Anybody live without a refridgerator?

[prairiebird]

If so, what are your pointers/advice?

TIA,

[Renee]

I don't know how to search the archives but there was a thread about ice wells posted 2-3 years ago. Blessings, Renee

[Pelenaka]

Anybody live without a refridgerator?

An electric refrigerator yes, refrigeration no, we used a restored ice box that I replaced the insulation on. Made ice blocks in an upright freezer. In the colder months we used the enclosed porch or just placing items on the cellar floor worked well (deep Winter).

I made one of those clay pot refrigerator once for giggles. I can see where it would work in a desert climate which Buffalo area isn't or to supplement an ice box/cooler while camping.

I don't recall the ice well I'll have to look that up.

~~ pelenaka ~~

[Capt Quirk]

We had a fridge, but then it met an unexpected demise. We fell back on the cooler, but ice began adding up, and you didn't want to let it go too long. Since we are on either a small solar/ battery bank, a full on electric fridge is out. Even my little dorm fridge was too much. When we are finally done travelling, I'm going to look into a 12v/ solar.

[Rick]

We have 5 gal. Food grade Buckets filled with ice cubes and water then frozen in a walk in freezer at a Deli 10
miles away. They charge me 2 bucks.

It lasts up to 8 days, 5 to 6 in July. We keep 2 patio furniture cushions on top of a double cooler, closed cell foam horizontaly on both sides of the ice, and one across the entire top. As it melts we put the ice in smaller containers and the dwindling milk cheese and veggies all in a cooler that fits inside the big one.

[flowergurl]

When i get ready to retire from the rat race and buy a homestead, i will be looking for a place with a small year around spring. I want to build a spring house over it and use it as natural refrigeration .

[FarmboyBill]

Dang PG Where in Kans U at. I was born raised in Doniphan Co. Also, Is there any more single farm gals with your mindset??? lol

[DAVID In Wisconsin]

I lived without a refrigerator for several years. It sounds scarier than it is. You'll get the hang of it very quick. I never used an icechest or anything. I made sure I had no leftovers and I learned to improvise a lot of recipes. It wouldn't bother me a bit to do it all over again.

[FarmboyBill]

If you have an old well or cistern, you could have made a thing that had shelves that were tound. There was a kind of tripod at the top and a windless attached to it. You could put your perishables on the shelves, and lower it down into the well/cistern where it will keep in the cool. My grandmom had one. Didnt work so good. Milk and cream spilled into the well. They finally quit it, and later filled it in.

[GrannyG]

Many years ago, when I was young....LOL....we did not have a fridg..we used an oil drum with holes in it, lowered into the ground, and the ground water came up about half way in it....a basket with handles on it, tied with rope, was lowered with food like milk in glass bottles, then brought up to be used....worked pretty good at that time.....

[sunflower-n-ks]

I didn't have a working frig for many years. Just have to be smart about what you open/buy in the summer and in the winter, lots of cold air right outside a window or door.

[City Bound]

My 70 year old scottish neighbor told me that they did not have fridges in scottland when she was a kid, so in the winter they had little metal boxes (sort of like old milk boxes) that were attached to the side of the house just bellow a window, and in the cooler months they would open the window, open the box, and store milk, eggs, and other things inside it. During the warmer months they had to shop every day.

[Sanza]

Years ago when we didn't have power we kept our food cold by keeping it in a well or else in the creek. All vegetables were kept in the cellar under the kitchen. My oldest sister had a shallow well maybe 10 ft deep that had permanent ice all year round and that's where she kept her dairy.
Right now with night temperatures dipping below freezing my unheated porch becomes a huge walk in fridge.

[motdaugrnds]

Flowergurl, you have certainly given me something to consider. We are toying with the idea of digging out our pond; and since we will probably be excavating it ourselves, preparing an area for natural refridgeration would be great!

I think I'll google that and see what comes up.

[flowergurl]

Motdaugrnds, if you decide to try that, I'd love to see pictures.

[Renee]

An ice well is a pit or old cistern. Through the winter add some water every day so that it freezes before you add more (otherwise you will just have a water well)). By end of winter you will have huge chunk of solid ice that should last all summer. You can construct a spring house type structure over it if you like. Install a grid or slats a few feet from the top to store your food on and protect children from falling in. I believe that Thomas Jefferson (?) had one of these on a grand scale. They made ice cream in the summer. It seems easier to me than an ice house. Renee

[FarmboyBill]

in nE Kans the water did NOT freeze in the cistern in the winter. It was around 25ft deep, 2 of them.

[Renee]

The water must be added to a dry pit little by little. You add enough water into the pit per day to ensure that it is frozen by the time you add more the next day. It can be done by digging a pit so I think it should work if you had a dry cistern. No, water in a full cistern won't freeze. At one time there were plans available online from North Dakota State University. I found an article that explains the theory here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...738413,00.html
however, you must be a Time subscriber to read the whole article. Renee

[Pelenaka]

Originally Posted by Renee

The water must be added to a dry pit little by little. You add enough water into the pit per day to ensure that it is frozen by the time you add more the next day. It can be done by digging a pit so I think it should work if you had a dry cistern. No, water in a full cistern won't freeze. At one time there were plans available online from North Dakota State University. I found an article that explains the theory here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...738413,00.html
however, you must be a Time subscriber to read the whole article. Renee

Thanks for this link Renee, I think that would work for us when the time comes. Certainly would be easier than the traditional method of ice harvesting & packing it all into an ice house even one that was super insulated.


~~ pelenaka ~~

[Nevada]

We lived for about a year without a refrigerator. We used a camping cooler. Ice was a problem, but winter was easy because I just scooped-up snow to put in the cooler. The next spring we got a small (10 cf) refrigerator from Home Depot, like this one only ours had a fake stainless finish.

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/applian...ite-25379.html

It draws about 120 watts, and perhaps 400 watts for startup surge (only about 10 seconds per start). Assuming that the solar panels charge about half the time (they don't charge at night), and the refrigerator only needs to run about half the time, it took two 60 watt panels to make enough power for the refrigerator. That's not excessive.

That became moot, since I eventually worked-out a deal with my next door neighbor to run a small extension cord next door to power lights, the refrigerator, and my laptop. But I could have lived on solar power.