Steam Engines > Refrigeration

Thermal mass in a freezer

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mab:
Water stores 4200J/'C/kg (or litre)
Ice stores 1200J/'C/kg.

I use storage heater blocks (magnetite) in my freezer; they store only 935J/'C/kg but are quite dense:- 5.2kg/litre so store more than ice. Iron would also be better than ice (only 450J/'C/kg but 7.8kg/litre).

Linseed oil has a heat capacity of 1800J/'C/kg, density 0.942kg/litre - so is better than ice even without the phase change - assuming it stays constant - heat capacity of oils can be a bit variable.

I can't seem to find the specific latent heat of freezing for it though.

Mary B:
I just use gallon jugs of water when ti isn't full of meat(right now it is pushing max...). When I process a hog I render the fat for lard and that goes in jars in the freezer, no clue what pork fats specs are but it keeps it fresh for a year LOL

MattM:
I store a few jugs of canola oil in the chest freezer.  I just figured it would take longer to thaw than the jugs of water we used to keep for the same reason.  Lost power for four days and the stuff in the chest all stayed frozen.  It probably helps the lid insulation got swapped out about ten years ago after the wife dented it.  I couldn't believe how flimsy it was when it was new.  But I had no idea how ridiculously cheap it was built until it suddenly became floppy from the center edges getting bent/crushed.  It had a cheap fiberglass mat - not even filling the entire lid area - where I was expecting at least a styrofoam chunk.  It got replaced by a piece of phenolic roof insulation and the result was a rigid top that doesn't get cold.  Taking the sides apart proved too much work but it looked like rockwool in them.  When we run low on oil I can always thaw out a jug and use it.  It turns cloudy from the phase change but cooks fine.

Bruce S:
Frank S;
I use two items that I have access to so YMMV;
180 Proof Alky ( doesn't freeze, get more like syrup & chills the outside of the container during thaw), Tallow , Beef Tallow will keep pretty much like Lard will, but I have access to FREE beef fat (family down home raises "fancy" cows).

Hunting season here, so freezer is like Mary B's at near capacity due to friends' needing a place to off-load last year's dear meat (YUM).

MattM;
Ditto, on the lids' insulation, mine wasn't dented but rusting. Removed it to outside for scrubbing, rust removal and painting.
Ended up replacing entire lid insulation with wool insulation ( was a recommendation from a commercial freezer repair crew). Never looked back.
 
 Hope this helps

Bruce S

Frank S:
For now I have just placed a few 3 ltr bottles of brine in the freezer and allowed them to freeze
 My whole reasoning for wanting the thermal mass is I doubt it we will fill it to near capacity with food stuffs so the mass will help to improve the efficiency plus in the event of power outage (Rare around here but has happened),the food will have a better chance of remaining safe for longer.
 The last outage here lasted for 12 hours our fridge freezer remained frozen but the fridge did warm up enough that a half gallon of milk almost turned. If I had had the freezer at that time I could have stolen a couple bottles of the brine and placed them in the fridge.
 Ultimately though I have a 6000 watt UPS that dumps all incoming energy into the batteries then the output is from the converter I want to connect it into a dedicated circuit which will be for a few essentials of the house and connect my 1.1KW worth of solar to the house with the proper grid tie and switch gear that will not feed the grid if there is no incoming power   

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