Heatsink your Food

[wooferhound]

This story was originally posted by me on 7-10-2003 and appears here with comments

http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2003/7/10/183811/275

I am moving all of my best projects into my diary

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 After getting some stuff from my Stor-N-Lock and as I was driving around to the exit, I spotted some electronic equipment that had obviously been tossed out of an unpaid storage unit. One piece was a Old Xerox copier that had been partially disassembled. On the back hanging by a bolt was this heatsink with a buncha transisters mounted all over it. I unbolted it and stripped the parts off.

 I had been thinking about using something exactly like it to speed up the defrosting of food from my freezer instead of using the microwave oven. Plus I would be able to cool things down too Instead of using the refrigerator. I drink a LOT of Fresh Brewed Iced Tea down here in Alabama, which I cool down with the heatsink. And I cook in large quantities then freeze almost all of it. I use the heatsink to precool before going into the freezer. The Idea is, anything that comes into good contact with a heatsink will be rapidly brought to room temperature. So I can get both a cooling or warming effect depending on the temperature of the Items I place on there.

 I cut two small strips of wood to raise it up high enough to get a lotta air, then placed a 12 volt muffin fan to blow under the heatsink fins and blow over the item that's placed on top. One problem I have is condensation from defrosting. (especially this year here in the South)  I have been using this for about 8 years and have been thinking about building it into a One Piece Unit that would help to catch the condensation underneath and the occasional broken soup bag from the freezer.

 I think it works great. A Single Serving Soup Bag will defrost on the kitchen counter after 2 or 3 hours, but if it's on the heatsink it will only be 35 to 55 minutes. After I cook 1 1/2 gallons of the best Spaghetti ever made (as pictured above) it would take all night sitting on the stove to get cold enough to bag up into the DeepFreeze, but only about 3 hours sitting on the Heatsink/Fan combination.

 I get really excited when I'm Defrosting and cooling something Hot at the same time.

   )}- W o o f -{(

[nanotech]

Really cool idea there. (please excuse the pun!!  :p )

[commanda]

A few years ago there was a commercial version available on the australian market. Didn't have the fan though. Black anodised it was. Nice idea but way too expensive for what it was at the time.

I'll have to keep an eye out for a similar junked heatsink.

Amanda

[hiker]

looks good real good-the sauce that is--send me a plate---

damm dont care if the old lady gets heartburn--im fixin some red hot chillie.....

to many years with out it!!!!!!!now you got me started.................

ps: nice way to use a heatsink.....

[nothing to lose]

 Good idea,

 I had the same problem when I used to cook the worlds best spagettie too

Hey I can cook it, never said I could spell it

 I used to use wire racks and that helped, but not nearly as good as your idea will.

I bet it is great for cooling cakes and cookies too, or putting those chocolate covered bannanas on when ready to freeze them.