Pages

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Gas Fridge

As promised, here are some photos of the new fridge. I did not think to take any yesterday while we were installing it--being sick makes you not think clearly. Basically, however, there is a gas line attached to the back instead of an electric cord. There is also a place for 4 batteries to run the lights. I'm pretty sure batteries are not cheaper than electricity for the lights, and there seems to be a place to hook an electrical cord for the lights but there was nothing in the instructions about that.

It looked big when we got it in place. It is shorter and wider than our last refrigerator, and has to sit firther out from the wall due to all the gas tubing stuff on the back of it.

All settled in with magnets and calendar!


The freezer compartment is really deep. It holds more than my old one.


See? Room to spare. The old one was crammed full and had the same things in it. (And yes, that's a book on top. I got it free at a yard sale because it had gotten wet. It's a bird book so how could I say no? You can save wet books by freeze-drying them. Just put them in the freezer for a week or so, take them out and let them thaw, then repeat the process until the book is dry. I did learn something in library school!)

The inside is big too, and the shelves are adjustable. I started with them set up like this, but that may change. The bins in the bottom are small--that's because the gas equipment is behind them, I suppose.

The refrigerated section holds more, too. It's very deep which is good and bad--things can get lost back there in the deeps.

I love this door! Three shelves and plenty of room. I am not too spoiled when it comes to refrigerators--I've always had fairly simple appliances with no bells and whistles. The last two had icemakers that we never used.

This little panel, located under the screen at the bottom of the fridge, is what is different from others you've seen. It lights pretty much like a hot water heater: turn the valve on the right to on, the second valve on the right to 3, then depress the ignitor on the far left which works with electronic ignition. In between is a "flame indicator" that shows green when the fridge is lit, red when it's off.

The complicated panel :) The main problem we had with the small gas refrigerator we had years ago was a tendency to build up carbon around the flame. We were using propane then. I am really hoping we don't run into that issue with this new appliance because it was a pain to relight--and if we're gone when it happens that could be a mess. I think part of the issue was where we had the little fridge and the fact that it was a camper fridge and not really meant for the heavy day-to-day use we gave it. This fridge is Amish-made, which is usually a sign of good quality.

Behind the fridge is bent piping that contains ammonia, water and hydrogen. You can read how it works here. The flame is about the size of a pilot light so it produces little heat, and uses very little gas. I wish I'd taken photos before we got this thing in place so you could see a little more.

It's all settled in now, I think--we'll see how it does over the next few days. So far, so good. And a nice little side benefit: I have a clean fridge! I sure wouldn't think of showing you the inside of the old one.

12 comments:

  1. Good luck with it. You find the coolest stuff!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow Granny Sue! I had no idea that you could buy a gas refrigerator! We have free gas too. That is something to think about when we need to replace the one we have now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks like the new fridge that I bought but mine is electric.
    It's has the large bins on the doors which hold tons of stuff. I'll agree with you on the deep shelves too! Things can get lost very quickly.
    I thought the price was awfully expensive but I'm sure in the long run it will save you lots with the free gas.
    Love the tip on freeze drying books. I'd never heard of that before.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Steve, I wanted one of these as soon as I knew we'd have free gas. The cost was a real factor, though. Although in Good Housekeeping magazine this month they listed the to 5 fridges and all were within about $200 of this one. They had lots of bells and whistles, though, but I'm quite happy without those.

    ReplyDelete
  5. We had a gas refrig at one of the ranch houses, it worked great. They put in a large gas stove at the same time, only thing, it had electronic ignition....

    ReplyDelete
  6. You should check into it, Angela. The cost is high, but I *think* we'll make it back in lower electricity costs within 5 years. It runs so quietly, too! And if the power goes off, we won't lose our food :) That's a huge plus in my book, especially with the way our electricity has been going off in the past year.

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's good to know, Brighid. Did you have any problems with it having carbon build-up? and did you have to do other maintenance on it?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sue, No problems with my Dometic from Sweden,(cost was the same as yours, but included free ship)
    never a carbon build up or maintenance issue.
    The Sears gas stove was a problem from day one...would not light til we curcumvented the electronic ignition, and really uneven heat in the oven... live & learn!
    Tip: big gas frig's don't cool as well as regular size, so if you need more refrig...put two side by side.
    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks for the information, Brighid. So far this one is cooling well. It's a 17 cu.ft. They carried Dometic brand too but not this size. I hope we don't have any problems with it not cooling well enough.

    My last electric range was a Sears and had the same oven problems. Lots of trouble with the top burners too.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can't wait to hear how the fridge goes for you. Would love to get one as well when the one I have now bites the dust, though the price is a little pricey. What we're saving up for now is a new stove as the electronic ignition is kaput now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like my old 1950 gas range, Angel. It's sturdy, works like a champ and has pilot lights. I know pilot lights went out of favor, but I like them because they are so useful--I can spread a wet tea towel on top of the stove (not over the burners, of course!) to dry, put pans for herbs over the burners to dry, or use the oven to dry herbs or culture yogurt. They also keep a kettle of warm just warm so that it takes less time to heat it up when I need it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That'd be nice to have! I remember seeing the pictures you've posted of it and think it's very nice looking. A plus with pilot lights is that they don't wear out.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Comments are moderated so may not appear immediately, but be assured that I read and enjoy each and every word you write, and will post them as quickly as possible.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...