all the cold air, (and have it 'replaced' with warm air) every time you open the fridge, how about this;
Just take a refirgerator, and turn it on its side?!!!Sure, you'd have to take out all the shelves, etc., but, as previously discussed, would need to make some kind of shelving system in a chest freeser, anyway. I don't know why I didn't think of it, before! Jim

[wrtner]

Just take a refirgerator, and turn it on its side?!!!

I don't think this would work with many fridges. Some absorbtion
fridges may not work properly becasue the gases, pipes, tanks etxc
are designed to run upright. I don't know about compressor
fridges.

Magnetocaloric and peltier fridges might work fine.

[dutchdivco]

More 'thinking out loud'

O.k., talking about taking a fridge, and turning it 90 degrees times 2; so its 'laying on its back with the doors on top.Wouldn't be the newest kind, with the 'french' or double doors, although it may have a lower door for the fridge, and an upper door for the freezer.
So, I believe it would be the 'compressor type'. Earlier said that with a chest freezer, I would want to raise it off of the floor, at least a foot, in order to make it physically easier to get access to stuff in the 'bottom' of the box.

Such a fridge usually has a 'radiator' or 'heat exchanger' on the back, and wouldn't want it to rest on that anyway. So, would support it at the corners, raising it off the floor about a foot. Has the compressor and motor located at the bottom of it, in 'normal' use, so I would remove them from the box, and put them in this space underneath, therefore I could keep them 'upright'; that is, 'up' and 'down' would be the same as before the 'transformation'.

I don't know if turning the box, while keeping the compressor, etc. 'upright' would 'solve' thses problems, just thinking here. Anyone know?

Might also move the coil on the back of the fridge, maybe putting it outside the structure of the 'house', either mounted on an outside wall, or in the crawlspace underneath. Jim

[Farmhand]

O.k., talking about taking a fridge, and turning it 90 degrees times 2; so its 'laying on its back with the doors on top.Wouldn't be the newest kind, with the 'french' or double doors, although it may have a lower door for the fridge, and an upper door for the freezer.
So, I believe it would be the 'compressor type'. Earlier said that with a chest freezer, I would want to raise it off of the floor, at least a foot, in order to make it physically easier to get access to stuff in the 'bottom' of the box.

Such a fridge usually has a 'radiator' or 'heat exchanger' on the back, and wouldn't want it to rest on that anyway. So, would support it at the corners, raising it off the floor about a foot. Has the compressor and motor located at the bottom of it, in 'normal' use, so I would remove them from the box, and put them in this space underneath, therefore I could keep them 'upright'; that is, 'up' and 'down' would be the same as before the 'transformation'.

I don't know if turning the box, while keeping the compressor, etc. 'upright' would 'solve' thses problems, just thinking here. Anyone know?

Might also move the coil on the back of the fridge, maybe putting it outside the structure of the 'house', either mounted on an outside wall, or in the crawlspace underneath. Jim

Just looking at it logically I would say that would have to work. I think it is the fluids and stuff in there that are the problem with the turning over and using.

I have a friend who is a refrigeration mechanic and I asked him a long time ago about the freezer thing as I was doing it at first. I remember he tried to explain some difference between a fridge and deep freeze but at the time i don't think I understood, and being written down like Core wrote is easier to take in. Thanks again Core. you're spot on correct because I asked my friend again. This time I understood him.

Next time I see him I'll ask him some more questions. Because I have some more idea's.

Anyway another idea would be to just lower the gas pressure a bit in the freedge.

You're very correct dutchdivco it is a bit of an inconvenience to get stuff from the bottom of the chest fridge.

But I think you only need to turn the upright fridge 90 degree's once to get it on it's back. But wouldn't the fan blow the cold air out ?

It's too bad there isn't something along these lines commercially availiable.

I've actually got three of those digital controllers, I have two on my incubator now, one for temp the other for humidity control, acheived by using the probe as a wet bulb thermometer to sense humidity, which turns on and off a misting atomizer thingy to add moisture to the air in there.

Anyway the controller on the Freedge is a heater and cooler type "which is not the best kind".

I'll do some research and try to find an example of what I think is a good one, some have a defrost function and are replacement units. The other really good thing is that there is a digital readout of the temperature.

Cheers

[mbrownn]

The reason you don't turn a fridge or freezer over is simple. there is the lubricating oil inside and if any of this liquid gets into the compressor cylinder it will lock up the compressor and there is no way to get it out other than stripping it down. Not possible with the sealed units.

[dutchdivco]

More thinking

I g.usess I was thinking like a draftsmen; turn its 90% once, its 'on its side', turn it 90% again, its on its back. Obviously, you can just tip it straight onto its back.
Isn't the oil there to lubricate the cylinder of the compressor? Admittedly, I don't really know what i'm talking about, i.e. not a refirgeration mechanic, just asking.

I do dispute one position posted here; that the upright design, where all the 'refrigerated'air in the unit flows out when you open the door isn't a significant energy drain. And that, therefore, a 'chest design' wouldn't save energy. To me it just seems obvious.

However, the reason, (or at least ONE reason) that manufacturers developed the upright design with the door in front is because consumers wanted that design. It IS 'easier' and therefore I wouldn't hold my breath that any manufacturer will produce a chest design refrigerator; they would lose $, as they wouldn't sell enough to compete.

Still not sure I have an answer, from those who know, as to whether what i posted earlier, about keeping the compressor and motor 'upright' while turning the box would 'work', or not. Anyway, I do love thinking 'outside the box', or, in this case turning the box.Jim

[gmeast]

drawers

An upright with drawers will do the same thing. If the drawers effectively take up all of the space inside, then you only need to concern yourself with the volume behind the drawer that must 'pump' a displacement volume 'in' as the drawer is pulled open ... but the back of the drawer could be a bellows fed from an accumulator full of cold air in the back of the fridge. Same could go for a freezer zone above. It just might be awkward with the freezer above ... it should be below. When I was a kid I wondered why the ice cube maker wasn't 'below' everything else. Even then I knew cold air went 'down' and hot air went 'up'. I saw only one fridge/freezer combo' that had a 'freezer drawer' below the 'fridge-part' ... but that was over 45 years ago - at a neighbor's home. Speaking of 'hot air' ...

Later,

Greg

Hi all, Ok so we know that when we open the door of an upright fridge we let the cold out the bottom and the hot in the top. So why not convert a chest freezer which opens at the top to be a fridge. So when we open the lid the cold stays inside. I think it save's energy.

I'm not a fridge mechanic so i don't know if it is OK to just add a thermostat to control the temperature of the chest freezer to acheive this. But I did do it. And it works as a freezer or a fridge with digital control. I can set the temp and the amount it rises before coming on again (the fluctuation). Say if I have fresh chickens to chill I can set it to 2 or 3 degrees C for 24-48 hours to chill and rest them (just over freezing point), then after the rest period I adjust the temp to -18 C and deep freeze them. Make's em yummy.

It cost about $60.00. to convert but the converting hardware will likely outlast the freezer. I haven't used it for about a year but I'm going to set it up in the bunkhouse when I rearrange it soon.

I've almost forgotten how to actually wire it up and lost the instructions for the digital thermostat thingy. But it is easy to do with an external plug-in thermostat and fix the probe inside. When I wrestle it out of the corner I'll get some picture's.

Any thoughts on this and the difference between a fridge compressor and so forth as compared to a freezer one and if this would save energy? I don't really have the wattmetering ability to tell conclusvely. Most of the time opening the top to get something out then put it back in doesn't make it turn on from loosing it's cool.

Cheers

[jibbguy]

In the United States, a lot of what we use in appliances (such as fridges), is about what THEY want us to have. They being the illegal trusts that control energy in this nation. The electric power corporations, who are monopolies, work behind the scenes with General Electric and others in RICO act organized crime.

Can i prove it in a court of law? Not yet. But there are numerous examples of how our electric bills are 10's of billions of dollars higher per year than they need be, if only a few changes were made to our major appliances.

Recently, i shopped for a replacement electric water heater. The SMALLER versions of 30 gallons, actually cost more money than the 50 and 60 gallon models. Their Energy Rating is of course lower; saving up to $250 per year on average compared to the cheaper, larger models. Also, in the larger sizes, the cost of more efficient models is considerably higher.

Unlike some other appliances, gas-powered water heaters are a lot more expensive than electrical ones. The best of all are "On Demand instant hot water", however the high purchase price (sometimes more than twice that of an electrical model) is beyond the vast majority of people... when your water heater dies, it is usually at an inconvenient time.

The same is true for refrigerators, in that in most cases, the consumer has to pay more for a unit that uses less energy. They certainly have the technology to make them more efficient... they choose not to.

I also saw, that in this town (or on line for that matter), TRY to buy one that isn't made by General Electric now (which i boycott). In water heaters, it is very difficult to do (the "Sears Kenmore" models actually being manufactured by GE as well).

The "Energy rating" groups are creatures of the corps; go their websites, it is admitted. They give a facade of trying to save energy, while actually doing very little; and insuring the greatest amount of profit for the privately owned electric power corporations.

[Farmhand]

An upright with drawers will do the same thing. If the drawers effectively take up all of the space inside, then you only need to concern yourself with the volume behind the drawer that must 'pump' a displacement volume 'in' as the drawer is pulled open ... but the back of the drawer could be a bellows fed from an accumulator full of cold air in the back of the fridge. Same could go for a freezer zone above. It just might be awkward with the freezer above ... it should be below. When I was a kid I wondered why the ice cube maker wasn't 'below' everything else. Even then I knew cold air went 'down' and hot air went 'up'. I saw only one fridge/freezer combo' that had a 'freezer drawer' below the 'fridge-part' ... but that was over 45 years ago - at a neighbor's home. Speaking of 'hot air' ...

Later,

Greg

Hi Greg, That's exactly right and a good point. Still the convenience is a big
factor, if things are too much trouble they are usually not such a good idea.

Even if good idea in principal or theory not always in practice. There must be
a good compromise though. Like Greg says about the drawers, I actually have
an upright freezer like that, it's all drawers, when the door is opened a drawer
still must be opened to get stuff out so an inconvenience there, for sure.

Cheers