Freezers

Paul Fredricks_11

It's possible there is a strap on crankcase heater on the compressor. If you look at the compressor you'd see it wrapped around it. Some A/C units use a single pole of power to keep the compressors warm, though I don;t know if that is udes in refrigeration units. If I remember correctly, most refrigerators and freezers are designed to run quite a bit at low amperage, in which case the compressor would never have a chance to cool off. Of course, in a cold environment that wouldn't be the case.

I have 3 freezers in my garage. Two only run 2 days a month, the other runs all the time. And there's a frige too. The garage probably doesn't get below 40 or 45, but never had any problems.

In commercial applications, like supermarkets, I've never heard of using an "economizer to keep things cold. Their biggest gain is using the warmth of the condenser coils to add heat to the building.

Derheatmeister

Freezers

Off topic question..

My Freezer is located in a Garage that is subjected to Freezing conditions!

Does this harm the Compressor?;

Is the compressor filled with oil and is it heated so the oil stays Viscus?

Also: does having a Freezer in Freezing conditions waste energy or save energy? and lastly does it make sense keeping the freezer in freezing conditions?

Der Heatmeister not Freezemeister

Gordy

No problem

Had my freezer in the garage for years. No problems.

Can only save energy by lowering the delta t from the inside to the outside.

Use to always see pop machines sit outside all winter. Not that its a freezer.


Gordy

Derheatmeister

Do Pop machines have Heaters to keep the Pop from Freezing?

And is the compressor heated to keep the Oil Viscus?

Gordy

Well

I don't know the details on that. One would assume so obviously to keep the pop from freezing.

My only experiance is personal from my freezer being in a unconditioned garage.

Gordy

Fred Harwood_2

Freezers

Haven't looked recently, but the instructions that come with freezers say when they can be installed outdoors, or not.

Fred Harwood_2

Freezers

Haven't looked recently, but the instructions that come with freezers say when they can be installed outdoors, or not.

Derheatmeister

What i am thinking is to cut a hole into the freezer,Install a Screened door with a Bi metal strip that opens when the surrounding temperature drops to the Freezer set point..This screened door can also deactivate the Compressor..?

This Freezer can also be installed in the House on a Outside wall and have Cold air coming in thru a "hole in the Wall"
Just do not want to turn on a compressor when it is Cold Outside! OR maybe a Glycol system with a small circ can work ? Can anyone see problems with this?

Paul Fredricks_11

I think you have a lot of work for little gain. As stated above, it's all about the delta T. If the freezer is set for 10 degrees and it's 10 degrees where the freezer is located, then the compressor never has to run. Basically, it's a large cooler at that point.

Derheatmeister

Large Cooler

Paul that makes sens but when the freezer Comes out of the "Cooler" mode and the Compressor turns back on is there a Heater that heats the oil in the Compressor?

I am also thinking about Commercial Freezers and if they use the "Free Energy" or is that to much Work on even these larger applications?

Not the Freezemeister but trying to understand :"How come"?

Jim Bennett

Don't know about freezers....

but I have a thermostat and heater in the beer fridge in my garage!

Can't have the beer freezing

Wayne_28

Any compressor in an

Any compressor in an unheated area runs the risk of comprssor failure. The refrigerant gasses are attracted to the cold compressor, condensing into liquid. The liquid settles below the oil, the compressor starts, runs, no lubrication to the bearings etc. compressor fails.

I know, many are going to say they have done it for years etc. with no problem. During my service time, I have had compressors fail the first year they where placed in a cold enviroment.

Adding crankcase heaters will alliviate the problem. Think along the same lines as a compressor starting during the winter/ early spring with cold ambient air temps. No heater means compressor failure.

Brad White_191

Richard

What you are describing with the bi-metallic strip is an old Yankee freezer setup often used in northern New England. My dad had them growing up in NH and VT.

Sort of an upgrade to a root cellar, the door would open and close according to temperature. I have seen one once but not operable.

Still, in this energy-conscious world, some older ideas take on a new luster. Maybe it is time to re-invent it?

Derheatmeister

So how about a mixture of Brads Cooling Cellar with the Bi metal as a Activator for the "free Cooling" and a Compressor that is separate for the Cooler in a Heated environment and can help heat the Buildings or Preheat hot water? on a commercial freezing application..

I remember working in a pig Slater house in the 70ties and it was petty amassing how much Heat came out of the cooling system.

Also:Why is it that i see AC units all over and the Bushes or vegetation around it is dead because of all of the "Waste Heat", Yet the house has a Gas or Electric Waterheater that requires Energy which may be Extracted from this?

Is anyone Working on these Concepts??

Mark Custis

concepts

I have a water to air heat pump, cooling the home and heating the swimming pool.

Wayne_28

Actually they do. There is an electric heating element in the air stream on a thermostat. The element is optional for the soda company to install, as machines sold in warmer climates would have no use for them.

Derheatmeister

Heatpumps

Mark,I have not seen many heatpump Concepts,Even when i lived in Jersey,..Why?

Does anybody make a aftermarket adapter that will mount onto a existing AC unit without restricting the so greatly needed airflow to much;is able to extract heat and will this be worth the bother on a regular residential application with the Current Fuel prices?

Mark Custis

When Jimmy Carter was President....

and the USA ran out of natural gas I was introduced to heat pumps without the bias of being in the industry very long. I liked them and learned how they worked.

The sweet thing about heat pumps is how much free heat one gets for the price of the electricity.

I started out as an airhead, (my wife assures me I still am one), and then discovered a small add in a trade publication about some dead guys and steam. I have never looked back. After getting emersed in the concepts of water moving heat I applied it to my heat pump experiance.

We have a year old water to water system, here in Ohio that uses a pond for our heat source. We built a radiant floor and sank it in the pond. At the edge of the pond we installed a manifold and piped it to the building. The heat pump feeds both a radiant floor and a chilled water to air system for cooling. The unit has up to a 4.3 cop so we get $4.30 of heat for a dollar.

With what I know about heatpumps and their geothermal applications I doubt retro-fitting existing equipement would be practical. The air to air heat pumps got a bad rap due to cool heat. We both know if you pump enough 105* air into a room you will get the room to 71*, in time.

I have had lots of inqueries into geothermal retro-fit, and when crunching the numbers it does make cents if the customer needs or wants new equipment any way. We have come up with a few ideas for ground loops to lower cost of excavation and/or drilling wells.

Hope this helps.