Living Without a Fridge

[Wavewacker]

In my boating I have only used portable coolers. I put the beer in a netted bag and throw it overboard with about 30' of line, it's cold enough.

My folks use to have a camping trailer rental with aluminum fold out tentage. It had a huge (to be as a kid) cooler. It had 2" of insulation (avialble kind in the 60s) and top loaded. We would put dry ice in it when people left. A couple left Springfield, Mo. and went camping in Arizona, they were back in two weeks and the water was cool in the cooler and they said they only bought one bag of regualr ice after leaving Az. keeping dry ice in a cooler is the way to go, if you can find it! I think our local ice house closed years ago.

The trick is to keep a cooler or fridge or freezer full. I keep milk jugs of water in my garage freezer since it is never really full, but it hardly ever runs since it's full of ice. Having an empty fridge with just a few items will kick it on more often using more current. Water jugs, and you always have cold water too. We had an ice strom several years ago and lost power for a week, in those conditions you can put your food outside, LOL, but didn't, never a problem in the freezer.

But, I'd rather have a fridge, I think......yes, I think I would....

[Nemo55]

That sounds just fine,,seven days is plenty.

Originally Posted by CaptForce

You're leaving out the volume of the supply, the size of the box, numbers of times you open the box and the insulation; however, as I have been at home port in Florida for many years and done this, I would say a cubic foot of dry ice in a well insulated box of about five cubic feet and top loaded could last about seven to ten days.

[justwaiting]

i havent read back through the thread but just putting it out there.

Coolgardie safe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Nemo55

That sounds just fine,,seven days is plenty.

Also, to have it last this long, be sure to wrap the dry ice in some paper bags. We also kept the box full with empty plastic bottles in unused space and we kept a cover inside the lid. This inner cover was cut from one of those windscreen heat shields that people place inside their car windshields when parked in the sun.

[Wavewacker]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

Also, to have it last this long, be sure to wrap the dry ice in some paper bags. We also kept the box full with empty plastic bottles in unused space and we kept a cover inside the lid. This inner cover was cut from one of those windscreen heat shields that people place inside their car windshields when parked in the sun.

Never heard of either of those tricks, can you tell me why the air in an empty bottle would be different than the air in the freezer?
And the solar screen stuff I guess, keeping the colder air down from the top makes good sence! Thanks...

[justwaiting]

Originally Posted by Wavewacker

Never heard of either of those tricks, can you tell me why the air in an empty bottle would be different than the air in the freezer?
And the solar screen stuff I guess, keeping the colder air down from the top makes good sence! Thanks...

Empty bottle filling up the space ensure that the space they occupy are not replaced with warmer air when you open the box.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by justwaiting

Empty bottle filling up the space ensure that the space they occupy are not replaced with warmer air when you open the box.

True, by "justwaiting", and the inner cover allows you to reach into an area for what you want to retrieve without opening the entire surface for heat exchange. Some find a blanket suitable. I've also used an engine firewall pad that I picked up at a performance auto shop.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

ate a lot of cabbage salad when I had no fridge! that stuff lasts forever! eggs are good for a long time... weeks. Lime is a good preservative too.

eggs will keep a very long time it they are NEVER refrigerated. Literature says fresh eggs 1 month if not washed or refirgerated. (not cracked or flawed.) I found this on a search. They say 6 months.

Do not to wash them. There is a coating on eggs that will keep them fresh. Then keep them in a basement or a dark cool dry cellar. The eggs need to be turned once a week. Just keep them in an old egg carton and turn them over once a week. Mother Earth News did a test years ago and I believe they kept eggs for 6 months in a cellar just that way. To check and make sure the eggs are good put in water. Good eggs lie on the bottom, they do not float.

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

eggs will keep a very long time it they are NEVER refrigerated. Literature says fresh eggs 1 month if not washed or refirgerated. (not cracked or flawed.) I found this on a search. They say 6 months.

Do not to wash them. There is a coating on eggs that will keep them fresh. Then keep them in a basement or a dark cool dry cellar. The eggs need to be turned once a week. Just keep them in an old egg carton and turn them over once a week. Mother Earth News did a test years ago and I believe they kept eggs for 6 months in a cellar just that way. To check and make sure the eggs are good put in water. Good eggs lie on the bottom, they do not float.

Within the EU it is not permitted to wash eggs that are going to be sold, therefore finding unwashed eggs is easy. However, I believe that in other parts of the world the opposite is true and eggs are routinely washed. I always buy my eggs unwashed (with chicken s**t!) and keep them in a tray in the bilge. They last for months. After the first couple of weeks they aren't so good for boiling or frying for breakfast as the yolk tends to merge with the white, however they're still great for scrambling, omelets or baking.

[elliebell]

Lived long periods without a fridge on land and now trying the same at sea Green bags at goodwill/dollar store etc... seem to keep veggies last longer sans refrigeration. Quinoa is an excellent food, keep lots of powdered chicken/veggie stock to cook it in, sans MSG of course... eat veggies that go bad fast first, then go to the onions and potatoes, squash, etc... always supplementing rice/beans/quinoa etc... If you have a burner, get a coleman camp oven... you can make fresh bread!

[S/V Blondie-Dog]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

"So let me reword it: those without fridges tend to be single, hang at the bar until it closes and then eat cold beans from cans."

ciao!
Nick.

Hhmmm... me thinks dat sumbody be spying on me...

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by S/V Blondie-Dog

Hhmmm... me thinks dat sumbody be spying on me...

We with fridge & freezer call living without - camping.

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi
"So let me reword it: those without fridges tend to be single, hang at the bar until it closes and then eat cold beans from cans."

ciao!
Nick.


I don't hang at the bar til it closes. I go to bed early.

[JayCall]

If you need to keep eggs for more than about a month without refrigeration, give then a light coating of vaseline, they will keep for several months (that is as long as i have ever tried it).

[SaucySailoress]

Originally Posted by tidesup

Hi all, new here.

Dont mean to be a buttinsky but a lot of stuff does not need refrigeration. If you want to check out www.notechmagazine.com (not promoting it, just as a reference) there are some tips there.

Happy sailing

This is a fantastic site, thanks for referring it. Some brilliant ideas for saving energy.

I have noticed that quite a few folks don't have a fridge but do have a cooler box. Since most boat fridges are top opening, doesn't that effectively make them cooler boxes when not plugged in? Ours is designed to be easily opened (yeah, we have a huge lid, not a silly little hole which makes access unpleasant) and a huge, well-insulated fridge. The idea is, when the electricity gets short, we put ice blocks in to keep temps down.

We also have a fairly large freezer. ENough to freeze about a dozen large milk bottles with water in - (HWMO can't abide the thought of cruising without ice cream!!) We freeze water in milk bottles then transfer them to fridge to help keep temps cooler for longer - don't forget, we live in a desert, temps in the summer routinely top 50C outside.