gordy richman

i just keep my fridge in the shop for the winter to protect food from freezing and critters.

for the ice house discusion. i'm keeping my eye's out for old used, cheep, maybe free walkin cooler panels. if i assemble on the north side where all my snow sheds from the roof and direct it into the 4 panels. stomp on it and run water on it occasionally through the winter. make one big ice block with a fridge in the middle it could last until mid july. its ben 10below for a couple of weeks. ice block making weather.

for those in the cold north. if you take a radiator for a small car (soobie,honda, ect) connect 3/4 pex to it. insulate the lines and run a surpentine pattern in you fridge with a swamp cooler pump( super low watt), lines filled with 80/20 glycol water mix your fridge will stay cold. if you bury it about 4 ft down in the summer it will keep your fridge from cycling most of the time.

just some thoughts to keep you tinkering through the winter

cheers gordo

so on the topic of cfl's. yes they are a scam. the light is 13 watts but that nice thick round base is a transformer just like a larger tube style fixture. Acording to my amp meter a 13 watt cfl draws 47 watts.

i have moved to using xmas lights. on sale the day after xmas about 7 bucks for a strand of fifty. they use 2.3 watts. you can get creative with wire and make fixtures however you like. for 2 bucks buy the screw in adapter for the fixture socket to become a plug. a conventional 50 led bulb is 47 bucks. almost a buck a bulb.

the other route is they make these nifty 9 led usb lamps. there about 15 bucks. then a 120v to usb converter. walla

also, cfl's are designed to stay on. those of use that are dedicated to conserving power are good at turn unnessesary lights off. sometimes certain lights in my house are only on for a moment. you will not get the 5 years advertised life from a cfl unless you leave it on. plus the mercury. proper disposal here at the recycling center is 50 cents a bulb.

i'll stick with the xmas led's.

peace gordo