El cristianismo primitivo--Primitive Christianity--O cristianismo primitivo

¡Bienvenido!------Welcome!------Bem-vindo!

Español--English--Português

Icy Dreams

This weeks temperatures pushed over the 90 mark.  Do you suppose that has anything to do with my mind going to icemakers?
No big deal for that mid-afternoon snack, is it? Just walk to the freezer and pull out the ice-cream.  But if you have no freezer, or no electric or gas to run one?  Just dream then.
And billions on planet earth can only dream.  Almost five years in South America helped me realize that the majority in this world can only dream of cold chocolate-chip ice cream in the freezer.  But perhaps my dream will help them.  You see, I am "dreaming" of a solar freezer, one that the average person in this world can afford.  And by average, I mean a yearly income of $850.
A solar freezer is not an unreachable achievement.  It has been accomplished already.  But one that is affordable for the 50% of the world that earns less than $850/year, we need some more dreaming and schemeing.
Basically, two designs have been used to accomplish the feat of converting sunlight into ice.  The first is the use of a solar panel and a high-efficient freezer.  This is, in one sense, a no-brainer.  The problem is the price tag: about two years wages for the lower half of this world's population, and that is if they do not spend any of their income on anything else. Quite unrealistic.
The other design strikes my interest.  It is basically a solar version of the old Crosley Icyball.  What, you have never heard of them?  Don't feel bad, I never knew they existed until a year or so ago.
The Icy Ball is basically a small, gas-fired ice-maker that operates on the same basic principle of the gas refrigerator/freezers that are common in Amish homes.
In simple terms, it could be described as two volleyball-sized tanks connected by a pipe of about 1" diameter.  The one tank is filled with an ammonia mixture or similiar gas.  To "cycle" the Icy Ball, you would set this tank on a heat source, such as a burner or stove.  After the gas had been heated enough to force it into the other tank/ball, you would then submerge this ball into a tank of water, and as the ammonia cooled and return to the first ball, it would draw heat with it, freezing the water in the tank.
Someone came up with the idea of a "continuous cycle" for this process, and gas refrigerators were born.  Crosley Icy Ball became collectors items for antique dealers.
A few schemers and dreamers have played with the concept and built modern versions of Icy Balls.  What strikes me as particulary interesting is the man that has built what is essentially a solar version of the Crosley Icy Ball.  Basically, he put a reflective shield around a piece of pipe about 4" in diameter and 20' long.  This was his "ball" where the ammonia stays until heated by the sun.  As the sunlight is reflected onto the pipe, the ammonia moves into a "ball" about the size of a 5 gallon bucket, inside a chest freezer.
If I remember right, it could be "cycled" twice a day, making about 5 gallons of ice each time.  To cycle it required covering the reflectors, or waiting until nightfall.
Again, this is a proven method, but to your average Bolivian making $3/day digging potatos, this is still too far out there; somewhere in dreamyland.
But perhaps there is another class of dreamer out there; someone with enough time and energy and desire to bless others, that could refine the technology to the point of making it a viable option for the poor of this world.  Any takers?  I'll root for you!
Stay tuned for the next article, which will outline another interesting "alternative energy solution": wood-powered vehicles!

www.elcristianismoprimitivo.com

www.primitivechristianity.org

I exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  Jude 1:3

Me ha sido necesario escribiros amonestándoos que contendáis eficazmente por la fe que ha sido una vez dada á los santos. Judas 1.3

Tive por necessidade escrever-vos, e exortar-vos a batalhar pela fé que uma vez foi dada aos santos. Judas 1:3

Español--English--Português