Comments on: A Village Genius and his Electricity-less Fridge

By: Chad Cloman

Chad Cloman — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:54:06 +0000

In “King Solomon’s Mines”, which was published in 1885, Alan Quatermain cuts a melon in half and then places the pieces in direct sunlight–with the intention that the evaporation will cause the melon to cool down.

By: PartiallyDeflected

PartiallyDeflected — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:20:51 +0000

Same principle as the “blanket canteen” which cools water by evaporating water from blankets attached to the aluminum body.

By: larriann

larriann — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:46:49 +0000

Evaporative cooling works stunningly well in desert climates. In really humid areas – not so much. Dampness there just encourages mold.

By: Roger

Roger — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:47:23 +0000

I was thinking that the ancient Egyptians employed a similar system for refrigeration, but I can’t for the life of me remember where I saw that.

By: Mary Sue

Mary Sue — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:20:20 +0000

Funny, the ancient Romans used a similar method to make ice.

By: Jim

Jim — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:45:47 +0000

Well, aside from the fact that Cassius Clay hasn’t been Cassius Clay for over forty years now, I’m sure it’ll work great.

I think the same principle works for canteen covers. The insides of canteen covers are lined with felt, wet the felt, and the evaporation keeps the canteen cool.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:31:15 +0000

There’s a similar idea practiced in Australia — “the bush fridge”. You put the stuff you want to keep cold in a box, drape the box with wet fabric (like a towel), and put it in the shade.

By: peterm

peterm — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 12:49:03 +0000

West Africans have been using these methods for years… As a peace corps volunteer in Mali, my villagers showed me the same thing… if I only knew there was a rolex prize I would have submitted it for my village. Such is life