Donkey's Solar Refridgerator

[jeanna]

Last spring I took a class in 'natural building'. Mostly we learned how to build with cob. Cob is clay and sand and some straw mixed in. It has pretty nice properties, but the reason I mention the cob is that it is what the walls are made of in this solar fridge.

It is a walk in fridge and the designer whose name really is Donkey  told us that the house was being air conditioned while he was building it. (before he put the door in place.)

He said 'open source' when someone asked him about design patent etc. He told us to share it.

So, here it is. It is modeled after the ice caves from Idaho, where the temp can be 120F outside but there is ice inside.

A metal grate on the floor allows you to add water as needed.

A flu in the black stovepipe allows you to adjust the wind inside.

The hotter the sun the more air is drawn into the cooler and the cooler it gets inside.

A burlap bag is wet and hangs below the grate and drips water into a pot and the breezes enter through a pipe from the side of the hill.

The beer cans are aluminum and that metal when moist has extra cooling potential, and in case the temp inside gets too cold the beer will not freeze.

Have a look. This is brilliant.

I made this drawing quickly and I may have missed something.

jeanna

[ResinRat2]

Hi Jeanna,

I like the aluminum beer-filled cans. Nice touch. I am amazed that it gets that cold.

This would probably be a good candidate for the Seebeck effect.

I am not pursuing it right now, but I may in the future.

I hope someone can give something like this a try.

Thanks

[pese]

See also:

http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?t=12911

Pese

[jeanna]

See also:

http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?t=12911

Pese

lol pese,

I doubt if that did much to cool off the playa !

jeanna

[triffid]

great design,one could call it free energy cooling?Triffid