Living Without a Fridge

[downunder]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The special fried rice will probably make you ill... but if you check you'll find what kills you is not the rice if you eat it cold... its the incorrect reheating that creates the toxins... the only pre-cooked rice I'll eat the next day is cold white rice with milk and sugar...
As for living in the Tropics without refrieration...
my family lived in India for 200+ years... get an unglazed earthenware jar and half fill with water and hang your butter etc in there to stay cool.. its called evaporation.. a centuries old trick...
fruit will go off quick if you buy in supermarkets... but then of course you do... white folk get nervous once the ethnic balance starts exceeding 10 to 1...
Keep potatoes in dark places in paper, hang onions in light places, buy your bananas green and other fruit hard in the markets..
Yoghurt homemade fresh.. use it with sugar or in cooking... if you like spicey food like me pickle shrimp (Achar) or meats.. keep for ages but eat in 2-3 days once opened..
Billtong cooks up nicely in a curry after soaking awhile..
Its pretty easy if you are raised that way... but I guess you eat, shop and live how your raised...
Oh.. no scurvy either.. pickled mango and limes keep that at bay... and nuts sultana's etc cover protiens etc...
GeZeus... I really do rough it... gonna have to get a fridge...

Sort of remember the no refrig boxes and buying ice as a kid before kerosene fridges.

Reminds me of the Samatran dishes in Indonesia. Food in windows with no refrigeration but only because of the very,very hot spices.

Fortunately we have moved on. I like ice cold, water, beer, white wine cocktails. Ice cold.

[foggysail]

Sure!!!! People can live without refrigeration, BUT JUST WHY WOULD ONE WANT TO???? Is it some people's goal to live as spartan as possible????

Solar panels are already mentioned here in this thread. But wind generators also work. I am old enough to remember an ice man going around the neighborhood.... they did not visit our home, my parents could not afford ice! Personally, I would never, never go back to the so called "good old days!" What is there to prove???

If some want to live a truly poor life when they can afford better, they should remember that life is short! We should try to live ours lives doing those things that make us personally comfortable regardless of how others decide to live theirs.

Foggy

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by foggysail

Solar panels are already mentioned here in this thread. But wind generators also work. ... If some want to live a truly poor life when they can afford better, they should remember that life is short! We should try to live ours lives doing those things that make us personally comfortable regardless of how others decide to live theirs.

If creature comforts were the principle driving force, then the best answer is to stay on land, get a nice comfortable house, and sell the damn boat .

I'm not seeking the "good ol' days". I'm seeking sustainability. I have a fridge/freezer on board now, and I like it (cold beer), but in my limited experience I find that I don't need it. The reason I am interested in this question Foggy is not to seek some level of monastic purity or depravity, but to make the cruising life sustainable over the long term. I have money now, but will have a lot less once we cut the lines. With the understanding that everything will break eventually, I need to look critically at all systems.

[roger.waite]

A reminder that the OP asked "How to live without a fridge".

This thread has gone like most sextant threads. Someone seeks good 'how to' info which is widely available from sailing books, and half the respondents say it cannot be done or should not be done. Even though sailors often did it through to the 80s. And beyond. And survived.

Good on ya' Boatman for calling this bull.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by foggysail

Sure!!!! People can live without refrigeration, BUT JUST WHY WOULD ONE WANT TO???? Is it some people's goal to live as spartan as possible????

Solar panels are already mentioned here in this thread. But wind generators also work. I am old enough to remember an ice man going around the neighborhood.... they did not visit our home, my parents could not afford ice! Personally, I would never, never go back to the so called "good old days!" What is there to prove???

If some want to live a truly poor life when they can afford better, they should remember that life is short! We should try to live ours lives doing those things that make us personally comfortable regardless of how others decide to live theirs.

Foggy

Foggy....
I'm not against folk with fridges if they want them.. hell if I buy a boat with a fridge on I'll use it... last crossing from St Martin I had a fridge and yes.. it was great being able to eat fresh meat a coupla weeks longer than usual..
But... if I'm on the hook near shops... which is most places in Europe I like to get ashore for a hike rather than lounge in the hammock all day... and I impulse buy... for the next day.. maybe two...
all you'll find in my fridge is the butter, UHT, bread and jams and honey...best bug proof place..
against flies, roaches and ants I mean...
Also I'm no macho man living on cold beans and CostCo Chunky Chicken cat food...
Just saying that there is a third healthy and comfortable way...
I long ago accepted the fact that there's those who are only happy living with what they want...
and those who are happy with only what they need...
Actually that boils down to the same thing...
but it sounds more PC than saying some NEED more than others...

PS: Unlike America... the bits I saw... over here there's a butcher in every street just about.. bakers, pastrys, grocers... its not a 5+ mile drive to a WalMart or similar..

[SunDevil]

How to live without fridge.

1. Go to the store more often
2. Don't buy frozen food or food that needs refrigeration
3. Get a bag of ice and a well insulated cooler
4. Don't cook more than you can eat to avoid leftovers
5. Vacuum pack food
6. Buy food that stores well at room temperature
7. Buy powered milk, potatoes, and other dehydrated foods.

[CFR]

Hi folks, as i started the thread i have to give my conclusion: i will look for a place to install a very good insulated box with a danfoss compressor instead of the convenient cabinet style fridge with front door. So it will be a little bit more work to open a box near the bilge but so i keep the nice cabinet i have and an can use it as a perfect storage place for fresh product. How much insulation I need for the tropics ? normal boxes only have 2 inch right ?

If i consider the arguments and because we do not eat butter, cheese and milk maybe it made more more sense to install a freezer to use it for meat and fish ?

Advice ?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by CFR

Hi folks, as i started the thread i have to give my conclusion: i will look for a place to install a very good insulated box with a danfoss compressor instead of the convenient cabinet style fridge with front door. So it will be a little bit more work to open a box near the bilge but so i keep the nice cabinet i have and an can use it as a perfect storage place for fresh product. How much insulation I need for the tropics ? normal boxes only have 2 inch right ?

If i consider the arguments and because we do not eat butter, cheese and milk maybe it made more more sense to install a freezer to use it for meat and fish ?

Advice ?

CFR... best advice I can give you is this...
Once you've finished rolling round the floor laughing at this thread...
build yourself the best thing for your needs...
as your not a dairy produce user a freezer type box is best if you want to carry raw foods... frozen is definitely better all round than canned goods...
Good luck and happy munching..
Whatever you decide...

[atoll]

Originally Posted by CFR

Hi folks, as i started the thread i have to give my conclusion: i will look for a place to install a very good insulated box with a danfoss compressor instead of the convenient cabinet style fridge with front door. So it will be a little bit more work to open a box near the bilge but so i keep the nice cabinet i have and an can use it as a perfect storage place for fresh product. How much insulation I need for the tropics ? normal boxes only have 2 inch right ?

If i consider the arguments and because we do not eat butter, cheese and milk maybe it made more more sense to install a freezer to use it for meat and fish ?

Advice ?

fridge/freezer boxes work best when not opened regularly,so a freezer would be my advice,you can allways make ice to cool an eskie for beer and salad.

also we found on passages with a large freezer 200l,as we ate the frozen veg, steaks,pork chops,lamb chops,roast chickens and bacon,we were able to keep the freezer full with all the fish we caught!

[mikereed100]

Originally Posted by CFR

Hi folks, as i started the thread i have to give my conclusion: i will look for a place to install a very good insulated box with a danfoss compressor instead of the convenient cabinet style fridge with front door. So it will be a little bit more work to open a box near the bilge but so i keep the nice cabinet i have and an can use it as a perfect storage place for fresh product. How much insulation I need for the tropics ? normal boxes only have 2 inch right ?

If i consider the arguments and because we do not eat butter, cheese and milk maybe it made more more sense to install a freezer to use it for meat and fish ?

Advice ?

If you build a freezer for the tropics it should really have 6" (15cm) of insulation all 'round. Nigel Calder says you can use less on the top, so I did and wish I didn't. You can get away with less if you use vacuum panels but the cost goes way up.
I think you are not going to regret your decision. As has been well expressed here, you certainly don't need refrigeration, but I have to say, after over 30 years without, my refer/freezer has become my favorite toy on board.

Mike

[bobconnie]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

If you build a freezer for the tropics it should really have 6" (15cm) of insulation all 'round. Nigel Calder says you can use less on the top, so I did and wish I didn't. You can get away with less if you use vacuum panels but the cost goes way up.
I think you are not going to regret your decision. As has been well expressed here, you certainly don't need refrigeration, but I have to say, after over 30 years without, my refer/freezer has become my favorite toy on board.

Mike

Amen !! when you have gone with out Frdg/frez/ for long time, you come to love em QUICK !! We freeze a bunch of fish, and we have a shrink-vacume wrapper and it packs veggies super for the freezer strawberries last for mos !! Bob and Connie

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

they have no cold beers
ciao!
Nick.

And that is by far the most worrisome problem of no fridge.....seriously folks!.....it just doesn't bare thinking about.....

[CFR]

Ok all, i am convinced next winter i will install a nice very thick insulated freezer. then i will come back with more questions in respect of the compressor, heat exachange and design. have a nice weekend

[SunDevil]

Vacuum insulation panels are what I like, with a 1/8" sheet of aluminum and a plastic lining.
Newport Partners: Technologies
Add in 2" of good insulation around that, and it should work great.

Here are some numbers as far as energy is a sample box they make.
AcuTemp AX56L Mobile Refrigerator/Freezer | acutemp.com

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by CFR

Ok all, i am convinced next winter i will install a nice very thick insulated freezer. then i will come back with more questions in respect of the compressor, heat exachange and design. have a nice weekend

I'm sure you and your wife will be very happy with it. A fridge or freezer on a boat makes more difference for people living aboard than for the same people living in a house.

By using a vertical-mount box-type evaporator you can create both freezer and fridge in one box.

ciao!
Nick.