if this interests you, you should checkout a Zeer Pot (aka Pot in Pot) refrigerator. No electricity, but does require water and can get down to 43F. http://practicalaction.org/zeerpots
An earth-cooled beer dispenser
71–77 of 77 posts
Re: An earth-cooled beer dispenser
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
I imagine it would be most useful for people who camp without electricity often. However dry ice is very cheap (like $1/lb cheap) and more convenient (you don't have to dig a hole) so unless you are camping very often or camp for very long periods of time, it would probably take a very long time to break even. It is a pretty cool idea though, that alone could justify part of the price for some people.
campers? So dig a whole new borehole each time you want to use this? I've never dug a mini-mineshaft before, but isn't that prohibitive amounts of effort ?
It doesn't seem like it would be too bad. If they are in the same spot for two weeks or so then I think it might be worth it. For a week or less then a traditional cooler with dry ice seems like it would be clearly better.
The type of soil (rocky or not) would make a big difference. Though icy ground where this would work best would be the hardest to dig...
Re: An earth-cooled beer dispenser
#73Re: An earth-cooled beer dispenser
#74if this interests you, you should checkout a Zeer Pot (aka Pot in Pot) refrigerator. No electricity, but does require water and can get down to 43F. http://practicalaction.org/zeerpots
Another type of non-electrical refrigeration is using an icebox in conjunction with an Icyball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icyball)
You have to 'charge' the Icyball periodically with a bucket of water and a fire, but they can go well below freezing.
I've never seen a modern incarnation of the idea, even though with some training it could probably be manufactured locally in countries with poor access to electricity. Maybe that is worth looking into... Here is a homemade version that might be the basis for a modern version: http://crosleyautoclub.com/IcyBall/HomeBuilt/HomeBuilt.html
Re: An earth-cooled beer dispenser
#75Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly. The ground is usually 58F. I remember reading about this in a thermal home book. (If you effectively bury 3/4 of your house, you only ever have to warm it to 70F from 58F.) It's actually somewhat funny. Did they think there were ice cubes under the grass when the designed this?
The ground is not usually 58F. It depends entirely upon where you live AND how deep you go. Where I live, in Houston, TX the readily-accessible ground temperature is in the high 60s or low 70s.
For the purposes of a just-below-the-surface cooler, yes I believe you are right. But my understanding from the book is that if you go slightly deeper, you will get to a somewhat universal soil temperature no matter where you actually are, with extreme counterexamples, I'm sure. The book, on thermal housing, may have been assuming habitable areas, not Antarctica or Siberia.
Re: An earth-cooled beer dispenser
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
15 feet sounds pretty deep to dig to install something like this. Any idea what the temperature is like 2-4 feet?
That's going to vary a lot more by location, and 2-4 feet puts you at much higher risk for your beers freezing (although if you fully load this with beer, you'll have some beers at 2-4 feet anyway). Where I live, for instance, beers will probably freeze 2 feet below ground in winter. But my well is down below 15 feet and is always liquid.
Here in Estonia (very close to Nordics) we put water pipes underground at least 80 cm to PREVENT them from freezing during the winter.
Re: An earth-cooled beer dispenser
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
The ground is not usually 58F. It depends entirely upon where you live AND how deep you go. Where I live, in Houston, TX the readily-accessible ground temperature is in the high 60s or low 70s.
For the purposes of a just-below-the-surface cooler, yes I believe you are right. But my understanding from the book is that if you go slightly deeper, you will get to a somewhat universal soil temperature no matter where you actually are, with extreme counterexamples, I'm sure. The book, on thermal housing, may have been assuming habitable areas, not Antarctica or Siberia.
Check here: http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/Forums/tabid/53/aff/13/aft/...
The 3rd post talks about the variation in temperatures. Seems that once you get to around 30 feet down the temperature becomes constant year round. For Houston the chart says 71 degrees. Because it's that single number instead of a range I assume that's the temp you get at 30 feet deep.