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This design is among many low-tech alternatives to modern appliances and processes mentioned in book The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath

This design is among many low-tech alternatives to modern appliances and processes mentioned in book The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Civilization in the Aftermath of a Cataclysm. It was not successful because of already established industry of refrigerators that were good enough. The book is excellent.

farrelmahaztra 7y ago
Thanks for the book, I'm adding it to my list
- ljp_206 7y ago
  You may also enjoy How To Invent Everything[0], from the creator of SMBC Comics. The frame device is that it's a manual that comes with your time machine, only to be used if you get stranded. I thought it would be a fun flip-through but it's delightfully dense, with fun comments on when, where, and why you'd need want/need to invent something depending on "when" you get stranded in time. 0: https://www.howtoinventeverything.com/ https://www.howtoinventeverything.com/
  - CocaKoala 7y ago
    Mild sidenote: How to Invent Everything is by Ryan North, the cat behind Dinosaur Comics; Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is done by Zach Weiner, a different person.
    - interestica 7y ago
      Milder sidenote: SMBC was created by Zach Weinersmith. Presumably his ancestors made the weiners.
      - selimthegrim 7y ago
        I believe he changed his name when he married to incorporate his wife Kelly's
        CocaKoala 7y ago
        That might be the case! I haven't read SMBC regularly for a very long time, so if there was a name change in the past, i dunno, five years or something, I probably wouldn't have noticed!
    - ljp_206 7y ago
      Oof, you're correct! I totally mixed my comics up. Both are fantastic, pithy creators.
  - ChristianGeek 7y ago
    From the order page: “To ensure that your future self is enjoying this book as we speak, simply click on one or more of the following links:” Love it!
tinus_hn 7y ago
According to the article the patents were bought by Electrolux. It could be this was just to block this technology from being adopted.
- AstralStorm 7y ago
  No, it has been actually deployed and is commercially sold as heat recovery chiller. The problem is an much lower efficiency than compression refrigerators, some of which could be regained by tuning the liquids used in the system. That is not a problem when you're working with waste heat though. (E.g. solar thermal, recovery from solar concentrated, cogeneration, geothermal.) The other problem is that it has to be perfectly leak checked or it does not work at all, where in compression leakage just reduces efficiency - and there's much less piping that has to be pressure sealed. COP of maybe 1.3 for best designs is available, compared to say 5 of a top of the line screw chiller, 7 of a rotary chiller and 3 of very good heat pump. (Maybe COP could be pushed a bit higher with exotic liquids. But the economics of this endeavor are suspect. Current top efficiency liquids are water-ammonia/lithium bromide-water dual loop. It is not safe compared to HFCs.) It starts making sense when the installation is building sized, because maintenance is cheap compared to an electric chiller.
  - gwbas1c 7y ago
    I thought this is how RV (propane) refrigerators work? Or, am I confusing this with a different, but similar system?
    - mhb 7y ago
      Absorption refrigerators are commonly used in Recreational Vehicles (RVs), campers, and caravans because they can be powered with propane fuel, rather than electricity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator
    - baybal2 7y ago
      You mean fridges that use propane as fuel or ones that use it as a freon?

farrelmahaztra 7y ago

Thanks for the book, I'm adding it to my list

ljp_206 7y ago
You may also enjoy How To Invent Everything[0], from the creator of SMBC Comics. The frame device is that it's a manual that comes with your time machine, only to be used if you get stranded. I thought it would be a fun flip-through but it's delightfully dense, with fun comments on when, where, and why you'd need want/need to invent something depending on "when" you get stranded in time. 0: https://www.howtoinventeverything.com/ https://www.howtoinventeverything.com/
- CocaKoala 7y ago
  Mild sidenote: How to Invent Everything is by Ryan North, the cat behind Dinosaur Comics; Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is done by Zach Weiner, a different person.
  - interestica 7y ago
    Milder sidenote: SMBC was created by Zach Weinersmith. Presumably his ancestors made the weiners.
    - selimthegrim 7y ago
      I believe he changed his name when he married to incorporate his wife Kelly's
      - CocaKoala 7y ago
        That might be the case! I haven't read SMBC regularly for a very long time, so if there was a name change in the past, i dunno, five years or something, I probably wouldn't have noticed!
  - ljp_206 7y ago
    Oof, you're correct! I totally mixed my comics up. Both are fantastic, pithy creators.
- ChristianGeek 7y ago
  From the order page: “To ensure that your future self is enjoying this book as we speak, simply click on one or more of the following links:” Love it!

tinus_hn 7y ago

According to the article the patents were bought by Electrolux. It could be this was just to block this technology from being adopted.

AstralStorm 7y ago
No, it has been actually deployed and is commercially sold as heat recovery chiller. The problem is an much lower efficiency than compression refrigerators, some of which could be regained by tuning the liquids used in the system. That is not a problem when you're working with waste heat though. (E.g. solar thermal, recovery from solar concentrated, cogeneration, geothermal.) The other problem is that it has to be perfectly leak checked or it does not work at all, where in compression leakage just reduces efficiency - and there's much less piping that has to be pressure sealed. COP of maybe 1.3 for best designs is available, compared to say 5 of a top of the line screw chiller, 7 of a rotary chiller and 3 of very good heat pump. (Maybe COP could be pushed a bit higher with exotic liquids. But the economics of this endeavor are suspect. Current top efficiency liquids are water-ammonia/lithium bromide-water dual loop. It is not safe compared to HFCs.) It starts making sense when the installation is building sized, because maintenance is cheap compared to an electric chiller.
- gwbas1c 7y ago
  I thought this is how RV (propane) refrigerators work? Or, am I confusing this with a different, but similar system?
  - mhb 7y ago
    Absorption refrigerators are commonly used in Recreational Vehicles (RVs), campers, and caravans because they can be powered with propane fuel, rather than electricity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absorption_refrigerator
  - baybal2 7y ago
    You mean fridges that use propane as fuel or ones that use it as a freon?