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.