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Chest Fridge (2009)

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Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#71

Post by Hamuko »

refactor_master wrote: post #7
tempestn wrote: post #4

It's a cool idea, and might be great for a secondary fridge. For a primary fridge though, it's so much more convenient to have direct access to everything through a vertical door. I like energy efficiency, but I'm willing to pay 300kWh a year (around $40 here) for that convenience, let alone the space efficiency.

Most people in dense urban areas would actually pay less. By going vertical you’re freezing a whole m2 that was otherwise necessarily occupied by the fridge. In most places, 300 kWh is much cheaper than an extra irrevocable m2 for your fridge. Plus, a horizontal fridge is just… convenient. You can’t even put things on top of a vertical fridge.

I have cabinets over my vertical fridge that has things put in it. There's only like a 15 cm gap between for airflow. How do you slap a cabinet on top of a horizontal fridge?

Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#73

Post by ajb »

tshaddox wrote: post #8
tempestn wrote: post #4

It's a cool idea, and might be great for a secondary fridge. For a primary fridge though, it's so much more convenient to have direct access to everything through a vertical door. I like energy efficiency, but I'm willing to pay 300kWh a year (around $40 here) for that convenience, let alone the space efficiency.

If you completely remodeled a kitchen around a chest fridge it might not be too terribly inconvenient. But the major blocker is that virtually every kitchen is designed with a perfect spot for a tall, relatively shallow fridge.

It inherently takes more usable space, there's no design that won't lose space, which makes them impractical in smaller homes. To visualise it, for those living in more spacious areas, imagine a "galley" kitchen: 8 spaces one standard unit size, arranged in 4 on each of two opposite walls, with an aisle in between. One unit may be lost to a door. One must be a hob, another the sink. The hob must not have storage above within 60-70cm vertically, due to fire risk; and limits what may be adjacent as well. A window may prevent the use of some spaces above waist height.

A door that opens outwards uses space that has to be clear anyway because that's where you walk. A door that opens upwards takes space that could have been used for another appliance or storage, or the upper half of a fridge twice the size.

The only way round that would be for it to be able to slide outwards, but that's also inconvenient.

Having said all that, they are a great idea if you have the space.

Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#74

Post by ajb »

throwaway173738 wrote: post #39
femto wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would be inconvenient to have to clear the counter each time you want to access the fridge.

I keep my counters largely clear so I can cook, anyway.

Well, but do you never have to open the fridge to get an ingredient, half way through cooking?

Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#76

Post by kkralev »

bdbdbdb wrote: post #69

I read this back in 2009, happy to see it's still on the internet. Obviously with today's electricity prices it would use more than $5 per year but even doubled it is extremely cheap. My issue with the concept is space and convenience. My upright fridge is about this size but it would take up too much space in my kitchen on its side. Worse again that you can't keep anything on top because that's where the door is. Bu…

[flagged]

Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#77

Post by nkrisc »

So the cold air spills out when you open it. However the thermal mass of the air inside the fridge can’t be much compared to the thermal mass of the contents of a normal fridge. And of course the more full your fridge, the less cold air there actually is in there to lose anyway.

No doubt that a chest fridge would be more efficient on paper, but it’s far more inconvenient for everyday use. I would question if the efficiency gains are lost by all the time you’d spend with it open digging around for stuff.

Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#78

Post by ajb »

This is presumably why vertical freezers have drawers. Theoretically if all the space is taken by drawers, there is no cold air that can immediately fall out. I guess the movement of the drawer would at least disrupt the air in that drawer though, unless it has an individual lid. It does seem like drawers could be used on fridges as well, and gain some of the benefit of this and still be practical. Although not so convenient for the top one.

Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#79

Post by eternauta3k »

bdbdbdb wrote: post #69

I read this back in 2009, happy to see it's still on the internet. Obviously with today's electricity prices it would use more than $5 per year but even doubled it is extremely cheap. My issue with the concept is space and convenience. My upright fridge is about this size but it would take up too much space in my kitchen on its side. Worse again that you can't keep anything on top because that's where the door is. Bu…

You could just have a vertical fridge with "tub" drawers which individually contain the cold air.

Re: Chest Fridge (2009)

#80

Post by frogulis »

ezst wrote: post #53
TurdF3rguson wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But if I put things on top of it, now I can't get at the food. I mean, I have one of these as a meat freezer, and sometimes I put things on top of it, and then my wife gets mad at me and moves that thing somewhere because otherwise nobody can open it. Things on top of my vertical fridge on the other hand (my cat for example), can stay there indefinitely.

Wouldn't a solution be to have the opening on the side and pull it toward you, like a "box on wheels"? As long as the sides of the "box" are thermally insulated, it seems like a sound solution for the stated problem (but certainly not one that's mechanically the cheapest/simplest).

A friend suggested a bottom-hinged door like that on a garbage chute, though well sealed, and as wide as the fridge, so the sides of the door don't get in the way of storing long objects in the fridge.
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