will this really hurt a freezer???

Countrystyle · #21 06/14/10, 05:51 AM

May not work where you live but we had bunnies years ago and kept heavy canvas drapped in front of the cages and wet down several times a day with the hose to cool it off. Not anything close to ice bottles but they did all right.

johncronejr · #22 06/14/10, 05:57 AM

I don't buy it...I think the freezer just died...Are you expected to not use things for their intended purpose just because they might actually wear out? Don't use that clothes dryer...it'll wear it out...let's not turn on the computer...next thing you know we'll have to buy a new one!

**Ross** · #23 06/14/10, 06:41 AM

I agree using something as intended shouldn't hurt it. Its more likely to die if you don't use it!

michiganfarmer · #24 06/14/10, 06:51 AM

Im wondering is how did rabbits survive the last million years before humans canme along with freezers, and plastic bottles?

fordy · #25 06/14/10, 06:56 AM

...............As already been so APTLY STATED , if your freezer is full of frozen objects that are "AT" the temp that the freezer is trying too maintain it's very little work to keep those objects at a constant temp . , fordy

Patt · #26 06/14/10, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

Im wondering is how did rabbits survive the last million years before humans canme along with freezers, and plastic bottles?

Underground and out of the heat.

Man does something wildly unnatural like stick them in cages up in the air and then he has to stick bottles of ice in with them to keep them cool.

Patt · #27 06/14/10, 07:17 AM

Just curious how old was your freezer?

I have used frozen water bottles weekly in the summer to keep my groceries cold since I do my shopping an hour away for years now and never had a problem. Our freezer was out on our carport too here in the AR heat and it did fine. My guess is that it was not the water bottles.

Jeff54321 · #28 06/14/10, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamaSuzy

Is he correct? Or is this just another thing he says because he hates ALL my animals (goats, ducks, laying hens, etc.)????

You might need more than a new freezer.

fishhead · #29 06/14/10, 08:44 AM

You didn't hurt the freezer.

**ladycat** · #30 06/14/10, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

Im wondering is how did rabbits survive the last million years before humans canme along with freezers, and plastic bottles?

By staying underground during the day. They only came out in the evening after it got cool, and went underground again the next morning as soon as it started getting warm.

Of course wild rabbits of today still exhibit this behavior. They cannot take the heat.

ronbre · #31 06/14/10, 09:42 AM

no, generally what burns up a refrig is dust or hair on the condenser coils

Windy in Kansas · #32 06/14/10, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michiganfarmer

Im wondering is how did rabbits survive the last million years before humans canme along with freezers, and plastic bottles?

Well for starters they weren't caged and were free to roam under shade, dig into cool damp earth, and they weren't angora rabbits with really long hair which would hold body heat.

I have seen plenty of wild rabbits appear to be panting on hot summer days. They fully stretch out in order to expose as much body to the air as possible to aid in cooling. I have seen them scratch around into shade covered damp earth for a cooler place to rest. When one spot gets too warm they move to another.

margoC · #33 06/14/10, 10:47 AM

I agree with the posters that say water bottles did not break the freezer. A chest freezer shouldn't lose that much cold air by opening it. They aren't even closed in the grocery stores for cripes sake! Imagine the workout an ice cream freezer in a convienience store gets!

If it's that hot where you are that the bunnies are uncomfortable, then the freezer is working a lot just by being outside in that heat. Either way, it should be able to handle freezing a few bottles of water a day.

They make small freezers that are not that expensive, maybe one of those would fit in your house better.

SolarGary · #34 06/14/10, 11:17 AM

Hi,
If the bottles are the 2 liter pop bottles, then that's about 10 lbs of water for two bottles.

It takes 144 BTU per lb to convert water to ice, so 1440 BTU for your two bottles -- this is equivalent to 0.42 KWH. Fridges and freezers are basically heat pumps, and have an efficiency greater than 1, to the extra use is actually less than the 0.42 KWH -- probably more like 0.2 KWH.

Regular freezers use somewhat over 1 KWH a day, so it looks to me like the freezer would see somewhat more run time, but not enough to "kill it"?

I guess you could keep track of how much longer the compressor runs after you put the bottles in. If it runs for hours to get them frozen, then maybe it is hard on it.

OK, here is another thought to keep the rabbits happy.
Have a look at this little experimental setup that cools a tank of water overnight by a combination of evaporation and radiation cooling:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Experime.../EvaproRad.htm

Its very simple, a little tin roofing, a small pump, maybe a timer to run the pump at night. In our climate, it could get a moderate size tank of water down below 50F at night with a 4 by 4 ft piece of roofing to run the water over.
For rabbit cooling, I would make the tank smaller, and insulate the tank except where the rabbits lay against it.

Of course, it won't get the water down to freezing, but maybe 50F is OK?

Humid climates and cloudy weather make this method less efficient, but it should work to some degree in any climate.

Another approach would be to just fill the tank with fresh water every day, and use the water that's in it for watering or whatever. If the tank is well insulated, this should keep the tank water down close to what it comes out of the faucet at, which might be down toward 50 or 60F depending on where you live.

Gary

#35 06/14/10, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BamaSuzy

So you don't think just opening the door to pop in or take out two to four bottles of frozen water a day and then opening it again to put in two to four bottles that need to be frozen---is enough to "wear out" or "burn up?" a freezer?????

Personally it sounds like splitting hairs but if you had extra bottles you could get by with just opening the freezer once . Have bottles full of water ready to put in freezer when you take out frozen bottles .

Fae · #36 06/14/10, 04:46 PM

My DD does this for her flemish(sp) rabbits plus uses fans. She also has two smaller rabbits whose pen is on the ground and they stay in the holes they dug when it is hot so she does not have to use the frozen bottles. As far as I know her freezer is doing fine.

TheMartianChick · #37 06/14/10, 06:37 PM

I think that the issue is the fact that the freezer is kept in the carport

js2743 · #38 06/15/10, 07:29 PM

maybe its time to build the rabbits a small room and put a window AC unit in it to keep them kool wouldnt cost very much.

luvrulz · #39 06/15/10, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sawmill Jim

Every thing man made wears out at some time for various reasons

This being said if it made my wife happy to freeze 40 bottles of water a day for her critters and it only lasted two or three years so be it . If the wife is happy i am

Now that's a smart man! If momma ain't happy - ain't no one happy! :-)

Mickey · #40 06/15/10, 08:23 PM

I freeze and re-freeze containers of water all the time to cool my milk, and my freezer is over 30 years old. And btw, it's sitting in the shed where it gets very hot in the summer.
Mickey